My husband is pure and has few desires, but I gave birth to three children in a row

Therefore, most of the ships traveling on these canals wait at the docks. If they are lucky enough to see an official ship about to set out, they would rather spend some money to follow behind the official ship and travel together.

Because the pirates knew very well that these ships were only protected by official ships, they could not attack them and could only let them go.

After all, if they let go of this batch, there will be the next batch, and they can wait.

Otherwise, no one can stand another Nine Clans Candy Crush game, right?

As for those ships that are unlucky, they can only wait for as many other ships as possible. With more people, they can fight back even if they encounter pirates.

This time, Fu Zhiyi and Lu Zhenzhen went south. Although they were sent out, they were officials appointed by the court. Moreover, Lu Zhenzhen was a county princess, so she naturally took an official ship, which was of a relatively high level.

Even Fu Zhiyi joked about this and said that he was a gigolo.

As soon as the news came out, many merchant ships came to join the army, promising to cover all the food and expenses for the people on the official ships along the way, and also to present them with generous gifts.

After all, everyone has a calculation in mind. With so many merchant ships, if everyone pools their resources, even if it costs some money, their lives and property will be preserved.

Because Fu Zhiyi was on a mission, there were few official ships traveling on the canal, so there were quite a lot of merchant ships coming here. Daman and Jingzhe were unable to handle it for the time being, so they had to let Fu Zhiyi go and take a look in person.

When Fu Zhiyi arrived at the bow of the ship, he saw several people waiting on the deck. When they saw him coming, they all bowed and said, "Greetings, sir."

Fu Zhiyi stretched out his hand, indicating that they didn't need to be polite, and asked them to get up quickly.

The first few men in gorgeous clothes supported each other and stood up, claiming to be representatives nominated by the dependent merchant ship owners, who came to pay a special visit.

Fu Zhiyi nodded to indicate that he understood.

Because he was worried about Lu Zhenzhen, he didn't want to keep him to talk. He just said a few polite words and let these people go back.

Those men naturally left obediently.

After getting off the boat and taking a small boat back to their own ship, several people still felt a little uneasy.

I heard that the person on the official ship this time is the new top scholar. When I saw him today, he was indeed a handsome man with great potential.

It's just a little too cold.

Compared with those fifth and sixth rank officials they saw outside, he had a more imposing aura, and they didn't even dare to take a second look at him.

Someone asked, "This newly crowned number one scholar is only a seventh-rank official. Why does this official ship look so different to me? It's more impressive than those of fifth- and sixth-rank officials. Could it be that this Master Fu has some kind of background?"

"What do you know? I've inquired about it. I heard that this Master Fu is the son of a noble family in the capital, and he also married a beautiful wife. She is the titled County Lady, you know?"

"What? There's a county lady on board? Isn't the gift we prepared a little too simple? And don't we need to prepare top-notch daily necessities?"

……

As everyone was talking, they looked at the oldest man in the middle.

The man pondered for a moment. "Prepare the best for daily expenses and send them over tomorrow morning. We can discuss the gifts together. There's no rush. We still have several days to prepare..."

When everyone heard this, they exchanged glances and agreed.

On the official ship, Fu Zhiyi was holding a small booklet and reading it to Lu Zhenzhen.

These are all information about the merchant ships that came here.

There were cargo ships and passenger ships, a total of more than twenty ships following behind.

The number of people on each ship varies, ranging from dozens to a dozen.

This was the first time Lu Zhenzhen had heard of pirates. Seeing so many ships coming in, she knew the problem was serious. She couldn't help but ask, "Didn't the imperial court send troops to suppress the bandits? Did they just let them do what they wanted?"

Fu Zhiyi frowned. "Five years ago, the imperial court wiped out the bandits. The canal was peaceful for a few years. I haven't heard of any reports of bandit rebellion being reported to the imperial court in the past few years—"

Having said that, the two looked at each other.

I'm afraid that the people below are concealing the truth, and the court naturally doesn't know about it.

Those demoted officials rode on official ships and would not be robbed by pirates. On the contrary, because of the pirates, they were favored by merchants. Not only did the merchants provide their daily supplies along the way, but they also received a generous gift in the end.

So these officials turned a blind eye.

Otherwise, if you really report it, wouldn't that cut off the financial resources of even more people? How could the official continue to hold his position?

Anyway, it was the merchants who were robbed and suffered losses, it had nothing to do with them.

Then the current situation was created.

Fu Zhiyi had heard a little about it before, but thought it was just a small-scale bandit problem.

After reading so many lists today, I feel that this bandit problem is probably quite serious.

His face suddenly darkened.

Since this matter concerns the important affairs of the court, Lu Zhenzhen dare not express her opinion casually.

He only asked cautiously, "Do you want to write a memorial?"

Fu Zhiyi shook his head. "This is just our speculation at the moment. We don't know what the real situation is. I'll talk to the people in charge of those merchant ships in the next few days and find out the details before we make any decisions."

Lu Zhenzhen didn't ask any more questions. Fu Zhiyi knew more about the affairs of the court than she did, so she didn't want to meddle in them.

But she was worried, thinking that if the bandit problem was found to be serious, it would be difficult for Fu Zhiyi to submit a memorial, but she had special channels as the eldest daughter in the family.

When the time comes, she will write a letter to the Fourth Princess and mention it briefly in the letter. Based on her understanding of the Fourth Princess, if the Fourth Princess knows about it, the Emperor will probably know about it too.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhenzhen felt relieved.

The two talked for a few more words and heard a commotion outside. After a while, Dingxiang knocked on the door and came in to report that the merchant ships that had been attached to them had delivered supplies.

It filled up half the deck.

Not only are there a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, but also fresh river fish and shrimps. Not only are the colors complete, but the quality is also quite good.

Lu Zhenzhen shuddered. "Can we accept these things? Otherwise, people will accuse you of accepting bribes."

Fu Zhiyi put away the booklet in his hand and comforted Lu Zhenzhen: "Don't worry, accept it! These are official practices and are nothing. Not to mention, if you don't accept it, those people will probably be afraid and think we are plotting something bigger. It's better to accept it and put their minds at ease."

Lu Zhenzhen understood that this was equivalent to paying protection money. Only after collecting it could those who paid the protection money feel at ease to accept the protection.

If we don't accept it, those people will just panic and become even more worried.

Lu Zhenzhen reminded herself again in her heart that this was not modern society, and her ideas might be incompatible with this era, so it would be better to say less.

Otherwise, not only would I be unable to help others, but I would also be afraid of implicating Fu Zhiyi.