Chapter 106 Buzzing Like a Mosquito
Xie Mianmian returned to her family, her hands carefully protecting the precious treasure she held in her arms.
Those were scales given to him by a real mermaid! The child grinned foolishly.
She looked around on the deck, trying to find the foreign man to share her joy with, but even as she was being carried into the carriage before leaving, she still hadn't seen him.
Well, I can only hope that I'll run into them again in the future.
A long procession set off, and looking along the official road, the end of the procession could not be seen at all.
On the swaying carriage, Xie Mianmian held the mysterious and beautiful scale in her hands, gesturing wildly as she told the story of the mermaid and the dugong.
Wen Shuwan smiled and squinted her almond-shaped eyes, secretly marveling at how rich children's imaginations were, and how fun their dreams were when they fell asleep at night.
Xie Mingyi looked suspicious. Why did her younger sister speak so seriously? Could it be that she really saw it with her own eyes? The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her younger sister was really extraordinary.
As the sun began to set, they would soon be arriving in the capital. At the fork in the road ahead, they would separate from the relief grain transport team. They would enter the city, while the team would deliver the relief grain to one of the Xie family's estates.
Xie Mianmian stuck her head out of the window to get some fresh air, only to find a large group of people parked at the fork in the road ahead.
"Whoa." The lead carriage stopped, and the rest of the procession was forced to rein in their horses one after another.
Xie Mingyi asked in confusion, "What happened?"
Ahead on horseback was a group of imposing Imperial Guards, led by General Xiao.
He rode up on horseback and said, "Someone reported that the Xie family was hiding weapons in their grain and goods. I have been ordered to come and inspect them. I hope the ladies will cooperate."
Wen Shuwan stepped down from the carriage, bowed, and said, "I don't know who General Xiao heard this from, but the Xie family is law-abiding and would never do such a treasonous thing."
Good heavens! Possessing weapons is, to put it bluntly, a capital offense of treason!
General Xiao dismounted and said in a low voice, "It was the Lin family who received the news from somewhere and reported it to His Majesty."
Upon hearing this, they were all startled, thinking that the Lin family wouldn't say such a thing without reason. They stared at the long convoy, wondering if the so-called weapons were hidden somewhere inside!
Seeing that the women of the Xie family remained silent, General Xiao comforted them, "It's just a search. If there's nothing unusual, you can leave. I won't make things difficult for the Xie family."
At this moment, a frail scholar rode slowly on horseback. He was Supervisor Lin, who had come with him. "General Xiao, what's the point of talking to these weak women? Just search them."
Minister Lin's marriage alliance with the emperor boosted the Lin family's status.
Xie Mingyi jumped off the carriage and stood beside Wen Shuwan. "No matter what, a woman is still better than your frail figure. I never expected the Lin family's upbringing to be like this... tsk."
"You!" Supervisor Lin exclaimed angrily. "General Xiao, let's search quickly, lest we waste our time on idlers."
Seeing that Wen Shuwan wanted to say something, Supervisor Lin said, "What, did the Xie family really do something shameful?"
A small head poked out of the carriage, and a childish voice said, "Our Xie family is completely innocent. Please, General Xiao, start the search. Mianmian is hungry and wants to go home for dinner as soon as possible."
Supervisor Lin grinned crookedly, "I'm afraid you'll be having a meal at the Dali Temple later."
"You're so long-winded, like a mosquito buzzing around, all you do is talk and no action," Xie Mianmian said, making a face at Supervisor Lin.
"Huh?" Supervisor Lin was so angry he laughed. He waved his hand behind him, signaling them to hurry up and search the place, to see how smug this brat would be then.
General Xiao glanced at them questioningly. Xie Mingyi held Wen Shuwan's hand and silently comforted her. Now, they could only take it one step at a time.
"General Xiao, please."
General Xiao nodded to the Imperial Guards, who then came forward to inspect the goods and grain on the carriages one by one.
Although the convoy was extremely long, the Imperial Guards were numerous, and soon they came one after another to report: "Reporting to General Xiao, we have found nothing unusual."
The Xie family patriarch breathed a sigh of relief after the last Jinwu Guard finished reporting.
Supervisor Lin looked incredulous. "Impossible! You must not have looked carefully enough!"
Minister Lin had assured me that the weapons were hidden in the Xie family's supplies, so how could they not be there?
He finally dismounted as if condescending, snatched a long sword, and strode menacingly toward the goods. With a single stroke, he slashed open the sacks, and the rice and grain inside spilled onto the muddy ground.
"What are you doing? How can you waste food like this? Don't you know that every grain is hard-earned? You call yourself a scholar, but you've wasted your time studying the classics!" Xie Mingyi angrily shouted at him.
Upon hearing this, Supervisor Lin, gripping his sharp sword, turned and walked towards Xie Mingyi.
General Xiao stood silently in front of them; although he was old, he was still quite robust.
Supervisor Lin retorted, "If we don't conduct a thorough inspection, and unidentified weapons end up in the capital, how can we face the people of the city, and how can we face His Majesty?"
As he spoke, he respectfully cupped his hands towards the sky, looking dignified and awe-inspiring.
“There are also ways to search without damaging the grain. If no weapons are found, what should be done with the wasted rice?” Xie Mingyi stared at him coldly.
"Heh." Manager Lin chuckled dismissively. "Then I'll repay you double."
"We ask General Xiao to be our witness." Xie Mingyi bowed to the people protecting them.
General Xiao nodded. "That's true. Supervisor Lin shouldn't go too far."
Supervisor Lin, confident in his position with Minister Lin's backing, was not afraid of him and proceeded to slit open the rice bag with his sword.
The poor servants couldn't bear to see the waste, so they brought out unused burlap sacks to put on the ground and catch the rice that kept slipping down.
Supervisor Lin hurriedly cut open a bag, and they followed along, packing the rice and grains back into place.
Supervisor Lin's eyes were bloodshot, and he swung his sword more and more wildly, muttering to himself, "No, why is there still nothing!"
Finally, he reached the last bag. He stubbornly opened it, only to find no weapons, just plump grains of rice.
He braced himself against the sword stuck in the ground with one hand, bent over, and panted heavily.
"Well, does this prove the Xie family's innocence?"
Manager Lin glanced at them and said, "In that case, I'll let you off this time."
"You've probably forgotten that the Xie family is innocent, so you must compensate for the wasted rice."
Xie Mingyi held the brush with her slender fingers and wrote something on the rice paper. After a while, she stopped writing, picked up the paper, and looked at the contents with satisfaction.
"Please have Supervisor Lin sign and affix his seal."
Supervisor Lin, supporting his back, staggered over to look. "Why does it cost so much silver!" He was about to lose almost all of his wealth, and he bit his cheek in pain.
"Double the cost of rice and grain, plus the lost manpower, they've put in so much effort, are they really going to play with you for free?"
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