"All the grain is with Kuangyi in the underground market. I am willing to produce all the grain ledgers for the past two years. You can calculate how much grain he took from the estate, Your Highness."

Now is not the time to make harsh remarks. Su Luo nodded and waited for Duan Tian to take out the real account book.

This was his true record of the manor. Su Luo was very good at arithmetic and finished in half an hour.

Over the years, Duantian has stolen not only grain, but also eggplants and peppers that Su Luo ordered people to plant here.

Those vegetables couldn't be kept now, but she had to get the grain back. How much they sold was their business; Su Luo's responsibility was to go to the market and hand over her own grain.

“Very good. Take Steward Duan with you, let’s go to the underground market together.”

Duan Tian was covered in sweat. He had waited for so long but hadn't received a single definite answer from Su Luo. He had already handed over all his chips to Su Luo.

Su Luo looked at him for a long time but did not reply whether she would spare his life.

"Your Highness, could you spare my lowly life?"

Before Su Luo got into the carriage, she glanced at him and replied, "Let's talk about it after we get the grain back."

Having gone to great lengths to capture those connected individuals at the manor, Su Luo was unlikely to let them go easily.

Su Luo took the person away; she needed to go to the underground market, and Duan Tian dared not refuse to lead the way.

The above-ground market is not underground, but in an abandoned village on the outskirts of Beichuan City. Beichuan City has been at war for many years, and this is the residence of the local bullies.

As long as they don't commit any crimes, they can keep to themselves and the imperial court.

Those who can do business here are all Kuang Yi's people; even if they are not his people, they are under his protection.

The things here are incredibly diverse, and buying and selling are free regardless of where they come from—that's the rule here.

When Su Luo led her group here, there were only some small vendors. Unlike the people outside, they were dressed more like bandits.

Among the people Su Luo brought were the Crimson Feather Army and those kidnapped from the manor, which immediately attracted the attention of people in the underground market.

Before Su Luo and the others could do anything, all those people stood up and looked at them warily.

Before Su Luo could speak, a rough voice came from behind.

"Wow, business is tough these days. It's nice to see so many people here today. If you're here to buy or sell, our underground market welcomes you."

If they've come looking for trouble, I, Kuang Yi, am not someone to be trifled with. This isn't Beichuan City…”

The person who can have influence in this underground market and who received advance notice of their arrival must be the local tyrant of Beichuan City, Kuangyi.

Upon seeing Kuang Yi, Duan Tian lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze. Su Luo, however, smiled and answered Kuang Yi's earlier question.

"I'm afraid the deal is off. I'm here to get my things back."

Kuang Yi raised an eyebrow and saw Duan Tian. There was nothing he didn't understand. This man had been doing some secret things with him, and now he had been arrested.

"What's the meaning?"

Su Luo took out the ledger and said to Kuang Yi in front of her, "This is the account of Duan Tian's thefts and transactions with you over the years. Every single one is recorded clearly."

Kuang Yi carried a large sword on his back and was very disdainful of Su Luo's behavior. What did it have to do with him that this person had captured Duan Tian?

"Young lady, you don't actually want Duan Tian to return everything he sold me, do you? You're so naive, hahahahahaha..."

"How much silver could those things Duan Tian brought be worth? Young lady, are you out of your mind? Hahaha..."

"Duan Tian stole your things, go find him! In my underground market, unless you pay me, you won't be able to take even a single stone out."

Su Luo was not to be outdone. She pushed the tied-up Duan Tian in front of Kuang Yi, and sneered.

“I want my things. As for money, you can ask Duan Tian.”

"If you don't hand over my grain, I will raze this underground market to the ground today."

Su Luo didn't want to waste any more words with him. To control the entire underground market, he had a lot of blood on his hands.

Duan Tian was pushed by a member of the Akabane army and fell directly to the feet of Kyōyū. He struggled to his feet with difficulty.

He said to Kuang Yi beside him, "Brother Kuang, give her back those two thousand dan of grain. I'll return all the silver to you. Otherwise, we'll all be dead..."

Before Duan Tian could finish speaking, Kuang Yi kicked him aside. Duan Tian, ​​who was still bound, crashed into a vendor's stall and vomited blood, losing consciousness from the pain.

Grain is now as precious as gold; how could it be returned so easily? How much did it cost to buy and sell vegetables in the past? How much does it cost now? He's arrogant, but he's not stupid.

"Such arrogance! You dare to cause trouble in the underground market? Then don't blame me for being impolite. Everyone grab your weapons and get out of here!"

At Kuang Yi's command, everyone in the underground market pulled out weapons from their stalls—sticks, kitchen knives, butcher knives, you name it…

These people don't all appear to be under the control of the arrogant, but they live in the underground market and can't stand idly by if someone threatens their interests.

The Akabane Army's role was to protect the Queen, and these people indiscriminately picked up weapons.

The Red Feather Army had a prior order from the Prince, so naturally they couldn't allow these people to harm the Princess. Everyone protected Lian'er and Su Luo behind them.

Before Su Luo could give any orders, the two sides started fighting. Su Luo frowned; this underground market was even more chaotic than she had anticipated.

After fighting for a while, chaos erupted inside. There were over two hundred people inside, while Su Luo only had about twenty, making it clear that they were struggling.

But she soon didn't have to worry anymore, because Chi Yi arrived.

Chi Yi brought more than 300 people, originally intending to wipe out this underground market. He only wanted to investigate the underground market's grain transactions, but he didn't expect to delve deeper and deeper into it.

Upon discovering that this madman was an informant for the Northern Liang people, the prince ordered that this underground operation must cease.

"Guards, arrest everyone here, dead or alive..."

Chi Yi ordered Su Luo and Lian'er to be shielded behind him, then turned to Su Luo and asked, "Your Highness, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, what are you doing here?"

"To make a long story short, there are spies from the Northern Liang in the underground market, and the prince sent us to seal it off."

That's perfect, it saves Su Luo from having to take action.

A flurry of dust and stones swept through the underground market, and the Akabane Army eventually captured them all, with Kyōyū as their leader.

The Kuangyi were unwilling to accept this. They had always maintained a policy of non-interference with the Chiyu Army, but today the Chiyu Army had broken the rules first.

“Deputy General Chi, this is Beichuan City. You have violated the code of the martial world, so don’t expect to have a peaceful day.”

Chi Yi, dressed in military uniform, exuded the intimidating aura of years of killing. Standing with Kuang Yi and the others, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

"Beichuan City is Beichuan City of Nanning, not some Jianghu territory. The world is vast, and all land belongs to the emperor. Today, you stand here, so you must abide by the rules of Nanning."

Especially those from Beiliang, we in Nanning will never tolerate them!