Chapter 116: Cheating the Prince out of Money

At the end of the year, coinciding with the Emperor's birthday, a general amnesty was declared throughout the country. Xu Jian and his companions also received news that the exiled prisoners from the General's Mansion were allowed to rest and recuperate on site until the New Year was over before departing. This decree, upon reaching them, resolved their pressing needs. Naturally, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their faces beaming with joy as they began to make preparations and plans for the New Year.

Qin Xiangnuan came out of the house stretching lazily.

Most of the snow on the ground had melted, and the cold air made people shiver when they breathed.

She was stretching her muscles, planning to go for a quick run to get some exercise, when she saw the black boss approaching. "How are you, Auntie?" she asked softly, smiling. The black boss nodded and replied, "I'm eating normally now. Thank you for your help, young lady. It's such a great favor, I can't thank you enough." Qin Xiangnuan followed him into the room and saw that the old woman, who had been drowsy and listless the day before, was now able to sit up, leaning against the wall.

"Mom, this is the third girl I told you about."

The gang leader pointed at Qin Xiangnuan and introduced her. Upon hearing this, the old woman immediately struggled to get off the couch. She trembled and supported herself on the ground, trying to kowtow to Qin Xiangnuan. Qin Xiangnuan was startled and rushed over to hold the old woman's arm and lift her up. "What are you doing? Are you trying to shorten my life on this good day?" She said half-jokingly, and the old woman was speechless with tears streaming down her face.

"I have some more questions."

Qin Xiangnuan turned away, knowing they had little time left. They would have to leave after the Lunar New Year. She wanted to help the people to the end, so she naturally had to solve the village's livelihood problems. She took the gang leader outside and gathered a few young and strong men from the village. They sat together in a circle. From a distance, Qin Xiangnuan could be seen surrounded by these strong men, her expression naturally open and radiant.

"How did the land in the village become like this? Brother Hei once said the harvest was good a few years ago," Qin Xiangnuan asked, pointing to a patch of land in the distance. She had visited before and saw that the land was on the verge of desertification. If it had been well cared for, how could it have been abandoned like this? The others looked at each other, hesitant for a moment, and finally answered truthfully, "A few years ago, there was a flood in the village that destroyed most of the houses."

"Some people ran away, and the crops on the land were destroyed. Several people went to the county government office, hoping that the officials would at least give us a few days, but they refused and continued to collect taxes. We didn't even have the money to buy seeds, so the land was naturally empty." The second in command explained to Qin Xiangnuan, "Everyone was holding their breath. If they had just kept doing it day after day, no one would have thought much of it. But as soon as they stopped, they became lazy, thinking that nothing would get better, so no one would even go back to check on the land."

The land needs to be taken care of; if left unused it will get worse day by day.

"I estimate that for six months, our village, backed by Phoenix Mountain, was affected by it despite being quite far away. That year, a flash flood swept down a lot of debris from the mountaintop, destroying most of the newly built houses. Sand and rocks were also washed into the fields, which were then soaked in acidic water for several days. When we went to look again, it was completely ruined..."

When the second in command talked about this, even a strong and rough man could see his eyes turn red with heartache.

Qin Xiangnuan frowned, having never expected they'd still be faced with natural disasters. Her gaze shifted upward, gazing at Phoenix Mountain in the distance. The area from the foot of the mountain to the village was incredibly flat. No wonder the mudslides caused by sand and mud were able to wash over the land. If this fundamental problem wasn't resolved, the village would suffer the same fate again and again. "Rebuilding the houses twice has drained everyone's savings. There's not even a penny left to buy seeds and repair the houses."

"With nowhere else to go, we thought of the back of Phoenix Mountain, that small path and the dog official's mansion."

The gang leader continued the second-in-command's words and said to Qin Xiangnuan, "This is also the reason why we met in the first place. If I say we were forced into this, it would sound a bit shameless. But it is true. With no capital to make a living, what else can we do except robbing?" Bad luck is not to be blamed on others, and even less on oneself. At first, the gang leader was struggling and hesitant, but gradually, he changed his original thoughts and ideas.

"We never rob passersby."

The gang leader clenched his fist, slammed it on the stone table, and swore to Qin Xiangnuan, "We only rob officials passing by on their way to the capital to report on their work. Miss Qin must not know that even that year, when our area was hit by a flood and the people didn't even have enough to eat, with elderly, weak, women, and children starving to death in every household, the local county magistrate was still able to pull a cart full of gold, silver, jewelry, and hundreds of taels of silver to the capital."

"He wants to buy himself a higher position."

The gangster mentioned what happened that year, gnashed his teeth and slammed the stone table, leaving a crack on it.

"Even as a small county magistrate, he has already brought disaster to so many people. If he were to become a provincial governor, how would the people be able to live? So we took all his money and distributed it to the villagers, and then broke his legs." The black boss spoke of this without a trace of remorse or regret. "He didn't dare to retaliate against us, so he had to run back to his hometown. Later we heard that he had taken several girls home as concubines and bullied them. If we had known earlier, we should have broken his arms and crippled his penis!"

Qin Xiangnuan never spoke a word, but just listened quietly to understand their situation.

It seemed she had a lot to do. But the New Year was approaching, and even if she had no money, she still had to prepare something for the holidays. The General's money was all in the space, and rashly taking it out and distributing it to the gangsters would arouse suspicion. Furthermore, with Jiang Lin, that shrewd fellow, watching her constantly, her tasks became increasingly difficult.

No, Jiang Lin!

Qin Xiangnuan's eyes suddenly lit up. With the God of Wealth right beside her, why not use him? The smile on her lips grew wider and wider. Just then, she saw Jiang Lin passing by in the distance. He was whispering something to Anliu. Qin Xiangnuan stood on the stone table, waving her arms at him and shouting, "Prince! Come quickly! I need you!"

Jiang Lin turned around when he heard the voice and happened to see Qin Xiangnuan's smiling face. His heart skipped a beat.

But after calming down, he wanted to pretend that he didn't hear anything. After all, Qin Xiangnuan never came to him for good reasons! He had already figured out the pattern and had an extremely clear understanding of it.