Tangled

"Cousin, do you think Ash is scary?"

Shen Qiqi answered, "Isn't it a very serious question?"

The question he is asking now is not a very serious matter.

"Of course it is serious. This is related to whether you can live in peace in the future."

Shen Qiqi didn't know much about this, but she didn't ask any more questions, she just shook her head after thinking about it carefully.

"My cousin is fine."

Although he was scary at first, it was only because she took it too superficially.

Although the understanding of my cousin can't be said to be thorough now, it can be regarded as a certain understanding.

Not to mention anything else, but as far as my cousin treats me sincerely, he is not scary at all.

Mu Chengze's gaze stayed on her face for a moment, then he curled his lips, "You are the only one who feels this way."

"Look at the one who was chasing the carriage. Apart from being frightened by Ash, can he find a reason why he would rather go down and run than sit with Ash?"

Shen Qiqi opened and closed her mouth, and then answered in a blunt manner: "Maybe he prefers to run."

Mu Chengze gasped in shock at her words, and after he recovered, his face was full of indescribable words towards her.

"Cousin, listen to what you say, do you think you can fool yourself?"

Shen Qiqi pursed her lips and smiled, secretly glanced at Gu Tingshu who was driving, and said in a low voice, "I think it should be possible."

Mu Chengze was so annoyed by her words, he turned around and ignored her.

The carriage was not soundproof, so Gu Tingshu could of course hear what they said inside.

Compared to Mu Chengze's great anger, he was so relieved that he didn't even notice that the corners of his mouth were curling up.

After traveling for several hours, when they reached the border of Ningzhou, they found a village to rest.

Compared with the previous encounters, this small village is particularly quiet and peaceful.

In the golden dusk, old people and children sat under the big tree at the entrance of the village.

The children were laughing and playing, while the old people were smiling and staring at them.

They drove into the village in a carriage, which was too eye-catching, and the children who were surrounded by the trees surrounded them fearlessly.

The chief came over on crutches, looked at Gu Tingshu, and then raised his eyes to Aman who hadn't arrived yet.

"It's going to be night, do you want to stay overnight?"

Li Chang's hair has turned gray, his silver beard hangs down to his chest, and his face is benevolent, he looks like a kind-hearted person.

Gu Tingshu got out of the carriage and saluted with fists together, "I wonder if it's convenient in the village?"

"Convenient is convenient, but there are no extra vacant houses in the village, so we can only wrong the distinguished guests to live in the ancestral hall temporarily."

"The ancestral hall in the village is spacious, but it's located in the innermost part of the village, so I'm afraid I might neglect the distinguished guests."

"We are a group of four, as long as there is a place to rest, the chief doesn't need to be too polite."

"That being the case, then come with me, everyone."

The head of the village turned around and called a half-grown boy over, "Go, tell Grandma Hua to send some food to the ancestral hall, there are distinguished guests staying overnight tonight."

It seems that the village has become accustomed to people passing by for the night. Except for children who come to join in the fun, there are only occasional people who come across to say hello.

"Don't blame the distinguished guests. There are often people in the village who come to stay overnight, so they are not very enthusiastic."

The chief was old, so he walked slowly, Gu Tingshu followed him slowly, and Mu Chengze couldn't help it soon.

After landing, he looked around and found that this small village was better than the ones he saw along the way.

Most of the villages are stone houses, and there are a few different ones, which are also adobe houses.

In the villages we passed before, adobe houses accounted for only a small half, and most of them were wooden houses, bamboo houses and thatched houses.

"Li Chief, looking at the houses in the village, we can see that your life in the village is pretty good."

"That's right, our village just passed the boundary and came under the jurisdiction of Ningzhou. Governor Deng of Ningzhou is a rare good manager. After all these years, we have not raised our taxes and food under pressure, so we can live a better life."

Mu Chengze and Gu Tingshu looked at each other with doubts in their hearts.

"The imperial court doesn't seem to have raised taxes and food these years. We're from Kyoto, so we haven't heard of it."

The chief's slow-moving footsteps suddenly stopped, and he turned around to look at them in disbelief.

"No, there is a small village not far from us. Although it is close, it is no longer under the jurisdiction of Ningzhou. In the past ten years, the tax and food in their village have increased five or six times."

"Because the taxes and food are too high, their life is becoming more and more difficult. All the girls in the village are marrying in Ningzhou, and the surrounding villages are almost becoming men's villages."

"Ashu, you have been dealing with farmers all the year round, have you ever heard of the tax hike?"

Mu Chengze was so startled by this meeting that he stopped fanning himself and bumped Gu Tingshu with his elbow, motioning him to think about it.

The imperial court has fought many battles in the past ten years, but the treasury is full, and it has not squeezed the blood and sweat of the people.

Gu Tingshu lowered his face and shook his head slowly.

Both of them are sure that the tax and food have not been raised. If this is true, then the power behind the scenes must be very powerful.

"Inspector Chief, we are a little curious about this, can the Chief Inspector accompany us and clear up our doubts?"

It's just a chat for a while, and the village chief couldn't wish for it.

At his age, everyone in the family thinks he is talkative, and he is happy to have someone to chat with.

"I have some wine at home, which is self-brewed. My family doesn't like to drink it. I'll ask someone to fetch it. Let's talk about it while drinking."

When it came to wine, Mu Chengze hadn't touched it for a few days, and now that the chief said this, he nodded impatiently.

What a wonderful thing to have someone to drink and chat with.

The head of the village immediately ordered a few boys to go to the house to bring wine, and after they left, he patted his head again and directed the younger seven or eight-year-old children to go home,
"Go and tell Grandma Hua to fry a plate of beans, put more sugar, don't search and search like before, there is a distinguished guest here today."

Speaking of jelly beans, the child who was pulled over almost drools.

"Grandpa, if I call, can you give me a few jelly beans?"

"Fun Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen Fen F, I'll give you some more and let your sister try it too."

With someone drinking with him, the chief was in a great mood, and he was even willing to give up the jelly beans that he was reluctant to eat on weekdays.

Just as Mu Chengze was about to refuse, he heard an exclamation from inside the carriage, and when he looked back, he saw a half-grown boy lifted the curtain and was about to crawl inside.

The voice of talking just now was made by Shen Qiqi who was suddenly startled by the child who appeared.

Hearing it was a woman's voice, the chief poked the ground with his cane.

"Stinky boy, if you come down quickly and disturb the guests, I'm going to tell your grandpa to spank your ass."