Chapter 48: The Result - Return to Beijing

Neither side would give way, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.

The retainers around Cui Erlang were quick-witted enough to smooth things over and let the matter drop. They then had a maidservant pour them tea and wine. After taking Cui Erlang out for a while, they returned much more gentle and humble, apologizing to them: "It was Erlang's slip of the tongue. I hope the county magistrate and your sister will not hold it against me. Zheng Liu was negligent in this matter, and I will certainly report the truth. However, the investigation will indeed take some time, and I cannot make any promises to you two. How about this, why don't you come with me to Qinghe to stay, and we can deal with the matter after we have investigated the facts? Is that alright?"

Before Li Yunru could speak, Yan Sheng waved his hand in refusal.

"Thank you for the invitation, brother, but I feel it's better to stay in Dongwu. I can also assist the people you sent to investigate the case. Please give my regards to my maternal grandparents. I will definitely visit them when I have the opportunity."

At this moment, Yan Sheng, a noble lady from a prominent family, displayed her elegance and poise. Although she was clearly in her early teens, she spoke with composure and grace, neither arrogant nor humble, leaving no room for criticism and cutting off Cui Er's chances of another invitation.

Hearing her say this, and knowing that the two families were close and that she couldn't force him, people had no choice but to give up.

"Very well, then I will wait for you in Qinghe, my sister."

"Um."

--

As soon as they came out of the government office, Aunt Zhou and a group of aggrieved people rushed over to inquire about the situation.

They regarded Li Yunru and her group as their only lifeline, their faces filled with eager anticipation, their tone urgent.

Everyone was talking non-stop, and she and Yan Sheng didn't have a chance to get a word in edgewise.

"Everyone!"

Song Ji interrupted their chaotic chatter, "Calm down, listen to what our young lady has to say!"

“Alright, alright, we’re not in a hurry. Madam Li, you said you would help us, so how is it going now?” said an old woman with gray hair.

Yan Sheng recounted everything that had just happened inside, and everyone's faces immediately fell.

"I knew it would turn out like this. Sigh... I shouldn't have trusted you guys!"

"Yes, what ability could two young girls have to dare to get the government officials involved!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep; it only leads to disappointment!"

Dozens of people, young and old, shook their heads and left one after another, until only Madam Zhou was left. Her eyes were red from crying, and she said sadly, "Madam Li, I know you all did your best. Let it go, just consider it our bad luck."

She turned and followed.

"Hey, why did you leave? Didn't we say we'd investigate? Why don't these people listen to what others have to say?"

Watching the figure gradually shrink and finally disappear, Li Yunru felt an indescribable sadness in her heart.

She came from a commoner family, and her ancestors were farmers who toiled in the fields. Although she had never worked in the fields, the few years she spent in her childhood were enough for her to understand what those few acres of meager land meant to these people, and she understood even more clearly why they turned around and left.

Is this the first time they've stepped into the government office since the incident started?

I'm afraid not.

They may have come here countless times, but like this time, they still only received an ambiguous answer, or worse, not even a perfunctory answer, but were directly slapped several times and then driven away.

That's why the response to this reply is so cold.

"How rude!" Yan Sheng muttered. "We went through so much trouble, and we almost got into trouble inside. They didn't even bother to say a word of concern. What kind of attitude is this!"

She was very unhappy.

After all, she was a young lady from a top-tier family. Even though she might suffer some grievances at home due to various rules, she was always the center of attention outside. She had never seen such treatment before.

Let's go!

Li Yunru did not judge the behavior of the common people, nor did she judge Yan Sheng's behavior. She simply led the people into the carriage and, after they were seated, explained to her.

Yan Sheng felt a little guilty about her voice when she heard this, but she still insisted that it was not quite right and whispered, "It shouldn't be like that. We also put in a lot of effort. It was so dangerous inside just now!"

She is still a child after all. Although she follows the rules of her family's upbringing and never shows fear when facing grand occasions, she still has some childlike innocence in private. She hopes that if she does something, she can get an equal reward, even if the reward is just some nice words, at least it will acknowledge her efforts.

However, many things in the world are like this; there are never any equal outcomes.

She ruffled the man's dark hair and said with a smile, "Our Ah Sheng has worked hard. You were really impressive today, leaving the second son of the Cui family speechless."

Li Yunru praised her, but then changed the subject, saying, "For these people, those fields are their life. When their lives are about to end, how can they think about these things or care about them? Being gentle and polite is something only people who have enough to eat and drink can possess. It's a sign of status and identity, an honor and a symbol. But if you can't even fill your stomach every day, and you want to talk to people about this, then you're just being a 'let them eat meat porridge' type."

After listening, Yan Sheng said, "So I was wrong?"

Li Yunru shook her head. "No, you're not wrong, and those people aren't wrong either. It's just that everyone is in a different position and considers things from a different perspective. It's human nature to speak and act from one's own point of view."

"Then what do we do?" Yan Sheng asked.

"Let's stay a few more days. Didn't the Cui family say they would handle it? Let's keep an eye on it and see how they handle it!"

Yan Sheng obediently replied, "Mm."

After she finished speaking, she whispered, "I really didn't expect my maternal grandparents' family to be involved. My maternal grandfather was always upright and strict, and his family had a strict style. My mother said that when she was young, she would be beaten for even a few disobedient words. How could this happen?"

Li Yunru could not answer her question. To put it nicely, with a large family and many people, it was inevitable that there would be areas that could not be looked after. To put it bluntly, she had always looked down on these aristocratic families, thinking that they were all birds of a feather, and that no one was truly clean or upright. Some were just in the open, while others were in the shadows.

