[The Prince of Qi is the Emperor's uncle, after all. Why does it seem like you treat him like a child?]
No, he doesn't look like the Emperor's uncle at all; he looks more like the Emperor's younger brother.
That's because the Emperor looks older than him; it has nothing to do with seniority.
[Hey, you unreliable old man, tell me quickly, how's Anmin County doing these days?]
[They've been controlled by someone impersonating the county magistrate, amassing wealth through extortion, and levying taxes on the people. They treat the people like livestock, selling the stolen goods and sending those destined for coal mining to do the same. Anmin County has become a living hell.]
【What? 】
Ji Yingying was shocked. How could Jiangnan have become such a mess? That Prince Qi really doesn't know how to manage things.
[Right now, only Anmin County is in hell. If no one takes care of it, other counties in Jiangnan will probably fall too. You should do something about it.]
Who's the highest-ranking official here? What about the city lord? Doesn't he care?
Currently, the highest-ranking official in Jiangnan is the city lord. When Prince Qi was in power, he could still manage things; if the county magistrate couldn't handle something, they could appeal to higher authorities. But now, the city lord isn't a good person either; officials protect each other and completely ignore the people. These days, the people don't dare to cause trouble.
Why don't you go to the capital to file a complaint?
Who has the money to go? Jiangnan may be wealthy, but the common people aren't; they're all poor.
Sigh... that emperor must be cursed to death for raising such a bunch of corrupt officials.
"Young Master Ji, what should we do? We have to get out of here quickly." The county magistrate was panicked. He had heard of Ji Yingying's name before he was arrested, but he had never seen her before.
"Well...I'll find a way."
"Okay, whatever you ask me to do, I will do it."
"These people in the jail are all people who were arrested?" Ji Yingying looked at those people and they didn't seem to have any life in them, as if they had been arrested for a long time.
"Yes, they were all captured with me at that time. We have been in there ever since. Apart from giving us a few steamed buns to eat, they have ignored us completely."
[Xiangxiang, take a look at these people. Who are they?]
[They were all wealthy and capable merchants and gentlemen from Jiangnan, just like Magistrate Li. They were disobedient and unwilling to go along with the corrupt practices, so they were arrested and then people were hired to impersonate them and commit crimes outside.]
Ji Yingying counted them and found there were seven or eight people in total. They all had lifeless eyes and looked ready to die.
Are they alright?
"Alas, they've already made a fuss, and there are people willing to go along with them, but they won't let them go, and they won't even bother to do anything about it."
They've already hired people to impersonate them, so what's the point of caring?
"Magistrate Li, do you know when they will be coming?"
“When they deliver food every day, if it were human traffickers, they wouldn’t be keeping the people they’ve kidnapped here. But sometimes I hear some noises next door, like crying and screaming. I guess if it’s someone kidnapped by human traffickers, they’d be kept next door.”
“Young master, my situation with him is not like that of Magistrate Li, but we are also imprisoned here,” Rong Er said.
The one on the ground is the son of a wealthy merchant, but Rong Er really shouldn't be locked up here.
[Don't ask, host. I don't know much either. I have a feeling this is a huge conspiracy. I can only wait for the latest update to find out the reason.]
Okay, let's take it one step at a time.
"Rong Er, I'm telling you to leave, but do you think you can just leave?"
"I can give it a try."
"good"
Ji Yingying found a piece of wire: "Are you going back to your old ways?"
[What old profession? My old profession is teaching and nurturing students, not lock picking. I learned lock picking after I was born.]
She learned how to open locks with wire when she came to this world. It was because her mother wanted to lock her up, and she learned it over time.
They pried the door open.
Ji Yingying told Rong Er to leave.
"Young master, what do you require of me?"
"Is Rong Yi nearby?"
"Yes, there's room for one person nearby."
"Go find evidence, and then go to Beijing to file a complaint."
"And what about the young master?"
Rong Er was worried about Ji Yingying. Besides, he was here to protect Ji Yingying. If he went out like this, he might not be able to explain when he returned.
"Go out and survey the surrounding area, then come back to pick us up. Also, these guys must be very skilled in martial arts to be able to do this. With this musket in hand, we can start shooting when we need to."
Ji Yingying offered him the only musket she had, but Rong Er refused, saying, "Young Master, keep it for your self-defense."
"No need, I have the truth."
Truth is far more useful than firearms.
Rong Er made sure there were no problems before going out. When someone saw him leave, they tried to call out to him but were glared at by Ji Yingying.
Those people are already easy targets; they don't even dare to glance at them.
Lian Mulan on the ground also woke up and looked around in confusion.
Where is this?
“This is the human traffickers’ dungeon. You’ve been caught and will be locked up here for life,” Ji Yingying said in a soft voice, which even Mu Lan didn’t believe.
"Don't joke around, girl."
"Are you kidding? Come and look at this group of people. Do you recognize anyone?" Ji Yingying asked him to look around. Lian Mulan looked around and actually recognized one or two people.
"Are you Mr. Lu?"
Master Lu looked up at him, then sighed. He had been imprisoned for half a year and was among the first batch of people to be arrested.
At this moment, I don't want to say anything; my whole being exudes an aura of death.
"Impossible! I signed a sales contract with Mr. Lu a few days ago."
Mr. Lu sighed, "I've been in here for a long time. I don't even know what's going on outside. How could I possibly sign a contract with you?"
"Yes, Lao Lu has been in here for a long time, and I have been in here for a long time too."
"this……"
"That's right. This group of people have been here for a long time. Look, that's Magistrate Li, the magistrate of Anmin County."
"This is impossible. I've heard that the magistrate of Anmin County is a wicked man who has even run away with his wife and children."
Upon hearing that he had fled, Magistrate Li seemed relieved: "It's good that he fled, it's good that he fled, so he won't be harmed."
There's no escape. His wife is dead, and his son was sold; nobody knows where he is now.
Ji Yingying: ………How miserable!
"Ah... wuwu... my Ping'er!" Magistrate Li cried out, his wife, his child, wuwu...
"What's going on?" Ji Yingying looked at him in surprise. County Magistrate Li wiped away his tears and said, "I just miss my child so much."
Everyone around stared at Ji Yingying with wide eyes. They had just heard the voice and had always thought it was spoken by the mouth, but they never expected that it was not the mouth that spoke, but the voice of the person's heart. Do they have the ability to read minds?
Having the ability to read minds, does that mean they should be saved soon?
[Host, these people's families are all in bad shape. Their wives and children are either dead or sick, not to mention the children themselves.]
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