Chapter 123
After Yu Ying arranged all the miscellaneous matters in the clinic, she set aside half a month to go to the county seat with Fu Wei.
She didn't have much money, and she had 80,000 coins ready to buy food.
Fu Wei didn't know where he borrowed the one hundred taels of silver from, and she didn't ask about it. But when she got the money, she secretly thought that she had to work harder to make money.
The total now is 180 taels. According to the market price of grain, five cents per catty, that is about 3,600 catties.
Fu Wei planned to collect grain along the way, and she didn't want to cause any trouble, so she could only collect it after arriving at the county seat.
The next day, before daybreak, the carriage was already waiting outside.
There were also six ox carts rented by the government office.
Just six ox carts are enough?
After getting on the carriage, Fu Wei explained that these ox carts were used to transport grain collected along the way back to Yu County. If they needed to continue collecting grain when they arrived at the county seat, they would find more ox carts.
The journey originally took three days, but because they had to take a detour to other counties to collect grain, it was estimated to take ten days to reach the county seat.
Wherever Yu Ying passed by, she found that most of the people in the villages and the county town had a gloomy look on their faces, with empty eyes.
In previous years, taxes were heavy, and there wasn't much grain left. Even if the remaining grain was sold, it wouldn't be enough to pay the taxes. I didn't know what to do. I was so worried that I couldn't even sleep. I was almost going crazy and felt like a walking corpse.
If I were to go and perform labor service, I would probably not be able to come back for at least ten or eight years, and whether I could come back or not is another matter.
Because Yu County was able to postpone tax payments for three months, although the people were worried, they were not so depressed.
Yu Ying saw the people outside the carriage and sighed helplessly.
Seeing her worried look, Fu Wei leaned over and lowered the corner of the curtain.
She grew up in a peaceful era where people had no worries about food and clothing, so she felt upset when she saw these things.
"Don't watch if you feel uncomfortable." He said gently.
Yu Ying retracted her gaze and shook her head: "I can still accept it."
The current situation is just the beginning. The most miserable time will come at the end of the year. She can't stand it at this level, and she will be even more unbearable in the future.
Fu Wei glanced at her and said nothing.
After finding an inn to stay in, Fu Wei sent people to collect food.
Taking advantage of the cheap food, many merchants would take the opportunity to stockpile food. They would go to three counties to collect food. Fu Wei would have people collect food in the name of merchants, and it would take two days to collect food in each county.
Even so, the grain harvest was not ideal.
The two county towns only had four carts of grain.
As far as Fu Wei knew, the old grain had just been delivered. Which merchant was so quick?
Luo Dianshi returned from his investigation and discussed the matter with Fu Wei, "I heard someone was collecting grain on a large scale a few days ago, also for two days. It was the same group. They said it was a merchant company, but they couldn't specify where they were from. They left immediately after collecting the grain. I checked at the government office, but there's no news of this merchant company. Apparently, someone at the government office has been bribed."
If grain was collected on a large scale, the yamen runners would certainly know about it, but the yamen did not keep any records. It was obvious that the yamen runners, the chief clerk, or the registrar were involved. Moreover, the grain collection took a short time, so there was no record and no one would investigate further.
Fu Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Since they're concealing their identities to collect grain, their identities must not be honorable. The county town has looser security, while the county seat is stricter. They will collect grain in the county town, but they won't take the risk of going to the county seat. If you arrange it now, go directly to the county seat. There's no need to collect grain along the way, so it won't make much sense."
Luo Dianshi didn't ask any more questions and went straight to make the arrangements.
After Luo Dianshi left, Fu Wei frowned slightly.
Who is this person who collects grain?
The original plan was to spend ten days collecting grain, but because the grain collection along the way was not ideal, it only took six days to reach the county seat.
After arriving at the county seat, Fu Wei personally delivered the memorial written by County Magistrate Zhou to the prefectural governor's office.
After all, we are collecting grain under the nose of the prefect, so we still have to report it.
