Chapter 104: The prosperity or ruin of the people's livelihood is the source of their suffering.
Ten days have passed since Yue Yining went missing, and there is still no news of her.
Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude were filled with worry and distress, their brows furrowed with anxiety that lingered day and night, yet they were helpless. No news had come from Che Dong and the other man, so they could only continue their agonizing wait.
Besides searching for Yue Yining, they also had many other matters to attend to. Their remaining food supplies were running low, having been exhausted a few days ago. The rice bins in the relief tents were empty, and even the smoke from the stoves seemed rather desolate.
Even so, disaster relief efforts cannot be stopped for even a day.
Just as they were thinking of a way to deal with the emergency, Che Zilong came to their door, saying that he had three thousand shi of grain that he could lend to them to relieve their immediate crisis.
The old governor smiled broadly and spoke in a kind and gentle tone: "My lords, there is no need to worry too much. I drafted a grain requisition order the day before yesterday. Once the order is issued, some disaster relief grain can be collected quickly, which may be enough to sustain us for a while."
He offered to help, which touched Shen Liude, but he hesitated for a moment: "Prefect Che is absolutely right, but..."
"Rest assured, Lord Shen. I have specifically stated in the proclamation that the tax amount will be determined based on the amount of land owned. The more land one owns, the more grain will be collected. The 28 registered grain merchants in Qinghuai will each be taxed 500 shi of grain, and the local gentry and wealthy households will then be ordered to donate according to the amount of land they own. As for poor farmers and tenants who rent land from landlords, they will be exempted from taxation according to the proclamation."
Shen Liude breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that his worries had been dispelled: "The governor is wise."
That's what she's worried about.
During times of famine, the imperial court often reduces or waives taxes because excessive taxes would make it difficult for many ordinary people to survive, and they might even resort to extreme measures because they cannot make a living.
They had considered drafting decrees to collect taxes from wealthy households, but soon after arriving in Qinghuai, they discovered that local officials such as Che Zilong and Dong Qi were suspected of embezzlement and bribery. In reality, the Qinghuai region was a place where officials and merchants protected each other. As a result, this approach was definitely not feasible.
As for why Che Zilong, who had previously remained aloof, suddenly made a complete 180-degree turn and started helping them again...
Shen Liude attributed the cause to Yue Yining's previous plan.
Clearly, the "selection of a city lord" matter had a huge impact on Che Zilong. He first hurriedly tried to curry favor with Yue Yining, and now that he had heard the news, he took the initiative to come to their door to offer help, all for the sake of this lie told by Yue Yining.
Shen Liude finally felt relieved and nodded in agreement.
Qiu Yuebai was deeply moved: "Thank you for your help, Prefect Che!"
"Once I return to the prefecture, I will immediately instruct the guards to transport the grain to the relief tents," said Prefect Che, his face kind and gentle, before taking his leave. "I will not disturb you any longer; please continue with your work, gentlemen."
"I'll have someone escort you!"
After seeing the person off, Shen Liude and Qiu Yuebai were relieved.
With food, they at least had a brief respite.
Three thousand shi of grain was enough to sustain the disaster relief efforts for a period of time. For three consecutive days, Shen Liude and Qiu Yuebai were able to focus their attention on finding Yue Yining, and many matters at the disaster relief tents were entrusted to their subordinates who had come with them.
On their trip to Qinghuai for disaster relief, they also brought some of the princess's private soldiers and guards, but not many, and they always needed to leave some of their own people to watch over the food in the relief tents.
In times of famine relief, grain left unattended is like gold left out in the street; no one can resist such temptation and temptation. Even "clean" officials in Qinghuai may abuse their power for personal gain during the supervision process. Similar cases have occurred frequently over the past few decades.
Yue Yining had repeatedly instructed them beforehand that when the relief tents were opened for disaster relief each day, they must arrange for a trustworthy person to be there to guard the area.
Now that Yue Yining has disappeared, they have nowhere else to turn but to grit their teeth and send more soldiers out of the city to search for her.
