Her voice was soft, but with a hint of urgency.
The matter of the silver may have been exposed, and they cannot stay here for long.
Cheng Qingyuan noticed her anxiety, nodded, and began to pack.
Night gradually enveloped this remote town, and there was a hint of dull chill in the air.
The people in the town closed their doors and windows early to avoid the various threats lurking in the darkness.
On the other side of the town, the town's chief official, County Magistrate He, was drinking and having fun in his mansion.
At this moment, he was leaning against a carved armchair, holding a cup of warm wine in his hand, with greed glittering in his eyes.
Since being transferred to this remote place, County Magistrate He has treated it as his own private territory, acting tyrannically, plundering the people's wealth and doing whatever he can to get them.
Most of the runners under his command were rural ruffians who were specifically responsible for oppressing the people. No one in the town dared to speak out.
Just as Magistrate He was leisurely sipping his wine, a slender official hurried in from outside the door and whispered, "Sir, the rent money we just received has arrived. Please take a look."
Magistrate He waved his hand lazily. "That's all right. Just send the money to the accounting office. Is there anything you want to report?"
The officer bowed slightly and said in a flattering tone, "Your Excellency, when the rent was collected this time, I heard that a woman from another place gave ten taels of silver on behalf of the scholar's family."
"The woman was well-dressed and obviously had quite a bit of silver in her possession."
Hearing this, County Magistrate He's eyes lit up slightly, and he sat up straight in his chair in an instant, with a hint of greed in his eyes: "Ten taels of silver? For a foreign woman?"
He pursed his lips, put down his wine glass, and looked calculating. "It seems this woman is not simple. Since she dared to take action, she must have a lot of money on her."
Seeing that He Zhixian was greedy, the officer quickly stepped closer and whispered in agreement, "Your Excellency is wise. The scholar's family looks so poor that they can barely make ends meet. It doesn't make sense for them to come up with ten taels of silver."
"That foreign woman must be well-off. If you want... hey, I'll go get her right away."
Magistrate He sneered and waved his hand: "No hurry. A stranger without any roots or foundation can't get far."
"You lead the way first, let's go to the scholar's house and take a look. If she is still there, we naturally cannot let her go easily."
The officer nodded immediately, and County Magistrate He put on his outer robe and hurried out with a few of his men.
The night was dark, and Magistrate He and his entourage were walking through the dim alleys with a certain urgency in their steps.
A moment later, they arrived at the gate of the old scholar's house.
"Bang, bang, bang—" The officers banged on the door rudely, and the rough sound broke the tranquility of the night.
Inside the house, the old scholar and his family had just sorted out the silver left by Fang Qingyue. Before they had time to rest, they were startled by the sudden knock on the door.
The woman's husband rushed forward and opened the door.
"My Lord, what brings you here so late at night?"
The husband of the woman in labor suppressed his anxiety and asked in a low voice.
Magistrate He waved his hand impatiently, not disguising the greed in his eyes, and asked bluntly, "I heard someone paid the rent for your family today. Who was it?"
The woman's husband was startled and immediately realized that something was wrong. He lowered his head and said, "Sir, we collected the money ourselves. There is no such thing as a noble person..."
"Bullshit!" Magistrate He sneered, narrowing his eyes and staring at him, his eyes full of threats, "Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
"Your family is so poor that you can't even afford to eat meat, how could you possibly come up with ten taels of silver?"
"Don't think you can fool me! Tell me, who is that foreign woman who helped you? Where is she now?"
The husband of the woman in labor turned pale and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
He knew that if he revealed Fang Qingyue's identity, these corrupt officials would never let her go easily.
But if I don't say it, the magistrate He in front of me is not a good person and will definitely not let it go.
He was caught in a dilemma, and sweat from his forehead kept sliding down his cheeks.
"I... I really don't know what a foreign woman is..." He said in a trembling voice.
Magistrate He's expression instantly darkened. He snorted coldly, slapped the husband of the woman in labor in the face, and shouted angrily, "You ungrateful fellow! If you don't accept my toast, you'll be punished!"
"If you don't tell the truth, I'll have your shabby house demolished!"
The mother's family was suddenly thrown into extreme panic.
The woman in labor was so anxious that tears streamed down her face. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed her husband, begging him, "Sir, we really don't know... Please have mercy on us and let us go!"
"Let you go?" Magistrate He sneered, his eyes full of sarcasm. "You can let me go, but I still want to know what I want to know."
His tone was cold and his eyes were vicious. "Speak or not?"
Just as he was pressing forward, the woman in labor suddenly became so nervous that her face turned pale, her vision went dark, and her body went limp and she fainted.
The woman's husband panicked and quickly held her up, shouting anxiously, "Madam! Madam!"
When the old scholar saw this scene, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.
He stood up suddenly and pointed a trembling finger at Magistrate He: "You...you are going too far! It's simply...there is no law!"
When he got excited, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his whole body became shaky and collapsed into the chair.
Seeing this scene, County Magistrate He's expression changed slightly, but then returned to indifference.
He snorted coldly and waved his hand to signal his men: "Forget it, don't waste time talking to them. Since they won't talk, let's go!"
After saying this, he turned around and strode out of the yard, with the officers behind him quickly following him.
As he walked out of the door, a sinister glint flashed in Magistrate He's eyes: "Humph, you won't tell me? I don't believe that I can't find that foreign girl."
When they left, the neighbors were woken up by the noise.
Although most people stayed indoors, a few secretly opened their windows and watched from the dark.
When County Magistrate He's gaze swept over them, they were so frightened that they quickly closed the windows, fearing that they would be implicated.
However, faced with the authority of officials, some people are always afraid of getting into trouble.
After Magistrate He left, several neighbors secretly came outside and whispered to Magistrate He's men, "We saw that foreign woman go to the inn in town... They stayed there last night."
"Yes, yes, we saw it with our own eyes!"
Hearing this, a hint of pride flashed in County Magistrate He's eyes.
He smiled coldly, his eyes calculating, "Inn, huh? Good, very good."
He turned around to look at his men who followed him and ordered, "Let's go to the inn to find someone."
The door of the inn was closed and all around was silent. Only the occasional night breeze blew up a gust of dust, adding a bit of desolation to this remote frontier town.
Fang Qingyue, Cheng Qingyuan and Chi Yue had already packed their luggage and were ready to quietly leave this place of trouble.
They tiptoed out of the back door of the inn. Fang Qingyue was wearing a gauze cloak that covered half of her face, and her eyes were looking around vigilantly.
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