jail

The imperial court allocated a total of one million taels of silver and 20,000 shi of grain to Shaanxi Province, while Xi'an Prefecture received 150,000 taels of silver and 5,000 shi of grain.

However, Xi'an Prefecture was to further distribute the grain to its subordinate prefectures and counties. After the distribution, the prefecture kept 1,000 shi of grain in its granaries and 50,000 taels of silver in its accounts.

Since Liang Lingfeng, the prefect of Xi'an Prefecture, did not take charge of affairs, his subordinates had to shoulder more responsibility, such as Qian Chengbi, who served as the vice-prefect of Xi'an Prefecture for ten years.

As soon as the disaster relief grain and silver arrived, he immediately discussed with the officials of various prefectures and counties how to distribute them, register households and houses to store the grain, register the displaced people, and send workshops to build soup kitchens.

When Xu Qiu, the assistant prefect, arrived, Qian Chengbi thought that finally someone had come to share these trivial matters with him. Unexpectedly, this man went to the fields every day, ostensibly to check whether there were any discrepancies in the autumn harvest and grain collection.

The famine in Xi'an Prefecture was mainly caused by the severe drought last year. This year the situation is better, at least there was some harvest in the fall and fewer refugees, but the situation is still very bad.

Because of last year's disaster, many people sold their land and houses to buy food to survive the famine. These refugees became displaced people this year. Only a few young and strong people were hired as tenant farmers by wealthy merchants and gentry. Most of them still had to rely on government relief.

So those tenant farmers were lucky if they didn't go hungry, let alone pay enough grain, so he could only turn a blind eye.

Now that Xu Qiu is investigating the grain tax, he's genuinely afraid that Xu Qiu might cause someone to die.

His magistrate was also a runner-up in the imperial examinations, but he turned out to be all talk and no action. Now that another top scholar has emerged, Qian Chengbi is really having a headache.

Today, a shed was set up to serve porridge, but Xu Qiu was not here. His wife was left behind to come and look after the food, so he could help keep an eye on things.

Qian Chengbi was truly at a loss for words, both laughing and crying.

The wife of this newly appointed top scholar is the only daughter of Duke Gu Hanying of Yingguo. Gu Hanying and Zhang Yanming, the commander of Shaanxi, came from the same military camp and have a very good relationship. Their status is too high, so who would dare to ask her for help?

He knew that this lady was always busy; she had even gone to the fields to plant crops yesterday, but he assumed it was just something she did out of interest.

It's just a matter of one acre of land, and besides, it's only after the autumn harvest. The land has been allocated, so it's fine as long as it doesn't affect the spring planting.

Qian Chengbi had someone bring Gu Yu a long bench so she could sit and rest.

Gu Yu was not idle. She looked at the household register and then stared at the clerk who was distributing porridge.

The porridge distribution today was arranged very well.

Liang Lingfeng is unreliable, but his adjutant is reliable, though he's probably used to cleaning up messes.

Originally, this was Xu Qiu's job, but he took it on as well.

Although Liang Lingfeng did not do any work, he was not greedy either. At least the disaster relief funds and grains allocated by the imperial court ended up in the stomachs of the refugees.

Gu Yu closed the household account book, had a simple lunch, and ate a piece of flatbread with thin porridge and pickled vegetables.

Seeing that she wasn't eating much, Qiuju felt sorry for her young mistress.

She had been a wealthy young lady in Shengjing City for eighteen years, but now she has married a poor scholar and has to accompany him to a famine-stricken land to suffer.

"Miss, I saw a shop up ahead selling pastries. I'll go buy some so you can have some too."

"No need, I have a small appetite to begin with, and I'm already full."

Gu Yu asked Liu Yun and Qing Feng to take care of the elderly, women, and children, and let them form a separate team to collect porridge. She couldn't help with anything else.

Qiu Ju spotted some familiar faces. The tenant farmers she had hired yesterday had come to collect their porridge today after hearing the news. She tried to stop them, but Gu Yu stopped her.

"Miss, they are not refugees. If they also receive porridge, wouldn't that be taking away other people's portions?" Qiuju asked, puzzled.

"Disaster relief is open to everyone. We can't treat them differently just because they rented land. They were also victims of the disaster. Besides, the porridge was mixed with coarse chaff; only those who are truly starving can swallow it. Did you see any of them complaining?"

Gu Yu observed very carefully, and Qiu Ju suddenly realized, "This method is good; it can prevent people with ulterior motives from taking the refugees' food."

Qiuju became somewhat sentimental as she spoke, "How come even the tenant farmers here aren't having enough to eat? It's just too tragic."

When Wang Erzhu saw the familiar lady and maid, he acted as if he had seen a god of wealth, and quickly pulled Zhao Wu over to greet them.

"Madam must be the wife of an official, yet she still comes to serve porridge. She truly has the heart of a bodhisattva."

Qiuju glanced at him and asked, "You were on watch last night, right? Nothing went wrong, did it?"

