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Xia Yang Village.
Xia Yuhan got off the carriage and walked for a short distance before seeing a carriage parked under the shade of a tree ahead. A woman was pacing back and forth under the tree, seemingly waiting for something amidst a crowd.
“Liu Xiang sister!”
Xia Yuhan immediately recognized the woman and called out to Sun Liuxiang from afar.
Upon hearing Xia Yuhan's voice behind her, Sun Liuxiang hurriedly rushed over in quick steps.
“Why did you arrive so late, sister?” As soon as they met, Sun Liuxiang nervously grasped Xia Yuhan's hand.
“I encountered some issues on the way, so I arrived late. Did you bring only trusted people this time?” Xia Yuhan quickly asked, noticing that there were no others around them.
“Yes, they are all from Sun Mansion’s Assassin group.”
“Good. Sister, there is a large black box in Yu Han's carriage. Once we enter the village, have your people secretly move it to your carriage while everyone is distracted. It must be protected well.” Hearing this from Sun Liuxiang, Xia Yuhan finally felt relieved.
Sun Liuxiang appeared quite anxious, took a deep breath, and quickly nodded in agreement: “Alright! By the way, Yu Han, collecting rent this time might not be so easy. I just sent someone to gather information, and it seems they are preparing something bad in the village.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuhan simply smiled lightly: “If collecting rent were easy, would they let me, Xia Yuhan, handle it? Sister, since we are here, let’s make ourselves comfortable. Let’s enter the village!”
“Okay!”
The path into the village was filled with stones, making it impossible for the carriage to pass through. Therefore, Xia Yuhan and her group decided to walk deeper into the village. Last night, she had carefully studied the map and customs of Xia Yang Village. The village was named for a reason.
Many years ago, Xia Yang Village was named for its fertile soil, nourished by the streams that flowed through it. With ample sunlight and moisture, the crops grown upstream yielded bountiful harvests year after year.
However, one year, a severe drought struck, and the residents of Xia Yang Village did not know how to properly utilize the water from the stream, leading to its depletion. From that point on, the village's harvests declined year after year, making it increasingly difficult to pay rent. Now, the entire Xia Yang Village owes more than three years' worth of taxes to Xia Manor.
Having owed taxes to Xia Manor for three years, could they still collect rent now? Xia Yuhan was filled with doubt.
Before their group could reach the Thatch House where the villagers lived, they were completely blocked at the village entrance by local residents.
Sun Liuxiang saw a group of villagers wielding hoes and approaching them aggressively. She hesitated and whispered to Xia Yuhan, "Sister, should we just go back? The number of Assassins I brought from Sun Mansion is too few; confronting them directly would surely put us at a disadvantage."
Before Xia Yuhan could respond, the leader of Xia Yang Village pointed at Sun Liuxiang and spoke up: "Are you the Second Sister who came from Xia Manor?"
Xia Yuhan looked up closely and saw a burly man with a hoe in one hand and his other hand on his hip, shouting at Sun Liuxiang.
Xia Yuhan patted the stiff Sun Liuxiang and stepped forward a few paces to stand in front of her. "I am the Second Sister from Xia Manor!"
"Hmph!" The burly man snorted in dissatisfaction. "What does being the Second Sister matter? A mere girl thinks she can make us villagers of Xia Yang Village hand over all our rice and grain?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuhan finally understood why they had been met with hostility upon arriving at Xia Yang Village. Not only had stones been thrown on the path into the village, but they were also intercepted at the entrance. This must have been due to Madam sending someone ahead to spread rumors!
Madam was ruthless indeed, spreading lies that Xia Yuhan intended to take away all the villagers' rice and grain!
People prioritize food; if they lost their grain, they would surely rebel. A cornered dog will leap over a wall; how much more desperate would people be when pushed to their limits?
Thinking this way made their "greeting" understandable.
Xia Yang Village The villagers saw Xia Yuhan remain silent about the rent collection, and their gazes toward her grew increasingly fierce.
Originally, Xia Yuhan had a bad reputation. Although she had recently been vindicated and the rumors about her had significantly decreased in the capital, the common people still remembered her as the destitute Xia Yuhan, barely clothed.
“Villagers, for many years, Xia Yang Village has had little harvest, which outsiders can see. We struggle to meet our own basic needs, let alone pay rent. In previous years, although Madam was harsh, she never demanded our lives!”
“The village chief is right; this Second Lady of the Xia Residence is too cruel!”
“Since we are doomed anyway, we might as well fight back and die with dignity!”
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Let’s fight…”
The villagers of Xia Yang Village grew more and more agitated. At that moment, the hoes in their hands seemed to be the most powerful tools for redeeming themselves from oppression.
