"A convict has escaped; conduct a full-scale manhunt!"
Sun Chengen turned around and looked at the official ship behind him.
The Sun family guards came up and covered Sun Chengen and his group completely to prevent them from being ambushed by the other side.
Ruan Meng had just come out of the cabin and hadn't even shown her face for long.
In an instant, Sun Chengen realized that the official ship had begun to approach right after Ruan Meng emerged from the cabin.
"Young master, we've been keeping an eye on this official ship. From what we've observed just now, it seems they've been locking onto us ever since we set off."
Guard reminder.
Ruan Ting was on an official ship, and Ruan Meng looked across at the other side through the gaps in the guards' shoulders.
The constables, dressed in official robes, surrounded a man in the middle, looking quite imposing.
Sun Chengen narrowed his eyes slightly, looking imposing.
"Ah Yuan!"
A Yuan immediately understood the meaning of Sun Chengen's brief address.
A Yuan gestured to Ruan Meng, "Miss, this way please!"
Ruan Meng was confused, but she still followed them into the cabin.
A Yuan pulled open a wooden plank at the bottom of the cabin and invited Ruan Meng to hide inside with him.
The sound of water amplified all around, and Ruan Meng realized that the bottom of the He family's ship was essentially an additional basement. The fact that it was waterproofed to such an extent further confirmed the strength of the He and Sun families.
Ruan Meng noticed that the boat seemed to have stopped, and there was a slight knocking sound from the side of the boat.
"What happened?"
Ruan Meng asked A Yuan.
A Yuan was also puzzled. "I don't know either. Yesterday, the young master personally went to coordinate and sent someone to deliver a gift to the prefect. The prefect accepted it, and only then did the young master come back to find the young lady."
"Could it be that the prefectural and county government offices are harboring a bunch of monsters and demons? Although the prefect is the highest authority, some people deliberately provoked him just now, and are not on his side..."
"It's also possible that the prefect is deliberately trying to extort money from us. He agrees to our demands outwardly, but secretly allows his subordinates to make things difficult for us so that he can get even more money!"
“But I feel it’s more like the first one. Although he’s the highest-ranking official in the South Island, our Sun family isn’t without connections, and besides, we also have the He family. He has no reason to deliberately offend us for such a petty gain!”
Ruan Meng seemed to be thinking, "So, there shouldn't be anyone on the South Island deliberately making things difficult for you?"
So they came specifically to make things difficult for Ruan Meng and the Ruan family?
Ruan Meng immediately thought of Wan You, the village chief of Wanjia Village.
At that time, Feng Da reminded him that Wan You and the prefect were distant relatives, and it would be inconvenient for the prefect to intervene. What if Wan You persuaded someone else?
No matter how wealthy the Sun family is, they could never possess all their wealth...
But if Wanyou reveals to certain people the Ruan family's ability to make money, would the other party be willing to maintain a superficial harmony with the Sun family and be occasionally dismissed, or would they want to keep the Ruan family, this cash cow, under their control?
Ruan Meng originally thought that the officers would at least board the ship and open the cabin for inspection.
Since they waited until I came out of the hold before approaching and shouting, they were clearly prepared.
Seeing Ruan Meng's worry, A Yuan comforted her:
"Don't worry, young lady! Our young master isn't that weak!"
"We made you hide in the hold so they wouldn't see you and cause trouble later, so we could be absolutely sure of everything."
"But with the young master here, they can't get in!"
Seeing that Ruan Meng still looked puzzled, A Yuan replied, "The He family's ships are sometimes requisitioned by the imperial court to transport tribute items such as purple shells and agarwood. The court can't maintain that many ships, so each time they salvage tribute items, they only manage to retrieve a small amount..."
"Maintaining them year-round, plus the people on board, was too much for the governor to afford. Therefore, when large-scale transport was needed, ships from the He or Sun families would be requisitioned for transport..."
“The fee will be given symbolically, as the imperial court has expenditure items, but whether the two families will recoup their investment is another matter.”
“Ships requisitioned by the imperial court will have special credentials. This is to prevent the tribute on board from being robbed by officials along the way, so local officials have no right to board and search the ships.”
"Yesterday, the young master asked Xiao Kai to check the ships when he got back. In reality, he wanted him to find empty ships with official government credentials, preferably with some tribute still on board, so that everything would be foolproof!"
Ruan Meng nodded, "This shows that Sun Chengen is a bit arrogant, but he's still very reliable when it comes to getting things done!"
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