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

"That's right! It would be more satisfying to wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

Song Qingqian smiled charmingly and beckoned Beifeng to call out the girls who had packed their bags.

She then reached out and took the ledger from Bei Ying's hand and glanced at it. She was quite shocked by what she saw.

This year alone, the brothel's income was nearly five thousand taels of silver. Half of the profit went into Li Yixiao's pocket, part of the other half was used for the shop's expenses, and the rest was in the hands of the madam.

Song Qingqian whispered to Lu Jingchuan, "Have they found all the silver? How much is there in total?"

"The total value of gold, silver and valuables is three thousand taels, and the other calligraphy, paintings and trinkets are worth about one thousand taels."

Lu Jingchuan smiled faintly: "How does Qianqian plan to deal with these things?"

"Of course we're returning them. You don't mean to keep them for that madam, do you?"

Song Qingqian turned around and asked in return.

"What to do with it is entirely up to you, my lady. You can do whatever you want with it."

After half an incense stick's time, all the women in the brothel were led to the backyard. Beifeng replied:

"Young Madam, there are forty-five women in total!"

"Row!"

Song Qingqian nodded and glanced at the women, who were all huddled together, whispering excitedly.

"Sister Chunhua, she...she really came to save us, we're saved..."

Song Qingqian addressed the crowd: "The madam is here today. If you want to leave, our people will escort you out of this Imperial City. If you want to stay, I won't force you."

"Anyone who wants to stay can step forward. We won't make things difficult for you. After all, the choice is yours."

Whispers continued, but no one stepped forward. Song Qingqian understood and continued:

“I have fifteen indentures in my possession, and I will return them to you today. You are now free to live however you wish.”

"Those without indentures, once you leave this Imperial City, you'll all have to fend for yourselves."

“We just found four thousand taels of silver in this madam’s room. I will divide it equally among you. With this silver, you can make a living no matter what.”

"Thank you... thank you..."

A chorus of sobs erupted from the crowd. Some wept with joy, some were ecstatic, and many more were burying their faces in their hands and crying, as if trying to pour out all the grievances they had held in their hearts through tears.

Song Qingqian looked at them with sympathy, patted Chunhua and the others reassuringly, and sighed as she spoke:

"I just calculated that each person can get at least eighty or ninety taels. So I'll round it up to one hundred taels each. Take the silver and leave this sad place."

Don't ever come back. Consider this all an unpleasant dream. Forget the past and move on to a better life!

"Thank you, madam, for saving my life!"

Chunhua led the group to kneel down, gratefully kowtowing to the group.

"We do not yet know your name, madam. If we have the opportunity in the future, we will certainly repay you handsomely!"

"Everyone, please get up quickly. Who we are is not important. We've already said that once we get out of here, we should forget everything here and look forward and move forward!"

As Song Qingqian spoke, her eyes reddened slightly. This era was still too harsh on women; how easy was it to rebel against fate and live for oneself?

"Go collect the silver and leave with him!"

Song Qingqian pulled Bei Ying over and explained, "Those who want to leave Dizhou City should go with him tonight and try to get out of the city before dawn. He will safely escort you onto the official road. After that, you can go wherever you want in the entire Northern Xia Kingdom!"

"Those who have contracts of servitude and wish to stay, feel free to do so."

"Let's go!"

"Thank you... thank you!"

Lu Jingchuan peered through the crowd and his gaze fell on Baihe. She had changed into a plain dress, her hair was casually tied up, and her unmade-up face looked a bit weathered, but it still couldn't hide her beauty.

She stayed at the very back of the crowd the whole time, head down and silent. As the crowd thinned out, she nervously gripped the package in my hand.

"Wait a minute!"

Lu Jingchuan reached out and pulled her out of the line so that someone behind her could take her place.

Seeing that the two seemed to know each other somewhat, Song Qingqian silently turned her head and walked to the other side, leaving the two of them alone.

Seeing her sisters leave one after another with their money, Baihe finally mustered up the courage to walk towards Lu Jingchuan. She had prepared herself mentally, but when she actually faced him, she still felt unbearably bitter.

"Jingchuan, it's been a long time. Thank you for today!"

"Yuqing, it's been a long time!"

Lu Jingchuan said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here. I always thought..."

Lily gave a miserable smile and shook her head: "It's not your fault. No one is to blame for what happened to the Xiao family. I'm just keeping this worthless life because I want to know if there are any other members left in the Xiao family?"

"When I heard the list of people sent back from the barbarian lands, only Xiao Heng from the Xiao family was left."

Lu Jingchuan spoke truthfully, only realizing upon arriving in this Imperial City that so many of the exiled women whose names had been removed from the list lived such tragic lives...

"Little brother... little brother is still alive?"

Lily was so excited that she was almost incoherent, and her tears flowed like a burst dam.