Governor Shen is not doing his job properly. He leaves all the affairs to his subordinates. According to him, since there is no possibility of promotion, why should he work so hard?
——Since you have already supported so many people, would you still keep them to eat for free?
——Since someone is working, why doesn’t he just eat, drink and have fun?
Although he was not doing his job properly, he would occasionally inquire about the affairs of various counties.
Previously, County Magistrate Zhou had sent a letter to the county seat regarding staff matters, and Prefect Shen had specifically instructed that if there was any news from Yu County, it should be delivered directly to him.
Two months later, a letter came from Yu County, and it was delivered by the lame aide, which made him curious about what it was about.
"Is there some trouble in Wuling County?"
The official who reported the matter said, "Your Excellency, the Yu County staff did not come here regarding the Wuling County issue. Instead, they submitted a memorial regarding the grain collection."
As he said this, he presented the memorial.
Prefect Shen took the memorial, which was what Zhou Yi said.
It is said that there is no grain in the granary of Yu County, and they want to take advantage of the fact that grain is cheap now to collect grain and fill the granary to prepare for emergencies.
After reading it, Governor Shen did not express anything.
It’s okay to collect grain, but he will naturally not be happy if it’s collected privately, but it’s okay as long as you tell him.
"Sir, can you pass the message directly?" asked the registrar.
Prefect Shen was about to nod, but then he remembered something and suddenly smiled, "The weather is pleasant and the game in the mountains is plentiful. Since Fu Wei is proficient in archery, he's obviously a good horseman. I wonder if he can still ride a horse with his lame leg?"
After saying this, his smile widened: "If we bet on Fu Wei's hunting, I wonder how big the chances of winning are?"
The registrar showed no emotion on his face, but deep down he felt sympathy for the young man.
Although adults also protect him, he still plays when he needs to.
*
Yu Ying settled down in the inn and went to the stall.
Earlier, there was only a stall with a high table, but now it has been made into a shed, which can provide shade and shelter from rain. It is about ten feet long and wide, and occupies a large area, so the rent paid is also higher.
Because Yu Ying opened her own clinic, she asked Song Sanlang to add the words "Yongxitang" to all the jars he ordered from then on.
When they arrived at the stall, Song Sanlang was not there, only Miss Su was there, and Yu Ying walked into the stall.
Miss Su was getting rouge for a guest. When she saw a guest coming in, she looked up and felt that the guest looked familiar.
He approached with doubt: "What are you looking for, my lady?"
Yu Ying retracted her gaze and smiled at her: "Miss Su, don't you recognize me?"
Miss Su looked at the beautiful and gentle young woman in front of her, a little confused, but then she reacted and said in surprise: "Madam Yu?!"
Yu Ying nodded.
Miss Su was even more surprised. She looked at Madam Yu's clean, fair face and stammered, "Madam Yu, where are the spots on your face?"
Yu Ying smiled and replied, "Of course it's gone."
Miss Su didn't dare to look at Madam Yu carefully before, for fear of making Madam Yu uncomfortable, so she only knew that Madam Yu had spots on her face. But now that the spots are gone, she dares to take a closer look.
"It's amazing. There's no trace left at all."
Yu Ying thought it was smeared on, so she washed it off carefully. Since no juice had been applied for a long time, there was naturally no trace left.
Originally, Yu Ying did not apply black liquid, but because she had been applying it for a year, there were still some traces, which took a long time to disappear, and it looked more real.
After Miss Su calmed down, Yu Ying asked, "Where is Song Jun?"
Miss Su came back to her senses and was about to answer when Song Sanlang saw Yu Ying walking over.
When he saw Yu Ying, Song Sanlang seemed surprised for a moment, but he didn't look at her too much.
Song Sanlang explained, "Usually, Ah Liu watches over the shed, and it's not convenient for a grown man like me, so I just set up a stall in front to sell some food, earn a little money, and watch over the shed at the same time to avoid any trouble."
At this point, Song Sanlang was a little reserved: "I set up a stall and can earn some money. My sister-in-law doesn't need to give me money for food."
