Venerated Venomous Consort

“So little? How can we be full?”

“You expect to be full? You have very high expectations about this place. It is enough to keep you alive to work. You have just come here, so there will not be any tickets for you. You have to work to stay alive. All right, I really need to go to work. Otherwise, they will deduct my money,” the man explained in a hurry.

The villagers were disappointed but were too tired to care. Three or four of them had to share a tent, so they placed themselves into small groups and entered their respective tents. The interior was yet another disappointment. The base of the tent was roughly arranged with rows of stones. There was only a thin layer of blanket that looked filthy and uncomfortable. The tent was hot and stuffy and was filled with a strange smell. Luckily, they were highly adaptable to that sort of lifestyle. Although they were disappointed, they could still accept it.

Even without Luo Hua Tickets to buy food, they still had some leftovers of dried meat to keep their stomachs filled. They gathered around and were ready to share their food with everybody else like how they used to. However, a few soldiers approached and warned sternly, “You are not allowed to share your food in a group! If you do, I will arrest all of you for attempting to create social disorder.”

The villagers were utterly shocked but could only suppress their anger. Chun Cao stayed with the clan leader and could not help but express her disappointment. “Is this the city life? The living condition is nothing better than what we had in the valley. Grandpa, this place is nothing like the one you shared with us in your stories.”

The clan leader shook his head, too. “It was not like this. There was not a man in poverty. The common people all had a place to stay. Maybe not many people could afford to have fancy dishes every day, but they were certainly not hungry.”

The clan leader’s only hope was to guide the villagers out of their sufferings. He wanted all of them to have a peaceful life with plenty of food and warm clothes. Surprisingly, the living condition in the city was even worse than in the valley.

The clan leader regretted his decision. Frustrated, he looked at a distant building with his fists clenched. The clan leader was assigned to live in the temple all by himself. It was not spacious, but comfortable enough for one person. It used to be a place for the nuns to carry out their spiritual practice but is now a temporary home for the clan leader.

The decorations remained unchanged even after a century. The clan leader stood in the yard and stared blankly into the distance. Did the governor make the arrangement on purpose? Was he trying to humiliate him?

“It is a case of a scoundrel realizing his ambition,” he said.

“Clan leader, which scoundrel do you mean?” The clan leader was surprised by Gu Xijiu’s sudden emergence.

He sighed without giving her a clear answer.

“Are you concerned about anything?”

“Not… Nothing.”

“Have you known the governor for a long time?”

“About that…”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“No, Xijiu. I trust you.”

The clan leader finally confessed. “Xijiu, I suspect that the current governor used to be my child servant, Ye Nu.”

Gu Xijiu did not answer.

“He looks more or less like the child I used to know. However, their auras are different. His arrangement for me to stay in the temple seems like an act of revenge.”

Gu Xijiu sat down on a stool and was ready for a long talk. “Let us talk about it. Did you abuse your servant, Ye Nu?”

“No, I treated him well.”