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“Miss!” Tingxue covered her mouth, afraid that her gasp would draw attention.
Ningshuang returned to Wei Yunlan’s side and anxiously whispered, “Miss, are they coming to arrest us?”
“Don’t panic yet. Pack your things and be ready to leave at any time.” Wei Yunlan pushed open the door and quietly stepped into the courtyard.
Seventh Lady Yu, who left the west room at the same time, vanished in a flash.
The shouts from the village echoed again.
“The officials are already in Shangya Village!”
“Everyone, hide your grain quickly!”
Wei Yunlan breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then a question arose in her mind: Officials weren’t bandits. Why would they need to hide their grain?
Old Uncle Xue, who was cooking breakfast, heard the shouts outside and ran out of the kitchen, stopping a villager who was running past the courtyard and asking urgently, “What happened?”
“Uncle, the officials somehow heard that Shangya Village was smuggling grain. They’ve sent officials to check the harvest in each village. Village Head is worried that after they check, they’ll take away the grain, so he asked everyone to hide some of it.”
The villager finished speaking and hurried towards the threshing ground. “Uncle, I can’t talk to you now. I need to help over there!”
“Huzi, watch the pot. I’ll go have a look too.” Old Uncle Xue instructed Huzi, then glanced at Wei Yunlan standing in the courtyard, nodded, and quickly followed the villagers who had just left.
He moved so quickly, not at all like an old man nearing sixty.
“Miss, we’re all packed. Shall we leave?” Ningshuang asked in a low voice.
“Wait for Leader Yu to come back.” Wei Yunlan had just finished speaking when Seventh Lady Yu appeared in the courtyard.
She had circled the village and learned what had happened. “A group of officials came from Qingya Slope and are currently in Shangya Village. They’ll be here in half an hour at most.”
The road ahead was still blocked, and they could only detour back.
Leaving now would inevitably lead to an encounter with the officials. Given their current situation, it was best to avoid the officials.
Wei Yunlan said, “Let’s leave after the officials leave Xiaya Village.”
Seventh Lady Yu nodded slightly, agreeing with her.
“The horses are hidden in the backyard of Xue’s house. Ningshuang and Tingxue, stay in the room and don’t go out.”
Wei Yunlan asked Seventh Lady Yu, “Shall we have a look at the threshing ground?”
“Alright.” Seventh Lady Yu clasped Wei Yunlan’s shoulder with one hand and, just like she had done at the inn, carried her into the air and onto the wall.
A moment later, they were in Old Uncle Xue’s backyard, behind the threshing ground, on a large tree behind the granary.
Looking down from the tree, they saw golden wheat piled up in the open space. The villagers of Xiaya Village were busy packing the wheat into sacks and transporting them to the cellars of several nearby households.
Two oxcarts were waiting nearby.
These were the only two oxen in the village. They would transport some of the grain directly to the end of the village and hide it in the mountain forest behind the village.
Except for those guarding the entrance, almost everyone in the village — men, women, and children — were working together. The spacious threshing ground was crowded with people.
Soon, a villager guarding the road ran back urgently. “Hurry! The officials are coming out of Shangya Village. Take the oxcarts away first!”
The village head instructed, “Everyone, quickly disperse and go home. Keep your children inside and don’t let them come out.”
Soon, only the village head, the heads of several prominent families in the village, and Old Uncle Xue, who held considerable influence in the village, remained on the threshing ground.
A group of officials, riding tall horses, rode into the village, not dismounting but heading straight for the threshing ground.
The village head led the villagers to greet them. He politely cupped his hands and said, “I didn’t know you officials were coming today. I apologize for not welcoming you more properly!”
“Don’t waste your breath.” The leading official snorted, his eyes scanning the threshing ground. He scowled and asked, “Is this all the grain you have?”
“Is this all the grain you’ve harvested in Xiaya Village this year?”
The village head smiled wryly and nodded. “This is all we managed to salvage. You officials have come at a good time. I was just about to go to the county office to report that our village suffered a severe disaster this year, and the harvest was insufficient. I wonder if we can apply to the county office for some subsidies…”
“Heh, don’t dream.” The official interrupted the village head, scrutinizing their expressions. “We’ve heard this same story countless times these past two days.”
“This is all the grain you’ve harvested for an entire year? You’re fooling ghosts!”
“Search! Search every house. I want to see where these unruly villagers have hidden their grain!”
The group of officials consisted of six people in total. Though their numbers were small, their tall horses and the swords at their waists were quite intimidating.
The leader gave the order, and they all dismounted and headed for the nearest house. They kicked open the closed courtyard gate.
Up in the tree, seeing this scene, Wei Yunlan was shocked. “These aren’t officials! They’re bandits!”
“There are many things happening in the Great Yong that are similar to what you’re seeing now. Miss Wei has been living in the Capital and hasn’t had the opportunity to witness them.” Seventh Lady Yu’s expression remained calm. Although she was in the Shadow Department of Tianshu Pavilion, she had heard many reports from the secret branch from various locations. Compared to the border of Beiguan and West Liang, this scene was nothing special.
Wei Yunlan fell silent upon hearing this.
Even though she knew that the world was harsh and the common people were suffering, she had never imagined that this suffering, besides stemming from the environment or their own circumstances, was largely inflicted upon them by the Great Yong officials, whom they were supposed to trust.
How tragic, how pitiful, how ridiculous!
Wei Yunlan’s eyes filled with sorrow. Just then, a scream came from the courtyard of the house whose gate had just been kicked open.
“Big Sister!”
“Wife!”
Seventh Lady Yu carried Wei Yunlan through the branches and brought them closer to that house.
The scene in the courtyard came into view. A woman was lying on the ground, clutching her stomach. The official beside her seemed not to notice, as he was moving a pickle jar that was blocking the cellar entrance.
A small figure, like a firecracker, darted out of the house and slammed into the official’s waist. “Bad guy! Why are you hitting my mother!”
In the courtyard, the adults who were checking on the woman and the village head and several others turned pale.
“Huazi, come here.” The burly man who was helping the woman to her feet beckoned to the child in front of the official.
The village head pleaded repeatedly, “Official, please calm down. Official, calm down. This child, Huazi, is just worried about his mother. Please don’t be angry with him.”
The official sneered, “That crazy woman dared to stop us from searching. She deserved to be thrown down.”
He grabbed Huazi, who was trying to run away. The child, barely four or five years old, was held in his hand like a defenseless chick.
Seeing that the official was about to throw Huazi away, Huazi’s Father rushed forward to stop him, and the village head and others also stepped forward to help.
In the scuffle, the official holding Huazi bumped into the millstone in the courtyard.
Blood immediately flowed, and the leader drew his sword with a snap. “You daring scoundrels! You dare attack officials!”