Yu Ying shook her head: "We'll discuss this matter in detail when Third Brother Song returns to Yu County to pick up the goods."
As long as it doesn't affect the deal, Yu Ying naturally doesn't care, but there are other things that require Song Sanlang's help, so there's no need to discuss this little thing in a hurry.
Hearing this, Song Sanlang realized that she had something else to say, so he said, "Since your sister-in-law is here, I will tell her about the profits of the past two months."
Song Sanlang had gone back once before to get the goods, and during that time he had someone send a letter back. One was about the missing goods, the second was about the house, and the third was that he would return to Yu County in the middle of the year to carefully calculate the profits.
Yu Ying nodded and said, "Then let's go to the teahouse and talk about it."
Song Sanlang took back the cake stall.
After Miss Su whispered a few words to him, he took a few packets of cakes and gave them to Yu Ying.
"This was made by Miss Su. She said she would give a few packs to her boss."
Miss Su said a little embarrassedly: "I can make some cakes. Brother Song happened to be setting up a stall, so I volunteered."
Yu Ying glanced at the two of them, as if she had noticed something, but she didn't expose it. She just smiled and took the cake: "Then I would like to thank Miss Su."
After leaving the shed, Yu Ying hesitated for a moment, then politely told Song Sanlang, "If you like the girl, Brother Song San, I'll ask you to propose marriage while I'm in the county seat."
Given the Song family's situation, they naturally cannot be allowed to come. Once they come and find out where Song Sanlang is, they will never have a peaceful life again.
Fu Zhen is one year older than Song Sanlang, and the two of them call each other brothers, so it makes sense for the elder brother to propose marriage.
Hearing this, even Song Sanlang, a rough man, felt a little embarrassed.
"How did my sister-in-law find out?"
Yu Ying smiled and said, "You two may be whispering in a normal manner, but your eyes can't deceive anyone."
Song Sanlang was silent for a moment, then said, "I am considered a homeless person, and I am not sure if I can give her a stable home."
A stable home...
Yu Ying smiled and didn't try to persuade him further. She just said, "Third Brother Song has his own limits. I won't say much more."
Song Sanlang nodded.
The two arrived at the teahouse.
It’s neither early nor late now, so there aren’t many people here.
They sat down in the corner of the second floor. There weren't many people upstairs. After the waiter brought them tea, Yu Ying got straight to the point: "Erlang and I have discussed this. While food is cheap right now, I'd like to stock up on some food at the place you rented for me earlier. I can sell it later when the price goes up."
Song Sanlang was stunned. "Will the price of grain continue to rise? But grain is quite cheap now. The better ones are five cents per pound, and the worse ones are only four cents. Maybe it will get even cheaper in the future."
Yu Ying shook her head. "I don't think so." She lowered her voice and said, "Now, even if the people sell their grain, they may not be able to pay the taxes. Those young laborers will have no choice but to do corvée labor. Without laborers, there will be fewer people working the land, and less food, but the number of people eating the food will not decrease."
This statement was made by Yu Ying and Fu Wei as a friendly gesture.
Yu Ying didn't need a lot of food, and it didn't need to be sent away from the county seat, so he could come secretly.
After hearing this, Song Sanlang thought about it and realized that if it was true, would food really be expensive next year?
Song Sanlang looked at Yu Ying: "What does my sister-in-law want me to do?"
Yu Ying didn't keep the secret and said directly, "It's inconvenient for a woman like me to collect the grain. Moreover, I'm afraid that someone will be watching Fu Wei, so it's not convenient for me to collect the grain myself. So I want you to help me hire a few people to collect the grain."
Song Sanlang didn't think this was difficult at all and asked, "How much grain does my sister-in-law want to harvest?"
"One hundred and eighty taels of grain."
Song Sanlang was surprised.
One hundred and eighty taels of grain. An ordinary farmer grows his own grains and eats some miscellaneous grains and wild vegetables, and can only use two or three taels a year.
