"I left home and returned to my eldest son at a young age, but my hometown accent has not changed. This is a popular poem by the Tang Dynasty poet He Zhizhang. Lu Qi has not had gray hair for five years, but Jiuli's mood is the same. His eyes are blurred by tears when he stood in front of the house.

Lu Qi's home is located in the western area of ​​Shida County. It is a large mansion covering an area of ​​nearly half acre. This large mansion was the most important property of the Lu family when Lu Qi joined the army. The shop had already sold it to buy horses, knives and armor. The Tang Dynasty's military system was to prepare its own combat weapons to join the army and become recruiting soldiers. It can be incorporated into a regular official army to enjoy military meritorious treatment. If it was organized into a miscellaneous regiment to train troops, there would be no chance of making a comeback. When Ding Congjun was drawn, it should have gone to Lu Qi's elder brother Lu Er, who was Lu Qi's initiative to go for his elder brother.

I pushed open the old door and walked in. The scene in my eyes was still the same. The difference was that it was too desolate and quiet. The stone locks I used to practice in the past were thrown into the corner. Many bamboo racks were built in the yard, and many silk clothes were hung on them.

"Why are you so quiet? What about your mother and your aunt? Where are your elder brother and sister-in-law? And your younger sister?" Lu Qi was churning in uneasy.

Lu Qi's father was a military officer and also married two wives and two concubines in the officialdom. Shortly after Lu Qi's father passed away, his wife changed his marriage. Lu Qi and his elder sister were born by his wife, and his elder brother and younger sister were born by a concubine. According to the rules, Lu Qi was qualified to be the head of the family and could inherit most of the family property because he was born by the legitimate family.

"Mom, Xiaoyan." Lu Qi shouted in fear. He suddenly did not dare to walk towards the row of main houses.

Squeak! Bang! Two sounds of the door came, and the door of the left front room quickly opened. A half-body woman poked out. She looked at the woman with a close look at her 25 or 26 years old, wearing a patched dress, and a slightly pale and beautiful face. She looked at Lu Qi in panic.

"Auntie Li, where is my mother? Where is Xiaoyan and the elder brother?" When Lu Qi saw someone coming out, he was like drowning and grabbed a piece of wood. He stepped forward and asked anxiously.

"Xiao Qi? It's really Xiao Qi." The beautiful woman suddenly stepped out of the door and rushed to Lu Qi. She reached out in surprise and grabbed Lu Qi's armor and looked up and down.

"Auntie Li, where is my mother?" Lu Qi asked anxiously again.

"Don't worry, the mistress is very good, where is the house?" Aunt Li said happily, and after that, she pulled Lu Qi and walked towards the door in the middle.

Lu Qi felt relieved and strode forward. Aunt Li rushed to the front of the house and pushed open the door. The door was a spacious and simple living room with a door on both sides leading to the inner hall bedroom. This is the largest house in the mansion.

The moment Lu Qi stepped into the door, a gray-tongued woman also walked out of the left door of the outer hall. Her haggard face was a little dull, but when she saw Lu Qi, her unsightly eyes suddenly became bright.

"Mom, Xiaoqi is back." Lu Qi called excitedly, and snatched a few steps before kneeling in front of the woman. The woman was stunned for a moment, then she suddenly pounced down and hugged Lu Qi's head.

"Xiaoqi, Xiaoqi is really back, my son." The woman said with trembling voices in surprise, and suddenly hugged Lu Qi's number one Tao with her arms and cried. The beautiful woman who came in later also burst into tears.

"Mom, why have your hair changed so much?" The mother and son hugged each other for a while, and Lu Qicai looked up and said, "My mother is only forty-five years old. When the mother and son were separated, they were still covered in black hair. After five years, they had not seen her mother become like an old woman in sixties.

"Silly child, the mistress misses you day and night with tears in her face. The ground is cold, get up quickly." The beautiful woman said softly and sadly.

Lu Qi hurriedly stood up and helped his mother up. His mother looked up and down happily. Lu Qi was both happy and sad. His mother was too old to miss him.

"Mom, I have made great contributions in the army and am now a military officer." Lu Qi hurriedly took out the official documents.

My mother took it and opened it and looked at it. Aunt Li also leaned over and looked at it. She said in surprise: "It is the seventh-rank upper-level lieutenant Zhiguo, the mistress, and the highest position when the master was alive. Xiaoqi is really amazing."

The mother was not happy, but said with a heavy expression: "The official document shows that Xiao Qi is the Zhiguo Captain in the Anhua Jiedu Army. He has to go to the army to fight in the future."

