Chapter 623 - 612: The City Gate Opens
Daji didn’t go to track down the situation, and Manbao and Bai Shanbao also kept the matter to themselves, simply peering out the window into the courtyard at night, to check. When the treats didn’t decrease again, they knew that person wouldn’t be coming back.
It seemed like good news, but for reasons they couldn’t quite pinpoint, Manbao and Bai Shanbao felt a certain discomfort in their hearts, and their spirits were dampened for two consecutive days.
Because the situation outside was unstable, Zhou SiLang and Zhou Lijun couldn’t go out to take care of business, and each day they stayed in the yard seemed listless and sullen.
Four days had passed, and the authorities still hadn’t caught the assassin. Just yesterday, another official came to inspect; they were much more lackadaisical, but they conducted another search, and there were always those who clumsily broke things, which led to significant dissatisfaction among everyone.
Zhou SiLang would occasionally squat in the alley and complain with the neighbors about the rudeness of those soldiers.
However, this time they seemed to have sensed the people’s discontent, or perhaps it was due to orders from above, but no one dared to pocket anything.
Despite that, the complaining was still considerable, "The shops have been closed for several days now, how much money must be lost in a single day?"
"Now the prices of vegetables have gone up, if the city gates don’t open soon, we won’t even be able to afford vegetables."
"Don’t even mention vegetables. Now on the main streets, there’s a checkpoint every twenty steps, and every passing man must be inspected. Haven’t you seen that old Zheng, who sells water at the alley entrance, hasn’t shown up? I heard that yesterday, while pushing a cart of water here, he was searched five times, and all the money on him was taken..."
"That’s why we must now carry water ourselves, and when going out, we cannot bring money or valuable belongings, or they’ll surely be confiscated."
"Why doesn’t County Magistrate Tang do something about it and let the prince’s soldiers conduct the inspections?"