Chapter 30 Bandits
Yun Fu was placed on a wooden bench, listening carefully in all directions, when she suddenly heard the sound of a group of officials drinking not far away.
I vaguely heard something about a grain bag breaking...
Yun Fu was held by Wei Rong all day long, and he even took her with him to see the emperor. She was also familiar with what he was going to do when he faked his death and left the capital.
There's no way, my hearing is too sensitive, I can't help but listen.
Knowing that what they were about to do was a major undertaking that would benefit both the people and the country, Yun Fu put aside the mystery of her own life experience for the time being and tried her best to help them share some of the burden.
The main thing is that she has to be put aside. Now that she is a cat, it is difficult for her to do anything.
Hearing the whispering voices, Yun Fu jumped off the stool while Wei Rong was still acting, and using her petite figure and her unguarded pet identity to get under the table of the group of people in official uniforms.
Now, the sound of their voices reached Yun Fu's ears more clearly.
Judging from their voices, they seemed to have been drinking and their words were incoherent.
"There are so many rats in the south...the grain bags have been bitten several times."
"That's right, I missed it all the way."
"To be honest, the imperial government's disaster relief grain is not as good as the grain we grow back home. It smells musty."
"Keep your voice down. I'm telling you, I accidentally saw the rice bag leaking out the other day. There were...weeds in it!"
Yun Fu grasped the key information. This group of people should be officials stationed in charge of disaster relief grain, and they came here to drink some wine.
That means the officers and soldiers transporting relief food should be stationed not far from here.
Musty, weedy...
This batch of grain may have been replaced.
Yun Fu heard from Wei Rong and others that the imperial court had issued 100,000 dan of disaster relief grain, and because the flood was too severe, another 30,000 dan was added.
How long had it been since these 30,000 dan of grain were shipped out, and they were already being replaced?!
Old corn was mixed with weeds. For the people in the disaster-stricken areas, the old and moldy corn was their life-saving food. They only cared about filling their stomachs, not starving to death, and surviving.
During natural disasters, when there is no food, grass roots and tree bark are all that is needed to fill the stomach.
When she was a child, Yunfu traveled with her master for a year and saw how small and helpless the people were in the face of natural disasters.
The people behind the scenes replaced the disaster relief food with old and moldy corn mixed with weeds, knowing that they would not dare to make a big fuss.
The officials who transported grain and the local officials had complicated relationships with each other, and it goes without saying how much mutual protection there was. Even if one did not go along with the corruption, one could only stay out of it. The person might have been beheaded before the news was reported.
If the people above had not intentionally investigated this matter, they would have had to swallow their anger.
The farmlands and houses of the affected people were destroyed, and the relief grain issued by the court was replaced by some people with ulterior motives. The relief silver was put into the hands of the victims. It was considered a good deal if they could get 50,000 or 60,000 taels out of the 200,000 taels.
After eavesdropping, Yun Fu returned to sit on the bench next to Wei Rong, and the whole cat became quiet.
Wei Rong raised his hand, touched its little head, and stroked its fur.
"This food is simply unpalatable, butler—"
Shen Shi immediately stepped forward like a lackey, "Hey, young master, let's go. This warrior said he can lead the way, bypassing the official road and taking a shortcut, so that we can reach Yunshui County earlier."
Wei Rong looked at the bearded man not far away with an arrogant look on his face and snorted coldly.
The man looked at the arrogant look of the rich young man and didn't care.
The carriage set off again, carrying six carts of goods following closely behind the luxurious carriage.
Inside the car, Yun Fu stretched out her claws and tugged at Wei Rong's sleeve, then raised a paw and pointed outside.
"Meow?" This person is not trustworthy.
I didn't expect that after I went out to inquire about the news, I came back with a dangerous person.
Yes, that's right. The bearded man outside who looks like he's kind enough to lead the way is not an honest man.
Yun Fu smelled a hint of blood coming from the man.
Although it was covered by the smell of alcohol and difficult for normal people to smell, Yun Fu could smell it immediately with her careful nose.
In addition, the scars on the man's arms did not look like ordinary scratches, but were scars caused by swords and knives.
Yun Fu's third senior brother is a swordsman in the martial arts world. He lives under the flash of swords and sabers almost every day. Every time he comes back from outside with sword wounds all over his body, she helps him treat them, so she is particularly familiar with this kind of scars.
Wei Rong didn't understand cat language, but from the way Ah Fu pointed his claws at the man outside, he could guess that Ah Fu also saw that there was something wrong with the man.
Shen Shi dressed up as a butler and sat on the frame of the grain-carrying carriage with the man who led the way.
The bearded man's name is Wu Ke. His house has been flooded. He is full of brute force and is ready to go to a place that is not affected by the disaster to find a job to support his family.
Shen Shi's face was filled with "sighs" and "regrets" when he heard this. "Wu Zhuangshi, if you can help us get to Yunshui County safely, I will ask our young master for a job for you. With your strength, you won't have to worry about making a living."
Upon hearing this, Wu Ke burst into tears of gratitude.
Yun Fu looked through the raised curtain of the carriage and saw Shen Shi and the dangerous man, looking as if they had met too late.
If we didn't know that this was Shen Shi in disguise, we would never have guessed that he was not a top master, but the personal butler of a wealthy young man.
Didn't these people in the Duke of Wei's mansion really come from the theater? Each one is better at acting than the other.
The convoy followed Wu Ke's guidance and went up a mountain path.
The road was bumpy and complaints could be heard from the carriage from time to time.
"What kind of broken road is this?!!!"
"What kind of place is this? Is this the road to Yunshui County?"
"housekeeper!!!"
Yun Fu lay on Wei Rong's knees, watching him speak one complaint and rude words after another without changing his expression.
How could someone say all those words without changing their expression? The sound didn't seem to come from him.
Wei Rong tore the dried beef in his hand into small pieces and fed them to the cat in his arms.
Seeing the shock in the little guy's eyes almost overflowing as he lay on his knees, Wei Rong's eyes were full of helplessness. Didn't Ah Fu realize that the emotions it sometimes showed were too human?
It's not the expression of an ordinary kitten at all.
He reached out and pinched its little ears, then stuffed the beef in his hand into its mouth.
"Our Alfu is a very smart kitten, right?"
Wei Rong used his original voice at this time, without the arrogance of a rich young man.
Yun Fu took a bite of the shredded beef handed to her, thinking that Wei Rong was so smart, he should have discovered that there was something wrong with that person, right?
When Yun Fu heard Wei Rong say that she was smart, she nodded seriously.
She's already very smart. Wait, why add a rhetorical question at the end? Is this something that should be questioned?
Just then, Yun Fu felt something crashing towards the car.
Clang——
With a loud bang, the carriage frame was broken and the horse screamed and struggled in fear.
The carriage began to shake violently.
Wei Rong held the cat in one hand and held on to the carriage window sill with the other to steady himself.
“There are bandits!!!”
"Hurry up and protect the young master——"
Butler Xu's face turned pale with fear, and he ran in a panic to the carriage that was smashed by a huge tree.
Soon, the bandits hiding in the mountains and forests emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
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