12. To get rich, build roads first.

People like you who bully the weak are the most despicable.

In order to implement the road construction plan, Yan Yunzhao first invited a highly skilled painter from the town to paint a "Green Pine Trees in a Mountain Stream" painting for Cuiliang Mountain.

With a flourish of his brush, the artist moved the brush across the rice paper with rhythmic strokes, outlining, texturing, applying ink, and adding finishing touches, capturing the beauty of Cuiliang Mountain on the paper.

Yan Yunzhao marveled at the painting, but the three grass spirits didn't understand: "What does this have to do with road construction?"

Yan Yunzhao smiled smugly: "Road construction requires permission from the county government. We ordinary folks naturally have no right to let him build it, so we'll put pressure on him."

The four were still puzzled: "How do we force this?"

"We need to promote Cuiliang Mountain and develop it into a 5A-level scenic spot in Lixi Town! When tourists come, our small shop will have customers too." Yan Yunzhao was full of fighting spirit.

Although the four of them didn't understand what she meant by "5A-level scenic spot," they roughly understood what she meant: attracting guests with the beautiful scenery of Cuiliang Mountain, and with more tourists, roads would naturally be built; with roads, small shops would also have customers.

"Boss, you're awesome! I think this is a great idea!"

Jingming, being the most unconventional and straightforward of the three grass spirits, enthusiastically chimed in.

"Jingming, Qingxi, and Shuyu, you're in charge of taking this painting to the busiest places in town to promote it and sing the praises of Cuiliang Mountain. Lou Su, you might have to work a bit harder; go up the mountain tomorrow and hunt some pheasants."

“No problem!” Jingming, Qingxi and Shuyu happily agreed, and Lou Su nodded in agreement.

Another morning dawned, and Yan Yunzhao watched the three grass demons' departing figures. Still feeling uneasy, he personally followed them to the town, leaving Lou Su to guard the small shop.

Lixi Town was as lively and bustling as ever, brimming with the spirit of everyday life. Perhaps it was some festival recently, but many places were adorned with large red lanterns.

As soon as the four arrived at the familiar market, a vendor greeted them with a smile, "Boss Yan, are you here to buy mushrooms again today?"

Yan Yunzhao came here to sell mushrooms with Lou Su a while ago, so the street vendors and regular customers all know her and politely call her Boss Yan.

She smiled and waved, "I'm not here to sell mushrooms today." Then she stood at the entrance of the alley and asked Jingming, Qingxi and Shuyu to paste the "Green Pine Trees in the Stream" painting on the high wall on the opposite side.

Passersby stopped to take a look, asking curiously, "Boss Yan, what's going on?"

Yan Yunzhao smiled slightly and explained, "This picture depicts Cuiliang Mountain. I'm posting it here so that all the folks here can see the beautiful scenery of Lixi Town."

Many townspeople passing by did not recognize Yan Yunzhao, but only learned from the people around them that she was the capable proprietress who ran a shop in Cuiliang Mountain.

It's quite rare for a woman to run a business in Lixi Town, and people passing by can't help but take a few extra glances at this Boss Yan.

"Oh my, Boss Yan is truly beautiful inside and out. This place needs people like Boss Yan who think of the whole town so that it can prosper!" The old man's flattery was met with another round of agreement from the crowd.

"Yes, that's why all of you folks should visit Cuiliang Mountain more often. Such a beautiful place should be famous throughout the world!" Jingming smiled brightly, which made everyone feel at ease.

"Great! We must make Lixi Town famous! The festival of reunion is just around the corner, so let's go up the mountain for a visit."

Yan Yunzhao's heart skipped a beat. It was almost Mid-Autumn Festival? She didn't usually look at calendars and almost missed such a festival. It seemed that the shop would have to stock up on some Mid-Autumn Festival pastries.

Seeing that Jingming and the others handled things with ease, she smiled almost imperceptibly, feeling a warmth in her heart. She hadn't expected that Jingming, Qingxi, and Shuyu would be more thorough in their work than she had imagined; she had indeed been worrying too much before.

Before the smile on his lips could fade, an arrogant voice came from behind: "What kind of desolate little shop dares to make a scene here?"

The voice was arrogant and languid; without even seeing the face, Yan Yunzhao had already pictured a pampered woman in his mind.