"Of course not, I kept watch all night, there were no bandits." Zhao Wu was tall and strong, and he scratched his head sheepishly.

Gu Yu glanced at them and asked, "How much rent do you get for your land? Why are you still going hungry?"

Wang Erzhu thought about it carefully and replied, "No matter how much grain is produced in the field, half of it must be given to the farmer, and another three to five liters of grain must be given to the government."

"There aren't many of us left. I still have to support my elderly mother and younger sister. If it weren't for the famine, we could barely survive. Last year, God didn't send rain, so the fields couldn't produce any grain, and we all went hungry."

This year's grain harvest still has to repay the grain borrowed from the farmers last year. Luckily, the government distributed porridge, otherwise winter would definitely have been difficult.

His gaze fell on his mother and sister, who were in another line. Seeing that they had received their porridge, he gave them a simple smile.

"Qiuju, settle their wages for yesterday's night watch."

The two men each received two hundred coins and said with simple smiles, "Thank you, Madam."

“From now on, I will go to the fields every ten days, and your wages will also be settled every ten days. I will give you both the wages from last night.”

"Okay, okay." The two left happily.

By afternoon, the sun had hidden behind the clouds, and it looked like it was going to rain, so the soup kitchen had to be packed up.

Seeing that it was raining, Gu Yu felt a little better. The seeds she planted yesterday had received rain today, so it seemed that God was still on her side.

However, since Qian Chengbi had done a good job, she didn't need to keep an eye on him anymore. She immediately packed her things and returned to the courtyard.

As dusk approached, Xu Qiu and Li Shiqin, soaked to the bone, arrived at the courtyard. Gu Yu had anticipated this and had already ordered hot water and ginger soup to be prepared for them.

Xu Qiu took a hot bath, changed into clean clothes, and sat in the front hall drinking ginger soup.

"Madam visited the soup kitchen today. What do you think of Qian Chengbi's performance?"

“There’s no major problem. I’m not keeping an eye on things anymore. I’m just sitting there, and those people are making themselves uncomfortable.”

"Alright, Madam, you can decide for yourself." Xu Qiu finished the ginger soup, feeling warm all over and dispelling the chill. His gaze softened as he looked at Gu Yu.

“However, I heard about some other things today…” She talked about the land rent for the crops, “This year, the grain tax in Shaanxi is not being collected in full, is it? Why don’t you write a letter to the Emperor and ask him to exempt the taxes here for a year?”

“Last year we were exempted for a year…” Xu Qiu thought of the account books he had seen today and continued, “I’ll go find Liang Lingfeng. He should be the one to submit the petition. I can’t overstep my bounds.”

Gu Yu pondered for a moment, "When you have your brother Li write back, please mention the situation of the people here. If Xi'an Prefecture is in such a state, what about the counties and prefectures below?"

"Yes, Madam, you've thought this through." Xu Qiu replied with a smile.

He didn't come to Xi'an Prefecture for disaster relief; it shouldn't have been his concern. But Liang Lingfeng didn't do anything.

"Is Liang Lingfeng a good person or a bad person?" Xu Qiu asked.

"He's not a corrupt official, but he's not a good one either. As a local official, he hasn't fulfilled his responsibilities, but compared to other officials who embezzled disaster relief funds, he doesn't seem to be a bad guy. Let's just pick the best of the worst..." Gu Yu said helplessly.

"Your mission is important, but I'm more concerned about the crops in the fields. I hope it will turn out well."

"Yes, whatever Madam wants to do, she will definitely be able to accomplish."

Xu Qiu went to the study to write some things, then went to chat briefly with Li Shiqin before returning to his room to sleep.

In the days that followed, Gu Yu went to check on the fields every ten days.

Fortunately, the weather in October was quite good, not too cold, and there was enough rain. Most of the taro in the fields had sprouted, and the millet was growing well as well.

Wang Erzhu and his men kept watch diligently throughout the night, and the surrounding people generally knew that the land belonged to the government, so no one dared to damage the fields.

October passed in the blink of an eye, and Gu Yu was wearing thicker and thicker clothes. It was her first time in Shaanxi Province, and she was caught off guard by the sudden drop in temperature.

Why is November so much colder than October?

Gu Yu remembered the grain in the field, so she quickly called a carriage and set off. When she arrived at the destination, she drove around from east to west.

The taro plants have sprouted leaves, and the millet plants have also grown leaves, but because of the cold weather, they are all a bit wilted, and some have even been blown over by the wind.

To keep the land warm and protected from the cold, a fence made of reeds, sorghum stalks, or bamboo was built around the field to act as a windbreak.

She asked Qiuju to find some tenant farmers who had experience making windbreaks to come and help. It took them two days to finish making the windbreak.

They also consulted with nearby tenant farmers for advice on winter protection and found someone to re-soil the crops.

Hilling involves turning over the soil between the rows of grain and covering it around the roots of the crop to form a small mound. Soil also has a certain heat-insulating effect.

Gu Yu also had someone buy some straw to cover the soil with a thick layer, which made it much more secure.

