"Could it be that local officials are trying to force the Su family to donate money and grain, and if the Su family refuses, they will dig up the Su family's ancestral graves?"
Lu Ziqian shook his head again: "This matter is simple in some ways, but complicated in others."
"The Marquis of Jing'an colluded with Wang Liyang, the Minister of Revenue, to embezzle military funds."
"Their methods were very clever; they cultivated good relationships with local officials and then manipulated the grain supplies."
"After all, this requisition of military rations is very special. It is not directly allocated from the national treasury, because the national treasury is empty after years of war."
"Therefore, the imperial court assigned the task of collecting grain taxes to local officials along the route."
"Use these tax grains as military rations for this mission."
"This gave them an opportunity."
“Every official wanted a piece of the pie, so they used the difference between new and old grain to make a profit.”
"The grain that the people handed over was all new grain. New grain cost ten coins per dou, while old grain cost ten coins for three dou. Moldy grain could be bought for five or eight dou."
"Anyway, this grain doesn't need to be handed over to the national treasury; it can be directly transported to the battlefield for the soldiers to eat."
"As long as the required quantity is delivered, the quality of the grain is up to Minister Wang."
"Local officials could use old rice instead of new rice as long as they bribed Wang Liyang."
“When the grain was brought to the battlefield, Marquis Jing’an didn’t care at all, since he took the lion’s share, and several deputy generals also received benefits.”
"Even if those soldiers die from hunger, they have no recourse. They might not even make it home alive, because the battlefield is dangerous and it's normal for someone to die."
"Anyone who starts a disturbance will be killed. After killing a few, no one will dare to cause trouble."
"Furthermore, given their lowly status, even if they survived to return home, they would have nowhere to turn for help."
"Officials from almost every region participated in this matter, so if they wanted to file a complaint, they could only do so by appealing directly to the emperor."
"But for ordinary people, seeing the emperor is harder than climbing to heaven."
"We also face the risk of our entire family being murdered if we fail."
"Therefore, this matter never reached the Emperor's ears, except for Su Qingyu."
“He is neither an official nor a soldier, so this matter should have nothing to do with him, but it just so happens to be.”
"Half a month before the grain requisition in Qingshui County, Yangzhou, the head of the Su family fell ill and died. He was Su Qingyu's father."
"Su Qingyu was a very filial son and a well-known wealthy businessman in the area, so his funeral was very grand, with countless burial goods."
"The largest category is grain, after all, the Su family is the largest grain merchant in the area."
"Old Master Su's greatest wish before his death was to continue his illustrious career even after he was gone."
"Originally, this was nothing serious; at most, it would have become a topic of conversation among the locals."
"However, by sheer coincidence, we encountered the matter of collecting military rations, and by sheer coincidence, we also encountered a new county magistrate."
"A new county magistrate?" Su Yujiao didn't quite understand.
Lu Ziqian explained: "On the day of Old Master Su's burial, the old county magistrate was promoted and the new county magistrate, Lin Pingxi, took office."
"Therefore, the Su family hadn't had time to bribe the new county magistrate, and the new official, who should have been enjoying great prestige, was overshadowed by the Su family's grand funeral."
"Moreover, it is already unlucky for a promotion to coincide with a funeral, so Lin Pingxi will naturally not let the Su family have an easy time."
"Then, not long after, Lin Pingxi received an order from the imperial court to requisition grain, so he set his sights on the grain to be buried with the dead."
"The Su family has enough burial goods; digging them all up will be enough to complete the imperial court's task."
"All the newly harvested grain can go into our own pockets, and we can also take this opportunity to teach the Su family a lesson."
"Originally, this matter was to be handled quietly. After all, digging up someone's ancestral graves is an outrageous act. If the people found out and it aroused public anger, his official career would be over."
"As a result, despite Lin Pingxi's best efforts to prevent it, the Su family's servants still discovered that he had dug up graves and grain, so he had no choice but to kill them to silence them."
"Unexpectedly, Su Qingyu was a very filial son. He refused to let his father's grave be dug up and spent half of his family fortune to find the person who dug up the grave."
"The investigation eventually led to Lin Pingxi."
"Lin Pingxi is also a ruthless character. He directly arrested Su Qingyu, framed him with some fabricated crimes, fined him a fortune, and made him suffer in prison."
"I thought Su Qingyu would finally calm down after his time in prison."
"I never expected him to be such a tough nut to crack; he was willing to spend all his wealth to bring down Lin Pingxi."
"Lin Pingxi knew that Su Qingyu had appealed to higher authorities, so he had no choice but to kill him to silence him."
"Su Qingyu is also a smart man. He found many substitutes to deceive people with a mix of truth and falsehood."
"The two I saved were his doubles; the third one, who was almost buried alive, was his real body."
"We are completely safe now."
“He was about to file a complaint with the emperor right now, but I stopped him. It’s better to let things develop a bit more before things get better.”
"After the Marquis of Jing'an suffers a defeat, let Su Qingyu come out to stop the imperial carriage and accuse him of embezzling military rations."
"If it were just a few lives, I'm afraid the Emperor wouldn't take it seriously."
Su Yujiao nodded: "You can handle this matter; you don't need to tell me."
Lu Ziqian wanted to shamelessly stick with her, but Lu Ziwei grabbed his ear and dragged him away.
Three days later, Nan Sheng took Chen Yunniang back to the Southern Frontier Kingdom, and the matter of the dragon robe was dropped.
It seems the investigation has reached Chu Zhongyuan again, so the Emperor has stopped the investigation.
For the next period of time, Lu Ziqian did not come to see her, but instead secretly made arrangements.
Su Yujiao finally had some peace and quiet for a while, and with Lu Ziwei and Jin Mudan by her side, she lived a relaxed and comfortable life.
"Jiaojiao, are these two little darlings really not Ziqian's?"
“Yan-ge’er looks exactly like Lao Qi, are you sure he’s not his child?”
"Could this be the child that Seventh Brother had with another woman, and you brought it home to raise?"
Lu Ziwei held the child and looked at him from left to right, becoming increasingly suspicious.
Jin Mudan sat on the bed, holding another child without saying a word. She knew everything, but she said nothing.
"Of course it's not his."
“He’s such a jerk, I would never have his child.”
"But how do you explain this face?"
“It’s not that I’m being paranoid, it really is exactly the same. I’ve seen what Lao Qi looked like when he was a child.”
Su Yujiao still stubbornly refused to admit it: "The world is so big, there are all sorts of wonders."
"Kids these days are very smart; they just resemble whoever is good-looking."
"Although Lu Ziqian is a scoundrel, he is indeed good-looking."
"Maybe the child liked his face, so he grew up to look like him."
Lu Ziwei looked bewildered: "Is that so? You're not kidding me, are you?"
When have I ever lied to you?
"Stop holding the baby and come help me make dumplings."
"I've also prepared some fireworks and red envelopes for New Year's Eve, so we can have some fun together."
Lu Ziwei couldn't bear to leave the child; she still felt they looked very alike.
Moreover, she felt an inexplicable sense of closeness when she saw the two children, just like her mother, and she talked about the two children all day long.
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