Thief Emperor

Chapter 840 Ten Years Ago and Ten Years Later

The next day, early morning.

It was early winter. Although Qingyang was not in the north, the weather was inevitably getting colder. The brothers Li Yun and Li Zheng each put on a thick robe and walked on the mountain path of Cangshan.

Although the mountain path was still very simple and had not been repaired, and there was no bluestone road, the two of them still walked through the mountains as if they were walking on flat ground, talking as they walked.

Li Yun pointed to a small hill next to Cangshan Mountain and said, "These days, a Feng Shui expert said this hill is good and we plan to build our ancestral tomb here. We will check the family tree together and get this done."

Li Yun looked back at Li Zheng and said, "We are brothers from the same clan. This ancestral tomb is shared by our two families."

Li Yun and Li Zheng are not cousins, but they have the same great-grandfather, which means that their fathers are cousins.

In this way, it is actually very easy to calculate. The ancestral tomb is buried up to the generation of the great-grandfather, and counting down, only the ancestors of the two families are counted.

Li Zheng took a deep breath and said, "My father's grave is easy to find, but my mother's grave..."

He shook his head slightly and said nothing more.

When Li Mazi rebelled, he had reached the end of his rope. Naturally, the two families were extremely poor. It was a miracle that Li Yun and Li Zheng were born.

Their mother...died very early.

They don't even have any memories of their mother.

Perhaps it is because of this that the two have been able to play together since childhood, and until now, their relationship is comparable to that of brothers.

"If we can find it, we will move the grave. If we can't find it, we will build a cenotaph."

Seeing Lijia Village in sight, Li Yun said with a smile: "Let's go, let's go, the village is almost here. If we don't check the family tree, we may not even know the names of our ancestors."

Li Zheng also hummed, followed Li Yun, and said, "My nephew has a good personality."

Hearing his nonsensical words, Li Yun looked back at him and said with a smile: "What do you mean?"

"We stayed in the village yesterday. The weather was cold and the bed was hard, but he didn't complain. When he saw me early this morning, he came over to greet me."

Yesterday evening, Li Yun took Li Yuan to experience what their "hometown" looked like. The family went up to Cangshan Mountain and lived in Cangshan Dazhai.

Cangshan Village has been deserted for a long time now. The last time someone came here was when Li Yun got married.

However, the red silk ribbons that Li Yun used for his wedding have long disappeared over the years.

They were not blown away by the wind, or worn away by the wind, rain and water. Someone must have gone up the mountain and taken these things away.

Even a red ribbon can be a useful toy for ordinary people.

Therefore, the current Cangshan Dazhai is quite desolate.

Mr. Li smiled in silence and said, "How can a boy be so pretentious? Would he complain about sleeping in the village for one night?"

"Besides, his mother brought him a thick blanket and wrapped him tightly, so he didn't suffer any hardship."

As they were talking, they had already walked into Lijia Village. As soon as the two approached, Yang Xi strode forward and bowed to them, "Go up, General Li!"

Li Yun looked around and frowned, "Didn't I tell you not to scare the villagers? Why did you bring so many people?"

Yang Xi quickly said, "I only brought 200 people with me, and the rest stayed in Qingyang."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "There are not even 200 people in this entire village."

After saying that, he looked at the roads in the village, and then took Li Zheng all the way to the village chief's house.

After a while, the two stopped outside the fence. Li Yun looked at Li Zheng, and Li Zheng understood and went forward to knock on the door.

Not long after, a man in his thirties came out of the room. Before he even opened the door, he pleaded, "Sir, what has happened to our village? My father is sick and hasn't been involved in village affairs for several years."

Hearing this, Li Zheng who was outside the door looked back at Li Yun. The two brothers looked at each other and were silent.

Xuanzhou, as one of the three core prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River and as Li Yun's hometown, the Jiangdong court has been administering here for at least five or six years.

even longer.

However, the yamen has changed, but the title of "official" has not changed, just like when Li Yun first came down from Cangshan Mountain.

Li Zheng said, "I am Li Zheng, the son of Li Sanzhu."

"From the village."

He spoke with the authentic Cangshan accent. Even people from Qingyang County could not speak with such an accent.

The man in the fence was stunned for a moment before he opened the door. He looked at Li Zheng, then at Li Yun, and seemed to understand something. His hands trembled unconsciously, and then he bowed his head deeply: "Please... please..."

