It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

Chapter 124

Chunying was speechless for a moment. Whether they knew each other or not, after tonight, they would part ways with the Song family.

Jiang Yan was still secretly wishing that she would not encounter so many bandits in Heding Prefecture again. However, Fu Weixin was confident because of the bravery of Jiang Yan, Chunying and Yile, and believed that their strength was enough to deal with the difficulties that might arise on the rest of the journey.

What a joke on them... The next day, when Jiang Yan heard Fu Nulang's encouragement to them, she couldn't help but complain about where their confidence came from. She felt that trusting their fighting power was worse than trusting the efficiency of the former and current governors in capturing people and sending them to the mines.

As soon as they entered the first county town in the north of Heding Prefecture, they were stopped by the doormen and charged high miscellaneous fees.

Because of the doorman's accent, Jiang Yan could only roughly understand the few items newly added by the government. To sum it up, it was to support the old emperor in mining the gold mines in Qinshan. The people would contribute money if they had money, and contribute labor if they didn't have money.

No matter if they committed crimes or caused disturbances or quarrels, once they were discovered by the government and arrested, the first punishment was to be sent to Qinshan to perform forced labor.

Although the government said that the length of service depends on the severity of the crime, with the shortest being four or five days and the longest being lifelong, ordinary people did not dare to believe it.

After the New Year, even the punishment of staying in the county prison to pound rice as hard labor requires bidding. Who can guarantee that going to Qinshan will not be a one-way trip?

The common people did not fight with the officials. For a time, the public security in Heding Prefecture was very good and the neighbors lived in harmony. They were afraid of being taken away for trivial matters.

In addition, the government doubled the entrance fee to the city and added an exit fee and a customs clearance fee. The amount was so large that even bandits were afraid of being exploited and disappeared.

The above details were found out by Jiang Yan when he went to a farmer's house to buy dry food.

If Miss Fu had not revealed her identity, the money they had on them combined would not be enough for them to reach the capital.

Fearing that they would have to incur some inexplicable expenses if they stayed in the county town, Chunying and Yile drove the two mule carts at full speed, working day and night, and finally arrived back at the governor's mansion in the afternoon of February 24.

White mourning banners were hung on both sides of the gate of the Governor's Mansion, which had been renamed "Chang Governor's Mansion". Behind him was a silent street. Fu Weixin got off the mule cart and stood firmly in front of the gate. Jiang Yan glanced at him from behind and felt that his figure was solemn.

The housekeeper was very surprised to hear that Miss Fu had returned home, and hurried out to greet her. He had only received information about Miss Fu's whereabouts last night, but he didn't expect her to return so quickly, arriving the next day.

Fu Weixin pursed his lips, a little nervous: "Auntie, are you feeling okay?"

The butler replied respectfully, "Your Excellency is in a good mood."

"That's good." Fu Weixin nodded and followed the housekeeper to the front yard. Although she looked relaxed, she was still nervous inside.

It was a big mistake to run away without telling either side. Fu Weixin originally planned to live in his own farm for a while, prove that he could be independent, then return home to meet the Chang family, and then move out completely... He didn't expect that the reality would be that he would be in such a mess.

After seeing with his own eyes that Miss Fu gave almost all of her gold and silver to the Song family as compensation, Jiang Yan anticipated that she would definitely go to Governor Chang to apologize after returning to the city.

After all, all of Fu's remaining money was left in the governor's mansion. If she gave it up and had to endure a life of poverty, Jiang Yan found it difficult to accept it. The maids had contributed all their wealth to be able to return safely to the provincial capital.

While Jiang Yan was worried about the punishment that Governor Chang would impose on Miss Fu, she was also distracted and silently observing the guards on both sides. Compared with the previous times she passed by here, more than 60% of them were unfamiliar faces.

Looking at the density of the guards... well... it's hard for ordinary people to climb over the wall and assassinate...