Sun Liuxiang, who grew up in comfort, had never witnessed such chaos and fighting. Her face turned pale, and she instinctively took a few steps back.
Meanwhile, Xia Yuhan remained expressionless, silently observing everything before her.
Suddenly, Xia Yuhan shouted sharply, her gaze piercing as it swept over the villagers of Xia Yang Village: “Have you all shouted enough?”
Everyone was overwhelmed by her commanding presence!
Her extraordinary demeanor completely subdued the emotionally charged crowd! It turned out that Xia Yuhan was not as pathetic as the rumors suggested!
In an instant, there was a dead silence around them. The villagers exchanged glances, realizing they did not want to push themselves or their loved ones into a corner. Only then did Xia Yuhan speak again.
She transformed from the gentle and graceful Young Lady into a commanding presence in an instant. Looking at the villagers before her, she spoke clearly, "I, Xia Yuhan, have indeed come to collect rent, but it is not for the sake of collecting rent! I have no intention of demanding your only rice and grain!"
The burly man at the forefront stepped forward again, shouting, "Why should we believe you? Who knows which of your words are true and which are false, you little girl!"
After all, being a child born out of wedlock, her words did not carry much weight.
However, Xia Yuhan did not care about this. She directly ignored the man's outburst and instead cast a meaningful glance at the village chief. A slight smile appeared on her lips, one that was incredibly charming yet sinister, making the village chief feel somewhat uneasy.
"This burly man, what do they call you?"
The burly man pounded his chest and replied, "Hmph! What does it matter what I'm called? I am just called Big Man!"
Xia Yuhan turned to look at him directly: "Big Man, congratulations! If your parents knew that it was you who led the entire village down the path of self-destruction, they would surely be proud of you!"
The burly man clearly did not expect Xia Yuhan to say such a thing. He froze for a moment, his previously arrogant demeanor completely vanishing. "How... how is that possible? You must be joking! How could I possibly do something so unfilial?"
Although the burly man spoke recklessly and had tried several times to put Xia Yuhan in a difficult position, his words revealed that he was actually a very filial and principled person. His current outburst was merely due to being misled by others.
Xia Yuhan looked at him and then at the village chief, casually saying, "As a dignified Second Sister of the General's Residence, do I need to deceive you? If I were to deceive you and fail to collect the rent in the end, I would only end up being scolded by the General. What benefit would it bring me to deceive you regarding Xia Yuhan?"
The burly man felt there was some truth in Xia Yuhan's words. He turned his pleading gaze toward the village chief: "Village chief, what should we do now?"
The village chief was an elderly man with somewhat graying hair. However, his words did not match his status: "Traditionally, it is Madam's people who come to collect rent. We trust Madam, and it is always the eldest sister who comes to collect. This yellow-haired girl is merely the Second Lady of the Xia Residence, untrustworthy!"
After the village chief finished speaking, Xia Yuhan burst into loud laughter. Once she stopped laughing, she couldn't help but tease him: "Yu Han truly did not know that while you eat from Xia Manor, you do not speak for Xia Manor! Village chief, I would like to ask you one thing: are you from Xia Manor or from Madam? Yu Han really does not understand how you could commit such an act of treachery!"
"You—how dare you speak so insolently!" The village chief was infuriated by her words, his face turning red with anger as he nearly shouted for someone to bind Xia Yuhan and teach her a harsh lesson.
The people around were all villagers of Xia Yang Village. Seeing their village chief being bullied, they quickly stood up and angrily scolded Xia Yuhan.
Xia Yuhan, however, simply watched the group shouting, appreciating the rural scenery not far away, feeling quite at ease, as if everything happening before her had nothing to do with her.
Sun Liuxiang was wiping her sweat nervously beside them. The earlier incident had frightened her to the point of weakness. When she saw Xia Yuhan acting as if nothing was wrong, she couldn't help but feel a bit fearful of her.
Fortunately, she hadn't done anything before that could be seen as betraying Xia Yuhan; otherwise, she would have faced a terrible fate.
It was hard to imagine what kind of disastrous situation she would be in now if she had insisted on opposing Xia Yuhan at that time.
Xia Yuhan dared to confront Madam and nearly drove her to the brink of death; it must be even easier for her to deal with someone like Sun Liuxiang.
After the villagers of Xia Yang Village had scolded enough and could no longer continue, Xia Yuhan finally spoke.
"Village Chief, I, Xia Yuhan, respect you as an elder, so I have shown you some courtesy. But if you do not know how to appreciate it and spread rumors, do not blame me for being rude!"
Although she was a daughter born out of wedlock from Xia Manor, she was still a person of refinement. She had shown courtesy to the village chief first and then took action against him; no one would dare to gossip behind her back about how "Xia Yuhan lacks upbringing."
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