020

She led Ying'er on a aimless stroll through the streets. Although many people couldn't get into Cuiyun Tower, it didn't dampen their enthusiasm for joining in the fun. People would occasionally share news from inside for everyone to chat and exchange, which added to the lively atmosphere.

When the topic turned to the young master Wu's money-spraying incident, everyone felt a mix of regret and disdain, whispering among themselves: "It's alright if we couldn't grab it, who knows how much blood that money was stained with? Master Wu... tsk tsk, relying on Prefect Qiao's power, how many times has he seized farmland and abducted women?"

"That's right. That young man looks so young, but he's no good either. People often go looking for him outside the Linglang Pavilion, but they always end up with... sigh."

"No way, his family usually gives out porridge and relief during festivals. I've even gone to get spring pancakes before."

"Don't you understand the concept of saving face? You're too naive. How could you possibly know about the behind-the-scenes affairs of such a large family? Sigh, since you're so innocent, let me tell you another story. Of course, I only heard about it, so I don't know if it's true or not. I heard that there's a village called Bicha Village on Laojun Mountain in Tong County, fifty miles east of the city. It's known for its excellent tea, and because of its beautiful mountains, it caught the eye of Master Wu. Master Wu sent people to buy it, but the men in that village were all quite principled and refused to sell their land at a low price. So, guess what? Hey, overnight, the entire village was gone."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Qin Sang was also slightly taken aback when someone questioned, "It can't be that bad. The entire village is gone, and nobody knows? Don't those people in the village have relatives or friends from other places? Why didn't anyone report it to the authorities when their loved ones were gone?"

How do you know no one reported it to the authorities?

"You submitted it?"

"So what if you report it to the authorities? Heh, they'll just say it was bandits who killed someone! Bandits! The government has to keep cracking down on them, what can you do to them?"

"Tsk tsk, that's really a terrible thing, I wonder if it's true or not."

Qin Sang was engrossed in listening when she caught a glimpse of a furtive figure peeking at her from the street corner. She turned to look and, sure enough, it was the man who had been beaten earlier. When he saw Qin Sang notice him, his gaze darkened, and he shrank back halfway.

Qin Sang casually bought some snacks from the stall and followed along as if nothing had happened, pretending to be taking a stroll.

The man led Qin Sang into a secluded, deserted alley. Ying'er was already a little scared and reached out to grab Qin Sang's sleeve. Qin Sang patted her hand and told her to stand guard at the alley entrance and to call for help immediately if anything went wrong.

She had originally intended to ask Xie Suian to come along, but that young master was too conspicuous. Leaving together would easily attract attention. Besides, she wasn't completely without self-defense skills; dealing with a few petty thieves would be a piece of cake.

Qin Sang followed the man almost to the end of the alley before saying, "Don't go any further, there's no way forward."

The man finally stopped and slowly turned around.

Looking closely at the person's face, it was bruised and swollen, but you could still vaguely tell that he was a child. However, he was quite tall, and from behind, he looked about the same height as an adult.

The child was using a voice changer, and his voice was hoarse: "Why did you save me just now?"

This question left Qin Sang bewildered: "Did I just save you?"

"You saved me. If you hadn't stopped them, they would have beaten me to death."

Qin Sang nodded: "That's true, but they said you stole something, that's why they hit you. Did you really steal something?"

The boy admitted with composure, "I stole it, but I did it on purpose."

Qin Sang asked, puzzled: "Did you steal it on purpose?"

The young man said, "I want to see if there are any good people in Quzhou Prefecture who can speak up for us."

Qin Sang: "..."

The boy's dark eyes sparkled as he said, "I made the right bet, sister, you saved me. You are a kind and good person."

Qin Sang was speechless. She realized she had been caught in someone else's trap. She said, "So you want to find a good person? What for? Do you have a grievance to redress? Just now I heard you shouting that Master Wu had killed someone. What did you mean by that?"

The young man paused for a moment, then said succinctly and coldly, "Master Wu is a bad person."

Qin Sang raised an eyebrow slightly, then nodded in agreement: "That's true, bullying Tian and bullying the woman, she's a real bad person."

The boy stared intently at Qin Sang's face, as if carefully observing her every subtle expression, before asking, "You also have a grudge against Master Wu?"

"Yes," Qin Sang said without hesitation, "To tell you the truth, he tried to forcibly buy my land. I... sigh, it's all tears when I think about it. That's why I came out to see what was going on when I heard you cursing him."

The boy suddenly swallowed hard: "He wants to forcibly buy your land. Have you thought of a way to stop him? Do you have any powerful connections who can stop them?"

Qin Sang glanced back at the alley entrance and said, "I do have a backer, but I'm still thinking of a solution. If we can find some dirt on them and report them to the prefect, that might be a way out."

The light in the boy's eyes suddenly dimmed. He said, "It's no use. The prefect is their backer. If you go to inform the prefect, you'll be like a lamb entering a tiger's den, courting death."

Although Qin Sangguan was thin, his muscles were quite well-defined, suggesting he often did heavy labor. Despite his numerous injuries, his eyes shone brightly, indicating he was an extremely intelligent child. Given his ordinary status, the fact that he could uncover the connections between wealthy families meant he was either a local resident or had been lying in wait in the city for a long time to gather information.

Qin Sang's voice softened considerably: "You have a grudge against Master Wu? You've reported him?"

The boy was very thin and, having been beaten, seemed utterly powerless. He hung his head and sat down cross-legged on the spot, his voice flat and emotionless: "I almost sued him. If I had, there would have been one less person in the world to cause him trouble." He picked up a blade of dry grass and chewed it, no longer looking up at Qin Sang.

Qin Sang had just seen him with bright eyes, but now he was listless. It was probably because he had thought Qin Sang was his lifeline, but now he realized that the two of them were in the same boat and had suffered the same fate, so he lost interest in talking to her.

Seeing that he suddenly swallowed the hay he was chewing, Qin Sang quickly reached out her hand: "I have food here!"

The boy looked at Qin Sang's raised arm, his eyes filled with longing and wariness. He did not refuse, but he also did not make any move to take it.

Qin Sang opened the package, tore off a small piece of the sesame seed cake she had just bought from the stall and ate it, then wrapped up the rest and slid it down the ground to the boy: "Eat up, I'm a good person, this sesame seed cake was bought from the stall, it's not poisonous."

After saying that, I felt a pang of sadness. I wondered what this boy had been through. He was wary of everyone, including the fish he had worked so hard to catch.

He clearly wanted to say something, but immediately stopped after learning that Qin Sang herself was in dire straits. Qin Sang thought that it must be a great injustice.

She wasn't in a hurry. She had just arrived in Quzhou Prefecture today and already had so many clues. She had also learned from the group of people that Master Wu had massacred a village in order to buy a mine. She figured that if she planned properly, even the Prefect Qiao wouldn't be able to protect Master Wu, and might even be dragged down with him.

However, there is one tricky matter: the Wu family discovered a gold mine and concealed it in private. Can Prefect Qiao alone swallow it up?