"Who did you say died?"
Shen Yuan suddenly stepped forward and approached the man who had spoken.
The shop assistant lowered his voice and said, "It's that officer who arrested us, surnamed Jiang. I heard he died a particularly dishonorable death!"
"How exactly is it disgraceful?"
The crowd crowded around, their faces full of gossip.
In this city of Jizhou, they dared not speak ill of the Prince of Jin, nor of Jizhou, but they could still say something about other people and things behind closed doors.
The shopkeeper closed the back door and glanced at the shop assistant.
The shop assistant then said, "I heard that he got up to relieve himself last night, and I don't know if he didn't turn on the light or what, but he fell headfirst into the chamber pot and suffocated to death!"
"Really? That's too far-fetched! Doesn't he have many servants in his mansion? How could so many servants not be able to keep an eye on their master when he needs to relieve himself?"
The shop assistant said, "Who knows? I heard that the maid on night watch didn't hear a sound, and then that officer died!"
"Living..." The shopkeeper stamped his foot, really wanting to say "serves him right," but worried that the walls might be overheard. So, he changed his words to, "Living perfectly well, what a pity! What a pity!"
The shop assistant continued, "Besides that, there are even more mysterious things."
"Because of the funeral, many people came to their mansion. As soon as they entered the mansion, they found a lot of gold and silver treasures in the flower pots, tree roots, and stone paths."
"The Jiang family is so rich that they throw gold and silver treasures all over the place. Don't you think that would make people envious?"
"When I came back, I saw that the government had sent a lot of soldiers to the Jiang family, saying that they were going to confiscate the property of the eldest son of the Jiang family!"
Upon hearing this, the innkeeper clapped his hands excitedly.
Although the money amassed by that officer and soldier would eventually be embezzled by higher-ups and he would never get his money back, he was still happy!
That bully should have died long ago!
However... the innkeeper soon became dejected again. It was just that one bully had died, but soon a new one would appear.
The city lord of Jizhou turned a blind eye to these local bullies in order to amass wealth, allowing them to oppress merchants and common people.
Jizhou City has long been rotten to the core!
Just then, Xiao Ling came down the stairs.
Everyone immediately fell silent and kept quiet.
Shen Yuan, carrying two bowls of noodles, glanced at Xiao Ling and said, "Come up with me."
Xiao Ling paused as she stepped onto the last step, then moved aside to let Shen Yuan go up first, before following her back to the second-floor guest room.
Back in the room, Shen Yuan put down the bowl, and Xiao Ling closed the door.
Seeing how well they understood each other, Shen Yuan's anger dissipated instantly.
She took two steps closer to Xiao Ling and asked in a low voice, "You really didn't kill anyone?"
“I didn’t kill him.” Xiao Ling looked down at Shen Yuan with an innocent expression. “He fell into the chamber pot by himself.”
Shen Yuan asked with a stern face, "You didn't do anything?"
Xiao Ling: "I was just sitting on the edge of his bed and tripped him."
"Anything else?"
"When he tried to climb out of the toilet, I pressed him down."
Shen Yuan: "..."
Seeing that Shen Yuan didn't speak, Xiao Ling buried his head even deeper. "Are you... angry?"
Shen Yuan smiled with a straight face: "Next time there's something like this, take me with you!"
"Five hundred taels, and your silver hairpin."
Xiao Ling took out several silver notes and the silver hairpin that Shen Yuan used to wear from his pocket and handed them all to Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan took these things and hid them.
Finally, she added, "Although I don't know martial arts or light-body skills, I have learned the self-defense techniques you taught me well. I can protect myself and also help you keep watch."
"So next time you want to deal with someone, take me with you!"
Xiao Ling nodded obediently.
"Brother Jiang died of suffocation, and there were no knife wounds on his body. So where did the bloody smell on you come from last night?" Shen Yuan asked again.
Xiao Ling rubbed the tip of her nose with her index finger knuckle.
Killing a government officer leader wouldn't even take the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
An hour is enough for him to kill many people.
Seeing that Xiao Ling remained silent, Shen Yuan understood that someone must have stretched out their neck and bumped into the knife in Xiao Ling's hand.
She pondered for two seconds and said, "Let's leave the city today!"
Upon hearing Shen Yuan say she was going out of the city, Xiao Ling was taken aback: "Weren't you going to have that waiter's injury treated?"
Shen Yuan told Xiao Ling what Wang Xiaoqiang had said, and then said, "Let's leave the city first, and continue treating him when we get to Baishi Town."
If she didn't leave the city soon, she was afraid that Xiao Ling would reveal something, and then it would be difficult to leave the city again!
Seeing that Shen Yuan had made her decision, Xiao Ling agreed, "I'll follow your arrangements."
After finishing their noodles, the two quickly packed their luggage and went downstairs.
Shen Yuan returned the bowl of noodles to the innkeeper and settled the bill for the previous night's lodging and meals.
The innkeeper declined, saying, "After going inside, everyone is broke! So, the bill for tonight is waived! Consider it payment for Ah Qiang's consultation fee!"
"To be honest, I'm a businessman too. Businessmen know the difficulties of businessmen. Please accept this money; it's what I should pay!"
Shen Yuan put down the money and went to the backyard.
The other staff at the inn helped Wang Xiaoqiang onto the carriage. Xiao Ling led the horse back from the stable, harnessed it, and the three of them left the Ruyi Inn through the backyard.
After walking for about an incense stick's time, the three arrived at the west gate.
The queue to leave the city was very long.
Everyone had to get off the carriage and be questioned.
When it was Shen Yuan's turn, Wang Xiaoqiang, leaning on the carriage, weakly glanced at the soldiers guarding the city.
"Brother, I need to go back to White Stone Town to recover from my injuries. This is my doctor. I'll come back once I've recovered!"
One of the soldiers had a stern face and seemed unhappy.
Shen Yuan then realized that the man was Wang Xiaoqiang's cousin.
She stepped forward, smiling, and handed a folded silver note to Wang Xiaoqiang's cousin and the other two soldiers.
One hundred taels per note, three hundred taels in total.
Upon seeing the silver note, Wang Xiaoqiang's cousin's expression immediately softened.
Shen Yuan subtly curled the corners of her lips.
In this world, family ties are the stepping stone, but money is the universal key to open the door.
From top to bottom, everyone in Jizhou City is greedy for money, exploiting merchants and common people layer by layer.
This is a disgusting point, but also a point that can be exploited.
A few silver notes were enough to make the city's officials and yamen runners easily violate the rules.
Jizhou City is completely rotten!
After a brief check, the three were released from the city.
After leaving the city, Xiao Ling rode his horse at full speed towards Baishi Town.
After leaving Jizhou City, you still need to pass through three more towns to the north before you can completely leave the territory of Jizhou.
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