On the Seven Towers

"Master Chen."

"You don't have to call me sir, just call me mayor."

"Mayor. I want Doris to go out. There are some things I don't want her to hear." Tu Qin requested.

"Of course." Chen Hansheng said.

"No, Dad. I want to hear it. I know all these things are about my sister. But you haven't even told me how she died. I want to hear it. I want to know what happened. ." Doris said.

"Dad, tell Doris, so that she can be more careful in the future, at least she won't be like Irene..." Sova said.

"But..." Tu Qin hesitated for a while, and finally nodded, "Okay."

Tuchin and his son and daughter sat on the edge of the bed and began to tell their own stories, "Mayor, I am a small businessman selling straw products. Our family is a free citizen, and Count Carlos has not yet sold the land to Offa. During the time of Baron Rael, the town of Arano belonged to the count. Although life was very tight, there were no major problems.

However, everything changed after the earl sold the land to the baron. The Baron sent to tell us all that all the taxes formerly paid to the Count were now to be paid to him. Not only taxes, but labor as well. Moreover, he also added several new taxes. Our family's business was not good last year. As a result, we will not be able to survive. "

Chen Hansheng asked: "But nominally this town still belongs to the count. The baron only owns the land here. What qualifications does he have to ask you free citizens to collect taxes?"

"Well, there is always a master who wants to collect taxes. If there is no count, there will be a baron."

Sova said on the side: "It's not like no one has asked. A businessman in the fur business asked. Later, the baron found a reason to make a deal with a horse thief and hanged him."

"Sir, no one here can resist Baron O'Farrell. Later, our family couldn't pay the taxes, and we were about to sell our house. However, the Baron's tax collector said that I could let my eldest daughter Eileen go to work in the Baron's Mansion. Offset the tax. Erin, Erin is a child who misses home. She..." Tu Qin said with tears on his face, "I really shouldn't let her go."

Turchin sobbed and said: "She was fine the first few days when she went. But a week later, when she came home, she told me that Master Ackley, who came back from the army, seemed to have something wrong with his eyes. I asked her I came back, but she didn't want to, saying that she would only be paid once after working for a month, and she would be careful not to cause trouble."

"Well, that was the last time I saw her. About three or four days later, the baron's guards notified us to pick her up. They said that Irene had stolen something in the baron's palace and was beaten to death by the guards. ” Tu Qin burst into tears when he said this.

Sova wiped his tears and said bitterly: "That day, I went there with my father, and Irene was wrapped in a rag and thrown on the roadside behind the Baron's Palace. When we passed by, there were two wild dogs They circled around her and bit her hands and feet, but the guards didn't care. Instead, they looked at her with a smile. I even heard one of them making a bet with another about which of her feet would be eaten first. Lose."

"Ah, God of nature. How could this happen?" Doris covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes.

However, Chen Hansheng found that her hands were clenched tightly, and there was more hatred than fear in her eyes.

Sowa was startled by her sister's cry and covered her mouth, "Doris, I shouldn't have said this."

"No, tell me, I want to know what happened to my sister. I, I didn't see anything that day, I only saw you burying her." Doris grabbed Sova's sleeves, "Please ”

Sova held his sister's hand and nodded, "My father and I drove away the wild dogs and lifted her up. She was hard all over, her eyes were half-open, and her expression was scary. Like, like she was dead. At that time, I saw something terrible. Then I saw that her neck was black and purple, and it was broken. At this time, the guard captain came over and said: She went to steal the baroness's jewelry and was discovered by the guards. He broke his neck and was thrown out to feed the dogs. He also said that we must send Doris to the Baronial Palace to replace Irene immediately, otherwise we are finished. "

"It is absolutely impossible for my sister to steal any jewelry. She, she is a good person, she won't!" Doris said.

"We all know that it was an excuse. After moving your sister back, my mother cleaned her body and found that someone had taken over her body before she died." Sova was much more direct than his father and told what he knew. All told.

"Sister..." Doris wiped her tears and said, "No wonder my mother cried until she fell ill."

"So, we can't send you away no matter what. Dad asked you and mom to stay away first, but as soon as you left, the Baron Mansion came to arrest you."

"I've already made a mistake once, and I can't make it a second time. I think the worst I can do is give me some money, or at most give me a beating, but I can't hand you over again." Tu Qin said at this time.

"They don't want to beat you up, but they want to beat you to death and then simply take your daughter away," Kalanda said.

"I know, I know. If it weren't for the adults, Sova and I would be dead. I will definitely repay the favor."

Chen Hansheng was in the most uncomfortable mood among the people around him. He had only seen such situations in books. Hearing the cries of the person involved in person, the uncomfortable feeling could penetrate people's hearts. Although he had been on the battlefield and faced death, it was a battle with real swords and guns, which was completely different from the feeling of nobles oppressing and abusing civilians. On the contrary, those mercenaries and slaves were accustomed to this kind of situation. Although they were somewhat sad, they were not too touched in their hearts.

"Then what are you going to do?" Chen Hansheng asked.

"Let's go. Let's get out of here. We can't stay in this town any longer," Tuchin said.

"But are we really leaving? We can't even pass the guard at the door, right?" His son Sova said: "Maybe the mayor has something to teach us."

Chen Hansheng secretly praised the young man for his cleverness. He said: "Is it really that easy for you to escape to another lord's place? Your house and land are both here. If you move to another place, everything will have to start from scratch. Moreover, Won’t other lords bully outsiders like you?”

Suo Wa lowered his head. He was a small businessman and not completely ignorant. He understood that what Chen Hansheng said was true.

"Stay here first. I will naturally help you block the Baron's people. We still have a lot to talk about this town. I believe you will help me."

Thanks to book friend livemirror for the tip