Chapter 194 Oh no, we've fallen into their trap!

The aroma of stewed meat wafted slowly from the backyard of the inn.

In the back alley, a villager who had just passed by with medicine smelled the aroma of meat and couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

He sniffed it, his face filled with rapture.

"It's meat! Am I dreaming? It smells like meat!"

Ignoring the medicine in his hand, he climbed up the pile of firewood in the corner with difficulty.

Peeking over the wall, he saw that many officials were standing in the courtyard.

Before long, an official carrying stewed meat came out of the kitchen and entered a room.

He swallowed hard and quietly climbed down.

"Our thin porridge is just oil and water, but they've got a whole pot of stewed meat!"

He said this fiercely and ran home quickly.

He said he was going home, but his house had already been washed away by the flood.

Now it's just a makeshift shed, crammed together with a few other households nearby.

When he told his family about it, he didn't see the greedy look on his neighbor's face.

"Don't you know? That inn is where Prince Jin and his family are staying!"

The neighbor asked him in surprise.

"Prince Jin? Impossible. If Prince Jin still had that much meat, he would definitely share it with the people!"

The man immediately retorted.

Neighbor:……

Why is this person so stubborn?

"Really? Did you see a lot of government officials? And oxcarts?"

The man was immediately stunned.

He seemed to have actually seen the oxcart.

"See? When they entered the city, it was one oxcart and one donkey cart."

They were even leading sheep! I've already gone to the government office to inquire; after those people entered the city,

The Prince of Jin came out of the government office; those people must be his family members!

The people around them echoed this sentiment.

"No wonder, I've noticed a young man by the old general's side these past two days."

"It must be the old general's son, right? The old general is the Prince of Jin's father-in-law, so it must be the Prince of Jin's family entering the city!"

"Isn't this going too far? The Prince of Jin caused us to lose our homes, and his family members were exiled but are now feasting on meat?"

As things began to spiral out of control, the man immediately began to feel something was amiss.

"No, what are you talking about? Prince Jin is personally involved in everything, how could he be a corrupt official?"

"His Majesty has already issued an edict stating that Prince Jin embezzled the funds intended for building the dike. Didn't you see the proclamation?"

"The Prince of Jin must have been wronged!"

Many people were still speaking up for the Prince of Jin, but the neighbor pushed them away.

"You didn't take bribes, did you? His family is living the high life there, and you still believe this big corrupt official?"

"Enough talk, let's head to the inn and find some meat!"

"Yes, let's find meat to eat!"

Things got completely out of control. From a few households to the entire alley, everyone was angrily heading towards the inn!

Several people tried to dissuade them by saying things like "it's a misunderstanding," but to no avail.

"We'll find out when we get there. Anyone who can afford to eat meat in Suzhou at this time of year is definitely a corrupt official!"

"Yes, whether it's a person or a ghost, we'll find out by going to the inn!"

And so, half-heartedly, a large group of nearly a hundred people was formed.

Lu Li was standing on the roof and saw this scene from afar. He immediately jumped down.

"Something's happened! For some reason, a group of civilians are heading this way aggressively!"

Inside the inn, Wei Jingchen and the others were gone, leaving only Lu Li protecting Xu Qingyi, Bai Ling, and the others.

Wei Mingyu immediately realized what was happening.

Are the Ling family members still at the inn?

Lu Li was stunned for a moment. It seemed that he really hadn't seen any members of the Ling family all day!

Seeing Lu Li's reaction, Wei Mingyu made a quick decision.

"Oh no, have we fallen for a trap?! Quick, get in the car, let's get out of the inn right away!"

Xu Yinan hurriedly picked up her little nephew from the bed.

"Forget about the stuff, get in the car first, I'll go tell Luo Qing!"

"Be careful!"

Xu Qingyi didn't care about anything else and helped Xu Yiyan walk towards the donkey cart.

As Xu Qingyi passed by the woodshed, she immediately remembered that her daughter hadn't taken the tiger with her when she went out!

"Zhixia, come and help the Third Young Master!"

"Sister, where are you going?"

Xu Yiyan asked with concern.

Without turning her head, Xu Qingyi said, "The tiger seems to be in the woodshed. I'll go call the tiger!"

Arriving outside the woodshed, Xu Qingyi desperately suppressed the panic in her heart.

She was worried that opening the door rashly would provoke the tiger, so she spoke through the door.

"I am Zhaozhao's mother. Can you understand me? Zhaozhao is in danger. Can you go and protect her?"

"Huh?"

The tiger in the woodshed smelled a familiar scent and naturally did not attack.

It made a suspicious sound, and Xu Qingyi nervously walked to the side and pulled the door of the woodshed.

"I'll open the door now, but please don't hurt anyone before you see Zhaozhao!"

"Ooh~"

The tiger's roar was relatively peaceful. Xu Qingyi gritted her teeth and slowly opened the woodshed door.

A huge tiger leaped out of the woodshed, carrying a cub in its mouth!

It shook off the dust and turned to look at Xu Qingyi.

The dark green eyes sent chills down Xu Qingyi's spine.

"Could you... go and protect Zhaozhao?"

She asked again.

Whether the tiger understood or not, it nodded, turned around, leaped onto the woodpile, and quickly scaled the wall to leave!

Xu Qingyi quickly ran back to the donkey cart, and Luo Qingcai arrived at that moment.

"What happened?"

“A group of people are rushing over here. I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re going to the government office first. Have someone stop them at the inn!”

Lu Li didn't care whether Luo Qing was willing or not.

Before the young master and his father left, they instructed him to protect the Xu and Wei families.

If anything happens to these two families, they'll skin him alive when they get back!

The group squeezed into two cars, and Lu Li drove directly away from the stable.

Luo Hao rushed over: "Big brother, Wang Quan and Ling's mother have disappeared!"

Luo Qing spat and started cursing.

"Damn it! How dare they scam me! Take some men and stop them at the inn entrance!"

We can't let the Xu family get caught! Haozi, go find Ding Yan!

"Brother, be careful here!"

Luo Hao mounted his horse and immediately galloped out of the city.

Yun Zhao, unaware of anything, was distributing medicinal herbs outside the city.

"Uncle, please take this!"

She tilted her head back, stood on tiptoe, and handed the wrapped medicine to the old man in front of her.

The other person didn't take the medicine packet, but instead looked her up and down.

Yun Zhao looked back at the old man in front of him and quickly realized that something was wrong.

"Uncle, don't you want it anymore?"

She put down the medicine packet and, secretly concealed by her sleeve, took out a packet of powder from her spatial storage.

"Are you the daughter of the Prince of Jin?"

The old man asked.

"What do you mean, Uncle?"

Yun Zhao looked at him with feigned innocence.

Unexpectedly, the old man suddenly collapsed into the mud and cried out loudly.

"Come quick! The corrupt official Prince Jin's daughter isn't getting medicine!"

Those damned corrupt officials! Her father embezzles money, while her mother still eats meat in the city.

Now she won't even give this poor old man his medicine!

Yun Zhao: ?!

Some people in the crowd even joined in the jeering.

"That's outrageous! This medicine belongs to the people of Suzhou, why won't you give it to them?"

"Exactly! Just because she's the daughter of the Prince of Jin doesn't mean she's anything special."

"Everyone, rush! The corrupt official is going to take all the medicine!"

Many people didn't know what had happened; they just heard that the medicine was gone.

For a moment, many people panicked!