Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 934 - 909: Out of Money

Shiling Town has a population of less than a thousand people. It’s the local gentry who handle miscellaneous affairs, and if there’s a criminal case, it’s reported to Pingnan County. The government office is set in Pingnan County. Small towns are all about cultural connections, and the local clans are closely tied, so many things can be hidden from the higher-ups as long as the lower ranks don’t report them. Xie Jue and Fang Chuning went to Pingnan County.

Pingnan County isn’t far from Shiling Town, just an hour’s ride by carriage. The journey was smooth. Fang Chuning was cautious, afraid that the town’s innkeeper might inform the bandits; he purposely took a side road instead of the official route. Pingnan County is bustling and resembles a small city. The government office is run by a ninth-grade County Magistrate named Zhou Yuan.

After arriving in Pingnan County, Xie Jue headed straight to the government office and did not reveal his identity. He reported the incident of the bandits in Shiling Town and the loss of property, intending to assess the execution of Pingnan County’s policies.

They reported a loss of almost 500 taels, which is a significant amount and constitutes a major case in such a small county. The County Magistrate was expected to personally address the matter, but Xie Jue didn’t anticipate that the County Magistrate wouldn’t appear and only a steward met them, who recorded the incident and asked them to wait for updates, assuring them that the government office would definitely catch the bandits, urging them to be patient.

The steward had a beard and a tall, burly appearance, with a slightly fierce demeanor. Fang Chuning noticed his perfunctory attitude caused his face to darken; he wanted to argue, but Xie Jue was courteous, "Alright, we’ll wait for the news."

He pulled Fang Chuning to leave, and Fang Chuning spoke in a deep voice, "He doesn’t look like he’ll handle this matter. Could Pingnan County also be sheltering these bandits?"

"We’ll know after waiting," Xie Jue glanced back at Pingnan County’s government office; the steward had long disappeared.

Fang Chuning said, "Pingnan County Government should have over a hundred Government Officials, the bandits are just over twenty. The townspeople of Shiling Town know the bandits’ whereabouts, Pingnan County has no reason not to know. If they wanted to tackle the issue, they’d have done it by now."

"What I’m worried about now is another matter. We aren’t the only travelers who’ve been robbed; others have reported to the authorities before. How did they deal with it later? This needs to be clarified. I also want to know how Pingnan County deals with conflicts between the Beiman and the locals. In places like Shiling Town and Pingnan County, most neighbors know each other. If we directly ask, we might not learn anything. Now we’re just waiting to see what they’ll do. There must be a reason why the local government has harbored the bandits for so long. Find the reason, and the issue can be resolved." Xie Jue said calmly.

Whatever he wanted to do, Fang Chuning didn’t stop him. Throughout the journey, Xie Jue had been addressing issues concerning the populace and compiling them into reports to send to the Capital City, where the cabinet would dispatch people to handle them. Whether the new policies were implemented in the towns had always been a question for Xie Jue. Since the new policies were smoothly implemented in the Capital City, he was busy negotiating peace in Sannan, and later when Fang Chuning encountered danger, for half a year his mind was off state affairs and neglected many issues. This journey north with Fang Chuning was not only to search for his memory but to assess the implementation of new policies in remote areas and how local governments dealt with conflicts as Beiman entered the border. The situation was worse than Xie Jue expected; he feared there was still hidden truth unknown to him, hence he did not disclose his identity initially.

The county’s regular population isn’t large. Even if the authorities oppress the people, with clans benefiting, people seldom reveal the deeds of the local government to outsiders. Outlanders only stay in the area briefly, while the inhabitants live here for generations and must not offend the clans or the government office, lest they have nowhere to dwell. Xie Jue did not intend to trouble the locals.

Fang Chuning nodded slowly and spoke subtly, "My Prince, we still have an urgent issue to address. Do you have any silver on you?"

Xie Jue, "..."

They were robbed clean. All they had left on the carriage were some dry rations and beef jerky, not a single penny. Xie Jue had never faced money troubles since childhood; he grew up in wealth at the Marquis Mansion. Once grown, although he didn’t handle the mansion’s assorted affairs, he managed its lands, shops, and businesses outside, with transactions starting at thousands of taels. Even after the Marquis Mansion fell, he never faced financial straits, as Fengyu had money and supported him and his brother, they never worried about food and clothing, they could even afford to be picky.

The worst was when he was in Beiman, receiving scant silver. But as a strategist, he didn’t have to worry about livelihood, and after marriage, Fang Chuning was extravagant. If he traveled alone, he had Shadow Guards, who’d arrange his food, clothing, shelter, and travel along the way. The Second Young Master had never lacked money!

Xie Jue was stumped. Like Fang Chuning, he was penniless. Fang Chuning asked earnestly, "Where will we stay? What will we eat? What’ll we drink? We can’t beg along the way or sleep in the carriage at night?"

Xie Jue was silent!

Indeed, he has no money!

Fang Chuning eyed the jade hairpin in Xie Jue’s crown. The bandits took his jade pendant from his waist, but maybe forgot and left him an accessory. Xie Jue had long tied his hair and wore a crown; it held a jade hairpin, elegantly styled without excess patterns, but its quality was excellent, and could be pawned for silver.

Xie Jue was expressionless, "Impossible!"

Fang Chuning shrugged, "Then there’s no solution!"

Fang Chuning also tied his hair but without much fuss. He didn’t use a crown or pin, using a hairband instead, and had nothing valuable on him. Their clothing was somewhat valuable but pawnshops wouldn’t accept it. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Young Master Xie, hungry?" Fang Chuning asked jovially.

Xie Jue, "Not hungry!"

As soon as he spoke, his stomach growled a reminder not to be dishonest. Xie Jue’s cheeks turned red rarely, and Fang Chuning asked, "Can the pin be pawned?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Alright!" Fang Chuning gave a thumbs-up and sighed roguishly, "We can only starve then."

...

In the corners of Pingnan County, there were few people, it was quiet, a carriage parked under the shade, with two refined young men sitting silently on the head of the carriage... munching on dry rations!

Xie Jue, dressed in brocade with a jade belt and crowned with a jade crown, with a cool, outstanding demeanor that clearly suggested wealth or nobility, held a hard bun. That bun was dry rations, not freshly steamed. It was hard and dry; he had no idea how long he’d been munching, not even half was eaten, he nibbled the dry rations like ants, eating beef jerky made from self-raised cattle that was air-dried, which could last long but had a downside: it’s very hard!

Xie Jue’s cheeks hurt from the munching, unable to chew through even one strip of beef jerky, he unusually stared blankly ahead, lifeless.

Fang Chuning ate happily, elbow prodding him, "Prince, is the beef jerky tasty?"

Xie Jue remained silent.

Fang Chuning, "Prince, is the bun sweet?"

Xie Jue didn’t want to talk.

Fang Chuning, "Prince, the inn at the street corner is wafting meat aromas, is it tempting?"

Xie Jue not only didn’t want to speak, but he also shifted his body to move further from Fang Chuning.