Two Women Brought Down an Official's Corrupt Regime

  The azure sky is vast and cloudless, like a serene and limpid lake. A gentle breeze stirs the river's surface, creating ripples that shimmer in the sunlight. The distant melody drifts on the wind, as the red apricot blossoms bloom profusely on the branches. A single petal falls, carried by the breeze onto the river's surface, where it floats away with the current.

  A serene melody accompanied by the rumbling of wheels heralds the arrival of spring, on the carriage, a handsome young man in white clothes holds a flute and plays it gently, his eyebrows and eyes calm, his black hair flying in the wind, his sleeves fluttering.

  "On a spring day outing, apricot blossoms fill the air", Liu Yimeng lifted the curtain of the carriage and gazed out at the enchanting scenery all around, then her eyes fell on the white-clad young man's immaculate back, and suddenly she closed her fan with a snap, striking it against her palm, and said with deep feeling, "Whose family is this young man from? So elegant and refined..."

  "I intend to marry him, and spend my whole life with him." A sudden voice rose, startling Liu Yimeng to turn her head, but she saw a strange big pancake face with two cheeks flushed with shyness and embarrassment crawling out of the carriage compartment, with deep affection in his eyes, "Even if I am abandoned by someone who doesn't care, I won't be ashamed!"

  A strange atmosphere suddenly filled the warm afternoon of this spring day, and Liu Yimeng's eyes rolled back as she fell to the ground amidst the still melodious flute sound.

  "Good poem, good poem..." After a moment, the driver finally broke the silence with another insincere compliment. He shivered and turned his head to focus on driving, but in his heart he was still admiring the calmness of the young man in white beside him.

  "It turns out that Jiao Hua's sister can also recite poetry, truly a hidden talent! Pretending to fall to the ground, Liu Yi Mo got up, adjusted her specially worn men's headscarf, and looked at Jiao Hua with utmost sincerity."

  "Hmph, you overestimate me. I'm just a slave, how would I know any poems? It's just that someone recited it countless times along the way, even an idiot can memorize it - Ah, Miss, can't you come up with something fresher?" Yao Hua sneered coldly, completely devoid of her previous demure and shy demeanor. Ever since that year when Liu Yi Mo revealed his true intentions to her, she had chased him for eight streets in anger, and from then on, her innate nature was thoroughly liberated from the slave mentality that had been cultivated in her."

  "Huh? Is that so?" Liu Yimeng pinched her chin, pondering for a moment, before her eyes suddenly lit up and she stared at Jiao Hua in a daze.

  "What are you looking at me like that for?" Jiao Hua's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, although she wasn't afraid of people staring at her, but such a "suggestive" gaze from another woman made her feel extremely uneasy!

  Isn't it... Good heavens, could it be that the young lady has a perverted hobby? The delicate flower clutched her handkerchief tightly, her body involuntarily shrinking back, her eyes darting a glance at the white-clad gentleman outside the carriage. She knew the gentleman's surname was Yan, his full name Yan Shenxian. She decided that as soon as the young lady made any move, she would loudly call for Mr. Yan to come and be a hero!

  "Jiao Hua sister, I suddenly realized..." Liu Yi Mo suddenly narrowed her eyes, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

  "What's going on now?" The voice was obviously half an octave lower, so tense, so tense, come on, tell me you've finally seen my charm.

  "Your left eye is very... sentimental. Yes, that's it, sentimental." Liu Yimeng nodded in agreement, finally settling on a beautiful adjective.

  "Of course," without any abnormal behavior, although the flower was a little disappointed, she was still delighted to receive praise. Just as Yan Gongzi finished playing and turned around to look at her, she hurriedly blinked those sentimental eyes to send him a flirtatious glance.

  Ke Liu covered her eyes with her hand and let out a pained cry, "But your right eye is too hateful... ahhh..."

  "Huh? Jiao Hua was stunned for a moment, and when she came to her senses, she furiously rolled up her sleeves ready to hit someone. However, she saw Liu Yi Mo had already jumped out of the carriage and was squatting beside Yan Gongzi, sticking his tongue out and making a silly face at her. She immediately turned bright red with rage, wishing she could kill him with just one glance."

  "Old man, how much longer until we reach Luoshui County?" Liu Yimeng covered her eyes with her hand to gaze ahead, but only saw wisps of smoke rising at the edge of the sky.