It turns out that there are still people in the Xiao family alive. She is not the last one. She has to find Heng'er. No matter what, she and her brother must support each other to live on.

Where...where is he now?

Lily anxiously grabbed his outer robe and asked, but realizing something was wrong, she quickly withdrew her hand and bowed her head to apologize.

Lu Jingchuan sighed and said bluntly, "It's still a barbarian land. For a criminal to leave there is as difficult as climbing to heaven."

"Yuqing, what are your plans next? Where do you want to go? I'll send someone to take you there!"

"Go to the barbarian lands and find Heng'er!"

Lily wiped away her tears and spoke with unusual firmness.

Lu Jingchuan was shocked and tried to stop him, saying, "You'll only be going to your death. Your parents in heaven would want you to live a good life, not to die in vain."

"Jingchuan, I am already very grateful that you helped me escape this sea of ​​suffering. What happens to me from now on is my own business, and I don't need anyone else to dictate it!"

"Xiao Yuqing!"

Lu Jingchuan clenched his fists angrily. His elder brother's promotion was largely due to Lord Xiao's help. The Xiao family had been kind to his elder brother, and he couldn't just sit idly by, for both moral and logical reasons.

After a long pause, Lu Jingchuan compromised and said, "Yuqing, you should find a place to settle down first. Leave Xiao Heng's matter to me. I promise you I will definitely rescue him. Is that alright?"

“Jingchuan, you are also a criminal now, how can you save him? You don’t owe the Xiao family anything, you don’t need to repay it.”

Lu Jingchuan cautiously explained, "My identity doesn't matter. If I can save you, I can definitely save him too."

“I’m going into Wolf Mountain tomorrow and will also be going to the barbarian lands, so rescuing Xiao Heng is just a side matter. You don’t need to get involved in this mess yourself.”

If you really want to see him, you can go to Shanzhou. I'll have someone stay there for you!

"Yuqing, there's another official road to Shanzhou, near Dongling Kingdom. It's relatively safer there. If you want to go, go through that road to Shanzhou!"

"I'll take care of the household registration issue for you, so please be patient!"

"Jingchuan, thank you!"

Lily nodded gratefully, muttering to herself, "Three years have passed, and if you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten what my real name is. Isn't that ridiculous..."

"Is that your wife? She's very beautiful and a perfect match for you!"

"My wife is a very easy person to get along with!"

Lu Jingchuan looked in Song Qingqian's direction and said with a smile, "You two are quite similar in some ways. You must have known each other for a while. You'll definitely become very good friends!"

Both of them are equally kind and equally stubborn!

"Never mind, we are ultimately different!"

Baihe turned and left. Given her current status, being with anyone would be an insult to them. How could her filthy body compare to the radiant Song Qingqian?

"Sister Lily, aren't you leaving?"

Camellia turned around and saw that she was dawdling, which puzzled her. She then turned around and went to meet her.

She had received a lot of help from Baihe during her time at the brothel, and now that she was leaving, how could she abandon her?

"Go with them, don't worry about me!"

Lily smiled and waved to her.

"No, Sister Lily, my parents are gone now, I have no relatives, and I have nowhere I want to go."

Camellia said, pulling Lily's arm tighter, and earnestly pleaded:

"Sister Lily, I want to go with you!"

Lily shook her head: "Where are you going with me? I don't even know where I'm going!"

"Then let's wander and go wherever we end up."

Camellia spoke with unwavering resolve. Ever since her family was exiled, she had always been the one abandoned. Only after coming to this brothel had Lily truly treated her well. Her eyes reddened as she spoke:

"Didn't Sister Lily say I resemble your younger sister? From now on, I'll be your dear younger sister, and we'll depend on each other no matter where we go!"

"No, you should go with Sister Chunhua and the others. It's better to have more people to help each other. There's no future in following me."

"No! I want to follow you!"

Lily looked at her, sighed, touched her cheek, and then smiled:

“I’m going to Shanzhou. Are you going to come with me? You probably know what kind of place Shanzhou is without me having to tell you. So going with Sister Chunhua and the others is the best choice for you. I’m not worth your following!”

"Why...why? Why go to Castration Prefecture? The world is vast, isn't there anywhere better than Castration Prefecture?"

Camellia couldn't understand it. They had finally escaped, wouldn't it be better to find a peaceful place?

Lily gazed into the distance, smiled faintly, and said firmly:

“My only relative is there, and I’m going to find him, so Camellia, don’t follow me. I’ll be a burden to you.”

"Is it...is it your younger brother? I've only ever heard you mention him."

Camellia pressed for an answer, the only person she could think of was that one.

"Yes, he's still alive, so I have to go find him. I'm sorry, Xin Xin, I can't take you with me!"

Camellia suddenly hugged her tightly and burst into tears. It had been a long time since anyone had called her by her nickname, and she didn't want to be separated from Lily.