Chapter 220: Destined Person

A soldier slammed his palm on the table and said angrily: "But she went to the county government as soon as she entered the city. She has a history with the county magistrate and must have reported us. Damn it, if I had known earlier..."

He looked at the soldier who asked for one tael of silver, stretched out his hand to push him, and said angrily: "Ding Yuan, what are you doing today? It's just a cart of grain, and you ask for one tael of silver as the city entry tax. Who will give it to you?"

It was him that the big guy hit just now, with a slap on the head. His ears were still buzzing at this time. When he was pushed by the big guy, Ding Yuan fell on his back, and he was completely dazed.

The soldier was about to attack, but the big man stopped him with his hand. He said sullenly, "That's enough. It's already happened. There's no point in beating or scolding. Everyone should be more careful recently. Ding Yuan, I know your mother needs money for medicine now, but don't go too far. If you make a big fuss, no one will be happy."

Ding Yuan lowered his head and said, "My wife is about to give birth..."

The big man frowned at him.

Ding Yuan's tears fell to the ground one by one, and he choked up and said, "The midwife said that the fetus is in the wrong position. We need to call a doctor and prepare ginseng to save her life."

When everyone heard this, they were speechless for a moment.

Ginseng is not something you can buy by the ounces, and it may not even save your life.

Wei Guangxiang on the side could not help but say: "Forget it. The life-saving ginseng costs at least five taels of silver. Five taels of silver can marry a new wife. Just change your wife."

Ding Yuan pushed him hard, glared at him angrily and asked, "What the hell did you say?"

"Who am I doing this for? You already have one medicine jar at home, and now you add another one. You might as well cut off all the blood and flesh and feed it directly to them. You are incompetent. Why are you angry with me for not being able to make money..."

Ding Yuan shouted with red eyes: "That's my mother and my wife!"

Wei Guangxiang also became angry, "Yes, that's yours, not ours. We are still taking the blame for you. Do you know that you are messing around with the future and lives of your brothers by throwing money around like this? You are the only one who has a mother, don't we?"

"Because of you, our superiors have warned us twice. Now we have gone straight to the county magistrate and we have lost our job. You are the only one who is a human being, and we are not!"

Wei Guangxiang pushed away his companions who were blocking him, walked out, turned around and pointed at Ding Yuan and said: "In a word, I will not take the blame for you. If the superiors ask, I will tell the truth. You didn't share the money you embezzled with me!"

"Alright, alright," said a soldier who looked a little different from them, "Everyone stop arguing. Guangxiang, Ding Yuan is indeed having some difficulties recently..."

"He's in trouble, but am I not in trouble? Aren't we in trouble too? At least he got married, but I can't even get married. I want to work for a few more years to save money to get married. Because of him, I've been fined twice. All the money I saved in the past two years was fined away by the superiors. Who can I complain to?"

He glared at the soldier and said, "Pu Min, your family is rich, so you don't count on this salary. We are different from you. Who among us doesn't have a big family to support?"

Pu Min looked embarrassed.

The big man said in a deep voice: "Enough!"

He paused and said, "This matter ends here. I will find a way with the county magistrate."

He looked at Ding Yuan and Wei Guangxiang with a gloomy face, "Don't do it again! Ding Yuan, I still say the same thing, don't go too far; Guangxiang, we will pretend that we didn't hear anything you said today. If you can't survive in this team, you can ask your superiors to leave, but if you shouldn't say anything, I think you should keep your mouth shut."

Wei Guangxiang didn't dare to refute the big man, and nodded his head, "Yes, big brother."

The big man took a deep breath and asked them to go out and continue their work, leaving Pu Min behind.

"Pu Min, I want to borrow some money from you."

Pu Min: "Brother, are you going to buy gifts and go to the county government office to make amends?"

The big guy said helplessly: "Besides this method, do we have any other way?"

Pu Min: "Although they are young, I think they are still very stubborn. I don't think it will work if I ask them to apologize."

"No matter if it works or not, we have to give it a try. We brothers still have to support our families. Losing this job is a small matter. I'm just afraid that the higher-ups will transfer us brothers to Laiyuanyi to guard the sea ban..."

Before the big guy finished speaking, Pu Min shuddered.

Laiyuan Posthouse is located in Citong Port. It has been basically abandoned since the maritime ban. The garrison there has to patrol to prevent pirates from coming ashore, fishermen from fishing illegally and some merchants from stealing out of customs. The garrison there is often reduced in number.

In addition to the life-threatening situation, it is also a long distance away from Nan'an County, and they may not be able to return home for a month.

Their county magistrate particularly likes to transfer people he dislikes to distant places.

Laiyuan Station also needs people to do hard labor, and they will accept anyone who comes no matter who sends them.

The big guy was afraid that their team would be transferred to Laiyuanyi, which would be a complete waste of time.

Pan Yun knew nothing about this. They knocked on the door with the mysterious letter, and the magistrate's doorman respectfully invited them in.

The county magistrate's wife, Zhuang Wenji, hurried out to greet them, and when she saw the three young girls, she paused.

But she immediately smiled and stepped forward, "Are you three little Taoists here to see Master Xuanmiao and Doctor Tao?"

The doorman immediately said, "This is our county magistrate's wife."

Pan Yun and Miao Zhen and Miao He clasped their fists and saluted, and reported their identities, "Senior sister wrote that they were in Nan'an County to treat the lady, so we came here."

