Chapter 172, Shit Luck
"Big sister, are we going straight to the government office?"
Seeing Daohua taking Qin Xiaoliu towards the yamen, Yan Wenkai asked hurriedly.
Daohua stopped and asked in confusion, "What else?"
Yan Wenkai: "Should we talk to Brother Dong first? With his help, things will definitely be much easier."
Daohua shook her head. "If a problem can be solved with money, try not to resort to favors. It's not good to owe too many favors. Xiaoliu and the others' case isn't serious. They can be released after paying the ransom. Why bother others?"
Hearing this, Li Xingnian, who was following beside him, looked at the rice flowers again, with a hint of regret in his eyes.
If Daohua were a boy, he would definitely have a bright future because of her intelligence.
After thinking for a moment, Li Xingnian smiled and asked, "What if the government officials take advantage of us because we are unfamiliar with them and try to embarrass us?"
Daohua was stunned: "That's not the case, don't we have to pay the ransom money?"
Li Xingnian shook his head and said earnestly, "You have too little experience. Uncle tells you that the people in the government office are very difficult to deal with. Even if we pay the ransom, it won't be easy for them to deliberately make things difficult for us."
As he said this, he pointed at Qin Xiaoliu.
"You didn't see the arrogant look on the man who beat him just now. Uncle is sure that man must be familiar with the people in the government office. What if he wants to hold him back and not let him go?"
Daohua frowned: "We'll talk about this when we really encounter it. Now let's see if we can solve the problem ourselves. If that doesn't work, we can go find Xiao Yeyang."
Yan Wenkai was stunned for a moment: "Why go to the young prince instead of Brother Dong? Isn't Brother Dong easier to talk to than the young prince?"
Daohua said without hesitation, "Because Xiao Yeyang is closer to our family, and Brother Dong only had some contact with us for Xiao Yeyang's sake. At most, he is just a slightly familiar stranger."
Yan Wenkai scratched his head: "Really?"
Daohua nodded: "That's right, Fourth Brother, think about it carefully, if it weren't for Xiao Yeyang, would Brother Dong care about us?"
Yan Wenkai shook his head.
Daohua spread her hands and said, "That's it. Xiao Yeyang may be a little arrogant and hard to get close to, but in terms of closeness to our family, of course he is closer."
As they talked, the two walked towards the yamen under the leadership of Qin Xiaoliu.
No one noticed that there was a teahouse next to where they had just stood.
At this moment, sitting by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, three young men in brocade clothes were craning their necks to look at the Yan family members who were walking further and further away below.
"Just a familiar stranger"
Dong Yuanxuan chewed on these words with a bitter look on his face: "It turns out that in Sister Yan's heart, I am just a stranger!"
Beside him, Su Hongxin curled his lips and said, "Be content, you were at least dragged out by those brothers and sisters, but as for me, they never even thought about it."
“Hehe~”
Joyful and cheerful laughter came from beside them. Dong Yuanxuan and Su Hongxin both looked at Xiao Yeyang who was smiling beside them, and then looked at each other speechlessly.
Xiao Yeyang did not hide his good mood at all. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at the two of them, with a smug look on his face as if he had surpassed them.
Daohua showed her affection for him without any reservation in front of her family, which made him very happy.
Seeing Xiao Yeyang so happy, Dong Yuanxuan didn't mind saying a few more words to appease him, so he said sourly: "Last time I asked Wen Xiu for the recipe for the medicinal bath, that guy avoided the topic. I didn't expect that Sister Yan would turn around and give the prescription to the young prince personally. It's really obvious how close they are." After saying that, he sighed and shook his head.
Su Hongxin also interjected, "It's not just that. There's also food. Every time the academy comes back from vacation, the little prince gets a portion of whatever Yan Wenkai and the others have. As for us, hmph, we can only grab Wentao and Wenkai to satisfy our cravings. Sister Yan treats us differently, and she does it so openly. She's not afraid of getting angry."
“Heh~”
Dong Yuanxuan snorted, "Didn't you hear them say that we are just familiar strangers? Why would they care whether we are angry or not?"
Seeing the two of them feeling jealous, Xiao Yeyang felt better.
Daohua was indeed generous to him. She would prepare a portion of delicious and useful things for him, together with Yan Wenkai and the others. As for Dong Yuanxuan and the others, they did not receive such treatment.
There are some things that you don’t know until you compare. Once you compare, a sense of superiority immediately arises.
