Mu family's little lucky girl

Chapter 229 A Small Plan (Two in One)

Usually just after the fifth watch, Shilipo becomes lively.

The major restaurants and inns opened their doors to welcome customers and started their daily business.

The small vendors who made a small living also started to set up stalls in the streets and alleys to sell their goods, some selling fruit cakes, some selling breakfast, some selling handicrafts, some selling jewelry, and some selling calligraphy and painting. Yes, too many to list.

Crowded.

Early in the morning, you can hear the enthusiastic yelling of small vendors.

Especially in this area where inns are gathered.

Because travelers and merchants from all over the country are basically concentrated here, there are many more small stalls here than in other places.

Today, however, was different.

A tense air pressure hangs over the sky.

When Chen Xiao and Mu Li came out of the inn, they obviously noticed something strange.

Too quiet.

The small vendors are not as enthusiastic about attracting customers as they used to be. They seem to be cautious and timid in doing things, as if they have changed people.

Their business is also neglected.

The small traders were all downcast and dejected.

If it's just one person, it may not arouse the suspicion of others, but when everyone is like this, it will appear abnormal and weird.

Chen Xiao and Mu Li looked at each other.

The latter frowned slightly.

In one night, it seemed that Shilipo had completely changed.

Soon, however, they knew the answer.

Coming out of the inn, passing through a few small alleys, Qinghe came into view.

The banks of the Qinghe River are one of the more lively and prosperous places in Shilipo. There are many shops along the side of the river, and many small vendors set up stalls here to make a living.

It was surprisingly quiet today too.

Every house is empty.

Along the side of the river, officers and soldiers stood full.

They guard the entrance of every small alley, and everyone who comes out of the alley must go through their inspection before being released.

It was Muli's first visit to Shilipo, so he didn't know whether this phenomenon was normal or not.

But Chen Xiao was well-informed, so he immediately noticed something strange.

These people guarding here are probably related to what happened last night.

The reason they made such a big fuss was to capture Princess Qingyang again.

Looking at the rows of officers and soldiers, Chen Xiao sneered when he thought of their arrogant behavior last night.

This Zhao Fan is really bold and reckless.

He not only abused his private power to confuse the people, but also openly sent people to arrest Princess Qingyang, and even labeled her a criminal.

To be so arrogant.

Mu Li didn't know what Chen Xiao was thinking.

She looked calm, frowned slightly, and just looked at the two officers and soldiers guarding the entrance of the alley.

I understood it all at once.

These people came for Princess Qingyang.

He didn't hesitate to brave the rain last night, and he wanted to mobilize his troops to capture Princess Qingyang. It seemed that Zhong Shanghui was determined to give her to Haman.

What Mu Li couldn't figure out was that Haman had already sent envoys to ask Emperor Zhou Gaozu to marry him, so why did Zhong Shanghui bother?

Or did he have other conspiracy?

Even if Princess Qingyang was dedicated to Harman, wouldn't it still have to be returned to Da Zhou in the end?

Otherwise, it will not be able to play the role of peace.

Mu Li withdrew his thoughts, turned his head, and smiled at the old man selling tofu next to him.

"Old man, bring me two catties of tofu."

The frowning old man immediately became happy, and with his bony hands he lifted the clean white rag, and started cutting the tofu with a knife.

He works neatly, moves like water, and looks very pleasing to the eye.

The old man sells old tofu.

It weighs tens of catties.

As usual, he set up a stall here, and many guys from hotels and inns would come to buy his tofu, and they were all sold out in a short while.

But today is very unusual.

He kept guard for a long time, but he didn't even see a shadow of anyone.

Not only that, but he was also robbed of a tael of silver by the two officers and soldiers in front of him just now.

Although things like being robbed of money often happen, his business has not been affected. Giving some money can be regarded as disaster relief. People don't fight with officials, and the old man has no other choice but to submit honestly.

But today they not only have to give them money, but the business is also bleak.

Not only did he not earn any money, but he even lost one tael.

May I ask who can be happy when encountering such a bad thing?