Xie Qingyu disappeared along with Yue Yining. The guards of the Xie family, along with other strategists sent by the Seventh Prince's residence, are all gathering their forces to search for Xie Qingyu.
The two went to investigate and found out that they would go out of the city in a line every day to search for suspicious traces in the mountains and forests on the outskirts of the city, but so far they have found nothing.
They even went to see Sun Qiong and Ye Miheng.
The Fourth Prince's men were the least likely to help them, a fact both of them were well aware of. But now that things had come to this, they had no choice. Even if there was only a sliver of hope, even if it came at a huge cost, they had to try.
To their surprise, Sun Qiong actually agreed.
"It's likely that Lady Yue was captured by the rampant bandits and mountain thieves outside Qinghuai City. We go out of the city every day to suppress the bandits. Don't worry, if there is any trace of Yue Yining, I will take the initiative to search for her. If I really encounter her, I will also rescue her."
Sun Qiong's voice was calm and resonant, and his words were inexplicably convincing: "Although we are on opposing sides, I am first and foremost a loyal subject, and I do not want the court to lose such an outstanding talent as Lord Yue."
Qiu Yuebai was so moved she couldn't speak. She choked back tears as she thanked him, "Really, thank you so much, Lord Sun..."
She wiped away the tears that had accidentally spilled from her eyes, her eyes red and swollen. Shen Liude reached out to pat her back and thanked Sun Qiong and Ye Miheng again.
News of Yue Yining's disappearance had already reached Yanjing City. However, the journey was long, and even though Wei Yihua had received the news, whether it was waiting for her reply or for her to send people to provide support, it would still take some time before they reached Qinghuai.
But the longer they waited, the slimmer their chances of survival became.
"Sir, this is the third grain robbery in the past few days." The guard captain held the dossier and said in a very low voice, "The Huang family's grain shop in the West Market was attacked by a group of law-abiding citizens. The government sent people to suppress them, and they were all beaten to death right there in the street."
"The bodies are still hanging in front of the shop as a warning. People from the families of those who were beaten to death came and knelt at the shop entrance, wailing loudly. A woman whose husband had died, holding her child, ran headfirst into the soldiers' knives, and blood splattered on the spot..."
Upon hearing this, the two female officials sitting in the hall were greatly shocked!
“…How could this be?” Qiu Yuebai murmured. “If ordinary people can’t afford grain, they can go to the disaster relief tents in the south of the city to get porridge. They shouldn’t be starving. How could this happen? How did things get to this point…?”
The guard who came to report seemed to know the reason, but he hesitated for a long time, unsure whether he should speak.
At that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the door.
A guard rushed into the courtyard in a panic, knelt down on the porch, and shouted urgently and shrilly: "Something terrible has happened!"
"Miss Fu is holding a group of soldiers at the north gate and they're fighting over it!"
Shen Liude and Qiu Yuebai were both shocked by the sudden news. Without thinking too much, they immediately set off for the North Gate. In front of a teahouse, they saw a group of onlookers and Fu Yao fighting fiercely in the crowd.
The wooden tables and chairs that were originally placed by the roadside for guests to rest were now reduced to scraps and debris by the fists and kicks of the two fighting groups. The waiter and the shopkeeper stood by with long faces, not daring to step forward to break up the fight, but also afraid that the shop would be smashed further. They were so anxious that they kept stamping their feet.
Even more astonishing is that even when five people attacked Fu Yao at the same time, she was still able to repel them all. Her flying figure was as fast as the wind, and she kicked someone several meters away with a flying kick. Her moves were precise and ruthless.
The two female officials were completely unaware that Fu Yao possessed such abilities, and were stunned for a moment.
"Stop hitting! The officials are here!!"
Before the soldiers arrived, Fu Yao had already knocked all five men to the ground.
Shen Liude and Qiu Yuebai then saw her face clearly. The petite girl was standing on the back of a burly man, her eyes were bloodshot, and her long, neatly tied black hair was a little messy from the fight, blowing wildly in the wind. Her face was full of anger, and she looked like a nightmare.
