Chapter 46 Jinjiang First Release Chapter 46 This Master Ji is sloppy...
Fang Shu's first reaction was to ask, "Did they torture Xi Kuan?"
Ma's attendant said, "Not yet. They've only locked up Xikuan. Xikuan has a reputation for merit, so the garrison commanders probably have some regard for him. But they won't release him, insisting someone has reported him to the authorities, alleging tax evasion for someone else, and Xikuan is protecting you. Have you offended anyone recently?"
Scholars are exempt from taxes and labor service, so many people would register their land in the name of a relative or friend who has become a scholar, striving to maximize the profit per acre of land. This is almost a tacit understanding, and the garrison commander naturally knows this.
However, since the scholar is very likely to continue taking the imperial examinations and may pass them, the garrison commander usually won't deliberately catch up on these things. After all, it's better to leave a way out for others so that they can meet again in the future. Who knows which scholar will become successful in the future?
Especially those who are from well-off families, garrison commanders and county magistrates usually do not have to worry too much about tax evasion by using their names as a proxy.
And now the town guard not only arrested the man, but also refused to let him go. This can only mean one thing: someone must have reported the matter to the town guard, which gave him such a reason.
Fang Shu thought about it and said, "Most likely someone from my maternal grandfather's side."
The Fang family's relatives sometimes had their share of disagreements, but generally they remained close. Even if his eldest uncle and aunt wanted to take advantage of him, they were exploiting outsiders. At least that was their own intention, not to harm him. So once he warned them, they didn't dare to go against his wishes.
I think it was the ten acres of land that upset my uncle and aunt. They didn't put the land in his name, so they weren't worried about him getting into trouble.
They even hoped that something bad would happen to him. As for how much land he owned, anyone who cared enough to inquire could find out.
Ma Qinsui asked: "What should we do now?"
Ma Qinsui also knew something about Fang Shu's mother's background. He, Yan Xikuan, and Fang Shu became close friends because Fang Shu was sincere, open-minded, and helpful, and he offered them much assistance. Later, when they traveled to the provincial capital for the imperial examination, they helped Fang Shu overcome difficulties, and their relationship grew even closer.
The people in the Wu family are so cruel. If they really did this, wouldn’t it be a big trouble?
Fang Shu also felt the situation was troubling. If he himself had been caught, it would have been fine, but the thought of his good friend being implicated by him was truly unsettling.
"My dear, please go to Changjie's house and see if he's home. If he is, we can take the mule cart there; it'll be faster that way. I'll go and tell Brother Fangshan so that my father and mother won't be worried when no one is home."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
After hearing this, Fang Shu hurried back to his room and took out ten taels of silver from his piggy bank. Thinking it wasn't enough, he took out another ten taels. After taking the money, he went to Fang Shan's house and explained the situation to his sister-in-law. Finally, he asked, "If I don't come back at night, I will stay with my personal attendant. Please tell Long Ge'er not to worry."
"Will this get Brother Xikuan out?" Wu Nan asked, "Or should we wait for Uncle and Aunt to come back before discussing it? Your brother Fangshan also has to go home at noon."
"That would take too long. I'm afraid something might happen. I still have to go see it first to feel at ease."
This incident was clearly aimed at him. Otherwise, since Ma Qinsui and Yan Xikuan were both scholars and lived together, and they were both very close to him, it would be impossible for them to arrest only Yan Xikuan and let Ma Qinsui go. This was clearly a way to let Ma Qinsui go so that he could report the incident and get the money to redeem him.
Not long after, Ma Qin came back alone, so it was obvious that Wu Sheng was not there.
"Maybe he went to the town. Then let's go there as soon as possible. But my dear, you have come so far, can you still walk?" The man with sweat on his forehead was obviously very tired.
"It's okay. Saving lives is the most important thing." Ma's attendant said, "If you have water, take a can with you."
"Okay, I'll get it."
Fang Shu filled a bamboo tube with water and then took the pancakes his mother had made last night. He had originally planned to have them with vegetables for lunch.
Ma Qinsui took it without hesitation and ate as he walked. This happened so early in the morning, while he and Yan Xikuan were still asleep, the officers came and banged on the door. They were startled, thinking there had been a fire, but they didn't expect they were investigating the Fang Shu family's land tax.
The incident happened so suddenly that he rushed over without even having time to drink a sip of water.
Fang Shu said: "More water."
Ma Qinsui took it and gulped down a large mouthful, and before he could even catch his breath, he asked, "What are you going to say when you get here?"
Fang Shu said: "Let's see if we can see Xikuan first."
Ma Qinfu said, "I think it's difficult. They definitely won't let you talk to Xikuan until this matter is concluded."
Fang Shu said, "I brought some silver with me. I'll see if I can get them to make some concessions."
This behavior is probably because he wants money.
The two men quickened their pace and walked towards the town, but unexpectedly they saw an ox cart in front of them.
Fang Shu was so lost in thought that he didn't notice it. It was Ma Qinsui who saw it first and reminded him, "Shoucheng, look quickly! Is that your salted egg yolk?!"
It was shaking, and there were three people sitting on it.
Fang Shu said, "That's true."
He saw his husband!
Fang Shu ran over quickly: "Father, Mother! Long Ge'er!"
Yu Qinglong also noticed the two of them, but he subconsciously frowned.
Ma Qinsui and Yan Xikuan were almost inseparable, so why was it only Ma Qinsui? Moreover, at this time, Ma Qinsui came and didn't even sit down and went back to the town, and he brought Fang Shu with him. This was not right.
"Father and Mother, I'm going down to see where they are going."
"You look so anxious. Run slower." Fang Dingman said, "It seems you and Shu'er are getting along well."
