Chapter 42: Deep Affectionate Gaze

  Han Lin's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at Yang Ling, and the more he looked, the more he resembled that sickly new husband of his cousin. He hesitated before asking: "H-he... is my cousin's husband?"

  Yang old man rolled his eyes and sneered, "What's going on? You two still want to team up to deceive me? My old eyes haven't gone blind yet, I've seen Ling'er grow up, can I be wrong?"

  "What?! You are... my father-in-law?!", Yang Ling was shocked and delighted, rushing forward to greet him. If he didn't put on this act, how could his previous explanation be believable to his father-in-law? Who would have thought that at the moment of his death, he was forcibly kissed by Ma Lian'er, and to make matters worse, his father-in-law saw it?!

  Old Master Yang's anger had not dissipated, and on this side, a scene of recognizing relatives was first performed. The not-too-old father-in-law was given a preventive injection by Yang Ling beforehand. At this time, seeing that his son-in-law was indeed lively and energetic, he was overjoyed, beaming with delight, and only asked about his daughter's recent situation while pulling on his son-in-law.

  The two big uncles were not good at hiding their true intentions, and after learning that Yang Ling was his sister's husband, the two of them had a somewhat sinister look in their eyes. Yang Ling felt a bit apprehensive looking at their large fists. Seeing that Old Master Yang and several elderly people still held a grudge against him for disposing of the family property on his own, he took the opportunity to get rid of the two big uncles. Yang Ling hastily stepped forward and asked Old Master Yang, "Uncle, I know you're not satisfied with me handling the family property on my own. May I ask, where did our Yang family come from? Did we originally have all this land and property?"

  Old Master Yang was taken aback, unsure of what he meant to ask, and said: "We are descendants of the Song Dynasty's Ji Ye Gong, who migrated from Shanxi five generations ago. When Shun De Gong moved north, he only brought his wife and children, and bought ten acres of mountain fields in this Ji Ming Yi. Now our family is thriving, with over a hundred acres of land, all accumulated bit by bit by our ancestors. As their descendants, it's not easy to preserve what they've built, how can we be so reckless and ruin the family?"

  Yang Ling had already heard the glorious deeds of his ancestors when Old Master Yang came to visit him. It was said that they were descendants of the Yang Family Generals from Shanxi, belonging to the direct lineage of General Yang You of the Dragon and Tiger Guard during the Yuan Dynasty. During the Hongwu era, an ancestor named Yang Shunde moved to this place, forming the Huaiyang Yang family. Yang Ling was truly stunned for half a day after hearing this at that time.

  However, the Yang family was prosperous and had many descendants, with members serving as officials in every dynasty from Northern Han to Northern Zhou, Song, Yuan, and Ming. Each dynasty had outstanding descendants who became high-ranking officials, and their glory lasted for more than a hundred years. Therefore, there were many people who falsely claimed to be related to the Yang family because of their surname, so Yang Ling was always half-believing and half-doubting about this.

  Yang Ling smiled and said, "That's it, when you're poor, you think of changing, right? When Shunde Gong moved here, he didn't have a single room or a single inch of land. Didn't he make a career out of it? Did he die defending his home without knowing how to adapt? Nephew is also looking for another way out, to make the Yang family prosperous! Now that I'm already the magistrate of Jiming Post, isn't it better than being a farmer stuck in the mountains?"

  Mr. Yang was overjoyed when he heard that Yang Ling had become an official, his white eyebrows dancing with excitement, and his anger disappeared instantly. He then asked Yang Ling about his experiences as an official. Yang Ling told him about his time as a teacher and as the magistrate of a postal station, embellishing his stories. Before Mr. Yang could say anything, several other elderly members of their clan had already begun to offer their congratulations, clearly delighted that one of their own family members had become an official.

  Yang Ling coaxed a few stubborn old men, turned his head and saw two big uncles still staring at him with tiger-like eyes, and couldn't help but secretly sigh. He suddenly discovered that these two big uncles were not as dull as they seemed on the surface, their eyes were very sharp.

  After seeing Yang Ling and his relatives finish their conversation, Han Wu walked up with a smile, patted Yang Ling's shoulder with both hands, and said warmly: "Brother-in-law is really capable, becoming an official in the county after just over a month. My sister is young and may not understand some rules, brother-in-law must be more tolerant."

  Yang Ling smiled, smiling bitterly: "Second brother, what are you talking about? You Niang is very good to me, we are a couple who have been through thick and thin together, I and You Niang are...very loving."

  "That's good, that's good. My brother-in-law is a scholar and knows the principle of not driving away a wife who has shared hardships with him. I was worried for nothing."

  Yang Ling said with a strange expression: "That's it, that's it, Second Brother can rest assured." Just as he finished speaking, Yang Ling's two arms were somehow removed, and now they were soft and limp, unable to be lifted. He looked up with a worried and bitter face, and saw Han Man Cang sitting next to the iron pot, smiling and making a ghostly face at him. The three brothers were united in their enmity, and those two shiny black eyes were full of spirit, their gaze not as honest as their appearance.

