Chapter 293 - 13: Public Outrage
"Lady and esteemed guests, please return, for Fengdan County no longer has the capacity to accommodate outsiders," Nan Muyu snorted coldly, not even granting Yue Jinghua and the others a proper glance.
"How audacious, Nan Muyu. As a former deputy captain of the County Guard, you are a soldier of the Duke Mansion. To think you dare expel guests upon seeing the Lady and the young masters," Hongling, unable to stomach his rudeness, charged forward and confronted the middle-aged man.
"One should partake in the ruler’s provisions and heed the ruler’s orders. Now, I am merely a humble hunter of the wilds. Years ago, when I received my salary from the Duke Mansion, naturally, I had to obey their commands. Today, I neither receive provisions nor allowance from the mansion. My parents and wife all perished in a beastly assault; with Heaven as my father and Earth as my mother, how do you speak of insolence?" Nan Muyu glowered fiercely, like a fierce tiger from the mountains, sending chills down one’s spine.
"Nanzi, don’t speak so harshly. Since the Duchess is here, of course she is welcome. It’s just that for several esteemed guests, as Fengdan County is currently facing internal and external pressures, if our hospitality is not up to par, we seek forgiveness from the Lady and everyone," spoke an elderly man with a hunched back as he emerged from the crowd, who was the village chief of this area.
The Lord Mansion of Fengdan County had long been crushed in an avalanche, leaving no place for the people to find refuge. They could only lead the carriages inside to serve as a temporary resting place.
On the very day they settled in, everyone quickly realized that aside from the village chief and Erwang, most of the villagers bore hostility toward them, with Nan Muyu, the former captain of the County Guard, being the most overt.
Taking the opportunity when the village chief brought a few bags of millet over, Teng Wu struck up a conversation with him.
"Don’t blame Nanzi, he too is a man of misfortune. Not too long ago, Manager Hong, concerned for the safety of Fengdan County, had signed a Head Tax agreement with Bailu County. It was during that time that his family was taken by Bailu County, and up to now, their fate remains uncertain," the village chief sighed, justifying Nan Muyu’s unfavorable attitude, and set down the few bags of millet.
In the village, there were not a few others who had met the same fate as Nan Muyu. They all harbored resentment because the people from the Duke Mansion had signed the Head Tax agreement, hence the antagonism toward Yue Jinghua and her party.
To avoid the Head Tax from Bailu County, the common folk of Fengdan County either migrated or hid themselves in the mountains. Now, only a little over a thousand people still lived in the village, with only a few dozen being of able-bodied age. It was for the sake of the old, weak, solitary, and unprotected in the village that Nan Muyu remained here.