Xiao Zeyu caught Ghostmother's subtle gestures but remained unfazed. His expression turned sorrowful as he sighed, "Officer, this man is my uncle. An enemy broke his limbs, and he was rendered mute due to poisoning. Sadly, he also has some mental issues now."
Ghostmother glared at Xiao Zeyu as if ready to eat him alive.
"See, he's acting up again. When he's like this, he tends to bite," Xiao Zeyu added, shaking his head in despair. The three soldiers from the Imperial Court heard Xiao Zeyu's explanation and looked at Ghostmother again, now convinced that he was unstable.
"How about this," began one of the soldiers, "each of you will pay one tael of silver for military expenses, and we'll exempt you from service."
Not wanting to waste more time, the soldiers calculated the fee based on the number of people in the group. Eleven people in Xiao Zeyu's party, including Ghostmother, amounted to twelve taels of silver.
