You are unlucky and I am tough

With a whoosh, the short arrow hit the door plaque steadily.

The yamen runners on duty at the gate of the mansion were startled by the sudden noise. After seeing that someone was shooting arrows, more than a dozen yamen runners immediately drew their swords and rushed in the direction of the arrows.

Wei Qinglang had already taken Cheng Shuang to hide in the space. When the yamen runners ran over and saw that there was no one around, they realized that it must have been done by a martial arts master with excellent lightness skills.

The leading yamen runner immediately said, "You two go back and report to the master, and the rest of you follow me to expand the search area."

The sounds outside could be heard in the space. The two listened to the footsteps of the yamen runners walking away. After a while, they came out and quickly fled the scene.

Inside the prefectural office, Prefect Zhu was concentrating on handling official business when suddenly the panicked voice of Mr. Wang was heard from outside.

"Sir, sir, something has happened."

Zhu Zhifu's heart suddenly tightened, and he hurriedly walked out from behind the desk, snatched the thing from Wang Shiye's hand and looked at it.

After reading it, Prefect Zhu frowned and asked, "Who sent it?"

Mr. Wang hurriedly said, "I don't know who shot the arrow at the yamen plaque. The yamen runners chased after it but couldn't find anyone. Our plaque is cracked. From what I can see, it must have been a martial arts master with great skills."

Prefect Zhu paced back and forth in the room with a letter in his hand, his face solemn.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "No matter who reported the incident, immediately send someone to the market to capture these people.

Donghuang City is adjacent to Fusang across the sea. If something happens, I, as the prefect, will be implicated. This matter must be thoroughly investigated and reported."

"Yes." Master Wang accepted the order and hurried down to do the work.

After delivering the letter, Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang found a busy teahouse on the street that led directly to the government office, sat down to drink tea, and quietly paid attention to the movements in the government office.

About a quarter of an hour later, a captain of the police, riding a tall horse, and a team of awe-inspiring officials hurried past the building. The sound of horse hooves echoed throughout the street, attracting the attention of countless people on the street.

The two of them drank tea and listened to books leisurely for more than an hour. Then the team of officials came back, escorting several merchants wearing Japanese costumes.

Those Fusang merchants were chattering incoherently with the officials, gesticulating with anxious expressions.

But the officers could not understand their language at all and just pushed them forward roughly.

The onlookers didn't know what was going on, so they pointed at those people and talked about it.

Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang looked down from the second floor. After careful identification, they confirmed that they were the ones caught, and then they felt relieved.

About half an hour later, a team of officials began to post notices along the streets, with pictures of crayfish and detailed descriptions of the various harms they could cause.

It is also strictly forbidden for anyone to release crayfish into any waters, and anyone found doing so will be sentenced to three years in prison.

The common people gathered in front of the notice board, talking and discussing it. Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang also went over to take a look at the notice before returning to their inn.

As it was getting dark, the two men asked the waiter and found out that Zhao Xiuwen had not returned yet, so they returned to the guest room.

Wei Qinglang entered the space and was busy changing the water for the crayfish, while Cheng Shuang was shopping in the mall, buying a variety of fruit, vegetable seeds, and two bags of medicinal herbs.

The medicinal herbs were just a cover, so that she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of explaining the origins of any precious herbs she took out when she was practicing medicine in the future.

Not long after, it was completely dark outside and Zhao Xiuwen had returned.

Cheng Shuang ordered a few dishes directly at the inn, and Wei Qinglang called Zhao Xiuwen out to eat together.

As soon as Zhao Xiuwen came back, he ordered a bowl of vegetarian noodle soup. He had just taken two bites when Wei Qinglang appeared, bringing out the noodles.

Faced with the two people's invitation, he did not refuse too much. After thanking them, he sat down and ate with them.

Zhao Xiuwen didn't mention where he'd been, nor did he ask Cheng Shuang and the others what they were doing. He simply said that everything would be done tomorrow, and that the merchant ship would be returning the next morning, and reminded them to act quickly if they had anything else to do.

In addition, Zhao Xiuwen also brought back a piece of news, that is, the prefect ordered all Fusang merchants in the city to be expelled.

The guests at the next table were also talking about this matter, but as they talked, they ended up talking about the night market in the provincial capital, and then several of them went out to visit the night market together.

I heard the night market was very lively, but the three of them had been out and about all day and really didn't have the energy to go out and stroll around.

So they agreed to go out and have a good look at the night market tomorrow night, and then went back to their rooms to rest.

Cheng Shuang walked too much today and her feet hurt a lot, so she asked the innkeeper to bring a basin of hot water to her room. After closing the door, she bought a foot bath bag from the mall and threw it in the room, then sat on the edge of the bed and soaked her feet comfortably.

"Judging from his current style of doing things, this Governor Zhu is quite decisive in his work."

While soaking her feet, Cheng Shuang made her own comments on the prefect whom she had never met before.

Wei Qinglang nodded in agreement. He analyzed seriously, "At least he understands the interests involved. He's neither confused nor indecisive. I just don't know what kind of character he has. After learning about the mine, will he be overwhelmed by these overwhelming political achievements?

If he has a bad character and only cares about his own promotion, and just dumps us somewhere and doesn't care about us at all, then if thousands of villagers cause trouble, it will not be a small matter.

The government's way of dealing with this kind of thing would probably be to send troops to suppress it directly, and then if the emperor heard about us, we would be labeled a mob."

Cheng Shuang also deeply agreed that in what they were going to do, the character of the official should be prioritized over his ability.

It seems that the ability of this Magistrate Zhu to do his job is fine, but they still need to confirm from other aspects what kind of character he has.

As the officials of the provincial capital, they had spent the whole day in restaurants and teahouses, and heard many common people talking about the Magistrate Zhu after dinner. In their mouths, they all spoke well of the Magistrate Zhu.

The prefect was the local chief executive and was responsible for a wide range of matters. The civil aspect alone covered judicial trials, tax management, agricultural production, water conservancy construction, etc.

A smart fourth-rank prefect who knows the ways of being an official will definitely have his subordinates do a good job in these matters within the scope of their duties, even if it is just to secure his position. Therefore, judging a person's character from these aspects is not a sufficient reference.

As for where to start, the two had discussed this issue long ago. They both agreed that family is a place for cultivation and can reflect a person's true character.

I have to get up early tomorrow. After soaking my feet, Cheng Shuang started to make the bed and prepare to rest.

Last night on the boat, Cheng Shuang slept on the bed and Wei Qinglang slept on the couch, but now the room in the inn only has a bed that is less than 1.5 meters long.

Wei Qinglang deliberately did not mention the question of how to sleep tonight and ran into the space to wash up.

In order to avoid embarrassment, he deliberately lingered for a while. He thought that when he came out, he would see Cheng Shuang already asleep, and then he could lie down on the bed as if nothing had happened and squeeze in to get through the night.

Who knew that when I came out, I saw a folding bed in the room with a brand new quilt and pillow on it, and Cheng Shuang had already lowered the curtains on the bed and went to sleep.

Wei Qinglang held his forehead silently. Yes, how could he forget that Cheng Shuang had a mall in his hands.

As long as she has money, there is nothing she can't buy. Such a small problem can't stump her at all!