My house was confiscated and I was exiled. I emptied the emperor's warehouse and fled.

Qin Junyi immediately brought her a hand warmer, pulled her to sit down, and then picked up a cup and poured hot tea for her.

"Zhou Mu's newly admitted concubine is Lu Ruoqian, the daughter of the Lu family. She had a close relationship with Zhou Mu and told Zhou Mu everything about our family on the way to exile, hoping to use his help to eradicate us."

Su Yunwan took the tea cup and took a sip, "Why did she go to the military camp?"

"She was sold by her brother." Qin Junyi asked Shiyi to go to the kitchen to bring the food, and then told him all the findings from the investigation.

After the death of the Lu family, the Lu family fell apart. In order to find a future, their eldest son gave his sister Lu Ruoqian to a Qianhu in the army.

The Qianhu brought Lu Ruoqian to the military camp, but Lu Ruoqian escaped from the camp and happened to bump into the patrolling Zhou Mu, and was almost killed by Zhou Mu's soldiers as an assassin.

Seeing that she was like a frightened little rabbit, Zhou Mu was aroused by the man's desire for protection, so he took her back to the capital and brought her into his family.

When Lu Ruoqian heard that the Qin family was prospering in Beiling Village, the hatred in her heart became even stronger.

If Qin Junyi hadn't exterminated Sanfang, she would still be a daughter of the Qin family, how could she be in the position of being a concubine now!

Chang Shi, who had already heard about the feud between the Qin and Lu families, saw her jealousy and secretly joined forces with her to eradicate the Qin family.

The two of them chatted in Zhou Mu's ears day and night, and successfully made Zhou Mu, who was already deeply afraid of the Qin family, feel suppressive, and the conflict intensified later.

Now that Chang Shi is dead, Lu Ruoqian has trouble sleeping and eating, and the infiltrated Shiyi can easily find out what she did.

Su Yunwan: "...Shouldn't she take revenge on her brother who betrayed her?"

"Her brother didn't fare well either. He was knocked back to his original form just half a day after taking office. Seeing that we were recruiting people, his brother wanted to come and work, but his third brother rejected him. Now he is working as a coolie in the mine to make money."

"Then what are you going to do with her?"

Qin Junyi's face was deep: "Since you can't speak, just stop talking."

"Can Zhou Mu guess that it was you? Will it affect the negotiations?"

"I will have someone send Zhou Mu a confession of her secret collusion with Chang Shi. This can also be regarded as clearing up the family. He is an old fox and will not affect the overall situation just for the sake of a concubine."

Sure enough, early the next morning, after Zhou Mu received the confession, he angrily went to find Lu Ruoqian, only to find that she was covering her throat in pain and could only barely utter a single "ah" for help.

Zhou Mu didn't take her pain seriously at all, he just threw the confession in front of her and asked her if she really joined forces with Chang Shi to seduce him.

Lu Ruoqian burst into tears and shook her head, but Zhou Mu saw the guilt in her eyes and immediately said angrily: "Someone, throw her to the military prostitute camp!"

"No!" Lu Ruoqian's scream went straight into her painful throat, but she couldn't make a sound.

Two big men came in, one on the left and one on the right, grabbing her arms and dragging her out.

Lu Ruoqian couldn't struggle, and her eyes lost focus in despair.

She has long seen that people who fight against the Qin family never end well. Why is she so blinded by lard that she insists on standing against the Qin family?

At this moment, Lu Ruoqian was so regretful that her intestines turned green.

However, there is no regret medicine in the world, and what awaits her will be a tragic fate.

Zhou Mu's eyes were red and he watched coldly as she was dragged away.

He didn't expect that after half his life, he would be plotted against by his concubine and his subordinates. The shame and anger of being fooled has exceeded the dissatisfaction with the Qin family for crossing the line.

However, if he were in the position of the Qin family, it would not be as simple as having a hoarse voice.

Qin Junyi is still too kind to his opponents.

And it was precisely this that made Zhou Mu's fear of Qin Junyi slightly lessened.

But this state of mind only lasted for half a day.

In the afternoon, Mr. Dongfang and Sima concluded the peace talks and returned home to report the progress to Zhou Mu.

Upon hearing that the Qin family wanted the same autonomy as being granted a title, the state pastor immediately angrily shouted: "The wolf's ambition is obvious!"

Sima immediately agreed: "The lower official said the same thing. However, Qin Mu said that his family only wanted to live in seclusion, but we insist that they contribute to the people of Youzhou. Are you angry?" people!"

Zhou Mu's face was ashen, and the answer was obvious.

Mr. Dongfang said: "I refuse on the grounds that Mr. Zhou Mu is an official of the imperial court and has no authority to divide territories and enfeoff. However, the other party claims that you are the local emperor. Whether it succeeds or fails depends entirely on your words."

"Hmph!" Zhou Mu sneered. This tall hat was worn really hard.

Mr. Dongfang added: "I have observed that their bottom line is not to be restrained, so they asked the new county to become a fief. They also know that it is too much, and they are willing to pay tribute at half a tael of silver per hectare of flat land every year. But compared to the fief, They would rather ask you to directly donate a large area of ​​land, and then introduce refugees to farm it and wait for the rent to be collected."

Zhou Mu narrowed his eyes when he heard "collecting rent": "Are those so-called refugees real refugees?"

"I have confirmed this. They are indeed genuine refugees from other places. However, the other party is very aware of the fact that the powerful gentry hides the population of tenant serfs. They have made it clear that in order to prevent the tenant farmers who have finally been brought in from being drafted to perform corvee or military service, they will do the same as other powerful people. If there is no convergence, we will not be able to achieve the goal of settling all tenant farmers as promised."

Zhou Mu angrily scolded: "How outrageous! He dares to blatantly say that he is hiding people, do you really think that this official can't punish him?!"

Mr. Dongfang and Sima looked at each other:...

"How many people do they want to hide?" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Mu knew that he had asked a stupid question.

Mr. Dongfang said without changing his expression: "The other party didn't say this clearly, but according to my observation, it's at least half of it."

The anger that Zhou Mu had finally suppressed bubbled up again, and he clenched his fists until the joints made a popping sound.

After a while, he said: "What do you think?"

Sima took the lead and said: "We must not give the land a fief! As for the farmland, let them spend money to buy it!"

Mr. Dongfang shook his head and said: "If we don't use their troops, paying for the land is the right thing to do. But if we want to use the other side's soldiers, but neither pay nor land, the peace talks will not go forward."

"But they only protect their own territory!"

"Defense and offense are different. If the opponent builds a high wall and only defends, those northern barbarians can completely bypass their territory and harass other villages."

"Isn't it the duty of the Qin family to protect the people of the world? Can they really watch foreign enemies escape under their noses?"

Mr. Dongfang glanced meaningfully at the excited Sima and did not argue any further.

When Sima thought of what happened to the Qin family, he pursed his lips in an unnatural expression.

The Qin family had been slaughtered by the imperial court, so how could they have the nerve to ask them to protect the people of the Zhou Dynasty with great righteousness as before.

Any battle against the enemy will inevitably involve a loss of manpower and material resources. It is not easy to ask the Qin family to make selfless contributions!

The air suddenly became quiet, and there was only the sound of the north wind whistling by.

Zhou Mu's eyes were slightly closed, and heaven and man were at war in his heart.