Chapter 109 Negligence

"The flood washed away the Dragon King Temple, and family members no longer recognize each other. I can tell at a glance that these elder brothers are not ordinary people..."

The bailiff was also a shrewd man. He changed his expression on the spot and started to make plans to let him go.

At this time, four yamen runners carried a sedan chair slowly to the city gate. The sedan chair was framed by gauze-like curtains, which swayed gently in the wind, making the figures inside hazy and unclear.

Wen Chengyun stared at the figure in the sedan calmly, with a bit more scrutiny in his eyes. Although the exile was fake and the investigation was real, he still did investigate the guarding situation in Qingshi Town.

But words are pale. Now that I have seen the real person, I know what it means that the emperor is far away and the sky is high. It is easy to make up nice words. The information investigated by the Jinwu Guards shows that the county magistrate of Qingshi Town is a fair and honest official.

But looking at this pomp and circumstance, whether it is fair or not is another matter, but the word "honesty" alone is far from being a good official, let alone a good official...

"Why are you in such a hurry to let them go? Have you checked all of them? What if a foreign spy of unknown origin sneaks in? How many heads do you have left?"

A corner of the sedan chair was gently lifted by the breeze, revealing a thin scholar lying inside. He had red lips and white teeth, looked frail, but his tone was stern and serious.

Cheng Weiyao captured this scene accurately and couldn't help but sigh that the county magistrate of Qingshi Town was really unique in appearance. If it weren't for his obvious Adam's apple, she would have suspected that she was a young lady dressed as a man.

"Your Excellency is right. These are the officers from the capital, brothers. This is our Zhang Daming, Master Zhang..."

The yamen runner who accepted the money was caught in the act and felt guilty. He immediately took Wang Gang to introduce him to Zhang Daming and did not mention a word about accepting the money.

"Brother Wang, I've heard of your great name for a long time. As soon as you set out with your team, I received a letter from the capital. It's been a tiring journey through wind and rain. After a short rest, I'll arrange arrangements for the return journey for the brothers..."

Zhang Daming raised her sleeve to cover her lips and smiled slightly. She gently raised her hand to signal the four people to put down the sedan chair, and stood up gracefully.

It was at this stop that Cheng Wei Yao realized that she had been careless. Although Zhang Daming looked gentle, his height was almost catching up with Wang Gang.

Wang Gang didn't like Zhang Daming's feminine tone and always felt uncomfortable, but since the other party was kind enough to treat him, he couldn't refuse politely, so he just accepted it with a smile.

"Master Zhang, you are so polite. Then we will hand over the team to your county government. We will rest for a while at the inn in the town and then prepare to return."

Sensing the gazes falling on him, Zhang Daming's eyes turned slightly and paused on Cheng Weiyao. The letter from the capital mentioned the marriage of Prince Qingping, but only mentioned a few words about the Palace of Prince Qingping.

It is said that she is a concubine's daughter who was married off by the Duke's Mansion. I think she is also a fool who was forced to be sent to the Qingping Palace. The reward for dealing with the people in the Qingping Palace is not low. I think it is mainly due to Wen Chengyun, the head of the family.

A first-class woman, he, a tall and strong man, didn't even take her seriously, let alone attack her.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Daming invited Wang Gang and others to rest in the inn, and wait for the messenger to come to the government office to hand over the exile procedures and reissue the relevant travel permits for the return trip.

The yamen runners who were actually responsible for escorting everyone took them around the town, and on the way back to the yamen, they familiarized themselves with the local terrain.

"Soy milk buns, oil tea fried dough twist~"

"The best rouge is as beautiful as Xi Shi. Ladies, take a look at it and apply it lightly to charm your sweetheart~"

The road to the county government office passes through a busy long street, and you can hear all kinds of shouting from afar, most of which are in dialect, with varying tones and cadences.

Some spoke in a hurried and direct manner, while others were reserved and eloquent. In short, each with its own unique accent was full of charm. Cheng Weiyao quickly analyzed the information currently displayed by Qingshi Town.

Since the exile, all the routes have been heading south, so Qingshi Town should be located in the south. The diverse local accents indicate that trade is prosperous.

As long as the soil is properly prepared and the planting season is suitable, QQ Farm's crops aren't restricted by northern or southern regions. This means they can either follow the crowd and plan their plantings to suit local tastes, or exploit regional disparities and introduce northern fruits and vegetables, creating something new and unique.

Cheng Weiyao was secretly thinking about her business plan, but Wen Chengming was attracted by the master who was making sugar figures and stared at him intently.

I saw the sugar figurine master skillfully take a small ventilated bamboo stick and turn it in the pot of boiled hot sugar, blow into it, pinch and pull it, and a delicate rabbit is freshly baked!

"Hey kid, now's not the time to be greedy. There will be plenty of opportunities when you're settled. Who knows, you might even get tired of eating..."

The yamen runner patted Wen Chengming's shoulder as if he was not surprised. He had seen this kind of phenomenon many times. He had also received many exiles over the years. Although Qingshi Town was small, it was very prosperous and had all kinds of rare things.

On the contrary, in the prosperous areas of the capital, this kind of small business is not easy to survive. After all, the dignitaries think that the sugar figures blown by the mouth are dirty and delicate!

Don't think it seems new now. Once the novelty wears off, homesickness will come. Many poor people will try to commit suicide. After all, once exiled to this place, very few can turn things around.

"Children are ignorant, please bear with me..."

Cheng Weiyao walked forward with a smile and brought Wen Chengming back to the imperial concubine. She turned around and gave some money to the escorting officer as a token of appreciation.

"By the way, I heard your household registration got blown away halfway through, right? I've already told you that your family is quite large, and it won't be cheap to re-register..."

The yamen runner who received the money smiled and gave Cheng Wei Yao an appreciative look. He liked prisoners who knew how to deal with things the most, so it was no big deal for him to give her a few words of advice.

The words of the yamen runner made Cheng Wei Yao frown slightly. No wonder Wang Gang and his group became obedient after the storm. It turned out that they were negligent in their work.

Local governments explicitly stipulated that "morning departure and evening return, and daily routines must be mutually known," meaning that people's movements were limited to within a li of their registered residence. Even merchants who traveled year-round were required to possess a "road permit" issued by the government; otherwise, they would be treated as vagrants.

In ancient times, household registration was based on the number of people, with two copies of each book. The copy originally kept by the government was handed over to the escorting officials for safekeeping because everyone was exiled. This was also one of the important means to prevent the exiles from escaping; and the household registration card was handed over to the head of the household, Wen Chengming, for safekeeping.