In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 427 Shocking

After quickly washing his face with the hot water brought by the restaurant staff, Chen Dao lay on the bed, staring blankly at the pitch-black ceiling.

The events of the past few days have truly broadened Chen Dao's horizons, allowing him to experience firsthand what a real imperial society is like.

Just a prince could cause the people of the entire Taiqing County to suffer, and even... the entire Qingzhou was affected by the Prince of Qing. Not to mention anything else, the several tax increases in Taicang County were related to the Prince of Qing.

The scene outside the window flashed through Chen Dao's mind today. When the Green King passed by, hundreds of people on the street knelt down in unison. The visual impact of that scene was simply breathtaking!

Of course, Chen Dao did not envy the power of the Qing King. On the contrary, he was quite disgusted by this behavior. He did not like others standing in front of him and demanding that all the people around him kneel down. As someone who had transmigrated from China, Chen Dao found this unacceptable and it made him deeply understand the strictness of imperial power in feudal society!

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Silent all night.

The next day, Chen Dao and his three companions woke up early and, after leaving the restaurant, were led by Zheng Qiuyan to the residence of Wei Hua, the commander of the city guards.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Dao looked up at the mansion in front of him, his face full of astonishment.

"Is this Wei Hua's residence?"

Chen Dao asked incredulously. It's no wonder he was so surprised; in the prefecture where land is incredibly valuable, this mansion occupies an exceptionally large area, with stone lions at the entrance, heavy gates, and a secluded interior...

None of this seemed like something a city guard commander should possess.

After all, the city guard commander was just an insignificant, low-ranking military officer, and this house could easily be mistaken for the residence of the prefect of Qingzhou.

"Exactly."

Zheng Qiuyan nodded slightly and said, "The city guard commander is indeed a low-ranking official, but it is a really lucrative position. Wei Hua, who controls the passage through the city gates, has enough money to live in such a big house by exploiting the merchants who enter and leave the city."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dao was speechless. A city guard commander could own such a mansion in Qingzhou Prefecture, where land was incredibly valuable, simply by virtue of his power. This made Chen Dao sigh at the allure of power; even a tiny bit of power could bring a greedy person enormous wealth.

"Dong dong dong."

Although the main gate of the house was half open, Zheng Qiuyan did not go in directly. Instead, she stepped forward, pressed the door knocker, and knocked on the door.

A short while later, a middle-aged man came out and asked Zheng Qiuyan, "Who are you people?"

Zheng Qiuyan replied, "I am Zheng Qiuyan, the daughter of the Prefect of Taicang County. I have come to see Commander Wei. Please inform him of my presence."

Daughter of the governor of Taicang Commandery?

The middle-aged man glanced at Zheng Qiuyan with surprise and said, "Wait a moment!"

Shortly after turning and entering the mansion, the middle-aged man returned and said to Zheng Qiuyan, "Commander Wei is willing to see you. Please come with me."

Soon, the four were led by the middle-aged man to the main hall of the mansion, where they met the person in question, Wei Hua.

Wei Hua was a middle-aged man around forty years old, with a robust physique and an air of military prowess.

He sat imposingly in the main seat, with exquisite meats and wines laid out on the table in front of him. Hearing the commotion of Chen Dao and the other three entering, Wei Hua merely glanced up before continuing to drink.

"Commander Wei."

Upon seeing Wei Hua without any expression, Zheng Qiuyan bowed and said, "This humble woman sends her greetings on behalf of my father."

Zheng Qiuyan, who needed someone's help, adopted a very humble attitude.

"Ah."

Wei Hua raised his head and said indifferently, "Your father is Zheng Qing, isn't he?"

"Exactly!"

Zheng Qiuyan nodded: "My father sent me here to see Commander Wei because he has a request."

"Since you are Zheng Qing's daughter, you should know my rules, right?"

"Of course I know."

Zheng Qiuyan gave Qingying a wink, and Qingying immediately understood, taking out a bag of silver and handing it to the middle-aged man who had led the way.

Seeing how sensible Zheng Qiuyan was, Wei Hua's expression softened slightly, and he pointed to the seats on both sides of the living room and said, "Sit down."

The four sat down, and then Zheng Qiuyan spoke up: "Commander Wei, half a month ago, the city guards detained a batch of goods belonging to my Zheng Family Trading Company. Those goods were very important to my Zheng Family Trading Company. I hope that Commander Wei can give us some face and return the goods."

"Is this happening?"

A glint of light flashed in Wei Hua's eyes as he asked the middle-aged steward.

"Reporting to the commander, I am unaware of this matter."

"It seems that Niece Zheng has made a mistake!"

Wei Hua smiled and said, "Why don't you go back and check the whereabouts of that batch of goods again, Niece Zheng?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qiuyan's face immediately turned ugly. She had investigated the whereabouts of that batch of goods very clearly, how could she have made a mistake?

Wei Hua's behavior at this moment clearly indicated that he did not want to return the goods to his side.

"Commander Wei."

Zheng Qiuyan said, word by word, "That batch of goods is very important to my Zheng family. I would like to ask Commander Wei to do me a favor."

"I also want to give Prefect Zheng some face."

Wei Hua twirled the wine cup between his two index fingers: "But the goods aren't in my hands, how can I return them?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qiuyan was even angrier and said in a deep voice, "Commander Wei, do you really want to antagonize my Zheng family?"

"Ah!"

Wei Hua scoffed, "So what if we're at odds with the Zheng family? Xie Jiang, show them out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the butler named Xie Jiang walked up to Zheng Qiuyan and her three companions and said politely but firmly, "Miss Zheng, please."

Zheng Qiuyan gave Wei Hua a deep look, then got up and left.

Wei Hua watched the departing figures of Zheng Qiuyan and the other three, a slight smile curving his lips.

He certainly knew where the Zheng family's goods had gone; in fact, they were stored in his own warehouse. However, he had no intention of returning them because…

That shipment was important to the Zheng family, and it was equally important to him!

As for Zheng Qiuyan's threat, Wei Hua didn't take it to heart at all. Let alone Zheng Qiuyan, the daughter of the prefect, even if the prefect Zheng Qing himself came, Wei Hua wouldn't give him face, nor did he need to give Zheng Qing face at all.

Wei Hua's superior was the Prince of Qing, while Zheng Qing was merely the prefect of a remote place in Taicang County, not someone Wei Hua would be wary of.

"Zheng Qing's daughter is quite beautiful!"

As he recalled Zheng Qiuyan's exquisite face, a lewd smile crept across Wei Hua's face.

Outside Wei Hua's residence, Qingying, who was seeing Xie Jiang off, said angrily, "Miss, that Wei Hua went too far! He took the money but didn't do anything!"

Zheng Qiuyan's face turned ashen. She hadn't expected Wei Hua to be so outrageous, not only refusing to return the Zheng family's goods but also trying to extort money from her!