Richer families would only have around five taels.
If we live frugally, this amount of food can last for three years.
After being surprised, he gradually calmed down.
Fu Erlang and Fu's sister-in-law were both extremely intelligent people. One of them entered the government office and was highly valued by the county magistrate, and the other, at a young age, was able to open a clinic as a woman. Needless to say, her wisdom and courage were evident.
Not to mention that his brother's wife has done him a favor.
Walking with them would definitely not harm him, and might even be of some benefit.
After Song Sanlang figured it out, he didn't ask too many questions and replied, "Okay, I'll find someone to collect the food in the next two days."
Yu Ying whispered, "Don't be too loud. If anyone asks, just say you're helping someone harvest the grain and earning some hard-earned money. Once the grain is harvested, send it to the house. Then fill sacks with sand and pretend it's grain before transporting it out. From now on, you can move to the house and help look after it."
Hearing her say this, Song Sanlang still nodded without a word of doubt.
"I'll ask my elder brother to deliver the silver to you."
Song Sanlang nodded and then asked, "The shed has made a profit of over twenty taels recently. I wonder if we should buy some food with it?"
Hearing this, Yu Ying pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Take out twenty taels to collect the grain and make it an even number."
Two hundred taels is not a lot. Maybe it would make people curious and talk about it in the county town, but it is nothing surprising in the county seat.
After saying goodbye to Song Sanlang, Yu Ying returned to the inn.
Song Sanlang saw people selling food everywhere on the street. After thinking about it, he had some ideas in his mind.
The people all want to store grain, but they have to pay taxes and the grain has to be sold, so how can they store grain?
He happened to have some silver and money saved, so he might as well stock up on some food to prevent it from becoming more expensive in the future.
It is definitely a good idea to stock up on food.
*
Yu Ying returned to the inn. Fu Wei had not returned yet, and the plainclothes officers were still in the inn.
He had just gone to the prefect's mansion today to submit a memorial and appeal, so of course he couldn't collect the grain first.
Yu Ying divided the cakes she brought back into two packs and kept one pack for herself.
It was not until noon that Fu Wei and his elder brother returned from the prefectural government.
She happened to see the two brothers and saw that the eldest brother looked very worried, obviously he had encountered difficulties.
He entered the house, poured them tea, and opened the cakes before asking, "What happened?"
Fu Zhen did not drink the water either. "Today I went to the governor's mansion, and the messenger told my second brother to prepare to participate in the hunting the day after tomorrow."
Yu Ying nodded, and after a "Oh" sound, she suddenly realized: "Hunting? Hunting on horseback?!"
She looked at Fu Wei in surprise.
Fu Wei nodded helplessly.
Yu Ying: ...
I wonder what the prefect was thinking by letting a disabled person ride a horse.
The three of them sat in silence.
This is clearly an attempt to have fun. If Fu Wei doesn't participate, collecting grain might be difficult.
Yu Ying didn't need to guess, she knew that Fu Wei had no choice but to agree.
Yu Ying had heard that disabled people could ride horses, but the problem was not whether disabled people could ride horses, but that Fu Wei was not a disabled person. His muscle memory was not something he could control. When he was riding on horseback and was not paying attention, his legs would move in accordance with his thoughts, making people realize that his leg disease was fake.
Originally, this leg disease was to hide from the eyes and ears of the Huo father and son, but it suddenly recovered in front of this prefect Shen, which is troublesome.
Even if Yu Ying didn't know Prefect Shen well, she knew from his previous actions that he was a person who cared a lot about his reputation and would not tolerate being deceived.
Fu Wei looked at Yu Ying and asked, "Can you use acupuncture to temporarily numb my legs?"
Yu Ying was a little embarrassed: "I know it, but I haven't tried it."
After all, I was a good citizen with a good family background. I learned these theories, but the practice was to treat and save people. I have never practiced this method of making people lose sensation in their legs.
Suddenly he remembered something and said, "You can use something like Ma Fei San."
Fu Wei frowned: "But this is for oral administration."