Lu Qi hurriedly said in harmony: "Mom, I will be an officer in the future. When I go to the army, I will also command battles. It is much safer than being a soldier. I originally asked for a reward for a honorary official to return home and escape from the army, but I was not allowed to accept the disease and disability in the army. I couldn't help but serve as the captain Zhiguo. In fact, this captain Zhiguo is of no use. If I return to the army in the future, I will only be an officer to protect the chief general."

Aunt Li continued to speak softly: "Guarding the commander is a very safe duty, better than leading troops directly. Xiaoqi, don't underestimate this official position. Now the common people in this world have a cheap life. Even if you are a military officer in the army, the bad officials in the local area will not dare to bully you. In the future, if we have you, the official, in our family, we will not be bullied."

Lu Qi nodded. He had a deep understanding of this. He originally planned not to join the army anymore, but now he knew that if he publicly stated that he would not return to the army, it would inevitably be a lot of trouble. It would be really difficult to be a commoner in this world.

"Mom, Aunt Li, where are my brother and sister-in-law and Xiaoyan? And Aunt Cheng?" Lu Qi felt relieved when he saw that his mother Ping'an was peaceful, and asked other relatives with concern.

The mother and Aunt Li looked at each other, with a very sad expression. Lu Qi said uneasy: "Mom, are you okay with me, brother?"

My mother said sadly: "Xiaoqi, there have been a lot of things happening at home since you left. After you left, your brother borrowed money to do business and paid a lot of money. Because the family was really in trouble, your brother let your sister-in-law go back to his parents' home. In order to pay off your brother's debt, your aunt Cheng insisted on selling Xiaoyan to a large family as a maid. She also sold herself as a maid. Even your aunt Li is not a member of the Lu family now, and she is about to go to Mr. Du's house to be a maid."

"What?" Lu Qida was surprised and looked at his mother and Aunt Li in disbelief. Aunt Li lowered his head pale.

"Xiaoqi, my mother doesn't want to sell your aunt and Xiaoyan. She wants to give them freedom to marry another even if they are in trouble. It is because of your two concubines who are kind-hearted. In order to keep this house, they will take the initiative to sell it as concubines. They are all good people." The mother said with tears in her tears, her tone full of helpless vicissitudes.

Lu Qi's expression was heavy. Of course he knew what concubines were. In fact, concubines were family prostitutes. Most wealthy households bought concubines and maids. The concubines were slaves and had to obey their masters' fun on weekdays. They were half maids and half concubines without status. Sometimes they were not as good as maids and were very despised.

The Tang Dynasty law did not allow Bai Ding to take a concubine without permission, and the wealthy wife did not want her husband to take a concubine, which prompted the rich to raise concubines and maids in private. Like Aunt Li, she was young and beautiful and had no children, and she had the conditions to remarry and become a concubine. She took the initiative to sell her as a concubine and maids to sacrifice her own happiness, which made Lu Qi's mother sell her own money several times more.

"Where is my elder brother?" Lu Qi was angry. He left home on the army for his brother and handed over the family to him. As a man, he actually broke the family.

"Xiaoqi, don't blame your brother. Your brother is more painful than anyone else now. Mother wants to sell the house to pay off some debts. It was your brother who told the creditor that his brother had already separated the family and that the house belongs to his younger brother. Your brother would rather agree to give birth to his mother and sister than to move the house. Your brother is your good brother." The mother defended Brother Lu Qi with tears.

Lu Qi was stunned and his anger disappeared, with tears in his eyes. He didn't blame his elder brother anymore, he could only resent the cruelty of this world.

"Mom, where is my brother now?" Lu Qi asked in a harmonious voice.

"Your brother works in a quarry in Qili Township. He can send back two jin of money every month. Sometimes he can also fight against bandits and earn some money." The mother whispered, and the money he earned was naturally sent back to support her.

Lu Qi took a breath and said in a harmonious voice: "Mom, how much foreign debt do we owe?"

The mother hesitated for a moment and whispered: "The official debt is owed 213 taels, and the private debt may be more than 400 taels."

When Lu Qi heard this, he felt relieved and smiled and said, "Mom, I will bring back some savings in the army. Aunt Li doesn't have to sell himself. I will go and redeem Xiaoyan and Aunt Cheng immediately."

The mother was surprised and said, "Do you have savings?"

Lu Qi smiled, reached out and untied his armor, took out a slender cloth bag from the place where he stuck to the meat, and smiled and said, "Mom, Aunt Li, take the gold." Under the shock of his mother and Aunt Li, Lu Qi had five gold ingots on his hands.
Chapter completed!