The maidservant held up the carriage curtain for her. She sat in the sedan chair, glancing sideways with disdain. Her whole body was decorated with broken jade and gold, so dazzling that it hurt people's eyes under the bright sun.

I haven't seen such a blatant nouveau riche in a long time...

Yan Yunzhao stared at her attire with a half-smile for a moment, marveling at it, guessing that she must have worn all her biggest and most luxurious jewelry.

However, this gaze seemed to cause a misunderstanding among the parties involved.

The person inside the sedan chair snorted and scrutinized Yan Yunzhao's simple clothes with a critical eye. His eyes were full of disdain as he looked at her: "What kind of delicacies can someone who has never even tasted the music of flowing water and wine make? He'll just be making some inedible chaff for a bunch of mediocre people who don't know what fine food is."

Yan Yunzhao prided himself on his good temper, but these words made him somewhat angry: "Food has nothing to do with class. Rice and vegetables are grown by ordinary people with their blood and sweat. How come they become noble when they are eaten by you?"

This made perfect sense. The villagers, who had been cheering and supporting the event, couldn't help but feel resentful upon hearing this. They frowned and scrutinized who was spouting such nonsense. Their gaze fell on the arrogant man in the carriage, and they slapped their thighs: "Oh dear, this Mr. Bai is always like this, his behavior is absurd."

The woman's brows furrowed, revealing the ruthlessness in her expression. With a flick of her hand, several burly men stepped forward, seized Yan Yunzhao, and tried to force her to kneel.

"Hmph, little girl, who taught you to talk to me like that? Do you know who I am? Same old rule, slap her in the face, until she willingly kneels down and begs for mercy."

Yan Yunzhao was pinned down by several strong men. He sneered and showed no fear: "Who you are is not important. I only know that people like you who bully the weak are the most despicable."

"You!" The woman was so angry that her face turned red, and she almost couldn't catch her breath. The little maid next to her was so frightened that she kept patting the woman's chest to help her catch her breath.

A maid walked out from behind the sedan chair, exuding an air of aloofness. Just as she was about to slap Yan Yunzhao hard, Yan Yunzhao swiftly kicked the two warriors on either side of her three meters away and grabbed her wrist.

Ouch!

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. They had been holding their breath for Yan Yunzhao, but upon closer inspection, they saw that the man sprawled haphazardly on the ground was none other than the arrogant martial artist from earlier. They realized that it was actually Bai Dongjia's group who had been at a disadvantage.

"This Boss Yan is actually a martial arts practitioner."

"Yes, they were so agile! I didn't even see it clearly!"

The maid's proud and delicate face turned somewhat ferocious, but her wrist was firmly held by Yan Yunzhao, and she couldn't break free no matter what she did.

"Madam!" Seeing that even the warriors couldn't do anything to her, the maid turned pale and hurriedly asked the woman for help.

"You dare to beat up a civilian in the street! Go and call the magistrate!" The woman glared at Yan Yunzhao. Seeing that her attendants couldn't do anything to her, she sent a maid from the sedan chair to find the county government office.

“Alright,” Yan Yunzhao calmly patted his robe, lifted the hem and sat down on the ground. “Everyone in these streets and alleys has eyes. I believe the county government will be fair and make its own judgment on who beat up the people in the street.”

The villagers, who were the leaders, could no longer stand it and all sided with Yan Yunzhao. This Bai Dongjia had always been extremely arrogant because of his background, and had never taken anyone else seriously.

"You want to hit someone without saying a word? Don't you have any respect for the law?!"

"Hey, this Mr. Bai is illiterate, how would he know anything about the law?"

The villagers whispered among themselves, but Bai Dongjia, sitting in the carriage, didn't hear them clearly. However, the maid who had been captured by Yan Yunzhao heard everything and became furious.

A moment later, a carriage with a paper lantern bearing the character "衙" (yamen, meaning government office) rolled in, and an elderly man was helped alight from it.

He wore a purple robe, had a stern face, and gray hair. Supported by his servants, he walked to the two men, his voice hoarse: "What happened here?"

It seems this woman does have some connections; she was actually able to summon the county magistrate to oversee things.

The woman, smiling broadly, spoke before Yan Yunzhao could: "Your Honor, I am the owner of Guiyue Tower. You should still remember me, right? It's been a long time. You are as healthy as ever..."

