"Si Liu, I remember you," Li Zhao said gently as he helped the old man up.
"Back then, you had to resign from the Li Mansion due to family issues. After I heard about it, I sent someone to give you a hundred taels of silver. Did you receive it?"
The old man named Si Liu was even more touched to learn that Li Zhao remembered him and the incident from that year. Clutching Li Zhao's hand tightly, he choked with emotion, "I received it. Thanks to those hundred taels from you, sir, my whole family was able to get out of trouble. So I've always been extremely grateful to you in my heart."
"That's great. It's great that you're alive, sir... alive..."
Si Liu raised his hand to wipe away the hot tears on his face.
Then Li Zhao looked at another person and said with a smile, "I remember you too. You used to be..."
Most of the people who had come to the Li Mansion today were actually named by Li Zhao. Once again, there were sounds of emotional sobs at the scene.
The incident back then was too tragic. No one asked Li Zhao how he had managed to escape that catastrophe. There was only full - fledged concern.
Li Zhao took Jiang Zhiqing and Jiang Mian by the hand and said to the crowd, "This is my wife, Jiang Zhiqing. And this is my daughter, Jiang Mian. She's already eighteen."
Eighteen?!
There were gasps from the crowd below. It had only been nineteen years since that incident. If the child was eighteen, it meant she must have been conceived before that incident!
When the crowd looked at Jiang Zhiqing again, they suddenly remembered that Li Zhao had once searched the whole city for a concubine - maid surnamed Jiang. He had even offended the Zhang family for this maid, and the Zhang family had played a significant role in that catastrophe.
But hadn't that concubine - maid disappeared after falling into the river?
Anyway, the Li clan finally had an heir!
"Ah, so these are Lady Li and Miss Li!"
Jiang Zhiqing was initially a bit shy, but seeing the crowd's enthusiasm, she gradually became more at ease. She nodded and greeted the crowd along with Li Zhao.
As for Jiang Mian, it was a piece of cake for her. She had chatted and done laundry with the village women in Dongli Town. This kind of occasion was nothing to her.
After the greetings, Li Zhao finally asked, "What are you all planning to do?"
Si Liu said, "When we heard that you were back and were cleaning the old mansion, we rushed here with our tools. We're here to help you, sir."
Another person said, "Yes. So many years have passed, and the inside of the Li Mansion is overgrown with weeds. If it were only you, sir, and Lady Li and others doing the work, it would take ages to clear it. It's better for us to help you together. Consider it our way of repaying the Li clan for their kindness to the people in the city over the years."
Jiang Mian looked at Li Zhao, and Li Zhao gave her a reassuring look. Then he said to the crowd, "I was actually worried about how to clear the weeds and dust in the mansion and repair the damaged doors and windows. With your help, we'll have an easier time."
"Come on in."
The crowd was overjoyed. They quickly tightened their grips on their tools and followed Li Zhao into the mansion.
After entering, they noticed Xiao Jingcheng sitting on the beauty's bench beside the screen wall. They were only surprised for a moment, and then, because of the yellow talismans, they subconsciously ignored his presence.
The Li Mansion was divided into three courtyards: the east, west, and middle ones, and each courtyard had five rows of buildings. It was actually quite large. Li Zhao roughly assigned the tasks: who would be responsible for weeding, who for clearing the soil, and who for sweeping. Then everyone got busy.
The once - silent Li Mansion became lively with the arrival of these kind - hearted people. The desolation was instantly swept away. Even the sun no longer felt cold at first but became warm.
The arrival of these people also made Xiao Jingcheng fall into deep thought.
Was this what they meant by "Those who do good have many helpers, while those who do evil have few"?
He didn't expect that even after so many years of the decline of the Li clan, there were still so many people coming spontaneously to help, and they didn't ask for any reward.
Just like in Dongli Town. They had saved the people there, and the people in Dongli Town had spontaneously formed an opera troupe. They had spread his story everywhere with Xiao Wuchen. This not only helped him "come back to life" smoothly but also gathered a large amount of purple qi for him.
However, he felt that Li Zhao's purpose of revealing his true identity was more than that.
With the spread of the news by these people, it wasn't long before the news that "Sir Li had returned to Luozhou with his wife and daughter" was spread far and wide. More and more people came from outside with hoes and sickles and joined the cleaning army.
With the help of these kind - hearted people, the whole Li Mansion was actually cleaned up and spotless in just half a day!
After the massacre, the bodies in the Li Mansion had already been cleared away, but the bloodstains on the ground had been there for too long. Some couldn't be swept away, leaving black marks everywhere.
Li Zhao didn't mind. After the cleaning, he invited Taoist Yuanzheng to set up an altar in the middle courtyard to exorcise the unjustly - dead souls of the Li clan.
Li Zhao, Jiang Mian, and Jiang Zhiqing clasped their hands tightly and knelt in front of the altar. The offerings they had brought were placed on the altar table.
Taoist Yuanzheng put on the Taoist robe he had bought in Yunfu County, Chenzhou. Holding a golden bell in his hand, he solemnly chanted the exorcism scriptures.
The people who had come to help with the cleaning didn't leave. They gathered in the distance and watched Li Zhao, Jiang Zhiqing, and Jiang Mian with heavy hearts, wiping away the tears from their eyes from time to time.
The Li clan had been such a prosperous and powerful family back then, but now there were only three people left.
Although not everyone in the Li clan was good, there were also some dissolute and degenerate scoundrels who bullied the people, robbed women, and cheated money. However, the Li clan had a very strict family style. If such things were reported to the main branch, the Li clan wouldn't cover them up but would severely punish the black sheep of the family.
This was also the reason why the people were willing to support the Li clan.
They truly cared about the people.
The voice of Taoist Yuanzheng chanting the exorcism scriptures gradually spread throughout the scene and reached everyone's ears.
The candles on the altar table, which had been burning quietly, began to flicker. There was clearly no wind at the scene, but cyclones began to rise on the ground.
The cyclones gradually spread everywhere. The gentle breeze blew their hair and fluttered their clothes. It seemed as if the voices of the Li clan members talking in the mansion could be heard again.
A gust of air circled around Li Zhao. It gradually climbed up his body and lingered on his palms, neck, and face.
Li Zhao seemed to sense something and opened his eyes. There was nothing in front of him, but he felt as if someone was gently caressing his face and looking into his eyes.
He had always been afraid to think about how he had survived that catastrophe. When he woke up, he was alone in a small boat on the river, and Luozhou was already a thousand miles away.
Someone had saved him.
He thought that it must have been someone who loved him deeply. In that critical moment, they had done their best to preserve the last hope of the Li clan.