Chapter 161: Frame-up

Before he finished speaking, many soldiers guarding the city immediately surrounded the exile team with weapons in hand!

Chen Wu was stunned for a moment, and quickly apologized, saying, "My dear, we are here from the capital to escort exiled prisoners to Youzhou. We used to pass through Qingzhou City every year. What do you mean by smuggling goods? Our mule carts should be filled with daily necessities!"

The officer sneered, "Daily expenses? I bet you won't cry until you see the coffin! Look at what this is!"

As he spoke, he took something out of Chen Fenghe's bamboo basket and showed it to everyone.

Chen Fenghe also looked over curiously.

She wanted to know what the officers and soldiers had found.

If she has any valuable things, she usually just throws them into the space. Who would put them in a bamboo basket?

At first glance, it seemed nothing serious, but it turned out to be a package of something wrapped in cloth.

When the officers and soldiers opened the cloth bag, they revealed a round lump covered with sharp thorns.

The officer then raised the object in his hand and sneered, "Please look, everyone! This is ironware! Commonly known as iron caltrops, it's a weapon used by our Dayu Dynasty during marches and battles to subdue the fierce Northern Rong cavalry! The Northern Rong have always feared this, but at the same time, they envy its power. Therefore, during the border trade, they once publicly announced that whoever can buy our Dayu iron caltrops will be rewarded handsomely! Therefore, in recent years, there have always been suspicious customs personnel secretly smuggling this ironware, with the purpose of selling it to Northern Rong officers and soldiers at a high price in the market, so that they can turn around and harm our Dayu soldiers and civilians! This behavior is no different from treason! What else do you have to say? Come on! Capture them!"

When the onlookers heard this, they couldn't help but feel indignant!

"I see. These people actually did such a thing just to make a little money! It's absolutely despicable!"

"That's right! The Northern Rong burned, killed, and looted at the border, killing countless soldiers and civilians from Dayu. Yet, they secretly sent weapons to the Northern Rong for their own selfish reasons!"

"People who collude with foreign countries should be sentenced to death!"

Chen Wu couldn't help but panic when he heard the increasingly loud shouts around him.

"Young man... I mean, sir! We have no idea why these two caltrops ended up in our bamboo basket. Perhaps someone framed us. How can you be so sure that we were smuggling ironware based on one-sided statements? How can that be justified?"

Yuan Xun also frowned and said, "That's right! Sir, we are escorting the exiled prisoners under the order of the Emperor! If we are delayed, not only you, but even the prefect of Qingzhou City will not be able to bear the consequences! I advise you not to treat chicken feathers as a token of authority!"

After hearing Yuan Xun's words, the guards felt somewhat uneasy. After looking at Chen Wu and Yuan Xun, they said, "You gentlemen may not know, but this caltrop must have been secretly carried on the person of one of these prisoners! As long as Officer Chen tells us who this bamboo basket belongs to, we can let the others and you gentlemen pass!"

Chen Wu heard this, but before he could say anything, Qian Qiuyun immediately shouted, "Sir, I know! This bamboo basket and this mule cart belong to this Chen Fenghe. The caltrop must also be hers."

After hearing Qian Qiuyun's words, Chen Fenghe glared at her with cold eyes.