The capital city became increasingly lively in early summer. The streets were bustling with people. Men and women all changed into brightly colored summer clothes and walked through the streets where shops were lined up and people were hawking goods.

But the noise on the street suddenly stopped, and the crowded crowds moved aside, and a group of people appeared in sight.

They were dressed in bright and complicated clothes, and the heavy sound of their horses' hooves hitting the ground seemed to be hitting everyone's heart.

They ignored the hustle and bustle on the street and rode on their horses as if they were in a deserted wilderness.

However, no one dared to stop their horses. Even if they hit you to death, you would still be judged as obstructing the execution of the order, and not only would your death be in vain, but your entire family would also be implicated.

So there was no need to shout; as soon as people saw this dress, regardless of gender, age, beggar, rich man, or even court officials, they would all avoid it.

This team of Golden Guards rushed through the street like a knife, coming and going in an instant, dividing the crowd and gathering again.

"Who is going to be unlucky again?"

"It looks like they are going to raid the house."

People on the street were talking in low voices as they watched the team rushing away like wolves and tigers, but among the discussions there were also some different voices.

"Just copy a few. It's always faster than stealing money from small merchants."

These words made the people who were talking quiet for a moment.

"You can't compare them like that." An old man in the teahouse said, "It's for the sake of improving the appearance of the street. It's time to regulate the merchants walking around the streets and the bridges and rivers."

"Why didn't you care about it before?" Someone immediately snorted in retort.

"There weren't so many people before." The old man said kindly, "Now there are too many refugees and beggars in and outside the city, and it's too chaotic."

But more people spoke out to refute this statement.

"Come on, it's my fault for becoming a refugee."

"It's clear in everyone's mind that it's just asking for money."

"Yes, I want money. I want to reward Duke Cheng."

The teahouse became noisy and bustling.

The people in the private room on the second floor frowned at the noise downstairs.

"Boss." He turned around and said to the room, "What people are saying outside is getting more and more inappropriate. Do you want to stop it?"

There were five men sitting in the room, and one of them looked over when he heard the words.

"How can we control what others say when we open a business?" he said in a deep voice. "It is inappropriate for us, as teahouse owners, to be cautious about what others say."

The man by the window nodded his head and said yes, then stepped aside with his hands hanging down.

"Boss, what do you think about this matter?" said the man sitting opposite the boss.

"What's there to see? Those small merchants don't have much money." The boss said, "If they really want to raise money to reward Duke Cheng, it would be too shabby."

"Boss, this is not about the amount of money." Another man coughed and said, stroking his beard, his eyes sparkling, "This matter cannot be tolerated."

"Yes, this time they targeted small merchants, next time it will be us." Another man frowned and said, "After tasting this benefit, the government's appetite will grow bigger and bigger."

Dong Dongjia, who was sitting in the middle making tea, put down the tea in his hand.

"Then what do we do?" he said, "The government has not said that merchants should pay rewards, and it has not disciplined us big merchants. Isn't it just making trouble for us to seek justice?"

The people in the room looked at each other and someone laughed.

"I think this is the wisdom of the government," he said. "It is like cutting meat with a blunt knife and boiling a frog with warm water."

"Yes." Someone nodded and looked at everyone present. "They know that if they ask big merchants like us for money directly, it will be impossible and will definitely be opposed. So this time they only took action against small merchants. First, they are too weak to cause any trouble. Second, we will just stand by and watch because it does not concern us. Once this matter is over and everyone is used to it, they will take action against us next time, and then they can use the precedent as an excuse."

The people in the room nodded and talked in low voices.

"How vicious the government is." Dong Dongjia sighed.

"We can't just let this go." A man slammed the table and said, "We need to let them know that this is not the right way to do it."

The people in the room nodded.

"But how can we do it? How can we let them know that this is not going to work and that we will not get involved?" everyone asked.

"Well, let's put it this way." Dong Dongjia suddenly said, "It's not easy for small merchants and vendors either. We should help them if we can."

Everyone looked at him.

"How can we help?" someone asked in a low voice, "We need to have a legitimate reason to do so."

Dong Dongjia smiled.

"What fame do a bunch of small people and small merchants want?" He said, placing the cracked tea cakes in boiling water. "They just want to eat. If they don't have food, they will definitely want a way to make a living. You destroyed their jobs, and you don't even allow them to say anything or cry? It's better to guard against people's mouths than to guard against rivers."

The tea is rolled in hot water.

"Just go where there are more people."

"Speaking of a large number of people, isn't Duke Cheng coming back?"

"He paraded through the streets to boast of his achievements, the princes personally welcomed him, and the emperor summoned him to the city gates. The streets were empty and the atmosphere was very lively."

"Duke Cheng is famous and has done great things to save the world. If you go and cry for him, maybe you can get a chance to live."

The teapot was picked up, and the pretty maid distributed the brewed tea to everyone present, and the aroma spread.

Dong Dongjia raised the teacup.

"Who can save the world and the people?" he said.

Everyone present laughed and raised their teacups.

"Duke Cheng." They said in unison.

"Who can give common people like us a way out?" Dong Dongjia said again.

"Duke Cheng." Everyone said in unison.

Dong Dongjia raised the teacup.

"Duke Jingcheng." He said with a smile.

"Respect Duke Cheng." Everyone said in unison with a smile.

The fragrant tea was held out to them and they drank it together.

…

As Duke Cheng's army got closer and closer to the capital, all the affairs of the court revolved around welcoming Duke Cheng.

All ministries and government offices were busy with various matters, and it seemed that no one mentioned the previous issue of collecting taxes and salaries anymore.

But this is not the case.

There was a low voice coming from outside the door, sometimes high and sometimes low, like laughter or noise, it seemed clear and sometimes unclear, which was the most tempting.

Ning Yunzhao in the room suddenly put down the paper and pen in his hand, picked up his robe, tiptoed towards the door, and put his ear to the crack of the door.

A colleague in the room stared at the scene in amazement.

"Ning..." he blurted out.

Ning Yunzhao hurriedly shrugged at him, pointed outside, and leaned against the door to listen again. As soon as he leaned against the door, it was opened.

The man didn't expect someone to stick to the door and screamed in fright.

The whispers outside suddenly disappeared, and many eyes turned over.

"Master Ning, you...this..." the person who came in said in surprise.

What is this doing?

"Oh, I was just about to go out." Ning Yunzhao said calmly.