"This is all I can do to see you off. May you all have a long and prosperous journey ahead!"
After handing over the escort to the prefectural officials, the escort said goodbye to everyone.
His gaze swept over the crowd, revealing a hint of reluctance and sorrow.
"Alright! Let's start dividing the counties now!"
The four constables from the state government, each burly and with eyes that darted over the convicts like eagles pecking at their prey, were responsible for assigning them to their captives, making them unsettling.
Judging from the looks in the eyes of the other three constables, the one who spoke was probably the leader of the four. He strutting around with his belly, he gave the order:
"On the way, you must have already inquired about the situation on the South Island. I won't waste any more words with you, let's start dividing the counties now."
"Those from the four counties, east, west, south, and north, except for those who are required by the imperial court to work in the mines, will be assigned to the west and south counties. The rest may be assigned to any of the four county towns."
“Even when it comes to working in the mines, Xixian and Nanxian are different. Xixian is closer to Beixian, while Nanxian is surrounded by the sea on three sides and suffers the most from typhoons.”
"We're all reasonable people. You can decide where you want to be assigned!"
Having said that, the constables looked down at the prisoners' bundles, their eyes lingering on them.
A convict gritted his teeth, took out a silver ingot from his bundle, and presented it to the convict with both hands.
The constable standing at the very edge accepted the money, then threatened, "Is that all? If that's all, it's only enough for Nan County!"
The exiled criminal turned around, flipped the bundle in his wife's hand over, took out the remaining silver ingot, and before he could hand it to the constable, the constable snatched it away!
With a disdainful tone, he said, "You're not sincere, yet you expect to go to a good place?"
Having said that, he looked at the crowd and warned, "Although it's a division of counties, no one has stipulated that it must be divided equally!"
"If you try to pull any tricks, believe me, we'll send you all to Nan County!"
The convicts looked at each other, reluctantly rummaging through their bundles...
Xu Chunying, the eldest sister-in-law of the Ruan family, looked at her husband Ruan Qian questioningly. Seeing her husband shake his head, she resumed her standing posture.
Their actions were seen as a provocation by the constables!
"What? You think I'm talking nonsense?! Do you want to go to Nanxian County to work as laborers?"
The third son, Ruan Zheng, said in a measured tone, "Sir, the imperial court has ordered our family to mine. No matter how good the western and northern counties are, we can't go there, can we?"
The constable, his face contorted in disbelief, glared at him sharply. "Dong County, don't you want to try?"
Want to go? Beg me!
Ruan Zheng smiled faintly.
Begging? Fuck your grandpa!
"Hmph! You poor wretch!"
The constables, their faces menacing, were about to turn away when their leader, the constable who had spoken earlier, approached and asked in a gruff voice:
"What happened?"
The constable glanced at the bundle in the hands of Ruan's eldest sister-in-law, Xu Chunying, and gave her a look.
The head constable approached, only one person's distance from Xu Chunying.
Just as she was about to speak, Xu Chunying was pulled behind her by Ruan Meng. Ruan Meng was about to step forward, but the second and third brothers were faster and had already blocked the way, even faster than the eldest brother.
The second brother, Ruan Yi, took the bundle from his sister-in-law, opened it, and showed it to the head constable. "Sir, it's all a misunderstanding!"
Ruan Yi turned the two bundles inside out for the head constable to see, and said with a smile, "Sir, this is the most valuable thing our family has. My elder brother and sister-in-law were worried that you wouldn't like it, so they didn't take it out."
The constable glared angrily from the shadows, then suddenly threw a punch!
The medicine bottles and herbs in the bundle were scattered all over the ground.
"You want to take it out, huh? Well, I appreciate that!"
Ruan Yi's face stiffened, and Ruan Zheng was about to rush over when he was stopped by Ruan Meng and his elder brother.
The head constable turned around and saw Ruan Yi squatting down, preparing to tidy up the medicinal herbs, and stepped on him!
He stomped on it until it crumbled into pieces, his voice harsh, "Wasn't this a gift for me? You don't mind me stepping on my own stuff, do you?"
"No, no objection!"
Ruan Yi stood up and gestured humbly, "It's just our kind gesture, sir, please feel free to do as you please. Is this the county town we're assigned?"
"Nanxian!"
The head constable snorted coldly, looked at the Ruan family members with disdain, and turned to walk towards the other convicts.
Seeing him leave, the Song and Fan families, who had originally planned to hand over their last bit of money, withdrew their hands and stood behind the Ruan family.
Seeing this, the head constable pointed behind him and said, "Make a note of all three! These three families are all going to Nan County! No amount of money is allowed to change them!"
The Song and Fan families secretly shrugged, not taking it seriously.
It's good that we're assigned to the same place as the Ruan family!
Ruan Yi and his sister-in-law knelt down and tenderly picked up the trampled medicinal herbs.
"Sister-in-law, second brother, leave it to me, let me do it!"
As she watched the constables looting, Ruan Meng slowly curled the corners of her lips into a smile.
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