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

"Girls, relax and don't be afraid! Granny Yan is here to make you beautiful dresses."

Liang Han smiled and explained to everyone, "After taking their measurements, we'll take them to freshen up and have the kitchen prepare lunch. Since they're in our courtyard, there's no reason for them to go hungry!"

"You take care of them first, I'll go report to my brother-in-law!"

Liang Han's confidant, Guo Qian, nodded respectfully and watched Liang Han leave. Then he turned around, pulled Granny Yan aside, and whispered:

"Have the girls' rooms been cleaned up? Make sure not to leave any trace!"

Granny Yan smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, sir, everything is ready. We're just waiting for the new batch of girls to move in!"

"That's good!"

Guo Qian replied with satisfaction, then glanced at the women and said, "If neither you nor the master chooses the last one, the young lady from the Lu family, send her to my room tonight!"

"understand!"

They said they were taking measurements, but in reality, as Song Qingqian said, they were searching people. Fortunately, everyone was an exile and didn't have any sharp weapons on them. The only danger was the wooden hairpins that were everywhere on their heads, which couldn't be kept because they needed to be washed.

When it was Song Qingqian's turn, she took a second look. There were indeed a few pretty girls in this batch. She thought that when the officials got tired of them, they could sell them to brothels for a good price.

When Lu Lanyue saw Guo Qian's greedy gaze fall on her, she was so frightened that she quickly grabbed Song Qingqian tightly.

"Your rooms are all separate, and each of you has a maid to serve you. Please go back to your rooms to change first. Your clothes will be delivered to your rooms later."

After searching everyone, Granny Yan urged them on with a smile.

"You two have to separate too!"

Song Qingqian shielded Lu Lanyue behind her and retorted, "She's my little sister, she's timid and easily frightened, we won't separate!"

Grandma Yan explained with a smile, "You won't be separated. Your rooms are right next to each other, so you can look after each other!"

"You're all in the same courtyard, so it's safe, absolutely safe!"

After entering the room and being served a bath and grooming by the maids, the group gathered together for lunch.

Watching the women dressed in brightly colored dresses, chatting and laughing as they ate lunch, Song Qingqian's eyes deepened.

The food was plentiful, and no one had poisoned it. The maids served her very attentively. Song Qingqian was a little confused about what the county magistrate was trying to do.

However, behind the partition wall, Liang Han was still showing off to the county magistrate, Li Yixiao:

"Brother-in-law, look, it's that woman in the light blue dress. Although she's been married before, her looks and figure are absolutely stunning, so I made an exception and brought her back for you to see."

"Brother-in-law, this woman is absolutely amazing. Look, if you don't like her, I'll take her into my household first. Even if I sell her later, I can get a good price!"

"How beautiful must it be for you to praise it so highly? I'd really like to see it!"

Li Yixiao stroked his beard and looked into the distance through the lattice window. Just then, Song Qingqian turned her head and, seeing such a fresh and refined woman, his heart was deeply shaken.

"Beautiful! Wonderful!"

"Such a stunning woman is indeed rare. Well done! Send her to my room tonight!"

Liang Han's face twitched, and he reminded her somewhat unwillingly, "Brother-in-law, she's been married before, she's no longer a virgin..."

Li Yixiao immediately interrupted him, smiling as he said, "It's perfectly normal for a woman like her to have been married before. We can't judge her by ordinary standards. Let's choose her!"

"Brother-in-law..."

"Take care of Sun Wuyin. We must leave the city first thing tomorrow morning. Don't delay our important business!"

Liang Han nodded: "Brother-in-law, don't worry. I've already delivered all the cotton-padded clothes we need for the trip into the mountains to him, and I gave him an extra two hundred taels of silver. He definitely won't ruin our plans!"

"What? Tomorrow morning?"

Liang Han then realized what was happening and checked again. Why was it suddenly brought forward again?

Li Yixiao nodded: "My eyelids have been twitching nonstop all day. I heard that the former war god general is also in this exile group. To avoid any unforeseen complications, it's best to send them away as soon as possible!"

"Okay, I'll go and inform them right away!"

Liang Han left in a hurry; it was better to get rid of him early so they wouldn't have any worries.

These women spent the entire afternoon in this enclosed courtyard, chatting freely and expressing deep remorse.

Chu Hua sat next to Song Qingqian, frowning and muttering, "Sister-in-law, don't you think these maids look at people strangely? I always feel something's off about them. When I asked them questions, they were barely responsive!"

"Of course this isn't normal, they're spying on us!"

Song Qingqian took a sip of tea and said softly, "It seems they're also waiting for nightfall!"

"Go and call those people over. I have something to say to them."

Chu Hua nodded, and after a short while, several people gathered around. Song Qingqian glanced at the four people chatting in the distance but said nothing.

When the maid saw them sitting together, she cautiously approached them, not arguing but just staring coldly.

Song Qingqian chatted casually with them about everyday things, talking about what she had seen and heard on her journey of exile...

Someone grew impatient and pressed, "Miss Lu, what exactly do you want to say? Just say it. Don't try to show off how great you are."

"Du Meimei, how could you say that about my third sister-in-law? That's not what she meant."