Yu Ying said, "There are also external applications, but the effects are shorter."
After thinking for a moment, she continued, "Besides this, we also need to make a saddle to hold your legs in place. Even if your legs and feet can't grip the horse's belly, it will still allow you to sit firmly on the horse. Even with only two days left, I'm afraid the saddle won't be made."
It will also cost money.
This Governor Shen really only knows how to have fun and doesn't know the suffering of the people.
Fu Wei was silent for a moment, then said, "Before I left the prefect's mansion, the official who delivered the message told me that if I needed anything, I could tell him. Since the prefect is making things difficult for me, I naturally cannot make a saddle at my own expense."
The couple thought of the same thing.
The two looked at each other, saw each other's eyes, and understood what the other meant.
After all, when they were preparing to buy food, the combined assets of the two of them were less than ten taels, and they had to pay off a hundred taels of foreign debt.
They are poor people who are deeply in debt.
After lunch, Fu Wei arranged for people to collect grain, and then discussed with Yu Ying in the room how to make a saddle.
Based on what she had seen and heard in later generations, Yu Ying quickly came up with a solution.
The stirrups were originally hung with leather, but were changed to two hard straight irons fixed in place, and then four belt-like buckles were added to the straight irons. After getting on the horse, they would firmly clamp the calves to prevent falling when the legs were inconvenient. At the same time, it would also remind Fu Wei that his legs were disabled.
After finishing the drawing, Fu Wei went out with a few others and went to the prefect's mansion.
After arriving at the prefect's mansion, he explained his purpose. The registrar talked to the prefect, who approved it with a wave of his hand and asked the registrar to convey a message to Fu Wei.
"My Lord said that Young Master Fu has difficulty walking, so it's understandable that he needs to trouble others. However, if this hunt doesn't go well, don't say that I won't help Young Master if he needs help in the future."
Fu Wei bowed calmly and replied gently, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I will do my best."
The Dianshi recalled what the adults had said to themselves - if we bet on hunting in danger, we wonder how likely we are to win.
Thinking of this, the Dianshi felt a little headache.
The prefect loves to make bets with others. Every time he makes a bet, he always chooses the unpopular one, and others can't give in even if they want to.
If you win, everyone is happy; if you lose, everyone suffers.
Thinking of this, the Dianshi whispered, "I saw that Mr. Fu was a very good archer last time, and he should be good at horseback archery as well. However, he has difficulty walking, so your Excellency will understand. If he is within the top five, you may give him a reward."
"The saddle should be ready by tomorrow evening. Come to me that evening, Young Master Fu, and I'll let you try it on."
Fu Wei shook his head and said, "Someone will tell the Master. If the Master knows, he will definitely punish you. So let it go."
The prefect Shen was just looking for fun. If he knew that he had learned it first, he would definitely be unhappy.
The Dianshi had been with the prefect for many times, so he naturally knew what kind of person he was. Upon hearing this, he did not mention the matter of trying out the horse again.
Fu Wei said, "I will remember your kindness, sir. If I succeed in the future, I will never forget you."
The Dianshi smiled, thinking that it was impossible for a man like him who walked around in a chair to achieve success, but he felt somewhat pleased when he heard the compliments.
*
When Fu Wei left, Yu Ying packed a lot of medicine for him.
"This is for treating colds. This medicinal wine is for iron injuries. You know how to use it. This is a hemostatic powder. This is an itching powder. You saw the effect it had on Aunt Cuilan before. It's very effective. This is lime powder. Sprinkling it in your eyes will buy you time to escape. This is a heart-clearing pill. If someone gives you a low-quality drug to taint your innocence, take this. At least you can escape and find a place to soak in cold water."
Yu Ying thought that novels were already quite melodramatic, but reality was even more melodramatic than novels, so it was better to prepare these medicines.
Fu Wei listened to her telling him these things carefully. At first, he had a faint smile on his face, but the more he listened, the more confused he became, and the smile on his face froze slightly.
