"Have you heard? Zhou, the richest man in China, is dead!"

"Oh dear, I found out this morning. I heard someone is seeking revenge."

"That's right, it was terrible. Not only were they burned alive, but their house was also burned down."

When Xu Jinhuan took Xia Zhiying and Xie Datou out, they heard the women in the streets and alleys talking about this matter in great detail.

Xie Datou and Xia Zhiying were unaware that Zhou, the richest man, was also involved in the Qilin God's affairs, and they were both saddened to hear this.

"The county's richest man just disappeared like that? Could it be that someone is after his family's money?" Xie Datou said suspiciously.

Xu Jinhuan shook his head after hearing this, "No, no, the murderer is not interested in money. I will tell you about this in detail after we leave the city."

Xie Datou and Xia Zhiying were intrigued by this matter, and upon hearing it, they quickened their pace, eager to finish what they were doing as soon as possible.

"Is this courtyard really only selling for ten taels of silver?" the broker asked curiously.

After Xu Jinhuan and the other two entered the broker's shop, Xia Zhiying took out her house deed from her sleeve and told the broker that she wanted to sell the house.

When the broker heard Xia Zhiying's offer, he looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and surprise, seemingly puzzled as to why such a nice courtyard would be sold at such a low price.

Could that be a haunted house? But I've never heard of it, Ya Ren thought to himself.

“Some of my annoying relatives live in this house now. They are very unreasonable and want to take over the house, which makes me restless day and night.”

"So, I'm preparing to leave Tongqiao today. Firstly, I want to use this house to exchange for some travel expenses, and secondly, I want to teach that relative a lesson." Xia Zhiying spoke very sincerely.

The broker understood immediately and laughed heartily, saying, "Alright, then I'll take the house for ten taels of silver."

I won't take advantage of you for nothing; I'll give you an extra service: I'll bring some people to teach your annoying relatives a lesson too.

Xia Zhiying bowed and said, "Thank you very much."

After signing the sales contract with the broker, Xu Jinhuan and his two companions left Tongqiao County and continued their journey north.

"Boss, who killed Zhou the richest man?" Xie Datou asked curiously as he drove the cart.

After taking a sip of tea, Xu Jinhuan said calmly, "He was killed by his concubine, and the fire was also set by her."

"Huh?" Xia Zhiying paused, her hand holding the cup pausing, her face full of surprise.

Xu Jinhuan continued to explain, "In the end, it all comes down to emotional debts. That concubine was originally Zhou the richest man's childhood sweetheart, but true feelings couldn't withstand money, which led to what happened today."

After hearing this reason, Xia Zhiying nodded in understanding, "True feelings can't withstand more than just money; they can't withstand so many things..."

Xu Jinhuan knew that Xia Zhiying was thinking about her mother and father's messy past, so he patted her shoulder comfortingly and said, "Not everyone is the same."

Before Xia Zhiying could say anything, the carriage, which had been speeding along, suddenly stopped.

"Big Head, what happened?" Xu Jinhuan asked, pulling back the curtain.

Xie Datou pointed to the slowly advancing group ahead and said, "Boss, those people also seem to be exiled. They look like they were in the same batch as you."

Xu Jinhuan was speechless upon hearing this. It turned out that this dog emperor was so incompetent, exiling people out in batches, even worse than herding sheep.

At this rate of exile, the number of high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital will likely be reduced by half in no time.

"Boss, this group of constables are all old acquaintances of mine. Quickly give me a disguise mask so I can put it on first," Xie Datou suddenly slapped his forehead and said anxiously.

Xu Jinhuan nodded, took out a disguise mask he had prepared earlier from his sleeve, and handed it to Xie Datou in front of him.

Xie Datou skillfully began to disguise himself, and soon, an honest and simple-minded middle-aged man appeared in front of Xu Jinhuan.

After confirming there were no flaws, Xu Jinhuan said to Xie Datou.

"Alright, go and negotiate. If they keep blocking our way, given their speed, we might have a hard time reuniting with Li Yichang and the others."

Xie Datou nodded in agreement and quickly ran into the exile procession.

Xia Zhiying looked at Xu Jinhuan and asked in confusion, "Master, aren't you going to rescue these people?"

Although Xia Zhiying had only been with Xu Jinhuan for a short time, she had seen everything Xu Jinhuan had done in the past two days, and she firmly believed that her master was a very kind person.

That's why she asked the question when she saw the same exile procession.

Xu Jinhuan was slightly taken aback by Xia Zhiying's question. What gave Xia Zhiying the illusion that she thought he was a good person?

Only self-interest could sway Xu Jinhuan!

These exiles in front of her would not bring her any benefit, so why should she save them?

The new employee doesn't understand his boss well enough; it seems he needs some training.

"Zhiying, since you've asked, then answer me: why would I save them? What benefit would I gain from saving them?" Xu Jinhuan asked with a smile.

Xia Zhiying was taken aback when she heard this, "Benefits?"

Xu Jinhuan nodded frankly, "Yes, there are benefits. If there were no benefits, why would I save them?"

"There are so many people, old and young. Even if we rescue them, how to care for them is a huge problem. How can you guarantee they'll obey and won't run away?"

Xia Zhiying was stumped by Xu Jinhuan's question. She really hadn't thought that much about it, and at the same time, a sense of lingering fear arose deep in her heart.

She was too careless in her initial thinking. If she hadn't been working with her master, she probably would have been taken advantage of long ago.

"It was Zhiying's oversight. Thank you for your guidance, Master!" Xia Zhiying said gratefully.

Xu Jinhuan waved her hand dismissively, saying that it was not so much about giving instruction as it was about understanding her main idea.

At this moment, Xie Datou also returned with a smile on his face.

"Boss, it's okay, they've agreed to let us pass."

Xu Jinhuan praised, "Well done."

Upon hearing this praise, Xie Datou was as if he had eaten ginseng and deer antler. His face was flushed, and he sat back in the carriage, tugged at the reins, and shouted loudly.

"drive!"

The exiles on the roadside watched with envy as the carriage sped past them. Once upon a time, they too could ride in carriages, but alas…

And so the carriage sped along, except for the first day when it made time to travel during the day, it rested during the day and traveled at night afterward.

There's no other reason than that it's just too hot during the day. At first, it was just enough to make people feel dizzy from the heat, but later it could actually make people faint from the heat.

During their journey, whenever they reached a nearby county town, Xu Jinhuan would have Xie Datou stop for a while, and then he would quietly leave for an hour.

An hour later, Xu Jinhuan would return to the carriage and continue his journey.

Seeing that Xu Jinhuan didn't say anything, Xie Datou and Xia Zhiying pretended not to have seen anything, showing great tact.

"Boss, should we take a break today?"