Shen Liude was the first to regain his senses and quickly went to pull her up: "Fu Yao! It's us! What happened? How did you end up fighting with them here...?"
"They didn't even go out of town to find prostitutes!!"
Fu Yao let out a roar that pierced the sky, and all the surrounding noise, the wailing soldiers on the ground, and the crowd that surrounded her instantly fell silent.
Shen Liude was stunned, and then he saw Fu Yao's eyes suddenly redden as she lowered her head, and her two arms, clenched into fists, were trembling.
A single, glistening tear fell into the mud.
Fu Yao clenched her teeth tightly, but could not stop the sobs that escaped her lips: "I squatted at the gate of the government office early this morning, trying to sneak out of the city with them to find the young lady's whereabouts, but I found that these soldiers did not leave the city at all!"
"They came straight to this teahouse and stayed there drinking and relaxing. I observed them all morning, and my hatred for them became too much to bear, which is why I took action..."
Fu Yao wiped away her tears fiercely, kicked the soldier who was pretending to be dead on the ground, and roared, "Speak! Have you been deceiving us like this for the past ten days or so?! For so many days, you haven't actually left the city, haven't looked for Lord Yue, haven't even looked for him?!"
Her voice was shrill, laced with sobs: "If Miss dies, I will never let you go... never...!"
The girl, who could single-handedly defeat a group of soldiers, was now helplessly weeping, crying her heart out.
One of the soldiers who had been hiding to the side saw that the fighting had stopped and hurriedly stepped forward, kneeling shamelessly before the two female officials and Fu Yao, stammering, "My lords! My lords, spare our lives! We were just following orders, we really didn't slack off!"
Shen Liude's expression changed: "What do you mean? Explain yourself!"
"Yes! Yes! I'll tell you right now, I'll tell you right now!" The soldier's eyebrows furrowed, his face full of bitterness, and he quickly confessed everything. "It was all ordered to be done by our superiors. This was the initial mission given to our guards when we left the city..."
"I'm asking you what you mean by this!"
"It's just... we don't actually need to leave the city to look for people. We just need to leave the mansion every day and pretend. The people above said we can go wherever we want, but we need to find a secluded place with few people and come back in the evening..." The soldier looked at the women's expressions and his voice became even lower, barely audible.
After hearing this, what else didn't they understand?
Shen Liude's fingers, hanging limply at her sides, were trembling uncontrollably. Her mind was blank; she couldn't believe what she was hearing, but it seemed to be the truth.
The surrounding onlookers were whispering among themselves:
"What's going on here? Why did they start fighting? What happened?"
"It seems they're looking for someone... A high-ranking official surnamed Yue has gone missing, and the government is currently sending people to search for him..."
"Surname Yue? Could it be that Yue sir who issued the price adjustment order half a month ago?"
"My God! Could it really be...?"
It's unclear what was being whispered among the crowd, but suddenly the place erupted in a commotion. Some people exclaimed in surprise, others cursed in hushed tones, and there was a cacophony of mixed discussions.
Amidst the bustling crowd, a sharp glint suddenly flashed.
A sharp knife pierced through the crowded throng, heading straight for Shen Liude, who had his back to them!
Fu Yao sensed the danger immediately. She pushed Shen Liude away from her side and swayed slightly, instantly blocking the arm that was thrusting from behind. But she froze the moment she looked up.
It turned out to be a teenager.
He looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, the same age as Fu Yao, who lost her mother in the famine that year.
The boy's hand holding the knife trembled, his body was as withered as a rice stalk in a famine, and all that was left of him were hard bones.
He stared at Fu Yao, his chapped lips moving as he uttered a curse, a sound that was both a cry and a shout: "You corrupt official..."
"My mother...my sister have starved to death...and you still want to requisition grain..."
Seeing that the assassination attempt had failed, he relaxed and calmly plunged the tip of the knife into his own body.
