At the beginning, I was a rich female prisoner

"General Wang, I have a hard time expressing my distress. The storehouse in my mansion and even the jewelry of my wives and concubines turned into white paper overnight. The servants in the mansion said that it was the work of ghosts on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month!" Minister of Revenue Li Cong whispered this into General Wang's ear.

"Ghost Li Cong, do you want to shirk all responsibility and don't want to fulfill your previous promise?" General Wang said angrily.

"How dare I deceive you, Lord Commander?" Li Cong replied distressedly.

"I will see fifty thousand taels of silver in a month, or don't blame me for being rude." After saying that, he left angrily. No matter how Li Cong explained, he still strode away.

A young man in golden and purple brocade clothes from Shura Gate sat on a big sandalwood chair in the main seat. His eyes were firm and deep, looking at everyone as if he was a king who could see through everything, making people kneel down on the ground involuntarily.

"Master Mengpo and the Ox-Head and Horse-Face did a perfect job without any mistakes." said the one-armed old man under the chair.

"Sun Mian, you did a good job." The young man in golden and purple brocade clothes said as he looked at the three people at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, I stole all the gold and silver jewelry from the rooms of Li Cong's wives and concubines. Li Cong is really a corrupt official." An old woman with white hair lowered her voice, like the hoarse voice of an old man about to be buried.

"Alright, stop talking like that in front of me. Baiyun Villa is going to hold a martial arts conference on August 23rd of next month. What do you think? If our Shura Sect also goes and takes the position of leader of the martial arts world, will Shura Sect rise in the martial arts world this time?" asked the young man in golden and purple brocade clothes.

"My lord is a martial arts master, and he will have no problem defeating the Qingyi Sect and Baiyun Villa. But I don't know if Yueling Pavilion will go this time. They are also a mysterious sect, and they have never failed in killing people." said the red-clothed Shura.

"Okay, I will retreat for a month to practice my inner strength. Send someone to keep an eye on the palace to make sure there are no mistakes." The young man in golden and purple brocade clothes said this and asked everyone to disperse. Soon the hall was empty except for a golden and purple figure.

This time, Yu Tinghai and his companions did not stay in an inn, but stayed in villages along the way. At noon, the three of them practiced swordplay for an hour, while Chunyu and Lianqiao picked some wild vegetables and fungus on the roadside to make cold dishes.

The climate became drier the further you went towards Nanling County, and in some places the rice fields were cracked and had no water at all.

Every day was the same as before. I traveled, practiced sword skills, and slept for twenty days before finally entering the city of Nanling County.

"Master, we have arrived at Nanling County City. We finally made it after twenty days." Uncle He said as he looked at the words on the city wall.

"Yes, we arrived in Nanling County ten days earlier than planned. Let's go to the Nanling County government and hand in some documents to the governor," said Yu Tinghai.

Yu Yunxin looked at the deserted streets of Nanling County. It was noon and the streets were so hot that there were few pedestrians.

"It's not as lively and quiet here as in Beijing." Chunyu looked at the deserted street.

"It's noon now, who would run around in the sun? It's so hot in the morning and evening, usually there are people here." Lian Qiao couldn't help but say.

The carriage stopped at a restaurant not far from the government office. Yu Tinghai jumped off the carriage and came to Yu Yunxin and said, "Xin'er, let's go in and have some lunch first."

Yu Yunxin nodded and walked into the Zuixianju restaurant with everyone. Now the four of them were still wearing men's clothes, which was also for convenience. She didn't like so many hairpins in her hair. She also decided that she would still wear men's clothes after going to Wangshan County. But after this summer, she would change back to women's clothes. Let's talk about it later!

After entering the restaurant, there weren't many people inside so I found an empty seat and sat down. The waiter greeted me warmly and asked, "What would you like?"

"Let's have a few of your signature dishes." Yu Tinghai said.

"Okay, our signature dish here is steamed fish cake. As you all know, there's a drought in Nanling County, so fish are scarce and the price is a bit higher. We also have drunken goose. I see there are a lot of you, so can I serve you a whole drunken goose?" asked the waiter.

"Okay, just bring out the steamed fish cake. We haven't eaten fish for a long time. Do you have any fish?" Yu Linshan replied.

"Yes, yes, we also have grilled soft-shelled turtles. We have a few new ones today. If you want, I'll ask the kitchen to slaughter them for you. Let me tell you, these soft-shelled turtles are very big." the waiter replied.

"Okay, just serve all the dishes you mentioned, and a few stir-fried dishes." Yu Linshan replied.

"Okay, a distinguished guest has arrived at table number nine." the waiter said loudly.

