Han Lin's eyes also widened as he looked at Yang Ling in shock. The more he looked at him, the more he looked like that sickly new son-in-law. He said hesitantly, "He … he's my son-in-law?"
The Yang Family Patriarch rolled his eyes and sneered, "What? You two still want to work together to fool me? My old eyes haven't gone bad yet. I watched Ling-er grow up, so how could I be wrong? "
"Ah?! You're … father-in-law? "Yang Ling 'greatly shocked' and 'pleasantly surprised' as he went forward to greet him. If he hadn't put on this act, would father-in-law have believed his explanation just now? Who asked him to be forcefully kissed by Ma Lian 'er when he was on the brink of death, and it just had to be seen by father-in-law?
Grandfather Yang's anger had yet to dissipate. Over here, a show of recognition first played out. Grandfather Yang, who wasn't too old, had been warned by Yang Ling beforehand. Now that he saw that his son-in-law was indeed alive and kicking, he beamed with joy and only cared about asking his son-in-law about his daughter's recent situation.
However, it wasn't easy to fool his two brothers-in-law. After hearing that he was their brother-in-law, their gazes turned a little unfriendly. Yang Ling looked at their huge fists and felt a little scared. Seeing that Grandfather Yang and the other elders were still brooding over his unauthorized disposal of the ancestral property, he took this opportunity to shake off his two brothers-in-law. Yang Ling hurriedly went up to Grandfather Yang and said, "Eldest Uncle, I know you're a little dissatisfied with my unauthorized disposal of the family property. I would like to ask Eldest Uncle, where did our Yang Family come from? Did we originally have these fields and properties?"
Old Master Yang was startled, not knowing what he was asking about, so he said, "We are the descendants of the Great Song Dynasty's Duke Jiye. It has already been five generations since we moved here from Shanxi. When the Duke of Shunde moved north, he only brought his wife and son with him, and bought ten mu of land in this Chicken Crow Inn. Now, our family is flourishing, and we have over a hundred mu of land. All of this was accumulated bit by bit by our ancestors.
When Old Master Yang came to see Yang Ling, he had already heard him talk about the glorious deeds of his ancestors. It was said that they were the descendants of the Yang Family of Shanxi, and belonged to the direct bloodline of the Yuan Dynasty's Dragon Tiger Guard General Yang You. During the Hongwu era, an ancestor called Yang Shunde moved here and formed the Yang Family of Huailai. When Yang Ling heard this, he was really shocked for a long time.
However, the Yang Family flourished and had many descendants. Northern Han, Northern Zhou, Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties all had descendants of the Yang Family who entered the imperial court to become officials. In every dynasty, there were outstanding descendants who became high officials, and their nobility would not only last for a hundred years. As a result, there were many people who, because they were surnamed Yang, tried to curry favor with the Yang Family. As a result, Yang Ling had always been dubious about this.
Hearing Old Master Yang's words, Yang Ling smiled and said, "That's right. When the Duke of Shunde moved here, he didn't have a single room or a single ridge of land, but didn't he still manage to build up his family business? Did he ever stubbornly defend his home without being flexible? Your nephew is also trying to find another way out and expand the Yang Family. Now that Ling 'er has become the Deputy of Chicken Crow Inn, isn't that better than being a farmer and guarding the fields? "
When Old Master Yang heard that Yang Ling had become an official, he was so happy that his white eyebrows twitched. His anger immediately dissipated, and he turned around to ask about Yang Ling becoming an official. Yang Ling recounted how he had become an advisor and the inn's deputy, adding a lot of details to the story. Before Old Master Yang could say anything, the other elders of the clan were already full of praise. It was obvious that the family had become an official, and all of them felt honored.
After coaxing the stubborn elders, Yang Ling turned his head and saw that his two brothers-in-law were still glaring at him like a tiger watching its prey. He couldn't help but groan inwardly. He suddenly discovered that these two brothers-in-law weren't as simple and honest as they appeared to be. Their gazes were very shrewd.
Seeing that Yang Ling had finished speaking with his clansmen, Han Wu walked over with a grin. Patting Yang Ling's shoulder with both hands, he affectionately said, "Brother-in-law is very capable. You've only been in the county for a month and you've already become an official. My younger sister is still young, if there's anything she doesn't understand, please forgive her. "
Yang Ling laughed bitterly, "What is Second Brother saying? Young-niang is very good to me. We are husband and wife who have gone through thick and thin together. Young-niang and I are very … very loving."
Han Wu happily said, "That's good, that's good. Brother-in-law is a scholar and knows that a wife who has gone through hardships should not leave the hall. I was worrying too much."
With a strange expression on his face, Yang Ling said, "That's right, that's right. Second Brother doesn't need to worry." With that pat, Yang Ling didn't know how his arms were removed, but now he was lying limp on the ground, unable to lift them. He looked up with a distressed expression and saw Han Mancang sitting next to the iron pot, giggling and making faces at him. The three brothers were facing a common enemy. Their big black eyes were full of spirit, and the expression in their eyes was not as honest as their appearance.