But she couldn't say that to Yan Sheng, so she could only comfort him, "Don't think about it anymore, let's just take it one step at a time."

...

They stayed in Dongwu for another five days.

Not long after Cui Erlang returned, he did indeed send some more people to investigate the matter.

Li Yunru instructed Song Ji to keep a close eye on things and frequently traveled around Zhoujia Village to ensure that they had indeed done their job properly and had not been lazy or shirking their duties. However, the outcome was not as satisfactory as expected.

It is true that there is a conflict between Yunruo Temple and the people of Zhoujia Village, but this land cannot be considered an encroachment. It was obtained in a reasonable and legal manner and cannot be returned to the people of Zhoujia Village. As for Brother Zhou's accident, it was the result of the escalation of the conflict between the two sides. It was an accident. However, the martial monks of Yunruo Temple acted recklessly and killed people, thus incurring the karma of killing. That is their problem.

Therefore, in the end, it was the Cui family that stepped forward to report to the higher authorities, removing the six sons of the Zheng family from their positions and sending a new county magistrate to take charge. Out of consideration for their feelings, they also compensated dozens of households in Zhoujia Village with some money, revoked the ordination certificates of the martial monks of Yunruo Temple, and expelled them from the temple, which was considered the final outcome.

Li Yunru frowned when she heard about this solution.

Several lives lost, and in the end, it's all just like this.

Reason cannot prevail over the law. The fundamental issue is not in the handling of the matter, but in the fact that the people of Zhoujia Village accepted the compensation and accepted it, so she could not say anything more.

...

After leaving Dongwu, Li Yunru remained silent the entire way, sitting there without uttering a word.

Yan Sheng leaned closer and said, "Everything's been resolved, but why do you look even worse than before, sister-in-law?"

She took the person's hand, placed two fingers on the slender, pale wrist, closed her eyes and examined it, and after a moment said, "The fire element is a bit strong, but it's not a big problem."

The person let go and asked, "So, sister-in-law, can you tell me why you're so angry?"

Li Yunru turned her head to look at her. The young lady was in the prime of her life, with eyebrows like dark mountains and eyes like stars. Her small face, even without makeup, was full of beauty.

People dressed in fine clothes and ate delicacies from land and sea, exuding an innocent naivety that made them oblivious to the hardships of life.

"fine."

Li Yunru opened her mouth, but in the end, she stopped herself with a sliver of reason.

This is not Yan Sheng's fault. She was born into a prominent family and had no choice in the matter. Moreover, she was just a young lady in her boudoir and could never control anything. It was those who could make decisions and control things who were too greedy and impatient!

The close ties between aristocratic families and Buddhist temples, involving the transfer of benefits, were a problem that existed as early as the reign of Emperor Ai, or even earlier.

The two benefited each other; one helped them make profits, and the other helped win people's hearts. Their cooperation was mutually beneficial.

She had heard her mother say that at the beginning of her father's rebellion, he had used the heads of several high-ranking monks as a sacrifice to expose their lies, which won the hearts of the people, gave him his first army, and eventually gave him leverage to negotiate with powerful families, allowing him to ascend the throne with their support.

After his father became emperor, he issued many decrees, one of which was to reduce the land occupied by temples and return the land to the people.

At that time, taxes were not levied on local gentry and Buddhist temples.

They occupy vast amounts of land but don't know how to cultivate it, don't pay taxes, and the people have no land to cultivate and have to rent land... As the exploitation continues layer by layer, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the national treasury is severely depleted, and there is a lack of human and financial resources. How can they support the army, recruit people, build bridges and roads?

As a result, the powerful families continued to dominate.

Knowing this, the emperor devoted himself to this cause, ordering aristocratic families, gentry, and Buddhist temples to pay taxes in equal proportions, and to implement rent and taxation, and to merge land tax with poll tax... one measure after another, but he could not last more than half a year before everything was back to normal.

It's truly heartbreaking and saddening.

She suddenly didn't understand. If that was the case, then what was the point of going through all this trouble?

She began to have doubts.

In the past, Li Yunru had never questioned her father and mother's decisions. In her heart, they were like the heavens, and she was certain that they were never wrong.

But now, seeing the two of them work hard their whole lives, even paying with their lives for it, only to end up changing nothing, she was truly bewildered.

If the two of them had been like she was before, not so obsessed, living one day at a time, taking their own joys and sorrows as their guide, would their lives have been better? Or would they not have the consequences they have today? And today, they are still the ones standing in that high position.

She was like a traveler adrift on a vast, white shore, unable to find her way forward, nor did she know why she was there, what she was supposed to do, or what she should do.

However, before she could regain her bearings, an even larger wave crashed towards her.

On the second day of the fourth lunar month, the Liu family held a wedding ceremony. Former Crown Princess Liu Yanheng had her hair styled anew and remarried into the Wang family of Langya, happily tying the knot with the fifth son of the Wang family.

This should have been a joyous occasion, but the Liu family's daughter and the former Crown Prince Li Xun were deeply in love and had made vows of eternal love. Although their marriage had ended, their vows remained. The Liu family's daughter was loyal and righteous, and also had a strong personality. She refused to betray her past love with Li Xun and committed suicide in the bridal sedan chair on her way to the wedding.

In just a few words, the storyteller fully expressed the tragic yet heroic life of a young woman, a life she was forced to live.

"Princess?" Shu Yun called out worriedly when she saw that her face was pale, her hands were clenched into fists, and her knuckles showed blue marks from the force.

Li Yunru did not answer, but stared blankly at the storyteller on the stage for a long time. Then she slammed her hand on the table, stood up, gritted her teeth, and said in a sharp voice, "Return to the capital!"