Ordinary people are extremely easy to please.

The old man also lost all the gloom in his heart because someone came to buy his tofu.

He was happy, and gave Mu Li an extra catty of tofu.

Mu Li took it with a smile, and then asked, "Old man, how did you get the injury on your arm?"

The old man glanced at it indifferently, and there was a scar about one span long on his arm, with blood streaks hanging on it, as if he was rubbed by something.

There was a shallow smile on the old man's wrinkled face, and as he smiled, the wrinkles on his face deepened, and his incomplete teeth were exposed.

He smiled lightly and said, "My old man accidentally fell."

Mu Li was taken aback, she didn't expect him to say that.

She just saw it all.

It was done by two officers and soldiers at the entrance of the alley.

These two people blatantly robbed the old man's money. At first, the old man begged hard to let them wait for a few more days, and then came to collect the money again in less than half a month, and his wallet was almost too much to bear.

One of the officials didn't talk nonsense, he pushed the old man to the ground and threatened the old man that if he didn't give it, he wouldn't want the tofu anymore, and he wouldn't even think about setting up a stall here in the future.

The old man relies on this to make money to support his family. If he can't make money, how can he make money?
In desperation, the old man had to obediently hand in the money.

The old man saw that Mu Li was young, pure and harmless, and had a strong affinity, so he glanced at Chen Xiao, who was next to Mu Li with a cold face, and the old man lowered his voice and said, "I think you two are strangers, you should be from out of town. of."

Mu Li glanced at Chen Xiao, then at the old man, and nodded.

The old man sighed heavily: "You don't know the rules of our Xingzhou County."

"Since the new county magistrate took office, our life has been getting worse day by day. Don't look at the bustle and bustling here, and outsiders think we are rich, but ah, it has changed a long time ago."

Mu Li frowned, "Changed?"

"Yes." The old Chinese said earnestly: "If you want to talk about prosperity, it used to be really prosperous, and our common people also had money in their pockets, but since the new county magistrate took office, he has increased a lot of taxes on us, and the money we earn from selling things Seventy percent must be handed over to the county magistrate, and the remaining thirty percent must be exploited by officials."

"Tell me, how can we earn any money?"

Speaking of this, the old man's eyes were red.

He worked from dawn to dusk every day, and in the end, he couldn't even make back the cost price.

All the money was robbed by the county magistrate and this group of officials.

Can he feel better?
Hearing this, Mu Li was shocked.

"Seventy percent?"

These days, she set up a stall in the town to do business, so she knew a little about the court's tax collection.

For a small trader like her, the court only takes [-]% of the money, and the rest of the money earned belongs to herself.

Seventy percent of the harvest is unheard of and unseen.

She looked at Chen Xiao and asked, "Mr. Chen, did the Great Zhou Dynasty have a unified standard for commodity tax?"

Chen Xiao's voice was cold.

"No." He looked at the old man with complicated eyes, "but it must not exceed [-]%."

"As far as I know, when the former county magistrate was still in office, the tax standard for small traders was less than [-]%, but now it is [-]%, which is really scary."

The old man nodded heavily.

Eyes filled with tears.

"It's a pity that such a good person... left early."

The old man choked up.

Mu Li looked at Chen Xiao worriedly, and Chen Xiao patted her head, "Let's go."

For a moment, Mu Li's mood was complicated.

For Chen Xiao, but also for the people of Xingzhou County.

The old man looked at the back of the two leaving, wiped away his tears, and started his day-to-day life - selling tofu.

At this time, another tofu buyer came, and the old man warmly entertained him. He picked up a knife and cut the tofu for the other party, but suddenly stopped.

A five taels of silver appeared out of nowhere on his cart.

The old man remembered very clearly that the money definitely did not belong to his family.

And when he came in the morning, he knew exactly what was in the car.

From the time he came here to set up a stall until now, he met a young man and a young girl.

The old man thought about it.

The silver must belong to both of them.

It is estimated that the little girl accidentally missed it when she paid the money just now.

