Chapter 149 Protection Fee

The next day, when Cheng Weiyao took the female members of her family to set up a stall on the street, the street was clearly filled with joy.

She was a little confused until she opened the stall and learned about Zhang Haiyu's "romantic affair" from the diners. He failed to solicit a prostitute and was beaten up instead.

"I heard it was found this morning by a scavenging beggar in the back streets of Red Light Alley. He was surprised when he opened the sack. It was swollen like a pig's head at the time, and I almost didn't recognize it..."

"Who do you think could have done this? Zhang Haiyu is the county magistrate's only son. He's always been a treasure. Everyone in Qingshi Town knows this. Who would dare to mess with this evil star? I think it was done by an outsider."

"That's hard to say. What if he hired a killer? The government office always charges such high prices for merchants passing through. It's hard to say if he won't bear a grudge against me..."

The diners eating the soup dumplings talked about it with great relish and made all kinds of speculations, but there was not a trace of sympathy between their brows. Instead, they showed a bit of relief, which was enough to show how unpopular Zhang Haiyu was in Qingshi Town.

Cheng Weiyao listened and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

Judging from the diners' comments, anyone who could quietly bring someone out of the red-light district must be a highly skilled martial artist. Although many people had conflicts with Zhang Haiyu, few were capable of such a retaliatory strike. Cheng Weiyao instinctively identified Wen Chengyun as her brother.

During his exile, Wen Chengyun said that the disaster would not affect his family, and most of the conflicts with Wang Gang and others were because of family matters. Although he was not vindictive, he would definitely fight back if his bottom line was touched.

But Cheng Weiyao couldn't laugh anymore. What she could think of, could Zhang Haiyu also guess? Especially since his father, Zhang Daming, had been in contact with Wang Gang's group.

It's still unknown how much Wang Gang and Zhang Daming have said about Wen Chengyun. The only consolation is that Wen Chengyun didn't display any exceptional martial arts skills in Qingshi Town. The suspicion stems simply from the fact that Zhang Haiyu's revenge was too close to his own...

"Make way! Didn't you see our county magistrate's only son, Master Zhang, coming? How could you be so clueless? Get up! Make room!"

A row of yamen runners armed with knives cleared the way and started to drive people away rudely in front of Cheng Weiyao's stall. The diners who were eating were grabbed by the collar and thrown aside in a daze. They fell flat on their faces but didn't dare to say a word.

With such a rude style of travel, the originally bustling streets suddenly lost half of their noise. People did not dare to talk and laugh about Zhang Haoyu's affairs. Those who could go home went home.

Those who cannot go home are basically stall owners like Cheng Weiyao. It is not time to close the stall yet, so how can they go back so early?

"Ahem, don't blame me for not reminding you. Get the money ready, the real boss is about to show up..."

The bun vendor bent down while tidying up his stall, gently mouthed something to Cheng Weiyao, and then gestured with the purse.

A hint of doubt appeared in Cheng Weiyao's eyes. She looked at the vendors around her, almost all of whom were counting silver.

Seeing the vendors' pained faces, Cheng Weiyao understood. Are they preparing to collect protection fees? And they're openly using the government officials as their own. How shameless!

"Why are you making faces? Stand still, Master Zhang, please~"

The yamen runner bent down and extended his hand in a gesture of invitation, his smile fawning, the words "licking dog" almost carved on his face. In the past, such work was done by the servants of the Zhang family, but today there was no choice; this ancestor came to the door and asked for a plate of noodles.

Can you refuse the request of the county magistrate's only son? It's just what he says, and that's it.

"Wei Yao, our town does have a rule requiring protection fees, but I heard it's only paid monthly. We've only been setting up our stall here for a few days, so we shouldn't need to pay..."

The aunt spoke hesitantly. When she was at her grandparents' house, she was responsible for buying groceries and cooking, so she was familiar with some unwritten rules of the market.

"Rules are dead, but people are alive. They're here to pick a fight, so how can they let us off so easily? Aunt, please don't worry about it for now, just leave it to me."

Cheng Weiyao gently patted her aunt's hand to comfort her. Her aunt and the imperial concubine didn't know what happened last night, so they naturally didn't expect that Zhang Haiyu came specifically for the Prince Qingping's Mansion.

Zhang Haiyu, who appeared on the scene, imitated his father Zhang Daming and was carried in a square sedan chair. The only difference was that his father was a sickly scholar leaning on the sedan chair, which was quite beautiful, while he was like a fat pig lying in the sedan chair, which was unbearable to look at.

"Mr. Zhang, you are so impressive!"

Cheng Weiyao looked at Zhang Haiyu, who was visibly swollen in the gauze sedan chair, and raised an eyebrow slightly. This man clearly wasn't here to fulfill his promise from yesterday. As expected, a man like this couldn't be trusted.

Zhang Haiyu heard the subtle sarcasm in Cheng Weiyao's words, grabbed the armrest of the sedan chair, and couldn't resist the urge to rush out. Even his own father shook his head when he saw his current appearance.

Wouldn't it be a joke for Cheng Weiyao if he went out rashly? He coughed lazily and began to lecture leisurely.

"Your family has been in Qingshi Town for quite some time now. Local conditions and customs shape local people. Qingshi Town has its own rules. You should pay the fees you're due..."

After being taken home and seeing the doctor this morning, Zhang Dahai lay on the bed and felt more and more upset. He simply found a plausible reason to cause trouble for the family of Prince Qingping's Mansion.

Doesn’t this family have a food stall in the city? Then why doesn’t he find a way to get back the money that Cheng Weiyao cheated him of?

You can't go to the stalls selling roujiamo and tea eggs, because one of them is the emperor's jewel, Princess Mingcheng, and the other is the emperor's woman, the imperial concubine.

If either of them were to be recalled, they would be in big trouble. The only one they could bully was the soup dumpling stall. An unfavored illegitimate daughter of a Duke's mansion and a divorced woman whose body was almost buried in the ground, it was just right!

"Mr. Zhang, how much silver are you going to ask us to pay? Just tell us directly. We haven't said we won't pay since we are in your treasured place."

Cheng Weiyao responded with a forced smile. She made a blind guess that this guy probably wanted to get back the money from yesterday, and maybe he was even thinking about how to make more money.

A swollen, purple hand stretched out from the sedan chair and gestured with the number three. Cheng Weiyao calmly took out three taels of silver and placed it on the table.

When the yamen runner stepped forward to collect the money, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Three wen is also three, and three taels is also three. This stall owner and his family have only been in Qingshi Town for a short time, so paying three taels can be said to be a very sensible type.

"Master Zhang, this is a gift from our servants..."

The bailiff bowed and nodded, carrying the plate to the side of the sedan chair.