Everyone sat at the table and listened to what the people at the opposite table were discussing.

"Have you heard that a merchant from Jiangnan came to Nanling County and finally lowered the price of grain in the past few days? The people of Nanling County are saved now."

"Sir, your dishes." The waiter brought the dishes to the opposite table and said, "You may not know this grain merchant from Jiangnan! He is now sitting on the second floor of our Zuixianju and drinking with our shopkeeper. It is also thanks to him that our Zuixianju can reopen."

Yu Yunxin listened carefully, and she didn't expect that there were good merchants in ancient times who didn't pursue fame and fortune. Because ancient merchants pursued outstanding profits, they would do anything for the sake of profit, and there was no business without fraud. Yu Yunxin was full of curiosity about this good merchant, and couldn't help but look up at the second floor.

"Xin'er, what are you looking at? Besides, aren't all these merchants like Aunt Wang? He buys the grain at such a low price, who knows if there are stones added in it?" Yu Linshan said.

At this time, the waiter came over and said, "Sir, you are wrong. I tell you that Mr. Yang is a good businessman. The grain he buys is not only cheap but also good. Whether it is barley or rice, it is much better than the grain merchants in Nanling County. I will serve you a few bowls of white rice later and you will understand."

"Okay, waiter, serve the food quickly. We still have important things to do." Yu Tinghai had no interest in these businessmen at the moment and urged the waiter to serve the food.

"Lin Shan, hurry up and eat. Come with me to the government office later." Yu Tinghai said as he started eating.

"Miss, we will have dinner later and let the master and the others eat first." Uncle He said as he picked up the teacup on the table and started drinking.

Soon all the dishes were served, and the waiter came over with a few bowls of rice and said, "Look, sir. This is Boss Yang's rice from Jiangnan. It's so delicious."

Yu Tinghai took a bowl of rice and tasted it first, saying, "Yes, this rice is soft, sticky and sweet. If I'm not wrong, this should be the rice from Sucheng. There is plenty of rain there, and every grain is plump."

"Sir, it seems that you are an expert!" The waiter immediately responded when he heard Yu Tinghai's words.

"My family also has a rice shop in the capital, so we know a little about rice," Yu Tinghai replied.

"So you are distinguished guests who have come from the capital. What are you doing in Nanling County?" asked the waiter.

"Waiter, can I ask about the situation in Wangshan County?" Yu Linshan asked first.

"Why are you going to Wangshan County? It's a poor mountain village. I tell you, there hasn't been a county magistrate there for ten years. It's too poor." The waiter replied.

"We are going to Wangshan County to seek refuge with a relative," Yu Linshan replied.

"Relatives from Wangshan County, I think it's almost time for relatives from Wangshan County to come and seek refuge with you. I see that some of you are dressed well, so let me remind you, don't dress so well when you go to Wangshan County, be careful of thieves. What we in Nanling County fear most are people from Wangshan County, they often come to Nanling County and other counties in Nanchuan to steal, so please take good care of your belongings when you go there." said the waiter.

"Linshan, eat quickly!" Yu Tinghai pushed Yu Linshan, who was still in a daze, with his elbow.

Yu Linshan immediately came to his senses, picked up a few dishes with chopsticks and started eating.

Yu Yunxin had eaten white rice for the first time in the past 20 days on the road. She felt that the rice was really sweet and delicious after taking a bite. Compared with the modern hybrid rice, it had a unique sweet fragrance. She couldn't describe this fragrance. It was like the unique fragrance of wild flowers in the countryside when she was a child. In ancient times, the per-acre yield of rice was low, but it was very sweet and delicious. She ate it with relish and said, "Chun Yu Qiu Shuang, the three of you should eat quickly! It's past noon. Let's sit here for a while after we finish eating."

"Okay, Xin'er, you still have time. Don't rush me. Girls should eat slowly. Linshan and I are going to the government office." After saying that, he stood up, put one hand behind his back and walked out of the restaurant. Yu Linshan held a sword in his hand and a small bag on his back, and followed Yu Tinghai. The two walked away one after the other.

After Tinghai left, Qiu Shuang laughed: "Young lady, the master said to chew slowly."

"Qiushuang, do you want me to leave you in Nanling County?" Yu Yunxin said as she picked up a piece of steamed fish cake.

Qiu Shuang immediately shut up, smiled at Yu Yunxin and said, "Miss, you won't be willing to leave me. I will even go hunting for you. The food in Zuixianju is expensive and not as delicious as the wild game in the mountains. How come Miss is eating so deliciously?"

