After hearing her gossip, all the civil and military officials went crazy.

Chapter 142 One Person, One Bag of Rice
[I really can't stand these kinds of storylines where the male lead tortures me a thousand times, yet I still treat him like my first love. It's disgusting!]

The system explained: "Host, you're not used to it yet! This is ancient times. What other options does she have besides relying on men?"

However, Chang Yingying was quite lucky. After escaping the male lead, she met the younger brother of the Valley Master of Medicine Immortal Valley and became his closed-door disciple. Later, she even helped the male lead a lot!

Hearing this, Fang Lingchu became even angrier.

She's the female lead, after all; she has plenty of opportunities beyond men.

[She already has so many opportunities, and there are still some unsung male supporting characters who are very kind to her, yet she still goes and reconciles with the male lead. Is she crazy?]

Chang Yingying was completely bewildered after being called sick.

Will she marry Zhang Sanqian? Will her parents die because of Zhang Sanqian? Will she suffer physical and emotional abuse but ultimately live happily ever after with him?

For the first time, Chang Yingying doubted her own mind. She didn't doubt the truth of Fang Lingchu's words, but rather her own.

Chang Yingying is now thinking about what path she should take next.

The system nodded and said, "[I also feel like I'm sick, but there's nothing I can do! That's just how melodramatic plots are! Host, how do you plan to help Chang Yingying?]"

Fang Lingchu said somewhat frustratedly, "I don't know either! As long as she's the female lead, she can get lucky if she encounters an opportunity, but if Chang Yingying continues to stay here, the plot will definitely keep the two of them entangled."

There's no reason to kill Zhang Sanqian! Let's take it one step at a time. By the way, this matter is difficult to handle. Maybe we should buy them some of those antidote pills, otherwise we'll be exposed.

The system was also at a loss. Fang Lingchu bought what she needed and said to the others, "It's a bit stuffy in here, I'm going out for a walk."

Fang Lingchu walked slowly, and eventually came to a place where she saw several children acting suspiciously.

"What are you guys doing?"

The children in front were startled by the sudden noise and quickly huddled together, saying, "We didn't mean it, please don't hit us!"

Fang Lingchu realized she seemed to have frightened the children and quickly said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to. Are you alright?"

Seeing that the person who came was someone they didn't know, the group of people became a little bolder.

One of the older children asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in our village?"

Fang Lingchu squatted down, wanting to reach out and touch their heads, but they dodged her.

After thinking for a moment, he took out four candies from his pocket and said, "I am a guest who is staying here tonight. I'll give you the candies. Can you tell me what you are doing?"

The children swallowed hard when they saw the candy in Fang Lingchu's hand, and looked at the older child with longing in their eyes.

Seeing the children's reaction, Fang Lingchu continued to tempt them, saying, "If you really don't tell me, I'm leaving. I'll keep this candy for myself."

After Fang Lingchu finished speaking, she pretended to leave. The little girl said, "Don't go. I told you, you can't tell Sister Yingying, okay?"

Fang Lingchu turned around and repeatedly assured him that she would not tell anyone.

The four children took the candy, and Fang Lingchu waited for them to finish eating. After the older little girl finished her candy, she said, "We're helping the mice dig holes."

Fang Lingchu was taken aback by the answer, and then she was filled with doubt.

"Aren't rats the natural enemy of rice? Why are you helping the rats dig holes?"

The little girl lowered her head and said, "Because when we run out of food in winter, we can look for it in the mouse holes! That way, Grandma won't have to go up the mountain."

Hearing this, Fang Lingchu felt something was amiss.

He remembered that the emperor had exempted the village from taxes, and judging from the rice harvest in this village, it should be very good. How could there be no food in the winter?

"Your rice looks like it's growing very well, how could you possibly go hungry in the winter?"

The little girl squatted down and continued digging, saying, "What's the use of growing well? It's not for us to eat. These things are all to be handed over to the officials in the city. We can only pick up the fallen ones or collect them. We can only keep a little bit at a time. There are so many people in our family, and it's not enough to eat."

Another child said, “I heard my dad say that each person pays a bag of rice, and it’s a super big bag. There are seven people in our family, including my second uncle’s family. Our land combined isn’t enough to pay the taxes. If my dad hadn’t gone hunting in the mountains and saved up some silver, we probably wouldn’t have been able to pay the taxes.”

Another little girl sobbed softly, saying, "The candy is so delicious. I wish my little brother could have some too."

Fang Lingchu looked at the crying girl and asked, "What happened to your brother?"

Another little girl answered for her: "Er Ya's brother died because their family had a bad harvest last year. The nobles in the city took away all their grain. Her brother was still young, and her mother had nothing to eat and no milk, so her brother starved to death."

Hearing this, Fang Lingchu continued to frown and said, "Isn't His Majesty exempt from taxes? Why are you still paying so much?"

Upon hearing this, the two children paused what they were doing, looked up at Fang Lingchu in surprise, and asked, "Sister, what did you say?"

Seeing their state, Fang Lingchu said, "His Majesty has exempted the people from taxes for three years since the beginning of the year because he knew that the harvest was not good. You do not need to pay taxes."

The young woman retorted loudly, "How could it be exempt? I heard they've started collecting taxes only once a month because there's going to be another war. Sister, don't lie to us."

Fang Lingchu now knew everything; it seemed someone was deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth.

Fang Lingchu took the little girl's hand; her small hand was covered in calluses and was dirty.

The young girl instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, after all, she could tell that Fang Lingchu's hands were very delicate and didn't look like they were used for rough work.

Fang Lingchu smiled and said, "Why would your sister lie to you? Your sister's father is the Minister of Revenue. All the taxes collected are recorded in the official register."

The little girl looked into Fang Lingchu's eyes and suddenly burst into tears, murmuring, "If that's really the case, then Grandma doesn't need to go up the mountain. I'm going to bring Grandma back, waaaaah, Grandma."

The little girl cried very sadly, but she didn't cry out loud.

Seeing the person crying uncontrollably, Fang Lingchu felt somewhat helpless; she had never comforted a child before!
"Why are you crying again? This is a good thing!"

Another little girl explained, "Xiaohua's family is not well. Her mother is sick, and she has several younger brothers and sisters. To save food rations, they sent her grandmother to the mountains the day before yesterday. Otherwise, the tax collectors will come again tomorrow, and they will have to pay taxes on one more person."

(End of this chapter)