Confiscating property? A stunningly beautiful substitute bride empties the national treasury and is

Li Cong immediately became interested after hearing this. Through the crowd, he looked Liu up and down, weighing her value.

A moment later, he picked up a piece of meat about half the size of a fist with his chopsticks and placed it in Song Hansheng's bowl, muttering:

"I'll be in town before sunset. Remember to bring him to my room around midnight. If you don't see him, you know what will happen!"

Song Hansheng smiled obsequiously, bowing and scraping, "Rest assured, sir, I will keep my word!"

"get out!"

"Yes!"

Song Hansheng walked away happily with his bowl in his arms. To prevent others from snatching his food, he directly stuck the meat into his mouth with chopsticks.

The entire open space was filled with the aroma of meat and a strong stench of blood. As soon as Sun Wuyin put down his chopsticks, he ordered Li Cong to drive the exile team on their way, fearing that if they were even a fraction slower, they would attract other wild beasts.

There was no time to rest at midday; as the carriage swayed, several people inside became drowsy…

Outside the carriage, Lu Yunqi ran with increasing vigor. In just a few days, he discovered that he had developed muscles and his reflexes had become much sharper.

Lu Jingchuan tossed a pot of spring water at him and reminded him, "Second Brother, it's been an hour. Would you like to come up and rest?"

"No, I'm too tired!"

Does the wound still hurt?

Lu Yunqi touched half of his cheek. The rest of his face was unharmed, but a large patch of skin was scraped off, and the sweat dripping down his face really hurt.

Although Song Qingqian said he wouldn't have any scars, the old lady was really worried, fearing that he would be unable to find a wife if his face was ruined.

"It's alright, I'll go upstairs to rest when I'm tired."

Lu Jingchuan nodded: "Alright, come up if you're tired, don't push yourself!"

Lu Yunqi smiled faintly, took a big gulp of water, and tossed the kettle to Lu Jingchuan.

It was clearly just an ordinary pot of water, but after drinking it, Lu Yunqi felt refreshed all over. This wasn't the first time he had felt this way.

The exiles entered the city as the city gates closed, and by the time they reached the post station, it was completely dark, so dark that they couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces.

The post station in the north of the city had already been filled by other exile groups. When they arrived, the post station was closed and the doors were not opened.

Only one waiter remained, shouting, "The post station is full; you'll have to look elsewhere."

Sun Wuyin was about to argue when he saw more than a dozen men wielding wooden sticks and looking menacing as they surrounded him. He had no choice but to give up and, with a flick of his sleeve, ordered:

"Let's go to the south of the city!"

Song Qingqian lifted the carriage curtain, tugged at Lu Yunqi and said, "You go inside and rest first, I'll sit outside for a while."

Lu Yunqi nodded, making room for her. Song Qingqian glanced at the dark official road and asked in a low voice:

"The north and south of the city sound very far apart. How long will it take? Could it be that Bei Chu and the others have stayed at the wrong post station?"

"It will take at least half an hour. I haven't received any news yet. Let's take it one step at a time!"

Lu Jingchuan held her hand and chuckled softly, "Do you know what the most famous food in Jiangcheng is?"

Song Qingqian shook her head.

"It's smoked chicken!"

Lu Jingchuan explained with a faint smile, "Don't underestimate Jiangcheng just because it's a small place. Its smoked chicken is famous far and wide, and even the smoked chicken for the imperial palace is directly supplied from here."

"Really? Then I'll have to try it!"

Song Qingqian was overjoyed.

Lu Jingchuan continued to explain, "These smoked chickens all come from the Hu family. Their ancestors have been making smoked chickens for eight generations. I heard it's a secret recipe that's passed down only to legitimate sons and not daughters!"

"But Hu Zong's generation only had two daughters. The eldest daughter died young, and the younger daughter was frail and sickly, relying entirely on medication to stay alive."

"Now, the news that Madam Hu is offering a large sum of money for a son has spread far and wide..."