"You're overthinking this..."
Yu Ying looked at Fu Wei and said seriously, "In the eyes of others, you are handsome, but you have a disability, so you are the easiest to bully. Besides, the governor has specifically asked you not to embarrass him this time. If you stand out, how can those able-bodied people be convinced? You might encounter petty people who will use any dirty tricks to bully you. You'd better be careful."
As she spoke, she stuffed the medicine bags into his belt and collar respectively, explaining the locations again.
Fu Wei would naturally not refuse her kindness.
After inserting it, to ensure that it would not be easily removed, Yu Ying handed him a bamboo jar: "I boiled the needles in here with anesthetic for two days, and there is also medicine soaked inside. You don't need to dry it when you use it. Just insert it directly into the place I told you and let it sit for a moment."
After Fu Wei took the needle cup, he suddenly hugged Yu Ying into his arms and said, "I will only be gone for five days. I will definitely come back safely."
Yu Ying patted his back.
Fu Wei let go of Yu Ying, glanced at her smooth face, pondered for a moment, and asked, "How about applying the spots again?"
Yu Ying: ...
Although she gave many instructions, she felt that he was more worried that she would be targeted by bad people than she was.
*
Fu Wei and Prefect Shen went hunting, while Yu Ying stayed in the county seat.
Song Sanlang helped to collect the grain, while Yu Ying helped in the shed.
The weather is warm, so fewer people come to buy rouge and facial cream than in autumn, winter and spring, and business is average.
I don't know if someone was staking out the place, but noticed that the tall, strong, and fierce man was no longer around, and that there were only two young women guarding the shed. Someone then had a bad idea and came into the shop with a bottle of facial cream, shouting that someone's face got rotten because they used their facial cream, and demanded compensation.
This kind of fraud appears frequently in various routine novels and in reality, and Yu Ying has seen it many times.
"You said your face became rotten after using our facial cream. Bring out the cream and wait here. I'll have two doctors come over. They'll carefully examine it and tell if it's the same cream. If there's a problem with our cream, I'll definitely compensate you. If it's not our fault, I'll go to the government office and sue you immediately."
Yu Ying smiled and asked, "What do you think?"
The middle-aged woman opposite was relentless, "You'll definitely collude with the people at the clinic to frame me. I don't care. My face is rotten like this, you have to compensate me, otherwise you can forget about doing business."
As he spoke, he shouted outside the shed, "Everyone, come and take a look! This Ruyufang company is selling toxic facial cream and harming people, but they're not admitting it. Look at my face, it's all because of their facial cream!"
After the woman started yelling, a large group of people gathered around to watch.
Yu Ying took a closer look and found that the man's face was only red and swollen on the surface, without any scratches. If it was an allergy, it would definitely not be like hers. It seemed that the swelling was caused by rubbing with some herbal medicine.
She refused to inspect the goods and just threw a tantrum demanding compensation. What else could I not understand?
There is no point arguing with people who cause trouble like this. The most direct way is to report to the police. That way, no one will cause trouble again in the future.
Yu Ying winked at Miss Su, opened her mouth, and said the words "report to the authorities."
While everyone's attention was on the host and the woman, Miss Su secretly ran out from the back.
Yu Ying carefully calculated the distance to the government office, and waited for the woman to make a fuss outside the shed, then ignored her.
The woman outside pointed at Yu Ying and kept cursing her, and the onlookers joined in.
"This facial cream is really harmful. Don't buy it from here anymore, or your face will get rotten."
"Yes, yes, you can tell by looking at that woman's face. Who would dare to use it again?"
“I feel good when using it…”
Someone whispered and was interrupted: "You must be a shill for this stall. Can't you see that their face is rotten?! How dare you say such things against your conscience!"
There was a lot of discussion, and one group of people left and another group came.
Seeing the young woman ignore her, the abusive woman was furious. She stood up and rushed into the shed and started smashing things. "If you don't pay me, I'll smash this to pieces!"
She had just smashed three bottles of facial cream when Yu Ying suddenly stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and took her pulse.
