"I only have one question: Do you have any issues with encroaching on the road or blocking traffic?"
No!
“The people of Sanglin Village all know Lord’s rules. Didn’t you long ago strictly order us not to obstruct pedestrians?”
"Besides, we can't do something that would make people talk behind our backs!"
"Is there any case of selling inferior goods as superior ones or overcharging?"
"My lord, such a thing is impossible!"
“You’ve already written the prices on the main store page, everyone can see them. If we dare to raise them by even a single penny, wouldn’t we be cursed by the people of Chang’an?”
"Have you been littering and polluting the streets?"
No!
"Then why are the county governments of Chang'an and Wannian targeting us?"
"My lord, they weren't actually targeting us; they're arresting other street vendors too!"
"Oh oh oh..."
Upon hearing that the arrests were not limited to the people of Sanglin Village, Li Jue was immediately relieved.
"Then you should also think carefully about whether you have offended any important people!"
"A distinguished person?"
Lin Jiu thought hard for a while, and finally shook his head helplessly.
"My lord, do you think our distinguished guest would eat our meager food?"
Li Jue thought about it and agreed that it made sense. The people of Sanglin Village sold simple foods, such as wontons, dumplings, and steamed buns.
Surely the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Tang Dynasty weren't so idle that they would actually go out on the street to eat these things?
"Since we haven't done anything wrong, why is the government targeting us?"
Seeing that Li Jue kept finding fault with him, Xue Shisan tentatively spoke up.
"Commander, in my opinion, it may not be our problem. Perhaps the officials simply dislike commoners setting up stalls, which is why they ordered their men to drive them away?"
Li Jue nodded upon hearing this.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out, but I didn't expect that even after running all the way to the Tang Dynasty, I still couldn't escape the city management officers' pursuit..."
"Captain, what are city management officers?"
"The urban management officers are nothing!"
Just as Li Jue finished his reflection meeting, Shan Daozhen ran back, panting heavily.
"Captain, we've investigated and found out there's nothing serious. It's just that the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs thinks the streets are too chaotic and has ordered the county governments of Chang'an and Wannian to clean them up!"
Is the news reliable?
"The head constable of Chang'an County is my sworn brother. He told me personally that they didn't want to arrest people either, since they still had to eat at the stalls every day!"
"It was only because a high-ranking official in the imperial court spoke up that they had no choice but to drive away the merchants and arrest a few ringleaders..."
Did they say when they would release them?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