Thinking about it this way, the old man quickly put down the knife, picked up the silver and chased out of the alley, not even caring about the business.

Trembling, they ran to the entrance of the alley, but they had long since disappeared.

The old man returned to the stall with the silver.

The aunt who bought the tofu hadn't left yet, as if she was waiting for him.

The aunt sneered, "It's a lot of age, but I still think of myself as a young guy, and run away as soon as I say."

"Not even doing business?"

The old man didn't take what the aunt said seriously, and immediately put on a smiling face, "Do it!"

"How much tofu do you want?"

The aunt didn't take the episode just now to heart, nor did she intentionally make things difficult for the old man because of it.

It is not easy for those who come out to sell tofu. They get up early and work late, sleep in the middle of the night, and get up at the fifth. They can only make money for a living. There are many processes in making tofu, which is very tiring.

In addition, the county magistrates and officials in Xingzhou County are not human, and they all suck their blood like vampires.

The aunt may have felt compassion for the old man who came out to do this in his seventies.

I ordered five catties of tofu in one go.

At the same time, Chen Xiao and Mu Li came out from the next alley.

Mu Li looks up at him, his eyes are bright.

"Mr. Chen, you gave the old man the silver, right?"

If in doubt, it is a positive tone.

Chen Xiao hummed a laugh.

Mu Li leaned forward with a smile, and said with a straight face, "Mr. Chen, I want to lend you some money."

There was still 400 taels of silver borrowed from Chen Xiao before, and it was hidden by Mu Li, and she didn't take it with her. Now she only has a few copper coins, which is not enough.

Chen Xiao looked down at her, smiled lazily, and didn't ask her what to borrow money for.

Instead, ask, "How much to borrow?"

"100 taels." Mu Li clasped his hands together.

Chen Xiao took out a bank note from his pocket and handed it to her.

Mu Li handed the tofu in his hand to Chen Xiao, "Help me hold it first, I have something to do."

After finishing speaking, he stuffed it into Chen Xiao's hand and ran away.

Then, he saw a certain little animal crying and shouting while running.

The voice is high-pitched, and it looks ridiculous.

There is no gentle image that a girl should have.

Chen Xiao couldn't laugh or cry.

He sighed, his lips curved into a helpless smile.

I didn't know what to say for a while.

I'm afraid only this silly girl can do this kind of self-destructive image.

"Not good!"

"All of my gold hairpins, jade bracelets, and gold necklaces accidentally fell into the river."

"These things are all inherited from my family. They are worth 1000 taels. I accidentally lost them."

"Is there any kind-hearted person who can jump into the river and help me pick it up? I would like to reward you with a lot of money!"

Mu Li cried heartbroken, it really looked like that.

She cried and ran to the river, looking at Qinghe, her whole body was anxious, as if she was looking for something.

Mu Li yelled loudly on purpose, just to attract the attention of these people.

She waited for this group of arrogant and greedy officials to come to her on their own initiative.

No one doesn't like money, especially these arrogant officials.

1000 taels of silver is wealth that they will never get after hard work.

Anyone who hears it will be moved.

She still doesn't believe it, these people don't take the bait.

Later, when they all come over, she will sprinkle itching powder on them all, and the itching powder will break out when it comes into contact with water.

Very itchy!

Guaranteed they are all itching to die.

And there is no antidote for this thing, it has to itch for seven days to get better.

Even if the imperial doctor came, he didn't move.

And the more you scratch, the more itchy.

The more Mu Li thought about it, the more excited she became.

She wants to teach these people a lesson for the people of Xingzhou County.

snort!
However, Mu Li waited and waited, but no one came.

She looked back, looked left, looked right, and found that no official was looking at her.

Weird.

Are these people transgender?

Are you not moved when you hear Yinzi?
Chen Xiao shook his head and laughed in the distance.

She is wearing the clothes of ordinary people. Who would believe that an ordinary person can afford gold, silver and jewelry?
No one will believe it.

Everyone took Mu Li's words as a joke.

Naturally, no one would be so stupid as to actually jump into the river to fish for her.