After several busy days, Gu Yu noticed that several of the taro plants that were growing well had already started to flower.

The fact that it had already flowered meant that it would bear fruit in another month, which put her at ease, indicating that taro could be grown in the soil of Shaanxi.

If the grain produced is no less than that of millet and sorghum, it is very likely that the food shortage situation here can be improved.

She touched the tiny petals among the taro leaves, and returned to the courtyard contentedly, just as Xu Qiu returned.

Gu Yu took a sip of hot tea and noticed that Xu Qiu's expression was unusual.

“Wei Cong is in prison,” he said.

"Wei Cong has only been in office for a little over a month, what crime could he have committed?" Gu Yu was so shocked that she almost dropped the teacup in her hand.

“He embezzled; 100,000 taels of silver were found in his mansion.” Xu Qiu stroked the jade pendant in his hand.

He knew what kind of person Wei Cong was; how could they possibly pin the charge of embezzlement on him? Those people in Tongzhou were really bold.

Gu Yu recalled the scene when Wei Cong refused to accept even a hundred taels of silver when they first met, and said in a daze, "How could this be? Did Xu Yunliang do it? Wei Cong is his brother's student, why would he do such a thing?"

“I don’t think Wei Cong could find out about Xu Yunliang’s deal with the Northern Di within a month. That happened months ago, and Xu Yunliang couldn’t have left any evidence.”

If it's not this, then it means there's something fishy going on in Tongzhou.

“Tongzhou is a salt-producing area and is close to the Hedong Salt Lake, so the illegal salt trade is rampant. I suspect it’s related to this.”

Xu Qiu said, "I just heard the news. He will be escorted to the prison in Xi'an Prefecture in two days and interrogated by Liang Lingfeng."

"Given Liang Lingfeng's personality, he probably doesn't want to get involved in this matter. After all, Wei Cong is the second-highest scorer this year, and he was imprisoned just a month after arriving in Tongzhou. He will definitely hand the case over to his superiors."

"Zhao Dehai, the provincial inspector of Shaanxi, was promoted by Sun Gu, and Wei Cong is Xu Ziliu's student. If Wei Cong falls into his hands, he probably won't survive."

"When Wei Cong arrives, I'll bring him some food and see if I can find out anything."

Wei Cong would never embezzle. Gu Yu suspected that he had discovered something and someone wanted to prevent him from investigating, so they framed him for embezzlement.

"Shouldn't the 100,000 taels of silver also be transported over?" Gu Yu wanted to start with the silver to find some clues.

"Since they dared to put the silver with Wei Cong, it means that no evidence of the silver was left behind."

"That's true."

Gu Yu thought to herself, she was powerless to protect Yu Zhu when she died, but now that Wei Cong was in trouble, she was determined to help him this time.

"Wei Cong is very much like an old friend of mine."

Gu Yu thought this way from the first time they met.

“He’s clean, and this time… I want him to live.”

She gazed longingly into the distant night, where a ferocious beast seemed to lurk, enjoying chewing up and swallowing these clean people.

But after talking about Wei Cong's imprisonment, Xu Qiu still felt something was off.

Gu Yu asked, "Lord Xu has been acting mysteriously these past few days. I wonder what he's been busy with?"

He remained silent for a while, then honestly said, "I'm investigating how those weapons sold to the Northern Barbarians got out of the country."

Gu Yu pondered for a moment. If the weapons were to be transported to the Northern Barbarians through the border front, it must be inextricably linked to the generals at the border.

"Are you doubting my father? But he was the one who gave you those letters. He wouldn't do such a thing, and there's no need for him to cry wolf."

Gu Yu did not believe that Gu Hanying had never been involved in any dirty deeds, but he would never do something that was no different from treason.

“I’m afraid that the person behind this is trying to bring down my father-in-law. I’m having a hard time investigating. I need to find that person as soon as possible, at least before he frames my father-in-law.”

Xu Qiu was also troubled. On one hand, there was something amiss with the military farms in the garrisons. He needed to find a way to break into the garrisons in order to continue. On the other hand, there were the caravans that transported supplies and weapons to the Northern Barbarians. Who were the leaders of these caravans? And who on the northern border was colluding with the enemy?

Where did the weapons come from? The garrisons in the Shaanxi region were geographically important, and they were the only way to travel by land.

Zhang Yanming, the commander of Shaanxi, and Gu Hanying are sworn brothers. If Zhang Yanming is suspected, will Gu Hanying be implicated, or will that person try to pin all the evidence on Gu Hanying?

Especially regarding the arms deal, now that a truce has been reached with the Northern Barbarians, the traces left behind will only diminish. We mustn't alert them, lest the officials in the court escape.

“What you’re thinking of, your father will definitely think of too. He’ll write to us when he finds out.”

Gu Yu reached out and took his hand in a comforting gesture. His palm was warm and sweaty, and felt sticky to the touch.

She tried to stop, but Xu Qiu grabbed her.

"Madam, please don't hide. Sit with me for a while."