"Oh dear, let me tell you, these city guards are really greedy. People like us were arrested just because we were arguing."
They're just waiting for their families to send them money before they'll let us leave, sigh."
As soon as one of the older women finished speaking, another older woman snorted and said, "Who says it isn't? It's just an argument, isn't that a normal thing?"
"That's why we were arrested. We all know it's because of the money our families gave us; they're detaining us and won't let us leave, saying we're disturbing the peace in the capital."
Then, the woman who called herself Aunt Wang looked at the little girl and asked, "What did you do to get here? You're so young."
Before Su Muyao could speak, a young woman beside her said, "I'm afraid it was a naughty child who cursed the city guards. Sigh, these city guards really take things too seriously."
I heard that a while ago a man was dissatisfied with the city guards and cursed at them. Guess what happened next?
Everyone was drawn to the young woman's words, their eyes fixed on her with curiosity.
"You wouldn't believe it, would you? That man was beaten to death by the city's garrison. And the thing is, what they said wasn't wrong."
The women sitting together gasped, and one of the older women asked eagerly, "Tell me in detail."
Then the young woman began to say, shaking her head: "When we sell vegetables in this market, we inevitably have disagreements over stalls or taking up someone else's space."
That man's wife was in the same situation as us a while ago; she got into an argument with someone over a stall and was arrested.
That man spent a month's worth of money to get his wife out of the house.
The key point is that his wife is pregnant! And the fault doesn't lie with his wife; it's just that someone next to her took up her stall, and the two of them ended up arguing.
But the garrison didn't care whose fault it was and arrested them all.
The man had no choice but to accept his loss and pay the money. However, when he went to pick up his wife, he found that she had fainted. She had suffered a massive hemorrhage and lost the baby.
The garrison wouldn't call a doctor, and the child suffered excruciating pain in the prison cell all night, resulting in miscarriage.
After being diagnosed, he realized he could never have children again. So every time the young man saw the city guards, he would either spit on them or curse them in secret.
Two days ago, a soldier guarding the city overheard him and beat him to death.
Su Muyao frowned as she listened from the side, never expecting that the city guards at the foot of the imperial city would dare to act in such a way!
Everyone shook their heads after hearing this.
Su Muyao then asked, "Don't the people above care? How dare they let these people act like this?"
Everyone was drawn to the sweet, childlike voice. The young mistress, who had just finished speaking, patted Su Muyao's little head.
"You little rascal, aren't you scared at all? Do you know your family will be redeeming you soon?"
Su Muyao nodded.
The young woman continued with a knowing look, "I heard that the people up here don't care about anything. They basically spend their days drinking or playing cards and never care how their subordinates do their jobs."
The subordinates felt that their meager salaries were too low, so they started accepting gifts or money from those who handled their affairs.
But these people, as they continued to collect money, became greedy. Sometimes, when they couldn't get the money, they would try every means to arrest people and then force their families to pay money before releasing them.
Su Muyao was quite certain upon hearing this, just as she had thought.
...
Inside the palace, the Emperor was reviewing memorials in his study when Xiao Dezi came to report that the young princess's personal maid had come to say that the young princess had been arrested.
The emperor was furious: "Bring him in."
"Yes," Xiao Dezi said, and hurriedly ran out of the main hall to invite Xia Xia in.
After coming in, Xia explained the whole story clearly.
The emperor slammed his hand on the table: "Excellent! I think it's time to give these city guards a good clean-up."
Without even changing his dragon robe, he left the palace with Xiao Dezi and Xiao Xia.
Zhao Hu, the leader of the city's garrison, was fast asleep, snoring occasionally, while a beautiful woman beside him gently massaged his very broad thighs.
Zhao Hu groaned a couple of times in his sleep. Just then, someone rushed in from outside the door and shouted, "General, wake up! The Emperor is here!"
Zhao Hu rolled over and waved his hand, saying, "Don't disturb my sleep."
Not long after he finished speaking, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and sat up abruptly in bed.
"What did you just say? Say it again."
The man replied, "General, the Emperor is here. I heard he'll be here soon."
Zhao Hu finally understood what his younger brother had said and quickly started to get dressed.
"What exactly happened? Why is the Emperor here?"
The soldier who reported shook his head: "I don't know what's going on, I only know that the Emperor came this way in a very aggressive manner, it seems like something's wrong."
Zhao Hu retorted, "Nonsense! Do you think I don't know what's going on? Otherwise, why would the Emperor be here?"
I finally got dressed and rushed out.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw that the Emperor had already arrived in the courtyard. He knelt down respectfully and performed a grand salute.
"Long live the Emperor!"
The emperor did not allow him to rise, but Xiao Dezi cleverly went inside and grabbed a chair.
After the emperor sat down, he looked at Zhao Hu, who was kneeling below.
"You guys are really bold, daring to even capture the little princess."
Zhao Hu's eyes widened upon hearing this. He had never imagined that his subordinates would be so audacious. The young princess! She was the imperial advisor and a favorite of the emperor.
Look how important the little princess is in the emperor's eyes; he actually came personally to ask for her.
"Your Majesty, I am unaware. Perhaps my men do not recognize the young princess. I beg Your Majesty to grant me some time. I will go and release her immediately."
The emperor snorted coldly. The general in front of him was once a brave and great general.
After injuring his leg, he took a position in the capital, but look at his figure, he just kept getting fatter and fatter.
I had heard from my men that the general spent his days drinking and playing cards, but I figured that since he was just guarding the city, there wouldn't be any major trouble, so I just let him be.
After all, they knew he had a leg injury and walked with a limp, so he naturally couldn't go to the battlefield.
I was heartbroken, so I decided to let him retire in the capital.
Now, he's so bad at disciplining his subordinates that he dares to detain the young princess—he's got some nerve!
If it weren't for the fact that the Zhao family had served in the military for generations and made great contributions to the dynasty, Zhao Hu's current lack of ambition would have led to his removal from office.
Seeing Zhao Hu rush down, he quickly learned that a little dumpling had indeed been captured recently.
Zhao Hu hurriedly went to the prison to ask for help. As soon as he arrived outside the cell, he saw the little girl chatting happily with a group of middle-aged women.
As soon as I arrived, I heard the little dumpling giggling. My heart finally settled down. Luckily, she wasn't hurt, otherwise I wouldn't be able to explain it to the emperor.
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