Song Qingqian nodded thoughtfully and pressed on, "What kind of people are they, husband and wife?"

Lu Jingchuan sighed: "Although they are the richest people in the area, they are also extremely kind-hearted. Every year, there are famines in the vicinity of Jiangcheng, and this couple donates more money than the imperial court every year."

"That's a real shame!"

Song Qingqian thought that the Hu couple must be deeply in love, because a heartless man would have divorced his wife or taken a concubine long ago.

It wasn't until 9 PM that the exiled caravan arrived at the post station in the south of the city. This post station was indeed very large, with lanterns lit in all the courtyards.

Song Qingqian stood on the carriage and looked around. It was at least twice the size of the post station in the north of the city. She asked in confusion:

"Since this place is so large and has such complete facilities, why don't these exile groups come here directly?"

Lu Jingchuan leaned closer to her and whispered with a smile, "There are many people and a mixed crowd here. It's not within the area designated by the imperial court, so there's no funding. You have to pay for everything yourself."

"I've never seen Sun Wuyin skimp on his money before, have I?"

Lu Jingchuan gently stroked her nose and smiled indulgently: "They all have money. Otherwise, where would Sun Wuyin have gotten the money along the way? Don't be fooled by his constant complaints of poverty. I bet all the money he received went into his own pocket."

"Of course, it's also possible that local officials embezzled the money, but there are traces to these accounts. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to do that, except for those with powerful backers."

Song Qingqian leaned closer to him and whispered, "How much can you give me each time?"

"It'll be between ten and fifteen taels. The more ingredients you want, the less money you'll pay, and vice versa!"

"That corrupt official isn't poor either!"

If Sun Wuyin had heard Song Qingqian's words, he would have been spitting blood right now. He truly had no money; after being divided among the various layers, he would be lucky to have seven or eight taels of silver in his hands...

While the two were whispering to each other, others started to enter.

Song Qingqian beckoned Da Hu over and asked, "What agreement was reached?"

Da Hu bluntly stated, "The lower floors are all full, leaving only the top floor empty. Those in the exile group with money will be accommodated on the top floor, while those without money will stay in the backyard."

“There is also a group of exiles in this backyard. They arrived early and filled up the whole place, leaving only an empty space near the latrine.”

Song Qingqian was completely baffled: "Why stay on the top floor? The top floor of a post station is usually reserved for the rich and powerful, and ordinary people can't even get a spot there."

"Miss Lu, you may not know this, but this place was flooded a year ago. Everyone on the top floor burned to death. I heard..."

Da Hu leaned in and said in a low voice, "I heard it's haunted at night, so over time this top floor has become taboo. Not only is the money cheap, but it's also often empty."

"We arrived late, so we had no choice!"

"Haunted? Heh... Interesting!"

Song Qingqian smiled, jumped off the carriage, and instructed Lu Jingchuan:

"You go park the carriage, I'll go book a room!"

"I'll go with you! Second Brother can handle the carriage!"

Lu Jingchuan stepped forward, gently hooked his arm around her slender waist, and pushed through the crowd to protect Song Qingqian as she went to the front.

Upon hearing that the place was haunted, Wang was hesitating about whether to stay when she saw Song Qingqian arrive and quickly pulled her aside.

Lu Jingchuan was forced to withdraw his hand, his brows furrowing involuntarily, and the smile on his face instantly turned cold.

Wang Beimu chuckled and stroked his beard as he greeted Lu Jingchuan. "This wife of hers is too fierce!"

"Miss Lu, are you still staying in this room?"

Wang muttered to herself.

Song Qingqian smiled calmly: "Of course we'll stay here. After a few days of hard work, we need to freshen up and get a good night's sleep. Besides, we have nothing to hide, so what's there to be afraid of?"

"Alright! I feel relieved to hear that. Stay here! What's there to be afraid of!"

Wang chuckled and said, "I'll live next door to you, so I can look after you if anything happens!"