The pulse is steady, but there is no sign of poisoning.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, let me go! Everyone, please judge the situation. This stall sells harmful facial cream and even wants to hit people!"
"I've reported it to the police."
"Someone's been beaten, someone's been beaten..."
"I've reported it to the police." Yu Ying spoke again, and the middle-aged woman gradually stopped talking, and the surroundings became quiet.
Yu Ying smiled at her and said, "It should be almost time. Let's go to the court and let the government judge the case. It won't go wrong."
Yu Ying looked at the people outside and said, "So many people have used my facial cream and nothing happened. I can't have someone claim to have used our facial cream, refuse to inspect it, and then ask me to pay for it with a rotten face? Who knows, someone might come up with evil intentions and frame me in the future."
"You, you said I framed you?!" The woman's eyes widened.
Yu Ying glanced at her calmly and said, "I didn't say you were framing me. I only said I would report you to the authorities and find out the truth. If there is evidence that you used my facial cream and got into trouble, I will pay you compensation and apologize publicly."
"If you frame me." Yu Ying smiled gently, "You will be punished with a beating and imprisonment. Oh, and the money for three jars of facial cream."
Everyone looked at each other.
This young woman was so calm and even reported the matter to the police in person. Could it be that she was really being blackmailed?
The woman was obviously panicking. A group of them had been eyeing the shed for a long time, but they didn't dare to take action because there was a strong man protecting it.
The strong man was not here today, but a beautiful young lady came, so he had some ideas. He was sure that they would not dare to cause trouble and would just give money in a hurry to get the matter over with. Unexpectedly, this young lady was not only not in a hurry, but actually went to report to the police!
Seeing that the situation was not good, the people who cursed the most in the crowd hurriedly left the crowd.
Yu Ying deliberately shouted loudly, "Your accomplices have abandoned you and run away, and you still haven't called them back."
When they heard the word "accomplices", the onlookers were stunned. Then they saw several people suddenly running away in panic, as if they were guilty of a crime.
After seeing this, what is there to not understand?
The woman panicked and tried to struggle and escape, but her wrist was in so much pain: "It hurts so much! She wants to break my hand. Help me pull her away, quick!"
She really felt like her hands were useless. How could this young woman be so strong?!
Everyone: ...
The woman was just holding her hand to prevent her from running away, but she looked like she was going to die. Isn't this just a self-torture trick?
In just a moment, the constable arrived.
Yu Ying asked someone to report to the authorities and then followed the woman to the yamen.
The woman who was taken to the yamen was so weak in the knees that she was almost paralyzed, but she was still dragged there.
The farce was over quickly, and Yu Ying came back in just half an hour.
When the people who were waiting for news saw her come back, they knew that the woman was a liar. Everyone wanted to know how she knew it, and they all went to the shed to find out the news out of curiosity.
As more and more people came, they attracted people who really wanted to buy rouge and facial cream, and business was very good.
When it was time to close the stall, Song Sanlang arrived and frowned tightly when he heard Su Liu's words.
Yu Ying asked, "Has anyone come to cause trouble before?"
Su Liu nodded: "Yes, there are, but as soon as Brother Song came, these people ran away. I think they came because they thought we two women were weak and easy to bully."
"After all, no one will dare to cause trouble so easily in the future."
When everything was ready, Yu Ying went to the side and asked Song Sanlang, "How's the grain harvest going?"
Song Sanlang replied, "We just harvested the grain today. We only collected five bags of grain. I called an ox cart to deliver it to the house."
Five bags of grain must weigh at least five or six hundred kilograms.
The next day will definitely be a little more.
But if we collect it at the same time as the government, it will be somewhat slower.
But Fu Wei would be gone for five days, so he had to collect enough.
"By the way, that woman came here today to blackmail us. If she fails, she will definitely have evil intentions. Protect Miss Su these days and don't let her be left alone."
Song Sanlang was stunned: "What about you, my sister-in-law?"