He only said these two words, then turned and ran: "I... I'll go call my dad..."

Li Zheng looked back at Li Yun, and they both smiled helplessly. Li Yun shook his head and sighed: "Everything outside has changed drastically, but when I got to the village, nothing seems to have changed."

Li Zheng returned to Li Yun's back and said slowly, "There is nothing we can do about this. The imperial power does not extend to the countryside, and sometimes the attitude of these lowest officials cannot be too nice."

Li Zheng looked at Li Yun and added, "Otherwise, you won't be able to control people and will be bullied." Li was speechless: "If you say this out, you will be scolded."

Li Zheng said seriously: "But this is the truth."

While the two brothers were chatting, an old man with gray hair came out with a cane. After seeing the two brothers in robes, he approached them a few steps, opened his eyes to identify them, and then stepped back two or three steps, a little incredulous: "You..."

"You are a little pockmarked ..."

Li Yun smiled cheerfully: "Father-in-law, it's me."

"Ten years ago, the police arrested me and I hid in a tree. You helped me."

Nearly ten years had passed, and the old man had aged a lot. He was about to speak when his son whispered something in his ear. The old man turned around and glared at his son: "I know what's going on. Go get some tea!"

The man shrank back and lowered his head, then went downstairs to pour tea.

Obviously, he had heard some rumors outside and even guessed some of Li Yun's identity.

Soon, the two brothers entered the main hall of the house.

There was no living room in the main hall, only a few benches. Li Yun and Li Zheng each sat on a bench, opposite the old man.

"Father-in-law, I came back from abroad this time because I wanted to ask you about the genealogy of our Li family."

"Also, my brothers and I want to build an ancestral mausoleum in Cangshan Mountain."

"Family tree, family tree..."

The old man lowered his head, seemed a little confused, and stammered, unable to speak.

Li Zheng said slowly: "Don't worry, father-in-law. Just give us a copy of the family tree. The village doesn't need anyone to help with the repair of the ancestral tomb."

The old village chief was still hesitant and could not speak. Li Zheng wanted to speak, but Li Yun, who was standing beside him, patted him on the shoulder and said helplessly, "I guessed it."

Li Zheng was stunned and looked at Li Yun.

Mr. Li said calmly, “I’m afraid our fathers’ names have been erased from the family tree.”

Li Zheng stood there in a daze.

The old village chief wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "This... This can't be blamed on us. Back then... Back then..."

"I will revise the family tree and add them in..."

Back then, Li Yun's father took Li Zheng's father and a group of other people to the mountains to become bandits. As bandits, they refused to obey the government, but the people of Lijia Village did not agree. Therefore, the village expelled their names from the family tree to avoid trouble.

Even after the Li Yun brothers became successful in Jiangdong, few people in Lijia Village could connect the King of Wu in Jiangdong with the pockmarked boy of that year.

Even if they heard some scattered news, few people would think of rebuilding the family tree.

Seeing that he was sweating profusely, Li Yun shook his head slightly: "Don't worry, father-in-law, we don't need you to rebuild the family tree."

He smiled and said, "We grew up in the mountains and don't know the names of our ancestors or great-grandfathers. My father-in-law wrote them down for us. From now on, we two brothers have our own family tree."

Being a bandit is not a glorious thing. Li Yun's father, Li Mazi, is not an educated man. Li Yun could not even read until he became an adult.

Li Mazi naturally would not tell Li Yun what his grandfather's name was or what his great-grandfather's name was.

Even if they occasionally went down the mountain to worship, they would only worship a small mound without any inscriptions.

He really didn't know the names of his ancestors and great-grandparents.

The old village chief heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. He said, "That's easy. That's easy. There is still an elder alive in your branch. I will go find him and sort out the details."

“No need to go into too much detail.”

Li Yun smiled and said, "We both have the same great-grandfather, so the names of our direct ancestors will do, and those of the same generation..."

"Whether there is or not is not a big deal."

"The two of you are here, wait a moment."

The old village chief nodded quickly and looked at his son: "Help me go to your uncle Tong's house."

"Hey."

The man responded and helped his father out of the yard.

The father and son walked into the yard. The old village chief's forehead was already covered with sweat. He turned his head to look at his son and took a deep breath.

"It's really him, it's really him..."

The old village chief, who had studied for a few years, couldn't help but mutter.

"This is to compile the royal family genealogy..."

(End of this chapter)