Xie Yuancheng shook my hand and said, "Sigh, there's nothing I can do. My beautiful wife is too naughty. I have to keep a close watch on her to prevent her from being kidnapped."
"Hmph! Don't try to sweet-talk me~" I leaned into his arms and smelled the fragrance. Just as I was about to close my eyes to rest, I heard some heavy footsteps.
Xie Yuancheng helped me up, and as we leaned against the door to listen, I asked, "Is this inn really that unsafe?"
"Shh! Let me hear it." Xie Yuancheng has incredibly sharp hearing; he can hear this.
It was very noisy outside, with the sounds of the waiter and the shopkeeper chasing people away. I could only hear Yinzi and two handsome young men.
Xie Yuancheng added a bolt, and when I looked at him, he smiled at me.
Then they heard the sound of sticks hitting people, and the shopkeeper's cursing: "A bunch of parasites! If you want money, why don't you earn it yourself? Coming here to cause trouble, I'll take responsibility if you kill them. Hit them all, don't be too lenient, hit them hard!"
"The shopkeeper has spoken. Everyone, don't hold back, beat these shameless parasites to death."
This shopkeeper is quite fierce, and he's really good at fighting. I imitated Xie Yuancheng and went over to listen, and then I heard the little beggar's voice, crying and screaming.
It seems they said they gave her the money, so why couldn't she bring someone to ask for it back? She's giving away one or two taels of silver at a time, and she's dressed nicely, so she must be rich.
"She's actually a little beggar! We gave her money out of pity, and she even brought a group of people to beg for more!"
I'm so angry! No wonder the shopkeeper told us not to go downstairs; it's making a huge commotion outside. Everyone else must have gone out to see what's going on. I heard the door open.
"Grandpa, please give us some money. We have elderly parents and young children to support."
The sound wasn't loud, yet they were kowtowing so loudly. If they had the strength to work, they could earn money.
"Ying'er, don't listen to that. It's just like what the shopkeeper said."
Xie Yuancheng pulled me over, and then a deafening cry rang out outside again. I didn't know whose child was crying, but the sound was so loud.
It was a girl, crying and shouting, "I haven't eaten for three days! You have money, why don't you give us any? Do you think we're poor and smelly?"
"I just find you disgusting, you're filthy, the stench from your mouths is suffocating me!" He has a terrible temper.
I was about to go out and join the commotion when I heard the shouting, but Xie Yuancheng stopped me and led me to sit at the table.
The door was being knocked on loudly, and voices could be heard intermittently, all in childish voices: "Brother and sister, I've run out of money, can you give me some more?"
I haven't had any good food or clothes lately, and my feet smell awful. How am I ever going to get married?
I rubbed my forehead and whispered to Xie Yuancheng, "Whether she gets married or not is none of our business."
"We were just being kind. An ordinary person, even if they don't eat or drink, can only earn one or two taels of silver a month." Xie Yuancheng said, supporting himself as he looked at me, "But I also work very hard to earn money."
I have four children to raise, and the eldest one is a real handful, always trying to escape. I have to support all of you, where would I find the extra money to give out?
“You’re the oldest kid here~” I tapped Xie Yuancheng’s hand. Suddenly, there was a knock on our door.
She's a little beggar, but with her strength, no matter how big she is, she'll never starve.
"Open the door, open the door! Sister, I know you're in there. My feet are killing me from looking for you, I'm so pitiful!"
I looked at Xie Yuancheng, and he gestured to me before taking the flowers from the table to the door. Before I could even see them clearly, the flowers were gone.
There were screams outside the door, followed by laughter: "Serves them right, those beggars brought flowers. Arrest them all and take them to the authorities. We'll punish these parasites tonight, lest the town lose its reputation."
"No, I was just passing by~" She had been crying uncontrollably when she arrived, but now she was struggling, her voice full of energy.
After things quieted down outside, the shopkeeper knocked on the door, telling us to go to sleep and that they had all been sent to see the authorities. I saw that Xie Yuancheng wanted to rest, so I went to chat with him.
"Are you going to sleep?"
"Yes." Xie Yuancheng straightened the quilt and patted it: "Madam, hurry up and warm up the bed for me."
"Don't you find it strange? How come there are so many beggars? Lin Yang was tricked back then, but he saw several on the road."
"You said Linyang was set up. We were just unlucky this time, and we happened to stay in the town with the most fake beggars. Okay, it's just an isolated case. Look at you, your brows are all furrowed."
"No!" I grabbed Xie Yuancheng's hand: "Back then, that child bride named Ye Ye, you said there were poor people everywhere."
Xie Yuancheng yawned: "Yes, there is a village in Linyang. When my fief is divided up, I will drive all the people in the village away. Linyang doesn't need these people."
"That means the Great Zhao Dynasty isn't very wealthy, considering how many poor people there are."
"You're quite wealthy now, it's just that you've seen so many poor people lately. Back in the capital, you never thought about these things."
Besides, it's not that they can't make money, it's that they're too lazy. They want everything to be good, but they don't do anything, so how can anything be good?
"That makes sense." I was still thinking when Xie Yuancheng pulled me down to lie down and covered me with the blanket. He fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, we had just started talking inside when the waiter knocked on the door. "Sir, it's quite lively downstairs! Would you like to go and take a look?"
"Could it be one of those masked people carrying red cloths marching again, like last night?"
"Of course not. Last night, our town mayor went to the government office and invited people over. Now he's parading those people who pretend to be beggars to get benefits through the streets."
After he finished speaking, he went to look at the other doors. Xie Yuancheng and I discussed it and decided to go and take a look, since we had lost one or two taels of silver, which was money Xie Yuancheng had worked hard to earn.
It was indeed lively outside, with many people clapping and cheering. Xie Yuancheng pulled me to stand at the entrance of the inn, saying we'd just take a look and leave in a little while.
When they brought people over to parade through the streets, everyone laughed even harder, throwing vegetable leaves and tree leaves at them.
I looked at the long line of people, probably a hundred, adults and children, some even carrying toddlers. The stench wafted over again, and I saw the little beggar who had asked us for money among them.
She looked up and saw us, then tried to break through the crowd, still pretending to be a beggar to ask for money!
Fortunately, someone nearby kicked her back, and the older beggar grabbed her by the braid and walked away. Just as she was about to howl, her mouth was stuffed full of vegetable leaves.
It was all a farce. Xie Yuancheng and I glanced at it, then went inside, ate some breakfast, and set off. This time, we weren't carrying any luggage, just two sets of clothes to change into, and some dry rations bought along the way. We'd replenish our supplies when we ran out.
We saw that group of people on the way. The adults were all strong and healthy, while the children kept pretending to be pitiful, saying they were in pain here and there. When the whips of the escorting officials were used, they all fell silent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
