Hiding her pregnancy and divorce, she stopped licking and the general panicked

"Could it be that the local officials are trying to force the Su family to donate money and grain, and if they refuse, they'll dig up their ancestral graves?"

Lu Ziqian shook his head again: "This matter is simple, but also complicated."

"Marquis Jing'an and the Minister of Revenue, Wang Liyang, colluded with each other to embezzle military funds."

"Their methods were very clever. They cultivated good relationships with local officials and manipulated the grain supply."

"After all, this time the requisition of military rations is very special. It's not directly allocated from the national treasury, because the national treasury has run out of food after years of war."

"Therefore, this time the imperial court tasked every local official along the route with collecting grain taxes."

"Use these tax grains as military rations this time."

"That gives them an opportunity."

"Every official wanted a piece of the pie, so they used both new and old grain to profit from the price difference."

"The people handed in all the new grain, which cost ten coins a dou. Old rice cost three dou for ten coins, and moldy rice could be bought for five or eight dou."

"Anyway, this food doesn't need to be handed over to the national treasury. Instead, it can be taken directly to the battlefield to feed the soldiers."

"As long as the quantity is sufficient, the quality of the grain will be determined by Minister Wang."

"Officials from all over the country could use old rice instead of new rice as long as they bribed Wang Liyang."

"The food was brought to the battlefield, but Marquis Jing'an didn't care at all. After all, he took the lion's share, and several of his lieutenants also took advantage."

"Even if soldiers die from starvation, they have no recourse. They may even die before returning home. After all, battlefields are dangerous, and death is common."

"Whoever leads the riot will be killed. After killing a few people, no one will dare to cause trouble."

"Plus, they are of low status, so even if they manage to return home alive, they have nowhere to turn to."

"Officials from almost every region participated in this matter. If they want to sue, they can only file a complaint directly with the emperor."

"But for ordinary people, seeing the emperor is harder than ascending to heaven."

"There's also the risk of the entire family being wiped out if they fail."

"Therefore, this matter never reached the emperor's ears, with the exception of Su Qingyu."

"He's neither an official nor a soldier. Logically, this matter shouldn't have anything to do with him, but somehow it does."

"Half a month before the grain collection in Qingshui County, Yangzhou, the head of the Su family fell ill and passed away. He was Su Qingyu's father."

"Su Qingyu was a filial son and a well-known local businessman, so his funeral was very grand, with countless cars of burial objects alone."

"The largest amount of it is grain. After all, the Su family is the largest grain merchant in the area."

"Mr. Su's greatest wish before his death was to continue his brilliant career in the afterlife."

"Originally, this incident was nothing serious. At most, it became a topic of conversation among local people after dinner."

"But, by chance, I encountered the issue of collecting military rations, and by chance, I also encountered a new county magistrate."

"New county magistrate?" Su Yujiao didn't quite understand.

Lu Ziqian explained: "On the day that Mr. Su was buried, the old county magistrate was promoted and the new county magistrate, Lin Pingxi, took office."

"So, the Su family didn't have time to make arrangements for the new county magistrate. Moreover, the new official should have enjoyed great glory upon taking office, but in the end, the Su family's grand funeral stole the limelight."

"Besides, it's unlucky to get promoted during a funeral. Lin Pingxi will definitely not let the Su family have an easy time."

"Not long after that, Lin Pingxi received an order from the imperial court to collect grain, so he set his sights on the grain for burial."

"The Su family has enough burial grain. If we dig it all out, it will be enough to complete the court's mission."

"I can pocket all the newly harvested grain, and I can also take the opportunity to teach the Su family a lesson."

"Originally, this matter was done quietly. After all, digging up ancestral graves is something that is intolerable to heaven. If the people knew about it and caused public outrage, his official career would be over."

"In the end, despite all his precautions, Lin Pingxi was still discovered by the Su family's servants digging up graves and grain. He had no choice but to kill them to silence them."

"Unexpectedly, Su Qingyu is a filial son. He refused to give up even when his father's grave was dug up. He even gave away half of his family wealth to find the person who dug the grave."

"The investigation eventually led to Lin Pingxi."

"Lin Pingxi is also a ruthless character. He directly arrested Su Qingyu, framed him with some trumped-up charges, and fined him a fortune, making him suffer in prison."

"I thought Su Qingyu would completely calm down after his imprisonment."

"I didn't expect him to be so stubborn that he would spend all his money to bring down Lin Pingxi."

"Lin Pingxi knew that Su Qingyu had gone above and beyond to appeal, so he had no choice but to kill him to silence him."

"Su Qingyu is also a smart guy. He found many substitutes and used both real and fake things to confuse people."

"The two I saved were his doubles, and the third one who was almost buried alive was his real body."

"It's completely safe now."

"He was about to file a complaint, but I stopped him. We have to wait for the matter to ferment for a while before the results are better."

"Wait until Marquis Jing'an loses the battle, then have Su Qingyu come out to stop the imperial carriage and file a complaint for embezzling military rations."

"If it were just a few lives, I'm afraid the emperor wouldn't take it seriously."

Su Yujiao nodded: "Just arrange this matter yourself, no need to tell me."

Lu Ziqian wanted to stay with her shamelessly, but Lu Ziwei twisted his ear and dragged him away.

Three days later, Nan Sheng took Chen Yunniang back to Southern Frontier Kingdom, and the matter of the dragon robe came to nothing.

Perhaps the investigation led back to Chu Zhongyuan, so the emperor stopped the investigation.

For the next period of time, Lu Ziqian did not come to see her, but arranged everything in secret.

Su Yujiao finally had some quiet time, and with the company of Lu Ziwei and Jin Mudan, her life was relaxing and comfortable.

"Jiaojiao, these two precious eggs are really not Ziqian's?"

"Brother Yan looks exactly like Old Seven. Are you sure he's not his child?"

"Could this be the child of Old Seven and another woman, and you brought him home to raise?"

Lu Ziwei held the child and looked left and right, becoming more and more suspicious.

Jin Mudan sat on the bed holding another child without saying a word. She knew everything, but she said nothing.

"Of course it's not his."

"He's such a bastard, I won't give birth to his child."

"But how do you explain this face?"

"I'm not being paranoid, it's really exactly the same. I've seen what Old Seven looked like when he was a child."

Su Yujiao still refused to admit it: "The world is so big, there are all kinds of strange things."

"Children nowadays are very smart and they look like whoever looks good."

"Although Lu Ziqian is a bastard, he is indeed good-looking."

"Maybe the child also likes his face, so he grew up to look like that."

Lu Ziwei was confused: "Is that so? Are you kidding me?"

"When did I lie to you?"

"Stop holding the baby and help me make dumplings."

"I've also prepared some fireworks and red envelopes so we can have some fun together on New Year's Eve."

Lu Ziwei was reluctant to let go of the child, she still felt that they looked very similar.

Moreover, she felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy when she saw the two children, just like her mother, who kept talking about the two children all day long.