Mu Li looked down at his clothes.

mock up.

I make you dogs look down on people.

This girl naturally has a way to fool you.

Mu Li stared at her eyes, and after a few seconds, when tears were brewing, she pretended to be heartbroken, and made full use of her innocent and harmless face, crying until I felt pitiful.

Chen Xiao had a panoramic view of Mu Li's little movements not far away, and then saw her crying and running in front of the two officials, Chen Xiao's face darkened.

The corners of his mouth twitched.

In order to teach these people a lesson, this girl actually resorted to a beauty trick?

Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes and sneered.

Let's see how he takes care of her when he goes back.

Unaware of the imminent danger, Mu Li is still immersed in his own plan.

Those two officials happened to be the ones who robbed the old man of his money.

At first, not only the two of them heard Mu Li's yelling, the officials were secretly delighted, and they all wanted to jump in to salvage these things.

1000 taels of silver.

Enough for them to eat and drink for a lifetime.

However, when they turned around, they found that this person was actually dressed like an ordinary person, without any valuables on him, and the officials suddenly lost their minds.

It is expected that Muli is a lunatic, a fool.

Therefore, no one paid attention to her.

However, the little girl actually ran to them at this time and asked for help.

Seeing that the little girl was pure and lively, the two officials were crying so much that they were so distressed.

They all patted their chests and promised to help her find her things.

At this time, no one noticed that there was a handsome young man standing on the roof.

Chen Xiao looked at the two of them squinting at Mu Li, and even wanted to touch her, but fortunately, Mu Li cleverly avoided them.

Chen Xiao's eyes were cold.

Mu Li suddenly felt chills all over her body, as if a cold gaze was looking at her.

She raised her head subconsciously, and suddenly saw Chen Xiao standing on the roof, a sneer slowly lifted from the corner of her lips.

Inexplicably, Mu Li's body turned cold.

Finished!

This guy seems jealous.

Seeing that the two officials wanted to look up at the roof, Mu Li was so frightened that she hurriedly said, "Then I will trouble you two officials."

"but……"

One of the officials looked straight at Mu Li, and asked with a smile, "But what?"

Because Chen Xiao flew over the roof with Mu Li just now, and didn't go directly through the alley, so the two officials didn't see her.

Mu Li said: "Qinghe is so big, I'm afraid I'll tire the two officials, why don't you ask your brothers to help me with this?"

"It's like this. My parents are waiting for me to go back at home. If I go back late, they will definitely beat me. So I thought that there are many people and strength. Can they all help out together?"

To convince them, add credibility.

Swish!

Mu Li took out 100 taels of silver notes.

"This is a reward salary. If you help me find my things, I will give it to you. At that time, each person will be 200 taels of silver, so everyone who goes to the river to help will have a share."

The eyes of the two officials stared greedily at the silver in Mu Li's hand.

The guards guarding the alley next to the side saw the situation here, and they also gathered around. When Mu Li said that there was a reward of 200 taels of silver, everyone was moved, and agreed to Mu Li without thinking about it.

When the others saw a group of people gathered together, they became curious and gathered around one after another.

As soon as they saw the banknote in Mu Li's hand, everyone became greedy.

They all expressed their willingness to go down.

Mu Li was very "moved" and bowed deeply to them.

Those people who were greedy for money threw away their waist knives, took off their coats three or five times, and jumped into the water one by one like dumplings.

Little did they know, when they were all gathered around Mu Li, they had already been drugged quietly by Mu Li.

As soon as they enter the water, they will feel extremely itchy.

The effects of the medicine come on quickly.

After a while, these officials began to splash in the water.

Yelling and itching all over.

They scratch their faces for a while, their arms for a while, and their bodies for a while...

It looks ridiculous.

Mu Li looked at them indifferently.

"Let's go." Chen Xiao came over, wrapped Mu Li's waist with one hand, and covered her eyes with the other.

However, just as they stepped onto the crossbridge, they ran into an unexpected but expected person head-on.

(End of this chapter)