Upon hearing Jiang Hua say that she wouldn't charge for the consultation, the two elderly people on the bed disregarded everything else, got off the bed, knelt down in front of her door, and kowtowed repeatedly.
"What's going on?" Qingling looked at the two of them in confusion.
Yang Hai then recounted the situation in Yangcheng to Jiang Hua and the others.
"Are all matters in Yangcheng under the jurisdiction of the naval camp?" Jiang Hua asked, frowning.
"We can't really say," Father Yang shook his head. "Miss Jiang, if you're just visiting Yangcheng for a few days, then keep a low profile."
"Don't reveal that you know medicine, or you'll be targeted by the naval forces. Try to avoid them whenever you see them."
"There were doctors who passed through Yangcheng before, but they were arrested by the naval camp and never seen again. Some of them also appeared in the pharmacies under the jurisdiction of the naval camp to practice medicine."
Jiang Hua frowned as she listened to Yang's father's earnest advice.
Getting sick is inevitable. If people don't even have the right to see a doctor, then those who are seriously ill and have no money are just waiting to die.
"Understood, thank you for letting me know."
Jiang Hua left Yang Hai's house, and Bai Heng had just arrived. On the way to the inn, Jiang Hua relayed to Bai Heng what Yang's father had just told her about Yangcheng.
Bai Heng fell silent for a moment upon hearing this: "When our group went to the inn just now, the innkeeper also advised us to stay for a few days and leave as soon as possible, not to linger in Yangcheng, and to avoid soldiers wearing armor."
"I'll go back to the inn later and write a letter, which I'll have the gyrfalcon (a messenger bird) take back to the capital to Jiang Xingzhou. The person in charge of Yangcheng is a branch of the Su family."
"Given the situation in Yangcheng, it's likely that what happened in the capital hasn't reached here yet, so they still think Empress Su is safe and sound and can protect them."
"It's the Su family again," Jiang Hua murmured.
"Yangcheng was an insignificant small town in the eyes of the capital. It was also close to the sea. The memorials submitted to the emperor every year were not about anything. They were all about asking the Ministry of Works of the court for money to build warships."
"Warships? There are still pirates around Yangcheng?"
“That was many years ago. Jiang Xingzhou’s father once led a campaign against pirates. After that, no pirates have dared to offend Yangcheng,” Bai Heng explained.
After returning to the inn, the group quickly washed up and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, before Jiang Hua got up and went downstairs, the little white snake in the space suddenly became very agitated.
"Master, I want to go out; I want to see the sea too."
[Hiss—Hiss—!]
Jiang Hua glanced at the little black snake, her disdain undisguised. It was already a great effort for her to agree to let the little white snake into the space.
Thinking back to that day when it devoured each person with relish, and the strong fishy smell in the cave, she felt a strong aversion to it. She didn't know how the little white snake had managed to shrink her to such a small size, but the thought still blew her away.
After Jiang Hua nodded in agreement, the little white snake "whooshed" and coiled around her hand, transforming into the jade bracelet from before.
When the little black snake tried to imitate her, Jiang Hua had already slipped out of the space, leaving it alone in the same spot, anxiously pacing around.
As she descended the stairs, Qingling and the others were already enjoying breakfast in the lobby of the inn. The innkeeper, who was collecting money at the counter, glanced at her casually, lowered his head, and sighed inwardly.
"Master, he's saying you're beautiful but ill-fated!" The little white snake conveyed the innkeeper's thoughts to Jiang Hua through telepathy.
Jiang Hua: Thank you?
On the counter, Jiang Hua took out a gold ingot from her spatial storage.
The shopkeeper, who was engrossed in calculating accounts, saw the gold in front of him and his eyes lit up. When he looked up, he saw Jiang Hua and took a step back in fright.
"What did you mean by 'beautiful women have tragic fates'?" Jiang Hua asked bluntly.
"Is it related to the naval camp in Yangcheng?"
"Oh dear, my goodness, could you please keep your voice down? You might not want to live, but I do!"
When the innkeeper heard Jiang Hua openly mention the naval camp, he quickly looked around the inn's lobby and only felt relieved after confirming that there were no naval personnel there.
“Tell me, and the gold on the table is yours.”
"Just saying? Don't tell anyone I told you."
Seeing Jiang Hua nod, the shopkeeper hurriedly collected the gold from the table.
“You can’t talk about that here, girl. Come with me to the backyard, where no one is around, and I’ll tell you.”
Jiang Hua turned around and gave Bai Heng, who had been keeping an eye on her, a look, signaling him to come over and join her.
"And who is this?" The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter and was about to lead Jiang Hua to the backyard when he saw Bai Heng walking towards them.
"Don't worry about the person traveling with me."
The shopkeeper glanced at Bai Heng, secretly thinking to himself, "A completely unfamiliar face, someone who has never appeared in Yangcheng before. Could he be from the capital?"
"What if they're from the naval camp?" The shopkeeper thought to himself, feeling like crying. If he were from the naval camp and had said something wrong, he would lose his head. He shouldn't have been so greedy for money.
Upon arriving at the courtyard, Bai Heng had just sat down on a stone chair when the shopkeeper suddenly knelt before him and placed the gold he had just received on the stone table.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Hua asked the bewildered shopkeeper.
"My lord, please forgive me! I promise I won't speak to you like that again!"
Bai Heng quickly helped the shopkeeper up: "Shopkeeper, you don't need to be nervous. We are not from the naval camp. We are just merchants passing through Yangcheng who want to do some business here, so we want to learn about the situation in Yangcheng."
"Really?" The shopkeeper was helped up by Bai Heng with some doubt, and asked again before he was relieved.
"You scared me to death! But you guys, why did you have to come to Yangcheng of all places?" The shopkeeper picked up the tea on the table and took a sip to calm his nerves.
"What happened in Yangcheng?" Jiang Hua asked, repeating the shopkeeper's words.
"I see your inn is doing quite well."
"What's the use of being good? We still have to give 40% of the profits to the naval camp every month."
"Kickbacks?"
This was the first time Jiang Hua had ever heard of such blatant extortion of the people's money.
"It means exactly what it says, but the naval camp collects protection money under the guise of collecting protection fees. If any shop dares not to pay, then pirates will come and cause trouble." The shopkeeper shook his head helplessly.
"Our inn is barely surviving. As the saying goes, those who live by the mountains live off the mountains, and those who live by the sea live off the sea. It's even harder for those who make a living by fishing at sea. They have to give 50% of their profits to the naval camp. If they don't, they'll never return once they're out at sea."
"Did they run aground at sea? Did the naval forces not have time to search and rescue them?" Bai Heng frowned.
"I think the naval camp members have colluded with the pirates; they're all in cahoots." These words struck a chord with the shopkeeper, who nodded repeatedly.
"We've all thought about this in private, but what's the use? The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and the naval camp has absolute power in Yangcheng."
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