"Is it good or bad? But why did this child, the personal attendant, come here alone?" Fang Wu also felt that something was strange.
Yu Qinglong quickly ran up to Fang Shu and said, "Shoucheng, are you going to the town with your brothers?"
Fang Shu briefly explained the situation: "You go home and stay with your parents first. I'll be back after I rescue Xikuan."
Yu Qinglong knew this was unreliable and told Fang Shu, "It might not be easy for the two of you to handle this alone. I have a way to get you out of Xikuan. Tell your parents later and I'll go with you."
Fang Shu thought about it and realized that his husband was smart and had a lot of ideas. So he went to his parents and said, "Father and Mother, Xikuan isn't feeling well. Longge'er and I are going to check what's wrong."
Fang Dingman and Fang Wu couldn't help but think of Yan Xikuan, a child with almost no family. After his parents died young, he had only one older sister to rely on. Later, his sister married, to a family that had arranged a marriage for him since childhood, but her life was not satisfactory.
The elder sister's husband coveted her family's property. The elder sister felt that he was not a good man, but there was no way to escape, so she had to sell everything she could at home and asked her younger brother to use the money to continue his studies.
Now that I have passed the imperial examination, it is good, but my family has no land to be exempted from the land tax. I don’t dare to ask people I don’t know well.
He is also a poor child.
Fang Wu said, "Then go and take a look quickly, and be careful on the road."
Fang Shu took Yu Qinglong and Ma Qinsui and rushed to the town.
On the way, Yu Qinglong asked Ma Qinsui, "Brother Qinsui, have you ever seen the garrison commander? How long has this garrison commander been guarding our town?"
Ma's attendant said, "I saw him this morning. The town commander's surname is Guo. He has been serving as our town commander for four years. I've seen him before while guarding the city."
After four years, he'd already be well-versed in the area. Furthermore, the garrison commander was actually a military officer, not the same as a modern mayor. Land taxation wasn't really their responsibility. This was either a payout or a deliberate attempt to make things difficult.
Yu Qinglong asked Fang Shu, "What are you going to say later, my husband?"
Fang Shu said, "I want to spend some money first and see if I can meet Xikuan before deciding."
Yu Qinglong said, "I'm afraid even if you spend the money, you might not be able to see him. If it's really my uncle who's causing us trouble, their desire for money is secondary. I think they want to ruin your future. So when we get to town, no matter who you meet, you must not admit that you're helping others evade taxes. Tax evasion is a big taboo. If you still want to continue taking the imperial examinations, you can't bear such a stigma. Otherwise, a single mistake will ruin your future, or even worse."
"Right, right, right!" Ma Qinfu said, "Brother Xiaoyu is right. Xikuan will definitely not tell anyone about this, so we should keep our mouths shut."
"That's right. As long as we deny it, this matter will be easy to handle. Besides, the land under our name originally belonged to the Fang family, and we didn't evade taxes on behalf of outsiders. This is our own land, a gift from our clan. Even the emperor would say the same thing."
"But what if they refuse to let Xikuan go?"
"Is the town guard a smart man or a fool? Are there any other capable people around him?"
"Master Guo is a pure military commander," Fang Shu said, "but he has a mentor named Ji, and Master Guo usually has great faith in this mentor."
"Could it be that this Master Ji or Lord Guo has some connection to the Wu family?" Ma Qinfu speculated, "Is that why he's speaking up for the Wu family?"
"No." Fang Shu said, "If there was, why couldn't they have found a reason to wipe out my family in these four years?"
"Then let's find a way to meet this Master Ji first. My husband, please be kind to my brother and don't mention my brother's identity later."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you in detail after the matter is settled. When we get to town later, my husband, please draw a few portraits."
Fang Shu and Ma Qinsui thought about it and nodded in agreement. The three of them hurried to town, first visiting Ma Qinsui's rented place. Fang Shu painted portraits of his uncle and aunt, as well as the boy-born cousin. Since they were familiar faces and the drawings were simple, the few strokes didn't take much time.
After finishing the painting, they went to the town's government office.
But not all of them showed up at the yamen. Only Yu Qinglong went there with the painting. When the officer saw him, he asked, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"
Yu Qinglong smiled and called the two officers aside, giving each of them fifty coins. "Two officers, I'd like to inquire about something." He unfolded the painting and asked, "Have you seen these people in the past few days? They're not from our town, and they look a bit wealthy."
After the two officers finished examining the painting, one of them said, "This person was here before. I think it was yesterday morning. I remember her. She came with this young man."
Yu Qinglong asked, "How long did you stay here? Who did you meet?"
The officer said, "About two quarters of an hour. Who did you meet? Who do you think you could meet here? Of course, you met our Lord Guo."
Yu Qinglong then gave each of them fifty coins: "Thank you very much, brothers. Now, may I ask, if I want to see Master Ji alone, is there any way?"
The officers looked at each other and then at Yu Qinglong.
Yu Qinglong then took out two taels of silver.
One of the officers said, "Follow me."
The officer led Yu Qinglong into the teahouse across the street. A moment later, a man came downstairs, holding a large palm-leaf fan and wearing cloth shoes. He yawned and looked like he was still half asleep. He sat down across from Yu Qinglong, one foot on the stool, and said in a very rude manner, "I heard you wanted to see me?"
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Author's words: Fang Shu: Long Ge'er, my Long Ge'er is so good, what if someone else likes him? [Please]
Qinglong: They are all blind. Don't worry, you are the only one who can see my good side.
Fang Shu: Really? Don’t lie to me! [Breaking into tears]
Qinglong: Really [sunglasses]
The updates yesterday and the day before yesterday had bugs, but I didn't fix them. Sometimes when I fix the bugs, the update gets locked instead. Please forgive me, my dears!
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