Lu Lanyue retorted, "My third sister-in-law is doing this for everyone's good. You don't have to listen if you don't like it, but you can't slander her!"

The woman scoffed, "For everyone's good? Don't try to play the victim. We don't need it. Put away your condescending pity, we don't need it!"

"you……"

Lu Lanyue stood up in anger: "Don't come begging to us when you're crying later!"

"Beg us? That's impossible. Maybe if we lived in this villa, we wouldn't have to go into exile. It's wonderful to even think about!"

Lu Lanyue wanted to argue, but Song Qingqian pulled her down and comforted her with a smile:

"Don't get angry with them, it's not worth it!"

She looked up at the group of women, led by Du Meimei, and spoke:

"If you want to hear what we have to say, then listen attentively. If you don't like it, you can leave. I won't force you!"

"That's just insane!"

Du Meimei cursed under her breath, turned and left, followed by two more people.

In the blink of an eye, only four people remained by Song Qingqian's side. Chu Hua said earnestly, "Sister-in-law, I can't control what they do. I'll listen to you."

"We'll listen to you too!"

The two women sitting beside her immediately echoed her sentiments, and Song Qingqian smiled and nodded.

Seeing that the people had dispersed, the maids also retreated to their original positions.

Song Qingqian slipped a pill into each of their hands and muttered:

"This is an antidote pill. They might drug us tonight. Remember to stay alert at all times. Try to escape if you can. If you can't escape, go to my room. I'll think of a way to help you."

"it is good!"

*

The exiled group was extremely excited when they heard that they could go out to buy supplies after noon.

Especially when they saw the four horse-drawn carts full of cotton-padded clothes and grain brought by the officials, they all praised the magistrate's wisdom.

Upon hearing that they would be departing early the next morning, Lu Jingchuan's face instantly turned icy cold. He pulled Lu Yunqi aside and instructed him:

"Second brother, I'm leaving the purchasing to you. I'll have Bei Ying accompany you. Buy a lot!"

Lu Yunqi nodded and assured him, "Alright, leave this to me. You can go and rescue your sister-in-law and Lan Yue with peace of mind."

"Be careful, this Imperial City is not peaceful!"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful!"

Lu Yunqi patted him reassuringly.

After whispering a few words to the old lady, Lu Jingchuan handed his family over to Bei Mu and then jumped over the wall to leave.

He only went out to deal with the assassins, but unexpectedly, the government troops took advantage of the situation and broke in.

*

After sunset, Song Qingqian and the others were invited back to their rooms. They had barely sat down when a maid brought in a bowl of hot soup, smiling sweetly as she spoke:

"Miss, this is a calming soup. Drink it and get some rest so you won't be late for your journey tomorrow!"

"I'm not sleepy, I don't want to sleep!"

Song Qingqian glanced at the bowl in her hand and refused outright.

"Miss, you must drink this."

The maid reminded her again.

"All right!"

Seeing several figures gathered at the door, Song Qingqian smiled and changed her mind.

Seeing the maid approach, Song Qingqian quickly circled behind her and knocked her unconscious with a single palm strike, then steadily caught the hot soup that was about to spill.

"I've never seen a drug and aphrodisiac mixed together like this before. It's really something!"

As she spoke, Song Qingqian pried open the maid's mouth and forced her to drink all the medicine. Then, she changed both of their clothes, dragged the maid onto the bed, and covered her with a quilt.

After finishing her business, Song Qingqian tiptoed to the next room. Lu Lanyue was lying quietly on the bed, and there was no sign of any maid.

"Lan Yue, wake up!"

Song Qingqian quickly extinguished the intoxicating fragrance with tea and shook Lu Lanyue.

"Third...Third Sister-in-law!"

Lu Lanyue hugged Song Qingqian tightly, her voice trembling with fear, "I...I don't know anything. What happened?"

"It's nothing, get up and come with me!"

As soon as the two stepped out of the room, they bumped into Granny Yan and her servant barging into the courtyard.

Song Qingqian hurriedly pushed Lu Lanyue back.

"It's too late, we can't leave now. Give me your outer robe!"

Seeing Lu Lanyue looking somewhat dazed, Song Qingqian quickly stripped off her outer robe and put it on herself, then pushed her under the canopy bed.

"Remember, don't make a sound. Don't come out unless I come looking for you!"

"Third sister-in-law, shut up!"

Song Qingqian quickly lay down on the bed, turned to her side, and covered herself with the thin blanket to hide her embarrassment.

Soon the door was pushed open, and Song Qingqian felt as if she had been stuffed into a sack and carried out.

Lu Lanyue, hiding under the bed, couldn't see anything clearly, only that several people came and went in a hurry, and soon the door was slammed shut.

"This one is for the master's room, this one is for Uncle Liang, this one is for Uncle Guo, and this one is for Uncle Chi..."

While inside the sack, Song Qingqian listened to Granny Yan distributing them one by one like dividing radishes. She pursed her lips speechlessly. This old woman must have done a lot of despicable things. She would make her taste what it was like to be stuffed into a sack later.

In a short while, Song Qingqian felt that she was walking in a more and more remote place. After half an incense stick's time, she was led into a room.