Xiao Yeyang didn't want to provoke the two too much, so he said seriously, "Do you think the relationship between Daohua and I can compare to yours? We have a life-and-death friendship."
Think about it, they have fought human traffickers together, begged for food together, and even been beggars together. This friendship is right, as Daohua said, theirs is a revolutionary friendship that is indestructible.
The three of them chatted and laughed for a while. Dong Yuanxuan saw the Yan family walking away and looked at Xiao Yeyang: "Young Prince, should I send someone over to tell them?"
Xiao Yeyang was silent for a moment. "If Daohua wants to solve the problem herself, then let her do it. However, we should have someone over there to keep an eye on it." He paused and said, "If the people at the government office are in trouble, just let them know quietly. Don't let Daohua and the others know."
Hearing this, Dong Yuanxuan looked up at Xiao Yeyang, a hint of surprise flashing across his eyes.
The young prince is becoming more and more caring towards the Yan family. No, it should be said that he is becoming more and more caring towards Sister Yan.
In the past, although the young prince was quite nice to Sister Yan, he was only slightly better than the ones around him. He was not like now, taking her feelings and mood into consideration.
It is not easy to ask someone who is used to being praised to consider the feelings of others.
In fact, on the Lantern Festival, he vaguely felt that the little prince seemed to be closer to Sister Yan. What happened after they got separated from everyone that day?
Dong Yuanxuan had a lot of thoughts in his mind, but he didn't show it on his face. He naturally called the servant over and gave him a few instructions.
"Alright, let's go too. Uncle should be entering Zhongzhou Province soon!"
Xiao Yeyang looked back at the direction where Daohua and the others left, quickly walked down the teahouse, and headed straight for the city gate.
In front of the government office gate.
The gatekeeper wanted to take the opportunity to collect some silver as a tribute, but when he saw that Daohua and his group were dressed unusually, he felt a little uneasy and did not dare to speak. He just led them to the yamen.
The prefect didn't care about these trivial matters, so the co-prefect received a few people.
The magistrate knew Li Xingnian, and his family had also bought the watermelons sold by the Li family last year.
Knowing that the Li family was a wealthy merchant, he began to think about collecting more ransom money.
"The Qin Wus and their companions you want to redeem lost someone else's goods. According to the law, they must pay their employer ten times the fine. Since you want to redeem them, I will call the employer along and we can discuss this matter."
The employer happened to be familiar with him, so collecting more ransom money was just a matter of asking.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoliu's face changed and he said anxiously, "Sir, didn't we agree before that we only need to pay one thousand taels of silver for the ransom?"
The Tongzhi's expression remained unchanged: "Really? Why don't I remember it? You must have remembered it wrongly."
Qin Xiaoliu panicked. How much silver would it take if the fine was ten times the amount?
Seeing the Tongzhi like this, Daohua frowned, then turned her eyes and looked at Yan Wenxiu: "Brother, is this also the way father judged when he encountered such a case?"
Yan Wenxiu glanced at the co-magistrate and said, "Of course not. If someone loses someone else's goods, as long as it wasn't intentional, they only need to compensate for the loss of the goods. If the employer is dissatisfied, at most they can pay a little more for the loss. I've never heard of anyone asking for ten times the compensation."
Daohua smiled and said, "Could it be that the laws and regulations of the provincial government are different from those of Xingzhou?"
The Tongzhi listened to the conversation between the two, his eyes twinkling, and asked with a smile: "Why, from what you two say, do you have elders in your family who are officials?"
Yan Wenxiu thought about it and realized that there was nothing they had done that was not allowed to be told to outsiders. He smiled politely and said, "I don't deserve it. My father is the governor of Xingzhou."
Upon hearing this, the magistrate stood up immediately, his attitude completely changed, becoming extremely friendly: "Alas, this man is old, and his eyesight is not good. He can't even recognize his own people when he sees them."
As he said this, he waved his hand and called the yamen runners, "Quick, go and release the man for me."
Seeing this, Qin Xiaoliu next to him was stunned. His mood was like riding a roller coaster, soaring from the lowest point to the highest point.
He never imagined that Daohua and the others were actually the sons and daughters of the prefectural governor. He really thought that they were at most wealthy families with some assets.
"Have I helped everyone rely on Master Shangguan?"
Before he left the house, he stepped in a pile of dog poop, and my mom said he was going to have some lucky shit. Who would have thought it was true?!
(End of this chapter)
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