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

"When did I yell at him? Are you blind?"

Song Qingqian retorted.

"It's obvious that you were the one yelling at him. If you don't believe me, ask the third brother."

Lu Yunqi looked at Lu Jingchuan and asked in a low voice, but Lu Jingchuan smiled faintly and shook his head.

"Second brother, you're mistaken. Qingqian didn't scold me."

Lu Yunqi looked at him in shock, utterly speechless.

After a short while, Jiang Ce indeed calmed down. With a bandage on his head, he rode his horse unsteadily to the front of the group.

Seeing his expression, Song Qingqian couldn't help but chuckle softly. Luckily, Sun Wuyin had left beforehand, otherwise the two of them standing together would have really looked like brothers in misfortune.

When the exiles entered the city, everyone was overjoyed. After walking for several days, they had never had a full meal or a good night's sleep, and everyone was exhausted.

When the innkeeper, Tong, saw the exile procession, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. Wasn't this supposed to be exile? Why were the wounded soldiers the ones who were injured? This didn't make sense!

"What did Zhang He tell you?"

Jiang Ce was arrogant and inhumane.

Shopkeeper Tong smiled and kept everyone in suspense: "There are four rooms in the backyard, which are large communal rooms that can accommodate about thirty people. The rest can be squeezed into the stables."

"Of course, if you want a better environment, that's fine too. The rooms on the first floor cost one tael of silver a day, the rooms on the second floor with a bath cost two taels of silver a day, and the rooms on the third floor are suites, which are larger and can not only be used for bathing, but also for cooking in the kitchen, costing three taels of silver a day."

"Didn't the officer in front explain in detail how the officers and soldiers should be arranged?"

Manager Tong shook his head: "The official only told us to reserve a place for you, but didn't say how to arrange it specifically."

"Sir, what do you plan to do?"

Jiang Ce glanced at the dense crowd and ordered, "Leave two rooms in the backyard for the soldiers; the rest of the exiles can make their own arrangements."

"Reserve me a room on the second floor. I'll give you the money before I leave."

Upon hearing this, Manager Tong's attitude immediately changed from flattery to disdain. This high-ranking official had only booked him one room; he was truly stingy.

He snorted and added, "These four rooms in the backyard aren't free; they cost 1,000 coins a day. As for the stables, 1,000 coins a day is fine, no matter how many days you use them!"

"What? These cost money too?"

Jiang Ce stared in disbelief. "If you calculate it like this, it'll be quite a lot. Are you going to make me pay for it all in the end? I can't let myself suffer this loss in silence."

"Yup!"

Manager Tong nodded: "This is an inn, not a beggar's shelter, so of course you have to pay."

"Isn't this a post station designated by the imperial court? Shouldn't the imperial court provide all the money? How could an exiled person have money?"

Shopkeeper Tong smiled disdainfully and said, "In earlier years, the imperial court did provide some subsidies, but in recent years there hasn't been a single penny. All expenses are covered by government officials. As exiled officials, you can ask the imperial court for supplies at each station. In the end, there's not much difference."

"Besides, someone as high-ranking as you couldn't possibly be without even this much silver, could you? The imperial court allocates quite a bit of silver to exiled officials..."

Jiang Ce grew increasingly furious as he listened. All the silver from the imperial supplies went into Sun Wuyin's pocket; how could he possibly get any?

He then impatiently urged, "Let's settle it like this for now. You won't be shortchanged by a single penny. Our Lord Sun will settle the bill for you when you leave."

"So you're not in charge after all this time? Look at your poor, pathetic appearance, why should I waste my breath on you?"

Manager Tong waved his hand, beckoning a waiter over, and gave the instructions:

"Dazhu, detain his horse first. Return it only when he pays the money!"

"Hey, you can't do this! Why are you taking my horse? This is illegal."

Jiang Ce shouted angrily, and several soldiers quickly seized the horse. A group of servants also surrounded it, and the atmosphere in the entire post station immediately became tense.

Shopkeeper Tong pointed at Jiang Ce's nose and cursed, "Either leave the horse behind, or take all of you and get out of here. I feel bad for having you around!"

Jiang Ce was seething with hatred but there was nothing he could do. Meanwhile, more and more people were gathering around the post station to watch the spectacle.

