Chapter 88 Deliberately Making Things Difficult

The atmosphere was just right, but the next second a rude voice like a loud speaker interrupted the rare ambiguous mood between the two. The wooden door of the compound was kicked open by the intruders, and Chen Er and Li Kui walked in and urged everyone to pack their luggage and get ready to go.

"What are you thinking, Master? Are you really going to let them go? If they leave, all the clues will be gone..."

"There's nothing we can do. Steward Wu has already advised us, but the master said to leave a way out for us so we can meet again in the future. If we continue to try to keep him, we'll delay the official's mission. If we really investigate, we'll end up in jail..."

As Cheng Weiyao packed her luggage, she observed the sullen expressions of the guards outside the gate. She had just been wondering why the stolen gold, silver, and jewelry from Li Dabao's mansion hadn't been recovered yet, and now the sun was rising from the west, they were willing to let the officials go. It turned out that the situation forced them to do so...

"Cheng Weiyao, it's you again. What are you dithering about? You've delayed our journey. Just wait and see how Big Brother will deal with you!"

Li Kui turned his eyes and saw Cheng Weiyao who was listening attentively to the news. He started to find fault whenever he could, but just as he finished speaking, he saw Chen Er slightly shaking his head.

He tilted his head and looked over Chen Er's shoulder to see Wen Chengyun's indifferent and cold eyes. There was clearly no extra emotion in them, but the moment they looked at each other, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Husband, I'm fine."

Cheng Weiyao's heart warmed, and a smile appeared on her lips. She gently blocked Wen Chengyun's gaze from the officials. This small act of protection showed that Wen Chengyun had already considered himself a member of the Qingping Palace...

Everyone packed up and gathered at the city gate, while Wang Gang pretended to say goodbye to Li Dabao: "Brother Li, thank you for taking care of me these days. I hope you can forgive me for disturbing you for many days. I still have a mission to complete, so I'll say goodbye now..."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wang Gang was a good man and gave Li Dabao enough face. Although he was a government official, he still bowed 90 degrees to Li Dabao, an ordinary businessman, to express his gratitude.

"Brother Wang, you're so polite. We hit it off right away. It's only natural for me, your elder brother, to take care of you... If you discover anything unusual during your exile, please let me know on your return. I'm a fair-minded person, so I'll split it fifty-fifty!"

Li Dabao's eyebrows curved, and it was obvious that he liked Wang Gang's cleverness in dealing with people. He said the second half of the sentence in a low voice. Although there was no way to investigate the theft in the mansion, letting him go was a helpless move.

But holding a glimmer of hope, Li Dabao still made a promise. The eggs would not be placed in one cage, and naturally all the family property could not be piled up in the house. However, as a businessman, it was inevitable to feel heartbroken for losing money.

The two leaders got along well with each other, but the police and the guards were disgusted with each other. Their dislike and disdain for each other were almost written on the surface. The guards suspected the police of stealing, and the police suspected the guards of embezzling.

Cheng Weiyao curled her lips slightly as she watched this strange yet harmonious scene. The team quickly continued on their way. However, not long after leaving the city gate, the officials began to reveal their ill will towards the Prince of Qingping's Mansion.

"Qingping Palace, Wen Liyu, and that little guy, what's his name, Wen Chengming, right? Come to the front of the team..."

Chen Er's voice was clearly transmitted from the front to the back of the team, and he called two people by name to go up and work.

The expressions of the Imperial Concubine and Wen Liyu changed slightly, especially the Imperial Concubine, who unconsciously tightened her grip on Wen Chengming's hand.

Wen Liyu had a bad premonition. Her legs and feet were almost healed, but her younger brother was clearly a patient. Moreover, he was young and a child, so how could he withstand the malicious orders of the officials?

"If the officer has any instructions, please let me go. My sister-in-law's legs haven't fully recovered yet, and my brother-in-law is young and inexperienced. If I don't do the job well, it would be a shame to cause you all trouble..."

Cheng Weiyao blocked the direction of the officer's view of the two people. As soon as they set off, the officer could no longer hold back and clearly transferred all his hatred onto the Qingping Palace.

Li Kui approached with a stern look on his face, intending to force the two men to do some work. He even said something nice: "If you don't want to go to the front, then forget it. But look at how you're protecting your children. Everyone has to do the exiles' compulsory labor. There's no question of whether they should be replaced or not. Why haven't I seen you eat their meals?"

As he spoke, Li Kui stuffed a pile of dirty clothes, taken off by grown men, into Wen Liyu's hands. Girls don't need to support a family; they usually spend their time at home practicing music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, sewing and mending. He had a needle and thread, so he could find some work for Wen Liyu.

Wen Liyu had an uncomfortable expression as if she had eaten a fly. The clothes in her hands were torn and dirty. The most terrifying thing was that there was an indescribable smell, which made Wen Liyu's eyes black and she felt like she had held a hot potato.

"As for Wen Chengming, we are not unreasonable people. Considering your young age, you can do some easy work..."

Li Kui chuckled, took out a small cloth bag from his arms and threw it into Wen Chengming's arms, his tone sounding very compassionate.

"Take your time and pick it out. Just give it back to me before you get to your resting place."

The imperial concubine helped Wen Chengming open the sealed cloth bag. It contained millet, but there were also a lot of mung beans mixed in. It was very time-consuming, laborious and eye-straining to pick them out.

Whether it is Wen Liyu's sewing work or Wen Chengming's sorting of rice and mung beans, they are seemingly simple but actually troublesome jobs, especially when doing them while walking.

As a man, Wen Chengyun naturally followed in front of the team of officials, but he was skilled in martial arts and had good hearing, so the commotion in the team of women behind him caught his attention.

"Don't make things difficult for my family. I'll do the work for you." Wen Chengyun's words were concise and his request was simple.

Hearing this, Wang Gang only raised his eyebrows slightly, turned around with his arms folded across his chest, and looked at Wen Chengyun with a calm and expectant look: "What do you mean by embarrassment? Exile has its own rules. As a former court official, Prince Qingping should be aware that exiled prisoners need to work, right?"

Wen Chengyun pursed his lips and frowned, obviously disagreeing with Wang Gang's words.

"The tasks I've assigned to you are already the easiest. If you're not satisfied, I can definitely reassign them..."

Without waiting for Wen Chengyun to speak again, Wang Gang finished his words, which were a naked threat.

A trace of disgust flashed across Wen Chengyun's eyes. He turned his head away and said nothing more. Cheng Weiyao, who was behind him, quietly slowed down her pace and prepared to go to Wen Chengming to help.