Meng Ling Xuan looked at her in confusion, then pulled her aside and said mysteriously, "I've heard that the officials here are showing signs of corruption. That's why I'm here to investigate this place."
Song Xiangsi raised her eyebrows, and Meng Ling Xuan waved for her to come closer. She stuck out her ear, and Meng Ling Xuan whispered into her ear, "Actually, I came here on orders from my superiors. They ordered me to come here and investigate."
Song Xiangsi understood it in his heart. He then said, "Since you are here to investigate, you have concealed your identity from the beginning and have come silently without notifying anyone."
"That's right, those greedy officials view money as their life. If I reveal my identity, it will definitely arouse their vigilance, and from there, they will be alerted."
Song Xiangsi nodded her head. He was actually right, since those corrupt officials were willing to take risks and amass wealth, they would definitely understand that there would be a day when something bad would happen to him. If he had revealed his identity earlier, it would definitely be detrimental to his safety and would also bring a lot of inconvenience to his investigation.
As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot overcome the local tyrant. Now that they were on their territory, it was better to be cautious in everything.
He frowned and asked, "Then why didn't you tell me before?"
Meng Huaxuan smiled and said, "I'm not telling you because I don't want you to worry about me."
"Who would be worried about you?" Song Xiangsi pouted and rolled her eyes at him.
Meng Fangxuan sighed. He raised his hand to stroke her hair and said with a gentle smile, "Okay, I'll go out and check. You just wait obediently at home for me. Hmm ~"
Song Xiangsi patted his hand and glared at Meng Ling Xuan.
Meng Fanxuan shrugged, then looked at her and laughed.
After watching Meng Ling Xuan walk out of the house, Song Xiangsi returned to the house.
Song Xiangsi pulled Song Cheng over and said, "Cheng, elder sister wants to go out for a while. You have to take care of your sister at home, okay?"
"I know, I will take good care of my sister." Song Cheng nodded seriously.
Song Xiangsi caressed his small face and smiled in gratification. After settling down Song Chengcheng and Song Xiaoxiao, he took some silver from his bag and left the house.
Walking on the streets of Qing He County, there were all kinds of hawkers hawking their wares. There were also waiters from all kinds of restaurants recruiting customers on the streets. There were also many different types of shops here, as well as weapons shops.
It could be seen that this place was very rich, but Meng Liangxuan had said that this place was very corrupt. Since this place was able to attract the attention of those in the upper echelons, it must mean that this place was not a simple place.
On the surface, this street seemed to show the prosperity of this place. However, the more perfect a place was, the more problems there would be.
Song Xiangsi continued to walk along the street. There were many forks in the busy street. Song Xiangsi chose a path and walked in. There were no people on this street. She walked for a long time before she reached a place with more people.
In front of them was a deserted little village. Song Xiangsi walked in, and the deeper they went, the more he frowned.
This was because the people in front of him were completely different from the people he had seen when he came here.
Song Xiangsi realized that there were many problems along the way. Most of the villagers were dressed in rags like beggars. Song Xiangsi wondered, "Why are the people over there so rich, but the people over here so poor?"
They were both in Qing He County, but they had two extremes. One was rich, the other was poor. They looked like two different worlds.
There was an old man sitting on the ground with his back against the wall. He was wearing only a rag to cover his body. It was unknown how long he had been wearing shoes. The soles of his shoes were almost worn out.
He sat on the ground without moving an inch. Song Xiangsi walked over to him and squatted down, "Old man, there are some things I want to ask you."
Hearing the voice, the old man slowly opened his eyes. His old voice sounded like dried twigs as he said, "Miss, I am an old man who is half dead. You don't have any good plans."
Song Xiangsi sighed inwardly, explaining, "Don't worry, I just want to ask you a few questions."
The old man closed his eyes again and said, "Ask away with what you want to ask."
Song Xiangsi asked about the doubts she had along the way, "I saw that the street not far from your village was bustling with activity. No matter how backward you are, it shouldn't be like this."
When the old man heard her, he looked at her and said, "You must be an outsider, young lady."
Song Xiangsi nodded.
The old man continued, "This place is a poor village, and in recent years our village has become even poorer. Some of the young people couldn't stand it and ran out to work, leaving us old people to live here. My grandson just reached the walking age when he starved to death here."
Speaking of these things might have caused him to feel sad, but when he spoke of it, the old man was somewhat sad.
Song Xiangsi was shocked, but he also felt that this place was strange. This rich place in Qing He County was full of flowers. He did not expect that a poor place could starve people to death.
Just as Song Xiangsi was about to continue investigating, a tall and thin man suddenly ran over from the shadows. He took the opportunity when Song Xiangsi was not paying attention to him to grab the wallet on Song Xiangsi's waist.
Song Xiangsi turned around reflexively, but she was too late. The little thief had already succeeded.
The little thief immediately ran away with his wallet after he succeeded in his attempt. Song Xiangsi quickly followed him. That little thief's agility was clearly a common offense, but Song Xiangsi was also not someone who was easy to deal with.
"Halt!" Song Xiangsi chased him the whole way. She ran as fast as she could and was about to catch up with him.
At this moment, the little thief suddenly hid into an alleyway, Song Xiangsi flashed and followed him in. That little thief took Song Xiangsi around in all directions. Every time Song Xiangsi wanted to catch him, that little thief always escaped by a fluke.
Using his familiarity with the terrain, he brought Song Xiangsi around the alleyway for a long time. From time to time, he would create a roadblock for her, making it easier for him to escape.
"I'm warning you, you'd better stand still, or else I'll catch you and you'll be in trouble." While he was trying to trip Song Xiangyu by deliberately putting down the pole in the alley. Song Xiangsi finally could not hold back her anger and threatened him.
"Then wait until you catch me." That little thief was obviously very confident in himself. As he ran, he even turned around to provoke Song Xiangsi.
Song Xiangsi's anger grew even stronger. However, the more she chased, the more she felt that something was amiss. The alleyway was getting deeper and deeper, and there were many forks in the road. By the time she realized this, it was already too late.
The little thief disappeared in a flash. Song Xiangsi stopped and looked around cautiously. The surrounding terrain was extremely complicated, like a maze. If one was a little bit careless, they would not be able to find their way back. Song Xiangsi frowned and decided to return along the way.
Just as Song Xiangsi was about to give up on searching for that thief, there was a sudden commotion in the surroundings. Soon, a dozen people surrounded Song Xiangsi. Song Xiangsi calmed down and looked at the people who had suddenly appeared.
There were about a dozen people standing in front of her, all dressed in shabby beggars clothes. Song Xiangsi frowned and turned vigilant.