There are a lot of carriages and sedan chairs gathered at the door of the Lingzhou Mansion, and looking at the dress of the carriage and saddle sedan chair, you can know that the rich and powerful families on the ground in Lingzhou have all gathered here.

As soon as Liu Dingmao's sedan chair landed, he hurried down to the ground and went straight to the lobby under the leadership of the officials.

Sure enough, there were already a circle of people sitting in the hall, including Lord Zhizhou and his subordinates, this is the master, and the guests invited today are all squires, wealthy families, chaebols and other big people on the ground in Lingzhou Mansion like Liu Dingmao.

"Fellow villagers, sir, the situation is not good-" Zhizhou first clenched his fists, "Time is pressing, we won't go around in circles, this official goes straight to the topic, please come, there is only one thing, now the country is in danger, most of the southwest of my Lingzhou Mansion has fallen into the hands of the Moro enemy army, and the northwest is remote before escaping, but this is only temporary, no one can predict whether the Moro army will suddenly turn around and crush us here in the next step."

Moreover, now, a large number of refugees have fled to the ground of Yangzhou and even Cheongju under the drive of the enemy. The imperial court was very angry, saying that it is understandable that we cannot participate in the defense of the enemy, why we can't accept refugees, and watching the refugees on the ground in Lingzhou rush all over the country to cry out for hunger and cold, causing a very bad momentum, disturbing the minds of the people across the country, and the impact is very bad. So—"

He took a sip of water, "So we need to immediately put up a notice, calling on the displaced Li people in Lingzhou Mansion to stop flowing out and come to the northwest of our Lingzhou Mansion, and our government will set up a porridge shack to distribute rice porridge to the refugees, and provide tents to sleep in at night, especially for women and children and widows, we will give priority to giving proper comfort." ”

"That's a good thing—" agreed a squire.

"A good thing is a good thing, but you don't know it, this kind of disaster relief and people's major affairs of the government should be handled by the government, but the government also has the difficulties of the government, our Lingzhou Mansion is the famous bitter cold land of Dongliang Country, the hometown of poverty, and everyone can barely maintain a food and clothing in the year of peace, this war together, the people are displaced, the fields are barren, the tax is not as good as the previous years, and the court pension is limited, the huge mansion, the treasury is empty, and the income is beyond the means, the court only has a paper document to issue an order, only let us think of our own ideas to solve the problem, but do not mention the allocation of money, food and silver, but let us how to be good？

Those of us who eat public meals, to put it bluntly, are on an errand for the people of Lingzhou, and now the people are suffering, the country is in danger, and we are most sad in our hearts, so I hope that all of you brothers, village sages, gentlemen, and adults will be sympathetic to our difficulties, and pity the poor people on the ground in Lingzhou, carry forward the style, share the difficulties, work together, donate money with money, donate grain, gold and silver, cloth, cattle, sheep and livestock, anything, how much is not limited, everyone works together to overcome the difficulties, and work together to overcome the current difficulties. ”

Everyone was silent.

This is directly reaching out and asking for money.

This kind of thing is not without precedent, the country is in trouble, everyone has someone to pay people, and those who have money to pay, Dongliang Kingdom has advocated etiquette since ancient times, attaches great importance to love and righteousness, pays attention to patriotism and loyalty, and the wealthy families with rich family wealth will also take out some money to help the country through the sadness in this case.

However, once such a thing really falls on their heads, it is still a little hesitant, after all, this sum of money is not a small amount, and it can easily cost thousands, or even tens of thousands of silver taels, which is not equivalent to cutting their hearts.

Liu Dingmao remembered the child in the belly of the third aunt in his heart, since he was angry and punished the third aunt for kneeling at the gate of the middle courtyard for a night, she fainted, and after fainting, the lower body was bleeding, and there were signs of miscarriage.

But looking at the situation in front of him, it must be inevitable that he will pass the buck and bargain for a long time, even if he is a scholar, but after all, he has been in officialdom for a few years, and he knows the game between these people in front of him and the true thoughts in his heart, and knows that everyone is beating their own little Jiujiu in their hearts, so things will not have a result for a while. As soon as he was in a hurry, he was sweating profusely.

The difficulties in the treasury of the government are the statements of the government, and only the people in the government know whether they are true or not, and the sages and gentry of the township cannot open the treasury in person to see, and where has all the money and grain gone in the treasury over the years, and whether it has been embezzled by the officials and gentlemen or has it really been spent on the people? No one can say clearly. Is it really difficult for the government or is it taking advantage of the current national crisis to extort a sum of money from everyone? It is even more unclear.

Thinking about it from the side of these local rich predators in a different direction, there is also their reason. They are rich, all of them are rich and good-landed, and the three wives and four concubines in the family wear gold and silver and the servants are like clouds, but whose family wealth is not accumulated by the hard work of the ancestors, and now they are asked to give a large part generously, they are naturally not happy.