Yan Yunzhao reluctantly got up and listened to her flattery for a while, thinking to himself, "What a small world! This is the owner of Guiyue Tower. Such malice on our first meeting—could it be that she overheard my complaints at Guiyue Tower that day?"

Unable to come to a conclusion, she heard the magistrate ask her, "Young lady, what excuse do you have?"

It seems that the woman has already finished her complaint. As for what she said, it's easy to guess. She accused Yan Yunzhao of beating her servant in the street and speaking rudely, and so on.

Yan Yunzhao smiled and bowed gracefully to the magistrate: "Your Honor, I just posted a painting on the street depicting Cuiliang Mountain in Lixi Town. My intention was to let everyone see the beautiful scenery, but I didn't expect it to be misunderstood by the owner of Guiyue Tower. He sent several strong men to beat me up. I am just a weak woman, how could I possibly win? Please, Your Honor, do me justice."

Seeing Yan Yunzhao lightly covering her face with her red sleeves and sobbing softly, everyone around her felt indignant on her behalf. The lady and her servants were dumbfounded, as the scene of her kicking several martial artists away was still fresh in their minds.

Having lived for over two hundred years, Yan Yunzhao has a deep understanding of the principles of "overcoming strength with gentleness" and "life is like a play," making him a shrewd and experienced person when it comes to protecting rights.

Since many things can be resolved cleverly by expressing her innocent situation, there is no need to confront them head-on. In this situation, if she were to fight the owner of Guiyue Tower and the county magistrate, the outcome would probably not be good.

“Boss Yan is wholeheartedly devoted to Lixi Town. She is beautiful and kind-hearted. How could she do something like beating someone in the street? Even if she is the owner of Guiyue Tower, don’t make things up.”

"Yes! We all saw it with our own eyes. Just now, it was clearly the owner of Guiyuelou who called people to beat up Boss Yan."

The owner of Guiyuelou's face turned pale and then red, waiting unwillingly for the county magistrate to make a decision.

This tactic worked. Seeing the crowd discussing the matter and unanimously blaming the woman, the county magistrate made the decision: "Since no one has been injured in this argument, let's call it quits. Everyone, disperse."

The woman looked at him in disbelief and said sarcastically, "Calling you 'Magistrate' is already giving you face. Don't forget where the money in Lixi Town came from. It seems you don't need that money anymore after only a few months." Then she pulled back the curtain, got into her carriage, and left angrily.

The magistrate closed his eyes briefly on the spot, saying nothing.

Hearing this, Yan Yunzhao seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that the magistrate and the owner of Guiyue Tower had some unknown deal, but since he was willing to resolve the matter, it showed that he was still quite upright.

Seeing that the die was cast, everyone dispersed with satisfaction. Only then did Yan Yunzhao realize that Jingming, Qingxi, and Shuyu were nowhere to be found. These three lively and active grass spirits must have been attracted by something again and gone off to play somewhere.

Yan Yunzhao shook his head helplessly and was about to return to Cuiliang Mountain when he was stopped by the county magistrate's attendant.

"Miss, the magistrate requests your presence at his residence," a yamen runner in a dark blue official robe said, nodding slightly to Yan Yunzhao.

Yan Yunzhao was puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he lifted the curtain and got into the carriage.

The county magistrate had already left in his sedan chair, leaving her alone in the carriage. The coachman shouted "Giddy up!" and whipped the horse, propelling the carriage forward, swaying precariously.

This was actually her first time riding in a carriage. Unlike the ancient dramas she had watched in her previous life, the carriage was quite bumpy, and Yan Yunzhao soon felt dizzy. In the past, when she was in Qingshan Sect, she often traveled by flying sword or teleportation array, so she naturally didn't need a slow and strenuous mode of transportation like a carriage.

Fortunately, they made it to the county government office. Yan Yunzhao leaned on the door frame to get off the carriage and followed the servant who led the way through the winding streets to the hall.

At this time, there were only a few people in the county government office. The county magistrate sat at a tea table on the side of the hall, poured a pot of tea for Yan Yunzhao, and gestured for her to sit down opposite him.

Once she was seated, the county magistrate, his withered hand lightly concealed within his sleeve, cut to the chase: "Miss Yan, I have a request for you, and I hope you will consider it."

[Author's Note]

I noticed that every time I post, I get three more clicks! Is it from the review process or some real reader? (Eyes full of anticipation) [Please!]