The gleaming silver blade ripped open the abdomen, and blood gushed out.
The emaciated, dark-skinned figure fell heavily to the ground with a loud thud.
Blood gushed from the corner of his mouth. In the blink of an eye, a life was lost before everyone's eyes, without even giving them a moment to catch their breath.
"Requisitioning grain?" Fu Yao didn't understand. Looking at the lifeless corpse, a sudden chill ran through her. "What is he saying?"
"He was going to die anyway!" Someone in the crowd recognized the boy. Whether it was a sigh or a lament, he said loudly, "His family couldn't afford to buy food in the market. These past few days, the landlord forced them to hand over their remaining grain. His parents and sister died yesterday, leaving him all alone. Now, the four of them are reunited in the underworld!"
"Why?" Qiu Yuebai's eyes were blank; she was lost in thought. "Isn't the grain requisition order only for wealthy households? His family are poor tenant farmers; how could they be forced to hand over their grain rations?"
In the crowd, pairs of eyes that were looking at them suddenly became sharp, like sharp knives suddenly stabbing at them.
A woman spoke up in a strange, off-key voice: "How is that possible?"
"They say they're levying grain from wealthy households, but aren't the landlords still mostly poor peasants under their control?"
"The money comes from the sheep's back. Landlords are forced to pay more taxes, so why would they honestly take money out of their own pockets? They just know how to raise the rent and exploit the poor households who depend on the land they own."
"Yes, yesterday the landlord forced Old Wang's family in the east of the city to sign a decree, selling the whole family into slavery so they could pay the landlord's grain tax. If they don't pay the exorbitant rent, no landlord in the city will rent land to them anymore, and they'll still face death next year."
"How could these officials possibly understand the hardships faced by ordinary people?"
Wave after wave crashed down, nearly knocking the two female officials to the ground, rendering them unable to move.
Whether it was the grain requisition order deliberately left to create a loophole, or the guards who went out of the city every day to rescue people but were actually just putting on a show, they all pointed to one person.
Chezilong!
Shen Liude and Qiu Yuebai, accompanied by the princess's personal guards, headed straight for the prefect's residence.
The moment the vermilion gate creaked open, they saw hundreds of bulging burlap sacks piled up in the front yard, the fresh rice peeking out of the sacks dazzlingly white.
What horrified her even more were the tenant farmers kneeling all over the courtyard, their foreheads covered with indentures, the hemp ropes on their wrists digging deep into their flesh, their expressions listless, and their bodies exuding an aura of death.
Several wealthy gentlemen dressed in gold and silver sat in the hall, their bulky bodies crammed into a mahogany chair, their eyes gleaming with shrewdness.
"Prefect Che, do you have guests?" An old man noticed Shen Liude and Qiu Yuebai and spoke first. "We've almost finished our business, so we'll take our leave now—"
Qiu Yuebai strode forward, her face full of indignation, and said in a stern voice, "Who gave you permission to leave?!"
"For every bushel of grain requisitioned by the officials, you will increase the rent by 10%; for every bushel of disaster relief rice, you will increase the interest by 5 coins! It seems that the grain requisition order is collecting grain from the granaries, but you gentlemen are actually taking the lives of the poor!"
A group of gentlemen dressed in brocade robes with gold thread remained motionless, some even sneering and spitting.
"Your Excellency is wise!" Master Zhou held his teacup, squinted at Shen Liude, and sighed repeatedly. "This year's floods have made it impossible for me to pay the full amount of grain tax, which is why I had to raise the rent! These tenants all voluntarily sold themselves into slavery. How could they not understand the reasons behind it? Continuing to be tenants would only mean certain death, so they might as well become my servants and at least survive, wouldn't they?"
Qiu Yuebai sneered, "Save your life? You make it sound so nice to force innocent people into slavery, you have a big face! Are you unable to deliver the full amount of grain, or do you simply not want to provide disaster relief grain? Do you dare to open up all the granaries and rice shops under your name for people to search?"