That's the essence of the matter.

But no one said anything.

Everyone drank tea, and the sound of water absorption was loud.

Time rustles in the hourglass on the table.

About two hours later, the tea had already been drunk tasteless, and everyone still insisted on drinking.

Liu Dingmao was anxious in his heart, he really couldn't delay any longer, he put down the tea bowl and stood up, hugged his fists to the four seats, and said: "The country is in trouble, and the husband is responsible. Civil and military officials work day and night to plan for the safety of the country, there are local governors, you work hard to maintain local stability and tranquility, the reason why we can still sit at home and live a stable life, are all dependent on the joint efforts of everyone, I Liu Ding Mao is a scholar, and the family only maintains a food and clothing, but want to make some meager efforts, so I donate five thousand taels of silver, and when I go back, I will send someone to send the silver ticket to the government office. ”

Suddenly, everyone's eyes fell on Liu Dingmao.

"Okay-" Zhizhou was overjoyed, high-fived and cheered, "Although Lord Liu is no longer walking in officialdom, his demeanor is still the same, and his integrity for the people and the country is very good, which is worth learning from." Lord Liu donated 5,000 taels, so all the adults and brothers here must be even more unwilling to lag behind, right?"

Zhizhou hugged his fist and shook the four seats.

Liu Dingmao knows that at this moment, I don't know how many people are scolding their mothers in their hearts.

Liu Dingmao's time with them is really a small thing, his ancestors were born in school, and they were all petty officials, with limited income, and he was not good at business here, so it was just to maintain the status quo of the family's livelihood. Taking out five thousand taels is already the best he can do. Lingzhou Mansion is such a big place, and everyone is basically clear about whose family background.

Therefore, Liu Dingmao's 5,000 taels is a good start, he made the highest amount, and the chaebols behind him are naturally embarrassed to make too cold shots.

Liu Dingmao hurriedly said goodbye, and wiped his forehead when he went out, and his forehead was already drenched in sweat. He didn't have the heart to think about it, so he got into the sedan chair and rushed to the house.

Liu Dingmao's hunch was right.

He was worried that the third aunt would have a miscarriage, and sure enough, the third aunt already had a stomachache at this time.

But what Liu Dingmao never dreamed of was that the third aunt did not have a miscarriage by herself, but was tortured by the eldest lady to the point that her stomach hurt.

Liu Dingmao hurried on the road.

In the Liufu Mansion, the third aunt was dragged to the middle courtyard too early, and the little cloth man full of embroidery needles was dangling in Li's mother's hand, and Li's mother looked proud, "The evidence is like a mountain, what else is there to quibble? You Shuanghe Yuan is really bold, you dare to curse our eldest wife behind your back, no wonder the eldest lady had a good miscarriage - say, what else do you have to say?"

The third aunt was dragged by two strong mothers-in-law and thrown on the ground, but she was a person with a big belly, and the bleeding that had just stopped this morning, after this toss, she was angry and frightened, her stomach was cramping, her lower body was hot, and she began to bleed again.

The third aunt held up her head, her eyes were firm, and she said, "Please tell the eldest lady, I don't know what cloth people are, and I have never done this, I swear to God, our people from Shuanghe Garden did not frame the eldest lady." ”

Li Ma sneered, "It's not your Shuanghe Yuan's people? You can really say it! The human and material evidence is complete, are you ready to deny it? Look at it, the stitching method of the embroidery on the top is clearly the nine-color embroidery, this flower shape is also the Huangjuan flower that you only have on the ground in Qingzhou, who in the mansion doesn't know that this stitching method is the best at pinching the third aunt!"

The third aunt glanced at the embroidery on the villain's body, gritted her teeth and defended: "This is the nine-colored embroidery? This is the yellow silk flower? You can also take it out? You are black-and-white upside down referring to the deer as a horse, where is the charm of the nine-colored embroidery? The thing was searched by you with someone, and we have not lived in that hut for a long time, who knows where that thing came from? Anyway, I don't know, and Lan Rui doesn't know." She was with me day and night, and our master and servant had never done anything like that. If you insist that we did it, it is a bloody spewing and framing. ”

"Smack-" The third aunt received a loud slap in the face.

"Hit her again!" "Beat her mouth to pieces!" came the order of the eldest lady in the room.

Mama Li continued to fight, "Papapa-".

The third aunt's snow-white face suddenly had a few blue and red marks.

"Chen Yufang-" One of the third aunt's teeth was knocked out, she spat out a mouthful of blood and shouted, "I know that you planned all this." Ever since I became pregnant, I have known that like the previous ones, and like all the pregnant women in this yard, we can't escape the fate of being calculated by you. But you are really ridiculous, in order to calculate me, you didn't even let go of the child in your belly, don't you think that's the punishment for you, hahaha, you are smart but you are clever and mistaken, and you are tied to your sister-in-law who is about to give birth, hahaha, I don't regret to die today, and the child in my belly is destined to not live, but, have you thought about it, you are the same as me, you are very pitiful, you have been punished by God, you are a vicious woman, you are destined to not give birth to a concubine for the rest of your life, you are finally lonely, tortured and tortured by your conscience in remorse, and die little by little！”

"You, you, you......" Chen Yufang shouted, and with the voice, a person rushed out from under the door curtain, and rushed to the eyes of the third aunt with a gust of wind.