Zhuang Wenji smiled and said, "The three young Taoist priests came at an inopportune time. Master Xuanmiao and Doctor Tao just left Nan'an County two days ago." Pan Jun was stunned and looked at Miaozhen and Miaohe.

Zhuang Wenji invited them into the house and took a seat. After having snacks and tea served, she said, "But Master Xuanmiao left a letter before he left, saying that if a Taoist priest from Mount Sanqing came to look for him, he should give the letter to him."

Zhuang Wenji asked her maid to go downstairs to get a letter and hand it to Pan Yun.

Pan Jun ran his finger across the opening of the envelope to make sure it had not been opened before, then looked at the cover and said, “To the one destined to receive this letter.”

Pan Yun believed that he was the destined one and opened the letter.

I don't know who you are, but you are most likely a junior sister:
If it were you, please turn back after receiving the letter. I know you want to use us as an excuse to go north. I have calculated that you can go. You can study in the north from here, but remember, you must return to Sanqing Mountain before the New Year, otherwise there will be a bloody disaster.

If it’s not Junior Sister but Second Brother, please come to Quanzhou Prefecture to find us.

Below is a string of addresses.

Pan Jun blinked, puzzled, "Why does Second Senior Brother also want to find Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister?"

Miaozhenmiao, squeeze your head over and watch together.

It is obvious that this letter was written in a mysterious way and is particularly concise.

Pan Yun handed the letter to Miao Zhen, and after a moment's silence, he asked, "Madam Zhuang, I wonder why my senior sister and senior brother suddenly went to Quanzhou Prefecture? They have a patient in Changzhou Prefecture."

Zhuang Wenji smiled and said, "Little Taoist priest, Quanzhou Prefecture is not far from here and can be reached in one day. It is the prefectural capital, and it is also convenient to go to Changzhou Prefecture from there. Master Xuanmiao received a letter saying that a friend encountered some difficulties over there, and they happened to be going back to Changzhou Prefecture, so they stopped by to take a look."

If it was really just for the purpose, why would she let Pan Yun turn north and go back to Changzhou Prefecture by herself?
Unless it's inconvenient and dangerous.

So she asked Pan Yun and the other two to leave, and asked Yin Song to come over to help.

Pan Jun sealed the letter, pressed it with his Yuanli, and handed it back to Zhuang Wenji, "Madam Zhuang, please keep this letter. If there is another Taoist priest from Sanqing Mountain coming, give it to him."

Zhuang Wenji: ...

She took the letter and nodded, "Okay."

Pan Yun clasped his fists and said, "Then we'll take our leave."

"Wait a minute," Zhuang Wenji hurriedly stopped them and asked, "Are you going to Quanzhou or going back?"

Pan Yun rolled his eyes and said, "We decided to listen to Senior Sister and go back."

Zhuang Wenji smiled and said, "There is no need to rush. Since you are here, just stay at home. I will have someone clean up the guest room."

Pan Yun refused, "We bought some food on the way here and planned to sell it. We don't want to trouble Madam Zhuang with business matters. We can just stay at an inn outside."

When Zhuang Wenji heard this, she decided not to persuade him any further. What if people thought she was asking for a bribe?
Zhuang Wenji thought about it, and quickly asked the maid to pack two large bags of snacks. She sent the maids to the door and stuffed the snacks into their hands. "Our lady's illness was cured thanks to Taoist Master Tao. Although you don't live here, if you have any troubles in Nan'an County, you can come to us. Take these snacks and try them. Master Xuanmiao and Taoist Master Tao liked these two snacks very much when they lived here."

Pan Jun agreed with a smile, without mentioning the matter at the city gate. He took the snacks and left.

Miao Zhen turned the carriages one by one, and waited until the three of them climbed onto the shafts and sat down before waving the whip and urging the horses to leave. "Master Junior, where are we going now?"

Pan Yun said: "Let's go to Ping'an Inn."

Miao Zhen tilted her head to look at her and whispered, "To do evil?"

"Hush..." Pan Yun whispered, "Let's try our luck. I feel like the closer we get to Quanzhou, the more taxes we have to pay to enter and exit the city. I'll ask the grain shop what price they charge for grain. If it's suitable, I'll sell all the grain on the cart in Nan'an County."

In fact, she could also throw them all into the spiritual space, but she felt that it was unnecessary. It is better to leave things outside as much as possible.

Even if she can construct a space, she can't show it off. What if someone wants to capture her and lock her up in a small dark room to create a space?
Therefore, Pan Yun and the others have always been very careful, and they never show it except when they have to act mysteriously to improve their reputation.

As for the former, everyone has their own opinion. Maybe many people think they are just performing magic tricks to deceive people.

She wants people to be half-believing and half-doubting, credible and questionable. Things in the world would not be fun if they were fixed.

Miaohe: "So you are lying. We are not going back, but to Quanzhou."

Pan Jun patted her head and said, "Keep your voice down. Don't you know that we should be on guard against others? How can we tell outsiders what we are going to do?"

Miaozhen nodded in agreement.

Miao He: "But Master and his men came all the way from Changzhou Prefecture to treat Madam Tai, so there must be some kind of relationship between us. Do you treat your friends the same way?"

Miao Zhen: "Idiot, don't you understand yet? Junior Uncle is not only on guard against outsiders, but also against my master, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle. He plans to go to Quanzhou quietly. If my master really comes later, they will think we went to Changzhou."

　There will be another update in the evening

　　(End of this chapter)