"The dishes at Zuixianju are a bit lighter, but we've been eating game all the way, either grilled or boiled. You never get tired of it, but I'm tired of it. You don't even think about game." Yu Yunxin said, tapping Qiu Shuang's forehead lightly with chopsticks.

"Waiter, call out your sect leader and boss Yang. They are so impatient to steal business from our Wu family in Nanling County." A dozen big men came in. The leader was a middle-aged man dressed like a shopkeeper, with a long beard and triangular eyes. He looked like a mean person.

It would be embarrassing if someone gets hurt accidentally. Everyone, get the hell out of here. When the people sitting at the tables downstairs heard this, they were so scared that they walked out immediately, leaving only Yu Yunxin's table.

One of the big men saw that Yu Yunxin and her group had not left, so he walked over and said, "You little bastards, why don't you get out of here right now? If we hurt you later, don't go back and cry for your parents!"

"We haven't finished lunch yet." Qiu Shuang said

"Get out of this table now or don't blame me for being rude." Yu Yunxin said angrily. She was not even allowed to have a moment of peace while eating. In the past few days, she had been practicing the Gentleman Sword and the Sitting and Forgetting Technique and they were almost perfect. She was not afraid of these minions and also wanted to see how good her kung fu was. This was a good opportunity for her to practice on them.

The waiter came over and said, "Brother, these people are all Wu family's thugs, you should leave first!"

"You Wu family are so bold. This is Nanling County, not Shangyang County. This is not your Wu family's territory. Please don't bully the guests of Zuixianju here." A man dressed as a shopkeeper came down from the second floor. He was about fifty years old, wearing a shopkeeper's hat, a yellow silk robe, and a long black and white beard. He looked at the people who broke in and said, "If you come to Zuixianju to drink and eat, I welcome you. But if you come here to cause trouble, you have come to the wrong place."

"Manager Yan, you are so arrogant! Don't think that just because you have hooked up with Boss Yang, you can ignore our Wu family. I tell you, you should still ask my Wu family to buy rice from now on, and the Wu family will not hold it against you. If you continue to do business with Mr. Yang, don't blame us for being rude." The leading manager said angrily.

Yu Yunxin understood that the Wu family was forcing her to buy the fish. Seeing the big man standing aside, she ignored him and picked up a piece of fish to eat. She didn't pay any attention to the big man standing aside.

Qiu Shuang also nervously gripped the sword in her hand. He Bo saw it and sneaked out with the three coachmen. He said to them, "You go to the backyard to watch the carriages. I'm going to the government office to find the master." After that, he left in a hurry. He knew that his young lady had martial arts skills, but the four of them were all girls after all. He didn't dare to let his young lady get hurt, so he rushed towards the government office under the scorching sun.

In Zuixianju, ten big men started to smash things. The big man standing next to Yu Yunxin's table wanted to walk up and overturn Yu Yunxin's table, but Yu Yunxin hit the big man's palm with her scabbard. The big man's hand was directly hit and swollen.

"Can't we even have a full lunch? How dare you overturn our table?" Yu Yunxin glared at the big man.

"How come there are still swordsmen eating at Zuixianju!" The sarcastic shopkeeper said, "You are so young, but I am going to smash it today. I tell you to stay away from Zuixianju in the future."

After saying that, several big men rushed towards Yu Yunxin. Yu Yunxin dodged the fist of one of the big men rushing towards her.

"Stop." A loud male voice came from upstairs, and then a few copper coins were thrown at the thugs, hitting their hands and feet. There was a sudden wailing in the restaurant.

"How can you, the Wu family, have the final say in the business of Shopkeeper Wu? Does this Nanling County belong to you, the Wu family?" A man in his twenties came down from upstairs, wearing a light blue gauze that moved gracefully with his movements. A palm-sized golden abacus hung around his waist, emitting a slight sound of beads bumping.

"Are you Boss Yang?" asked Shopkeeper Wu.

"Yes, it's me." Boss Yang replied respectfully.

"Did you cause the Wu family rice shop to lose money? Did you tell the head of our Wu family about selling grain at a low price?" Shopkeeper Wu asked.

Boss Yang chuckled: "Who gave you the courage to raise the grain price so high?"

"Why do you care about us? We in the Wu family have someone above us." said the shopkeeper Wu.

"Oh! Do you know who gave me the price?" Boss Yang asked back.

"Could it be that the prefect gave it to you?" asked Shopkeeper Wu.

"It was because you raised the grain prices in the entire Nanling County so outrageously that the prefect couldn't stand it anymore, so he invited me here from Jiangnan. Don't you know?" Boss Yang asked.

"Your surname is Yang, and the prefect of Nanling County also has the surname Yang. Are you and the prefect related?" Shopkeeper Wu asked.