The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

The few of them went all the way to the county town where Mr. Qiao, who had bought the damp grain, was. They saw that the county town was in a mess, and some people were shouting that the robbers were coming again.

"What happened? Who are these robbers they are talking about?" As soon as they entered the city, they heard the sound of people around them running and shouting.

"Under the current circumstances, we are not suitable to act rashly. Let's go and find an inn to stay in first." Lu Linlang made a prompt decision and they went to an inn. The innkeeper and the waiter were hurriedly packing up their things, preparing to close the door. When they saw them coming, they hurriedly called them into the inn and then closed the door.

"Boss, why don't you do business in broad daylight? We just heard someone shouting robbers. What kind of robbers are so rampant that they dare to run rampant in the county?" Lu Linlang found the shopkeeper and saw that he was sweating profusely.

"Girls, I'm afraid you just came from out of town. You didn't know there were bandits in our city. They were a terrifying bunch. No one dared to mess with them. They asked for money from everyone they saw. If someone couldn't pay, they would arrest them and ask their family to pay.

They love to rob us business people. The weather is bad this year, and we can't make much money. If we get caught by them, we'll lose everything."

"Then why doesn't the government do anything? The county government also has constables and officials, but they still allow these people to run so rampant?" Lu Zhan didn't understand the reason.

"Hey, the word 'official' has two parts. We are just ordinary people, how dare we sue the officials? They just want money, not killing people. As long as we close the door in time, they won't come to find us. Let's just make do with it. I see that you are all from other places. When you go out, you must protect yourselves. Don't offend people you shouldn't offend, and don't say things you shouldn't say.

"Xiao Liuzi, hurry up and invite some guests to stay in the hotel. We still have a lot of empty rooms. It's a rare occasion for you to come, so don't worry, we will let the waiters clean up for you and won't neglect you."

The shopkeeper avoided the question, but the three of them understood the implicit meaning of his words. It seemed that the robber had some background.

Moreover, this background may be related to the government office. Could it be that he is a relative of the county magistrate and dares to be so rampant?

"Shopkeeper, could it be that they are the county magistrate's family? Otherwise, why would no one dare to intervene?"

"If it was the county magistrate's family, it would be better. At least the county magistrate is a very perceptive person. In the past, his brother-in-law relied on his influence to fight with others, and in the end he was beaten with a few boards and locked up in a cell for reflection.

This bandit is even more powerful than the county magistrate's brother-in-law. He was sent by that person, and even the county magistrate can't do anything to him." The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly and pointed upwards, looking as if he couldn't say anything.

"Hey, could it be that the person you are talking about was sent by the emperor?" Lu Zhan heard him being so mysterious and pointed it out directly.

"Hey, sir, I didn't say that, you did. Please don't say that. I never said that. I'm just a businessman. I don't dare to talk nonsense about the relationships above. Everyone, go and have a rest. When the robbers go back, you should leave us as soon as possible."

The shopkeeper denied it again and again, but the more he denied, the more the three felt that they were right.

"Sister, this?" Yun Can felt it was even more impossible when he heard that the person was sent by the emperor.

"We've been traveling all day and I'm tired. Let's go upstairs and rest first. We'll leave tomorrow." Lu Linlang didn't respond to the two of them and went straight upstairs. The two of them didn't understand what she was going to do, so they had to follow her.

"Sister, do you think this person was really sent by the Emperor? The Emperor is not crazy. How could he send someone to rob people? Could it be that this person is an imperial envoy who is out on patrol and deliberately uses the Emperor's order to make money?"

The two followed Lu Linlang to her room, wanting to see what she thought about this matter.

"We've just arrived, and there are many things we haven't understood yet. Don't rush to speculate. Wait until we understand everything. Also, I think there's something fishy going on here, but I'm not sure what it is yet. So, send someone..."

"Okay, we'll give the order right away." The two of them immediately agreed after hearing the arrangements she made.

After a while, the waiter came with half a bucket of hot water.

"Sir, we've had a drought this year, so everyone in the county is conserving water. In the past, you could use as much water as you wanted, but now each room only has this much water. Please forgive me. When you want dinner later, just call me and I'll bring it to you in the kitchen."

"That's all right, we'll just make do with it. Thank you for your hard work, brother. By the way, do you know what your shopkeeper was talking about? That robber was so powerful that he made the whole city so terrified. Did your family suffer?"

"Ah, everyone knows about this, but no one dares to speak out. How could we not know? Those people look decent, but secretly, they are making money everywhere under the banner of that person. I heard that they just came from another county. The people in that county are living in misery, but they have no use for it. Now that they have come to us, everyone in their hearts just hopes that they will leave as soon as possible.

They don't bother to rob ordinary people like us, but business people like us are most afraid of offending those people. They say they are imperial envoys, but everyone privately calls them robbers. You should be careful when walking on the street. If they find out you are doing business, you will be in trouble. "

When the waiter heard Lu Linlang's question, he also sighed. They were all ordinary people, and their families depended on working to make a living. They were afraid that those people would come to rob them of their money one day. So even though they had never been robbed, they were still afraid.

"Since they are imperial envoys, how dare they rob money so brazenly? Aren't they afraid of being reported to the county magistrate?"

"County magistrate, ah, County magistrate, there is nothing you can do. That group came with the emperor's appointment. I heard that they detained you as soon as they arrived. They said they wanted to investigate whether we had falsely reported the disaster to defraud the court of taxes and silver. They also said that the merchants in our entire county had colluded with the county magistrate to deliberately make false reports and they wanted to investigate thoroughly. So, in fact, when everyone said that the robbers had come, they actually meant that they had found another merchant.

In the past, everyone thought that at least there was money to be made in doing business. But now, the ones that everyone sympathizes with the most are the businessmen who were framed. They were originally very wealthy, but after those people came, their families became ruined one by one and had to beg on the streets. Their lives are even harder than ours.

Take Mr. Qiao for example. He used to be a businessman. His family had seven daughters before he had one son. I heard that he almost lost money in business before, but later he barely made back his investment. He did not raise the price of grain this year and continued to do business. Who knew that when those people came, they said that the grain of Mr. Qiao was not clean, and said that he bribed the county magistrate and detained him.

It was not until his family paid all the money that he was saved. Now he is begging on the road with his wife and children, looking pitiful. I heard that they live in the old houses of his sons-in-law. Several of his sons-in-law also followed him in business, and they were all killed by those people.

There are several other merchants in the county who were driven out of their jobs in this way. I heard that the money they handed over would be given to the imperial court for disaster relief, but who knows? We don't dare to get into trouble."