  "We've just entered the territory of Luoshui County, didn't you see that stone tablet over there?" The driver casually pointed to a blurry stone by the side of the road and replied in a leisurely tone.

  "But how come I still can't see any houses? I've heard that Luoshui County is very remote, could it be even poorer than the rumors say, and the common people can't even afford to live in houses?" Liu Yimeng was very curious.

  "Don't worry, miss, you'll know soon enough." The driver turned his head to glance at her, knowing that this young man dressed in men's clothing was actually a girl. However, he didn't rush to answer and instead intentionally kept her in suspense, chuckling to himself as he stroked his beard.

  "What's so funny......" Liu Yimiao muttered, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yan Shenxian also raise the corners of his mouth.

  Yan Shenxian was originally a musician who was highly favored by the Empress. In the few days before Liu Yimeng left for his new post, the Empress summoned her to the palace again to keep her company. It just so happened that she saw Yan Shenxian playing the zither, and the clear and melodious sound of the zither was so enchanting that it made Liu Yimeng's mind wander. He was so enchanted that he couldn't help but praise Yan Shenxian in front of the Empress, almost to the point of offering his body to her. When he came back to his senses, he regretted what he had said and pounded his chest in remorse. Who should not have been coveted? The Empress's wrath was not something to be trifled with...

  But little did they know that on the day of their departure from Beijing, Liu Yimeng and Jiaohua had just driven out Old Liu when they saw the eunuch general manager of the palace personally driving a horse-drawn carriage to bring Yan Shenxian in front of her. Liu Yimeng was so frightened that she didn't dare to take it at first, but after hearing the old eunuch say that this was the will of the Empress, she carefully considered it and finally accepted Yan Shenxian with great joy.

  "Brother Yan, I heard that Luoshui County is your hometown, you must be more familiar with the situation there than me. Please take care of me in the future!" She giggled and leaned in to get close to him, but only got a slight nod from him, "Yes, sir."

  Liu Yimou's mouth twitched, "Although you are now my subordinate, but outside of official duties, you still call me Mòér or Xiǎo Liǔ, that's what my parents called me."

  Yan Shenxian smiled and nodded, Liu Yimeng wanted to say something else, but the carriage suddenly stopped. "Look, miss, this is the whole of Luoshui County!" The driver shouted back, then pulled out a tobacco pipe from his waist, lit it up, and went to one side to smoke with his head down.

  After the flickering fireworks, wisps of green smoke floated in front of her eyes from the willows. She jumped off the carriage and bowed her head, and the layout of Luoshui County was like a vivid map unfolding before her eyes.

  Luoshui County has a low-lying terrain, with houses arranged in rows, densely distributed, white walls and green tiles, or carved railings and painted buildings, presenting a prosperous and harmonious scene that stretches to the end of the line of sight. Faintly visible is the city moat where people are rowing big red boats under the stone arch bridges, with the sound of oars dipping into the water still faintly audible.

  "It turns out that a poor and remote place is like this......" Liu Yimeng finally opened her mouth to sigh after a long time, "Am I too ignorant? Or was I deceived by Old Liu and those people?" She really thought that her own father would ruthlessly abandon her to a desolate land to suffer, but it turned out to be a false alarm?!

  "It was indeed very poor here before, but that was already decades ago." Yan Shenxian didn't know when he stood behind her, and together they gazed out at the vast Luoshui County, saying casually.

  "How can the imperial court still be in the dark?" Liu Yimeng furrowed her brow in puzzlement, and after a moment, suddenly enlightened, "Oh, I know! It must be that the local officials are falsifying tax reports, lining their own pockets. Right? Ah ha! They have such big guts! In broad daylight, under clear skies, they dare to embezzle and break the law. Aren't they afraid of being reported?" Liu Yimeng clenched her fists, filled with righteous indignation.

  "The mountain is high and the emperor is far away..." Yan Shen Xian saw her muttering to herself, originally wanting to say something, but after thinking about it, she finally shut up, anyway, she would know eventually.

  But he's a bit strange, from this woman's behavior all along, it's really hard to see that she originally had such a strong sense of justice!

  Liu Yimeng's face turned stern, her eyebrows inverted in anger. "You old man, this young lady was about to say that she wanted to be the first corrupt official in Luoshui County since its founding, but it turns out you've been doing it for so long!"

  Yan's mouth twitched at the corner, and he silently turned his head away, just in time to see a string of crows flying over in the distance: Caw! Caw! Caw!