"What? Jasmine tea? Why do you want jasmine tea?" Xie Yan asked in confusion.
Chen Tingfeng was just like him. He was the kind of person who only drank top - grade tea and had never been seen drinking jasmine tea before.
"Can't my taste change?" Chen Tingfeng didn't explain but instead countered.
Xie Yan raised his hands helplessly. "Fine, fine. Jasmine tea it is. I remember there's some tea made from last year's dried plum blossoms in my palace. Coincidentally, you have a manor at the foot of Taiyue Mountain. There's mountain spring water there. You can send a servant to fetch some. It'll be perfect for brewing this plum blossom tea."
Chen Tingfeng nodded.
Hearing this, Fu Zhen's heart skipped a beat. Taiyue Mountain—wasn't this the place where there had been bandit troubles recently?
She couldn't help but glance at Chen Tingfeng. Chen Tingfeng keenly caught her gaze and raised his eyebrows. "Does cousin also want some?"
"...... No, there's no shortage of jasmine tea in my courtyard." Distracted by his words, it was no longer appropriate for her to bring up the matter about Taiyue Mountain.
Fu Zhen lowered her head and silently sipped her tea.
Xie Yan said, "If Zhenzhen likes it, I'll send you some later."
Chen Tingfeng let out a soft "tsk". If Fu Zhen hadn't been sitting beside him, it would have been almost inaudible.
"Speaking of Taiyue Mountain..." Xie Yan paused and glanced at Fu Zhen, as if unsure whether he should continue.
Chen Tingfeng poured him a cup of tea. "What? Do you still want to go horse - riding?"
Xie Yan felt relieved, and the words that had been on the tip of his tongue came out. "I'm not that playful. I mean, the bandit troubles in Taiyue Mountain seem rather strange to me."
Fu Zhen didn't expect them to discuss court affairs in front of her. For a moment, she hesitated whether she should listen or not, and her gaze involuntarily turned to Chen Tingfeng.
She was like a child seeking help from a parent.
Chen Tingfeng received her pleading gaze. His expression softened, and he said to her, "Have some more pastries."
This was an indication for her to stay.
Fu Zhen immediately relaxed and really picked up a pastry to eat.
Xie Yan was immersed in his own thoughts. Since Chen Tingfeng's voice had been very soft just now, he didn't notice their interaction for a while. He just said, "Taiyue Mountain is not far from the capital, but recently there have been several attacks on merchant caravans. Those caravans all had people from the escort agency. Do ordinary bandits have such courage?"
In the past, the bandits on the mountain usually robbed ordinary merchants. Either the merchants were too poor to afford an escort or they could only afford ordinary escort masters. The bandits relied on their large numbers to successfully rob the money.
But the bandits on Taiyue Mountain were extremely arrogant.
They only targeted the caravans of wealthy families. Even the largest jewelry store in the capital had been robbed once.
Strangely enough, they only robbed money and didn't kill people.
According to the people who returned from those caravans, it was as if a gentle breeze had blown by and they had smelled a hint of floral fragrance. The next moment, they lost consciousness. When they woke up, all their goods and money were gone.
Fu Zhen listened to Xie Yan's words and slowly frowned.
This hadn't happened in her previous life. Or rather, this matter had ended without a proper conclusion in the end, otherwise she wouldn't have heard nothing about it.
"That floral fragrance must be some kind of drug," Xie Yan frowned. "The bandits on the mountain can afford drugs, but they only seek money and don't harm people's lives. It's really strange."
If they were ordinary bandits, where would they get the extra money to buy drugs to rob? The money for buying drugs would be enough to buy a poison. Wouldn't it be better to just kill them directly? That way, they could avoid someone reporting them.
Fu Zhen pondered for a moment and asked, "Are there any villagers living at the foot of Taiyue Mountain?"
Xie Yan was stunned. "No, there are only a few manors with some servants living in them. The nearest place to Taiyue Mountain seems to be a county town. I think it's called... Wutong County?"
He looked at the pondering Fu Zhen and asked in confusion, "Why do you suddenly ask about this?"
"I grew up in a village when I was young. There was a bandit trouble in a neighboring village, so I just remembered this," she said. "Bandits can be divided into two types: those who are extremely cruel and those who are forced to become bandits. If it's the former, they must be full of hostility and take pleasure in killing. If it's the latter, most of them can't make a living and have no choice but to rob the rich to support their families. These people still have a conscience and only want to survive. They usually won't harm people's lives."
Hearing this, Xie Yan began to understand. "You mean that the bandits on Taiyue Mountain might be the latter?"
Fu Zhen didn't answer directly. She just said ambiguously, "If these people don't harm the villagers but only rob money, there is a bit of a possibility. However, more investigation is needed. This matter is full of doubts just from what we've heard. It might not be simple."
Xie Yan looked at her as she spoke. There was a glimmer of light in his eyes, showing a bit of admiration. "You're right. We need to investigate this matter more. But your words have given us a new train of thought."
"Zhenzhen is really smart."
These words sounded familiar. Fu Zhen smiled at him, but her eyes involuntarily glanced at Chen Tingfeng, who had been silent all this time.
Right, she had only heard these words from Chen Tingfeng before, and they were full of sarcasm.
"Just... did the bandit trouble in your neighboring village affect you?" Xie Yan's peach - blossom eyes looked at her, showing undisguised concern.
Fu Zhen pursed her lips and shook her head. "The bandit trouble in the neighboring village was actually just some people who couldn't make a living. One night, they robbed the money of a rich family in the town. That rich man had done a lot of evil, but he had some connections with the county magistrate. As soon as the villagers robbed the money and hid it at home, the officers and soldiers came."
Xie Yan frowned as he listened. "If they only robbed a little money, it's not a big crime. They could be released after a few years in prison."
"The money they robbed wasn't much. It was even less than a lunch at Yongchun Tower," Fu Zhen sneered. "But the rich merchant colluded with the county magistrate. They directly sentenced those people to a heavy crime, and they died in prison soon after."
"They were the mainstays of their families. They resorted to robbery only because they were desperate. If they lost their lives, how could the old and the young in their families live safely?"
This incident happened when she was ten years old. The old emperor was just showing signs of being muddle - headed, and the people below started to cause chaos.
Collusion between officials and merchants was a common thing. If the court didn't supervise effectively, they would only become more and more excessive.
Those farmers were just really unable to make a living. They saw the arrogant and domineering son of the rich family robbing a civilian girl in the street. In a fit of anger, they resorted to robbery. They were honest and kind people. They didn't even touch a hair of that young master. Who would have thought that they would be thrown into prison by the officers and soldiers on the charge of murder and robbery and lose their lives just like that.
When the young and strong in a family died, only the old, the weak, the women, and the children were left. Without any income, how could they survive?
In just a few months, they had either died or scattered. Weeds grew everywhere inside and outside their houses.
Whenever the villagers talked about this incident, they would all shake their heads and sigh. They felt a sense of sadness for the misfortune of others and also a bit of relief that even though their own village was poor, they had never done anything so extreme.