"Big lady—" Lan Mei hurriedly shouted, "You can't stand the wind, why did you come out in person?"

"There's a kind of saying to repeat what you just said-" Chen Yufang had a cloak, his face was red, and he stared

The third aunt shouted through gritted teeth.

Chen Yufang's voice was abnormally high, and she was so stimulated by the third aunt's too naked words that she was about to go crazy.

"Hahaha-what do I not dare? I have endured all these years, do I have results? I have endured since I married into Liufu, I started from a fifteen-year-old girl, I trembled and endured, I thought that by enduring it, I would be able to not offend anyone, and I would be able to produce a good result, but how stupid I am - under the palm of your femme fatale, I have a man with you, I just put my life into it, and I have no good results. Phew—"

She suddenly opened her mouth and spit a mouthful of blood spit on Chen Yufang's face.

Chen Yufang didn't hide or wipe it, and the blood was dripping down his face.

"Go on!" Chen Yufang shouted.

"Don't say it-" Lan Rui next to her cried hoarsely, but she was pressed to the ground by several servants, and she couldn't get up, so naturally she couldn't pounce to protect her master, she kowtowed to Chen Yufang: "Big lady, isn't it better for you to be a big adult and don't plan with the third aunt, the third aunt is too weak and her spirit is not good, she bleed all night last night, and if she is frightened, the child will definitely not be able to save it-the third aunt, the slave begs you, don't talk back to the eldest lady, okay?" In her desperation, she broke her forehead, and her forehead was stained red.

The third aunt laughed too sadly, broke free from the pull of the two mothers-in-law and sat up, and looked at Lan Rui, "Lan Rui, good sister, don't have any illusions, I expected this day a long time ago." It's just that the child in this womb is a pity after all—it was a waste of her heart—"

Turning his head to look directly at Chen Yufang, "I made that cloth man, it has nothing to do with Lan Rui, Lan Rui is still a child and doesn't understand anything, so if you still have a little bit of humanity, don't implicate this child." ”

"Third aunt - you don't want it......" Lan Rui cried so much that her voice was hoarse.

The entrance of the middle courtyard was already full of aunts, wives, ladies, maids and servants who came from various houses. Everyone has been watching in horror, and when they heard the third aunt say this, the crowd suddenly stirred.

"Did she really do it?"

She confessed it herself. ”

"Unexpectedly, she looks like a person who has no quarrel with the world, and she is so scheming?"

"No man shall be disguised—"

……

Among the people at the door, some shook their heads and sighed, some gloated, and some were sad, but no one had the courage to come forward to dissuade them.

"Wow, oh, oh-" Liu Xue came running, she didn't know where she got her hands of mud from naughty, and she stood at the door and looked stunned. What is this for?

It is common for the house to punish people, one is to scold casually, and finally beat, and then drag it into the bench room, she has not seen anything in the bench room, and the adults are not allowed to go in to visit.

However, it was the first time she had seen such a public punishment of an aunt's wife.

"Listen--" The eldest lady raised her head, her eyes were blazing at the people inside and outside, and her tone was cold: "She admitted it herself, slut! The child in my womb was killed by her! She gave me rock sugar Sydney pear with poison, and cursed like this behind her back, yesterday she was pregnant in the womb, and the lord protected her, this time, the evidence is ironclad, and the lord has nothing to say even if he stands in front of him." ”

"Smack-" Chen Yufang slapped him.

The third aunt fell to the ground too hard.

Chen Yufang was still angry, and raised her foot to kick her stomach.

Looking at the third aunt's body, as long as you put a few feet on the stomach, it is strange that the child does not miscarry.

However, a tender voice startled Chen Yufang, "Mother-don't-"

It was Liu Xue, she rushed over desperately.

Liu Xue stretched out her little arm to protect the third aunt.

How can her small body protect an adult?

The eldest lady's kick was oblique, and a little kick hit Liu Xue's thigh, which hurt Liu Xue and sat on the ground and cried.

"What are you making a fuss about?" exasperated the eldest lady.

But Liu Xue got up and hugged the third aunt's neck desperately, "Don't bully the third aunt - she has a younger brother in her belly, I want my younger brother to be born safely, don't bully her!"

There was a commotion here, and the footsteps at the door were in a hurry, and Steward Liu came to report in a hurry: "The master is back." ”

can be regarded as coming back-but, as if it was too late--the third aunt was so happy and sad that the whole person suddenly relaxed and passed out.