Mr. Zhou was rendered speechless by her few words, and he immediately lost face.
Che Zilong sat at the head of the table with his hands clasped in his sleeves, letting the person in front of him act as if performing a play, yet he remained as steady as Mount Tai.
The unhurried glances swept over him, revealing both the satisfaction of having the victory in hand and an unmistakable contempt.
This was Qinghuai territory, and he was the governor of a city. He was certain they wouldn't dare do anything to him, nor could they do anything to him.
Shen Liude looked at him from afar, feeling a chill run down his spine.
They had rushed over to question Che Zilong about the whole story, but now she realized there was no need to ask anymore.
Che Zilong did this because he must already know that the matter of selecting the lord of Qinghuai City was completely fabricated.
Because of Yue Yining's sudden departure, they were thrown into disarray, and as if things weren't going to go wrong, they suffered this misfortune.
It's easy to guess that Che Zilong's visit three days ago was mostly out of kindness. There must have been something wrong with the grain, but they hadn't sent anyone to check it all. Now the relief tents in the south of the city have been using the rice Che Zilong sent to cook porridge for three days, so he must have achieved his goal.
But they can't care about that now.
As the situation grew increasingly critical and the moment of turning against him loomed, Shen Liude became even more clear-headed and fearless.
She quietly watched Che Zilong sitting high in the hall, thinking about how she could turn the tide.
If it were Yue Yining, what would she do?
Inside the courtyard, spring water flows over the artificial hill and rocks. Listening to the continuous dripping sound, Shen Liude felt as if he had returned to that rainy night.
The three of them sat around the table with its upturned corners, listening to Yue Yining finish explaining her plans, her arrangements, and her goals.
Because it was so complicated and detailed, Shen Liude couldn't help but say halfway through, "Lord Yue, you don't need to go into so much detail. You will definitely need to personally oversee many matters. Yuebai and I will only be able to assist you from the sidelines."
Qiu Yuebai also said, "Yes, we are not as knowledgeable as you. These things about price adjustments and currency are too difficult to understand."
"If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me again." Yue Yining smiled and said, "I'm explaining in such detail just in case."
"in case?"
"...Actually, I consulted a fortune teller a couple of days ago, and the divination said that I might end up in prison." Yue Yining sighed. "But I don't know exactly what this imprisonment refers to or what it means. I've consulted fortune tellers before, and every single one of them has come true. This time, I really hope that the divination was wrong."
"Therefore, I must explain all of this to you in detail, in every possible way. That way, even if I am no longer here, you will be able to follow my instructions to arrange and complete the plan and receive the disaster relief supplies."
Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude both knew how skilled she was at divination, and a look of worry instantly crossed their faces.
Qiu Yuebai hurriedly said, "But if something happens to you, how could we not look for you and rescue you? Are you telling us to ignore you and continue with the plan? That's impossible!"
“No, you must do it.” Yue Yining said firmly, her eyes shining with focus. “Don’t forget, the purpose of our trip is disaster relief. If we cannot successfully complete the disaster relief mission, even if we all return alive, this trip will have been in vain. Therefore, handling disaster relief-related matters is always the top priority.”
"Don't worry, no matter what kind of desperate situation I face, I'm confident I can save myself. I'm a very tenacious person, and no one values their life as much as I do. I will try my best to survive no matter what," Yue Yining said with a smile. "The divination also said that even if I am imprisoned, I will eventually escape unharmed."
"I believe in you. I'm sure you can complete the plan on your own judgment and ability even when I'm out of contact. You also have to believe in me. Even if we encounter danger, I'm sure I can protect myself with my intelligence and escape alive in the end."
She said they had to trust her.
Shen Liude took a deep breath, and the question about Yue Yining that he was about to blurt out was instantly stopped.
Her mind had never been clearer than it was now.
The officials in charge of collecting grain in Qinghuai had a double-ended scale. One end held golden millet, and the other end held white human bones.