  Yang Ling thought resentfully: "The eldest uncle is framing me, and the second uncle doesn't want to see me either. Nian Niang can read and write, how could these two uncles be illiterate mountain people? Their tricks might only deceive the honest and kind old father-in-law."

  Han Wei was more steady, seeing Yang Ling's awkwardness, and came over to say to Yang Ling: "Brother-in-law, my second brother and I both love this little sister very much. Brother-in-law is a scholar, understanding and reasonable, naturally won't treat Young Lady poorly. My second brother is straightforward in nature, actually has a good heart, don't mind him."

  He chuckled and leaned on Yang Ling's shoulder, "Let's go get something to eat. If the little sister finds out I starved her husband, she'll scold me to death." As he drew closer, he subtly leaned his left arm against Yang Ling's, and placed his right hand on his shoulder. There were two faint cracking sounds as the two arms that had been put down were now back in place.

  Yang Ling felt a bit helpless, it seems that learning "Feng Mo Gun Fa" needs to be put on the work schedule as soon as possible, otherwise, this person will be the knife and I will be the fish meat, and these days won't be easy to get through.

  In the late afternoon, after crossing the last mountain in front, the ancient city of Chicken Crowing suddenly appeared in sight. As soon as we crossed the mountain, everyone was stunned. At this time, the setting sun was like blood, and waves of smoke were drifting on the snowy plain. The smoke brought a strong smell of blood, thousands of corpses lay scattered on the snow-covered ground, which seemed to have been trampled by countless galloping cattle, with long spears piercing through each corpse, standing alone in the wind. Many Ming soldiers or Tartar warriors had seven or eight arrows stuck in their bodies, and their battle robes were stained with blood.

  A few masterless war horses, carrying wounds, slowly walked on the snowy plain, occasionally making a mournful whinny, making the snowy plain covered with corpses even more desolate.

  Looking at the situation, for a whole day and night, the Ming army and the Tartars had been fighting back and forth in front of Jimingyi, how many rounds they had fought again was unknown. Now what's the situation? Had the Tartars retreated or had they already taken Jimingyi? Yang Ling's heart sank, if Jimingyi had already been occupied by the Tartars, then Nian Niang...

  As he thought about it, his heart felt empty and he was about to run down the mountain in a daze. Han Lin grabbed him and shouted: "Don't be rash, take a closer look first!" Han Wei stood at a high point, shading his eyes with his hand and gazing out for a while before excitedly saying: "It's the flag of the Ming dynasty, Ji Ming Yi is still in the hands of the Ming dynasty."

  More than a hundred refugees heard the words and their eyes lit up with excitement again, without needing to be called upon, they made an all-out effort to cross the bloody battlefield that sent shivers down one's spine, rushing towards the Chicken Inn. Yang Ling knew he had been gone for a day and a night, and didn't know how anxious his wife was, but being in the mountains, there was no use getting anxious, and his mood was still calm, now seeing the Chicken Inn right in front of him, his heart surged with emotion, and his feet moved faster.

  But those boots were not suitable for mountain roads, and he was exhausted from walking, causing him to stumble and fall several times. Han Wei and his brothers had to take care of the elderly, so they didn't have time to help him. Ma Lian'er felt sorry for him and wanted to help him up, but since everyone from the Han and Yang families were watching, she couldn't just go and assist a man as an outsider, so she pretended not to see him.

  Han Lin also shook his head secretly, thinking that her husband's body was still weak. But he was a scholar and didn't have the habit of following him around with a sword. He touched the hemp bag on his body, which contained all the things they had hunted and gathered this time, including Chinese angelica, deer antler, tiger whip, and tiger bone... Hmm... after entering the city, he would have to use these ingredients to make wine and stew to nurse her husband back to health.

  The closer to the ancient city, the more corpses and blood on the ground. The Chicken Singing Ancient City, built with blue bricks in a north-south direction, stands alone in the vast and deep sky and mountain shadows. You can clearly see that one corner of the half-collapsed gate tower still rises into the sky with a beautiful arc. There are vague human figures moving on the city wall.

  As the crowd surged forward, more and more people appeared on the city wall. The sunset shone on the top of the city, and the knives, guns, and arrows in their hands reflected a cold light. Yang Ling feared that the officials and soldiers on the city wall would mistakenly think it was a sudden attack by the Tartars. He stopped the refugees' footsteps and walked forward alone, shouting loudly as he went: "I am Yang Ling, the head of Jiming Post! The people behind me are fellow villagers from nearby towns. Which official is in charge of the city gate? Please come out and meet with me!"

  His gaze swept over the crowd on the city wall, and suddenly a familiar figure jumped into his eyes. It was Yu Niang. She stood on the high city wall, the sunset glow fell on the ancient city post house, also fell on her body, casting a golden edge around her figure.

  Yang Ling gazed up at her, gazing up at her eyes that shone like sunlight with wild joy, their eyes met, and his heart surged. On the city wall, Jiang Bin shouted loudly: "It's really Yang Yizheng, open the city gate quickly! Open the city gate quickly!" Han Youniang stared at him dazedly, her face gentle, but no one else heard.