After listening to it, Qin Ye roughly understood the cause and effect of the matter. Four words:

Officials protect each other.

In order to satisfy his own pleasure, the governor wanted to marry the prefect's daughter.

In order to improve his career and please the governor, the prefect did not hesitate to marry his only daughter to the governor.

The prefect's daughter became an innocent victim of mutual protection among officials.

Qin Ye said: "If you really don't want to, why not take the opportunity to talk about it at the engagement party tomorrow and delay it for some time. I heard that the court will send people to the south in a few days, and they will make the decision for you."

The woman cried until her eyes turned red:

"It is precisely because someone from the imperial court will come to the south for a tour in a few days that my father will marry me off earlier."

The engagement ceremony was originally scheduled for the seventh day of the first lunar month, but it is only the second day tomorrow and it is already going to happen.

"The governor is a corrupt official recognized by everyone... If I marry him, my life will be over... I can't escape, I won't go back... I don't want to..."

The woman shook her head blankly, her eyes filled with dead silence.

"I'd rather die!"

Suddenly, she grabbed her cloak, stood up and slammed herself against the wall.

Qin Ye's pupils shrank slightly, and he rushed forward, stopping her quickly.

"Let me go!"

"Let me die!"

She waved her hands, twisted her body, and desperately slammed against the wall.

"Calm down."

"I will not marry that corrupt official. Death is my best destination..."

"calm!"

Qin Ye suddenly raised his voice and shouted, then he grabbed the woman's shoulders with both hands, pushed her to sit on the ground, and forced her to calm down.

Looking directly into her eyes, he said word by word:

"Since you have nowhere else to go, you might as well trust me. Go back first, and toss the ball tomorrow as usual. I will take care of the rest."

The woman stared at her blankly:

"Believe...you?"

She didn't know this strange woman in white at all.

"Believe me, there is still a chance. If you don't believe me, you will die anyway. Why not give it a try? If you fail, you can just commit suicide. Isn't that the same?"

Qin Ye turned his wrist, took out an exquisite silver scalpel from the Qiankun bracelet, and placed it into the woman's palm.

The scalpel is extremely cold.

The blade was shining coldly, extremely sharp.

The woman slowly lowered her head. The knife in her hand was thin and long, polished and smooth, so sharp that it seemed to be able to cut bones...

.

It was already late at night when we returned to the inn.

Qin Ye pushed open the door and saw the man sitting at the table, leisurely pouring himself a cup of tea. When he saw her come back, he handed the tea to her. Apart from that, he didn't say anything else.

She'd been out for so long, and he had nothing to ask?

After thinking about it, he took the initiative to speak:

"A prosperous place like Shonan where the weather is like spring all year round and it is located on a major transportation route, the commercial economy is developing very well, so there should be a lot of money to be made, right?"

The more oil and water there is, the more benefits there are to be gained.

"Indeed." The man put down the teapot, took a sip of hot tea, and frowned. Although he was unhappy, he endured it.

He said, "This place is rich in tea, silk, cloth, rice...more than a dozen kinds of goods, which almost supply the needs of half of Dongling Country. There are many industries, high profits, and a lot of oil and water. It is also easy to find loopholes in management."

Every year during his southern tour, he would uncover many tax accounts that didn’t match up and would fire many officials in charge.

This year is no exception.

"I heard that the governor of southern Hunan has been criticized by the people?"

The prefect was in charge of a city, while the governor was in charge of an area or several towns, and was one level higher in rank.

Zong Zhengchen thought for a moment and said:

"The governor of Xiangnan is a young man who is not even thirty years old. It is rare for him to reach this position at such a young age."

He twisted the teacup, took a sip, and said calmly:

"When people have achieved a little success, it is inevitable that they will be more youthful and energetic. This is normal."