If such a large group of exiles is not settled, it will inevitably cause chaos. Jiang Ce is trapped here and has no other choice. If he had money, he would definitely throw it at this person, but unfortunately, he really doesn't have any...

With great effort, Sun Wuyin forced himself to swallow his humiliation. He waved for the servant to take away the only horse and spoke through gritted teeth:

"Are you satisfied with this? Do you have any other requests?"

Manager Tong smiled smugly: "Wouldn't it have been better if we had done this earlier? The room has been empty all along. I'll have my servant take you upstairs."

Just as the officers and soldiers were about to drive the exiles to the backyard, Song Qingqian stepped forward and said with a smile, "Our family won't squeeze in with you. We have money, we'll book our own rooms."

"We need a private room."

The matriarch of the Huo family stepped forward.

"We want to too..."

Immediately afterwards, seven or eight families stepped forward from the exile procession.

Jiang Ce's eyes widened in shock, and he nearly collapsed with anger. Wasn't this a blatant slap in the face?

Stolen...stolen! It turns out this exile had quite a bit of silver hidden on him. He's the only one who's penniless. This is outrageous...

Just as Jiang Ce was about to get angry, his vision blurred and he fell down the stairs. The soldiers rushed up to help him up and, under Hu Guo's command, quickly carried him into the room.

Manager Tong stepped forward with a smile and explained, "You are different from government officials. You need to pay silver to book a room. If you can pay the silver, the room will definitely satisfy you."

The matriarch of the Huo family nodded and asked in a consultative tone, "Manager, could we borrow a bathtub from a room on this floor? We haven't bathed for many days and would like to freshen up. Don't worry, my two sons are strong and can do all the work ourselves."

"We are really struggling right now; we have to stretch every penny we have, so we hope you can understand..."

"Yes...yes, please wake up, shopkeeper. Please be lenient with us. We've really had a tough time."

The others quickly echoed this sentiment.

Manager Tong glanced at the several shops, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. Although he would earn less, it was better than nothing. He smiled and said:

"Okay, I'm a kind-hearted person, and I'm easily swayed. Everyone's had a tough time, so I'll let you use it!"

"If you need anything, ask Dazhu, he'll find it for you."

Everyone nodded gratefully. After registering them one by one, Manager Tong had a servant lead them to their rooms.

Manager Tong glanced at Song Qingqian and asked with a smile, "Young lady, would you like to book a room as well?"

After all, Song Qingqian was the first to speak, and she was so beautiful that even though she was wearing coarse linen clothes, Manager Tong remembered her at first glance.

Song Qingqian nodded, smiling warmly. Her eyes, like the moon, curved into a clear pool, leaving Manager Tong speechless. It was truly a pity that such a stunning beauty had fallen into exile.

If she's willing... he can rescue her without her noticing and pamper her...

Song Qingqian said, "Manager, please reserve a suite on the third floor for us, and also ask for four extra light blankets to be sent into the room."

"it is good…"

Shopkeeper Tong smiled, her eyes crinkling, revealing her hidden thoughts.

"Wife, how about we have two rooms, one on the first floor and one on the second floor? That way, the two rooms will be more spacious."

Lu Jingchuan pushed the wheelchair to Song Qingqian, smiled gently, and held her hand, his eyes full of doting affection.

Shopkeeper Tong…

The young lady's husband looks quite handsome and dashing, but unfortunately he is disabled and not worthy of her.

Although he is much older, he is healthy and has money. The young lady will definitely live a very comfortable life with him.

Song Qingqian looked down at her hand, which was being tightly gripped. What was going on? It was just an old man; did Lu Jingchuan really need to assert his dominance like this? Besides, didn't they have an agreement? Had Lu Jingchuan forgotten?

After pondering for a moment, the old lady nodded and suggested, "Third son's wife, for the same amount of money, two rooms are indeed more spacious than three rooms. How about we listen to Chuan'er? I'll take Zhan'er and the two brothers to stay in one room, and you all can squeeze into another."

"That's okay!"

Song Qingqian smiled gently. She had originally wanted to book two rooms, but considering that living separately would greatly reduce the safety factor and make it difficult to take care of each other in case of an emergency, she decided that since they wanted to live separately, then they should.