Yu Ying smiled and said, "The people in the inn are all from the Yu County government. What are you afraid of?"
Song Sanlang nodded. That was true. Although Fu Erlang was not there, Fu's sister-in-law was not alone in the inn.
When Yu Ying returned to the inn, she felt something was wrong.
What you worry about will come true.
——Someone followed her.
She returned to the inn calmly, then instructed the innkeeper, "If anyone comes to inquire about me, just hint that my husband is away on a long journey and I'm alone. Or if they ask anything about me, just respond."
The shopkeeper was stunned and puzzled: "What are you talking about, madam?"
The shopkeeper knew that the people staying in the inn with this lady were officials.
And this lady's husband seemed to have some background. Although her husband was away on a business trip, there were still quite a few yamen runners in the inn.
Yu Ying whispered, "When I came back just now, I noticed a few people looking at me with shifty eyes. Some even followed me. I think they might be human traffickers who specialize in kidnapping children and women."
The shopkeeper heard this and saw that the woman was young and beautiful. He no longer doubted the identity of the traffickers and was furious. "How audacious these people are!"
Yu Ying said hurriedly, "I don't know if I'm too nervous and my feelings are wrong, but we have to be on the safe side. If someone really comes to pry about me, then they must be there. It would be better to catch them all in one fell swoop and deal with these scums."
The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly and said, "Don't worry, ma'am. If you are really a human trafficker, I will cooperate with you."
Although it is better to have less trouble than more, if something happens to this noble man who eats the government's food in his inn, or if he knows that those people might be human traffickers and lets them go in order to avoid trouble, when something happens to the noble man's family, he might blame his inn.
Instead of doing this, it would be better to seize the connections of this noble person and help him.
After giving a few instructions, Yu Ying returned to her room.
When she returned to her room, someone followed her into the inn, watched her go up to the second floor from a distance, and then looked away.
This action did not miss the shopkeeper's eyes.
The man came over and said he wanted to book a guest room on the second floor.
The shopkeeper opened a guest room for him, with yamen runners staying on both sides and opposite the room.
Just after the door was opened and the man had left, a short middle-aged man came into the inn, looking out of breath. He came to the counter and asked, "Boss, where is the lady who just came in? She dropped her purse."
As he spoke, he took out a red purse that looked like one used by women, and spoke in a very serious manner.
The shopkeeper understood that this person was in the same group as the previous one, and they wanted to confirm which room the woman lived in!
The shopkeeper said calmly, "Give me the purse, and I'll give it to the lady."
When the shopkeeper reached out his hand, the man withdrew it and said hurriedly, "No, no, no, who knows if you will covet the woman's purse? I still want to see the woman come to collect it with my own eyes before I can feel at ease."
The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows, then called the waiter and asked him to call Madam Yu down.
Upon hearing this, the waiter went upstairs to check Yu Ying's door.
Yu Ying came out and heard the waiter say that someone had picked up her purse, so she said that her purse was not lost and it was not hers.
The waiter then ran downstairs.
When Yu Ying closed the door, she saw that the door diagonally opposite was slightly open, but when she looked over, the gap was closed again.
If Yu Ying didn't know that someone was following her, she really wouldn't have known that the purse was a trigger.
However, the people on both sides of the room seemed to be runners from Yu County, but they were all dressed in plain clothes and no one could tell they were runners.
The shopkeeper really arranged a good position for me.
After Yu Ying closed the door, she couldn't help but laugh.
Because Fu Wei was away and they had to avoid suspicion, the inn's yamen runners wouldn't take the initiative to look for her. But when they saw her, they would call her "Madam Yu", so they had to be reminded.
If I'm not mistaken, these people are in the same group as the woman who was causing trouble at the stall just now.
These people might not just be scammers, they might actually be human traffickers...
Speaking of human traffickers, Yu Ying thought of Fu An's incident.
In the book, Fu An was abducted by human traffickers.
When Yu Ying thought of this, her face darkened and she pursed her lips.
These people must not be let off.
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