Taking a deep breath, Li Zhao led his wife and daughter behind him and finally fully stepped into this most familiar place in his memory.
No one had walked in the mansion for nearly twenty years. The once prosperous and magnificent Li Mansion had completely fallen into disrepair. Behind the screen wall, weeds were growing wildly, completely blocking the view and making it impossible to tell what the path looked like.
The trees not far away had grown much denser than they were twenty years ago, covering most of the sky. However, since the sunlight was just right at this moment, the whole mansion didn't give off any sense of eeriness, only desolation and bleakness remained.
Gripping the sickle and hoe in his hands, Li Zhao stepped forward and began to chop away.
Seeing this, Jiang Mian and Jiang Zhiqing also stepped forward to help respectively.
Daoist Yuanzheng supported Xiao Jingcheng and placed him on the beauty's bench in the veranda. Then he also picked up a hoe and joined Jiang Mian, Li Zhao and the others.
Suddenly arriving at a strange place, Dahuang was extremely excited. It shuttled back and forth among Jiang Mian, Li Zhao and the others, and from time to time got into the dense bushes to scout for them.
Looking at the busy backs of Jiang Mian and the others, Xiao Jingcheng smiled faintly.
His ears twitched slightly. His gaze shifted imperceptibly and projected towards the outside of the main gate.
Those people stopped outside the gate but didn't step forward any further. They just hid in the distance and looked on. With his excellent hearing, he could clearly hear what the few people were saying.
"Hey, they've really entered the Li Mansion. It seems they're clearing the weeds in the mansion."
"Goodness, Young Master Li is really alive, and he's brought back two women. They look like his wife and daughter."
"May the Buddha bless us. It seems that the Li family still has descendants."
As they spoke, the few people outside actually began to sob.
"Quick, go and tell the others this news and ask them to come and help. Now it's the era of Emperor Sheng, and we don't have to worry about anyone harming Young Master Li anymore. The Li family used to be kind to us and allowed us all to learn to read. Now that Young Master Li has returned home, how can we let him clean the Li Mansion alone!"
Then, these people left in a hurry. Presumably, they were going to spread the news of the visitors to the Li Mansion.
Looking at Li Zhao, Xiao Jingcheng fell into deep thought.
What on earth did Uncle Li want to do?
The Li Mansion was very large. It was really strenuous to clear the weeds just by Li Zhao, Jiang Mian and the others. In just half an hour, they had only managed to clean up the courtyard behind the screen wall. By then, Jiang Mian's arms were already very sore and she was out of breath. Looking at Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing beside her, their foreheads were also covered in sweat.
"Daddy, Mommy, let's drink some water and take a rest." Jiang Mian said.
Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing nodded. Jiang Mian quickly walked back to Xiao Jingcheng, took the water bag from his hand, gave him a smile, and then ran to Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing to let them replenish their water.
The latticed gate not far away was half - open, and behind it were still sky - blocking weeds. But in Jiang Mian's dream, she remembered that not far behind this latticed gate was the front hall of the Li Mansion. In the past, Li Zhao or other ancestors of the Li family would receive guests there.
There were two moon - shaped doors on each side of the front hall, leading to the East Courtyard and the West Courtyard respectively. Both courtyards had four sections. That was where the second and third branches of the Li family lived. The first branch lived in the middle courtyard behind the front hall.
After that, there was also a very spacious back garden. The scenery in the back garden was comparable to that in the south of the Yangtze River, and it was also the place where she and her other sisters often went in her dream.
Actually, when Jiang Mian was weeding just now, she felt a faint sense of fear in her heart. She was worried that when she swung the hoe, a corpse would appear behind the weeds she had pushed aside. However, after the weeds were cleared, this small area was clean and there was not a single corpse.
It was just that the color of the soil and the ground was a bit dark. Presumably, it had been stained with human blood.
After a while, Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing had rested well and were about to continue working.
Li Zhao said, "Time is limited. Today, let's just tidy up the front hall and the ancestral hall first. We'll come back another day..."
Just as he was making the arrangement, there was a commotion outside the main gate.
"Excuse me, is anyone there?"
Xiao Jingcheng had known for a long time that there were people outside, and quite a few of them, but he didn't expose his secret of having excellent hearing to anyone.
After hearing the commotion, Dahuang scurried to the gate and barked "woof woof" at the outside, looking like it was protecting its master.
Jiang Mian was also startled. She glanced at Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing, then quickly walked forward. She walked around the screen wall and looked out through the dilapidated main gate of the Li Mansion. Immediately, her eyes widened in surprise.
There were many people outside the gate. Judging from their clothes, they were all commoners in Luozhou City. There were men and women, and some even brought children. Everyone was holding tools such as sickles and hoes.
"What are you...?"
"Excuse me, is the Young Master Li in the house?" An old man in his fifties standing at the front asked.
Young Master Li? Jiang Mian frowned in confusion.
"Miss, we have no ill intentions. We are all commoners in Luozhou City. We used to receive a lot of kindness from the Li family and we all respect the members of the Li family very much."
"It's a pity that many years ago, a great disaster struck Luozhou. The entire Li family was massacred. The surviving commoners in Luozhou will never forget that day, nor will they forget the fate of the Li family."
"But yesterday, we thought that one of you looked very similar in figure and appearance to Young Master Li of the Li family. And since you've come to the Li Mansion today, we've gathered here specially to verify."
The old man explained his purpose, and Jiang Mian breathed a sigh of relief.
If so many people were coming with weapons to seek revenge or take revenge, they might really not be able to get out of this unscathed today.
Jiang Mian was just about to go back and tell Li Zhao about this when a figure appeared behind her.
Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing appeared in front of everyone.
Seeing Li Zhao's face clearly, everyone gasped in unison. The old man in his fifties even bent his knees and knelt down, choking with sobs as he called out, "Young Master Li, it really is you!"
Behind him, the others also knelt down one after another, crying out, "Great, it's really Young Master Li!"
"Young Master Li is not dead!"
"The Li family still has descendants!"
Even though he had already prepared himself for his identity to be exposed, seeing this scene at this moment still shocked Li Zhao deeply.
He originally thought that just being recognized would achieve his goal, but now...
The old man at the front crawled forward on his knees and said, "Young Master Li, my name is Si Liu. I used to be a coachman in the Li Mansion and I was fortunate enough to drive you for a while. But later, something happened in my family and I had to quit my job and go home. After that, I never saw you again. I wonder if you still have any impression of me?"
Li Zhao stepped out of the gate, bent down and helped the man up first. He looked carefully at his eyebrows and then smiled.
"Si Liu, I remember you."