Yang Ling hatefully thought, "Brother-in-law played tricks on me, and Brother-in-law doesn't like me either. Even Young-niang is literate, how can these two brothers-in-law be illiterate mountain people? I'm afraid I can only hide my tricks from my honest father-in-law. "
Han Wei was a more mature person. Seeing Yang Ling's embarrassment, he came over and said to Yang Ling, "Brother-in-law, Second Brother and I love this little sister very much. Brother-in-law is a scholar, so naturally you won't mistreat Young-niang. Second Brother is honest and straightforward, but he is actually very kind. Please don't take it to heart."
He put his hand on Yang Ling's shoulder and laughed, "Come, let's go eat something. Otherwise, if Little Sister finds out that I starved her husband, she will get angry with me. I can't afford to eat." He made use of the movement of getting closer to Yang Ling to lean on his left arm without anyone noticing, and placed his right hand on Yang Ling's shoulder. With two soft cracking sounds of joints, Yang Ling's two dislocated arms were put back.
Yang Ling felt a little helpless. It seemed that learning the 'Crazy Demon's Cudgel Technique' would have to be put on his work schedule as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be hard to live like a fish on someone's chopping block.
In the evening, after climbing over the last mountain in front of them, the ancient city of Chicken Crow was in sight. Once they climbed over the mountain, everyone was stunned. At this time, the setting sun was like blood, and bursts of smoke were curling up and floating on the snowy plains. The thick smell of blood came with the smoke. Thousands of corpses were lying in disorder on the snowy plains as if they had been plowed by countless running bulls. Long spears pierced through the corpses one by one, standing alone in the wind. Many of the Ming soldiers or Tartars had seven or eight thorns pierced through their bodies, staining their battle robes with snow.
A few ownerless war horses, carrying their wounds, walked slowly on the snowy plains. Occasionally, they would let out one or two mournful neighs, making the snowy plains that were littered with corpses look even more desolate.
Looking at the situation, for a day and a night, the Ming army and the Tartars had fought back and forth in front of Chicken Crow Post for who knows how many rounds. What was the situation now? Had the Tartars retreated, or had they already taken over Chicken Crow Post? Yang Ling's heart sank. If Chicken Crow Post had already been taken over by the Tartars, then Young-niang, she …
Thinking of this, his heart felt very empty. He was about to run down the mountain in a daze when Han Lin pulled him back and shouted, "Don't be rash, look carefully first!" Han Wei stood on a high place, his hand on the awning as he squinted his eyes and looked for a while. He said excitedly, "It's Ming Destiny's flag. Chicken Crow Post is still in Ming Destiny's hands."
When the hundreds of refugees heard this, their eyes lit up with excitement again. Without needing to call out to them, they used all their strength to cross the blood-curdling battlefield and ran quickly towards Chicken Crow Post. Yang Ling knew that he had not returned for a day and a night. Young-niang must be very anxious. Originally, when he was in the mountains, he knew that it was useless to be anxious, so his mood was still calm. Now that Chicken Crow Post was right in front of him, his heart was agitated and he walked faster and faster.
But his boots were not suitable for walking on mountain roads, and he was exhausted from walking, so much so that he stumbled and fell a few times. Han Wei and his brothers had to take care of the old and frail, so they had no time to help him. Ma Lian 'er's heart ached when she saw this and wanted to help him up, but the Han family and the Yang Family were all watching. As an outsider, how could she help a man up? She could only turn a blind eye.
Han Lin looked at him and secretly shook his head. Son-in-law's body was still weak, but he was a Xiucai, there was no reason for him to wield a spear and stick with Han Lin. He touched the linen bag on his body, which was filled with the things he had gathered from the hunt. Wolfberries, deer antlers, tiger penis, tiger bones … En … Wait until we enter the city, I'll make some wine and stew. I have to nurse Son-in-law's body back to health.
The closer they got to the ancient city, the more corpses and blood there were on the ground. The ancient city of Chicken Crow, built from green bricks, stood alone in the vast sky and mountains. One could clearly see a corner of the half-collapsed city gate that rose into the sky in a beautiful arc. On the city wall, there were shadows of people moving about.
As this group of people swarmed in, the number of people on the city wall increased. The setting sun shone on the top of the city wall, and the swords, spears and arrows in their hands reflected a cold light. Yang Ling was afraid that the soldiers on top of the city wall would mistakenly think that it was the Tartars and rashly shoot their arrows. He stopped the footsteps of the refugees and walked forward alone. As he walked, he shouted towards the top of the city wall, "I am the deputy of Chicken Crow Inn, Yang Ling. Behind me are the villagers from the nearby villages. Which official is guarding the top of the city wall? Please come out and meet me."
His gaze swept across the crowd on top of the city wall. Suddenly, a familiar figure jumped into his eyes. It was Young-niang. She stood high up on top of the city wall. The setting sun shone on the ancient city and also on her body, gilding her figure with a layer of gold.
Yang Ling looked up at her, looked at her eyes that were as bright as the sun, and when their eyes met, he was overwhelmed with emotions. On top of the city wall, Jiang Bin raised his voice and shouted, "It really is Yang Yicheng, quickly open the city gate! Quickly open the city gate! "Han Youniang looked at him in a daze, her face gentle, as if she did not hear anything else.
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