They all knew that the weight on the scale was a human life, but none of them cared. In these famine years, people were dying all the time. Who would be the first to sharpen the knife and become the freshest thing on the chopping block? Who would be the hand that made the snowball roll? Who would be the straw that broke the camel's back? It didn't matter at all.
It is enough to know that ordinary people live and die, come and go, while the dynasty remains stable and impregnable. It is not about wrongful deaths, oppression, or treating people like dirt; it is about fate. Everyone has their own fate, and it has always been so.
The sea of suffering is transformed into a heavenly path, where Vairocana shines with the light of thousands of lamps.
Fortunately, there are still them, to overturn this raging sea of suffering in the human world.
There's no point in arguing with these people. Rather than fighting against their ignorance and delusion, it's better to leave and do what they can do.
Since Che Zilong was certain that they couldn't complete the disaster relief work independently, and since he believed they had to grovel and fawn over him to get the relief supplies, then they would prove him wrong with their actions.
Shen Liude's eyes were icy cold. She exchanged a glance with Che Zilong, and then raised her voice to say something that surprised everyone present: "Yuebai, let's go."
Che Zilong raised an eyebrow slightly, put down his purple clay teacup, and smiled kindly: "Why is Lord Shen in such a hurry?"
"Such a hasty arrival and departure makes it seem as if I, an old man, have been unkind in my hospitality. Why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea with me before you go?"
“No need,” Shen Liude said, leaving him with only his dark blue back view. “We also have guests to meet tonight, so it’s not convenient for us to stay any longer.”
Meanwhile, the disaster relief tents in the south of the city had just been taken down. The disaster victims who had drunk the relief porridge leaned against the wall and rested their heads on the muddy ground. Some had already fallen into a deep sleep without making a sound, while others rolled their eyes and struggled to fall to the ground.
A sobbing sound suddenly rang out from the streets and alleys.
She was an old woman, still holding that worn-out porridge bowl, not a single grain of rice missing, standing there blankly.
Seeing that she hadn't drunk her food, the guard in charge of collecting the bowls came over and urged her repeatedly, "Hurry up and drink! We're about to close up shop, don't get in the way, the officials in the shed are in a hurry to go back to their residences for dinner!"
It's unclear what words stung her, but the old woman's withered hands began to tremble.
She chuckled, but it sounded like she was crying, short, gurgling sounds coming from her throat: "It's not good rice...it's not good rice...it's moldy rice...the whole bowl is moldy rice...hahahaha! I only took one sip and I could tell! It's not good rice!!"
The voice choked up again: "Who? Who fed us moldy rice? Who wants us dead?"
"My mother died from eating moldy rice. Do you know that? Have you ever seen her? Her stomach was full of rotten intestines; even wild dogs wouldn't eat her. She was foaming at the mouth before she died..." The old woman cried sadly, then smiled, "I didn't want to die..."
Bingwei's gaze turned strange: "Why are you talking so much? What's with this 'moldy rice or good rice' nonsense? You're being picky even when we're giving you rice to eat?"
"Drink if you want, otherwise don't. Don't stand there in the way—"
The old man, however, acted as if he had gone mad. Suddenly, he loosened his grip, and the bowl of porridge fell to the ground. The earthenware bowl hit a hard stone, breaking slightly, and looked like it was about to shatter. As for the porridge, it had already splashed out in mid-air, falling to the ground like snowflakes, indistinguishable from the mud and swamp.
"People are dying! People are dying!" she cried, laughing wildly as she looked up at the sky. "They're all going to die! They're all going to die!"
"There are no good officials at all! Hahahaha! There aren't any! None!"
Hei was completely enraged by her.
"You audacious scoundrel! This is relief porridge, how dare you trample on government grain!" he roared. "Seize her and beat her!"
A group of soldiers pinned the old woman to the ground and beat her with long sticks. After only a few blows, her skin turned bruised and her bones shattered, leaving her a bloody mess. She stopped crying and screaming, half-dead but as quiet as if she were dead.
Aside from the dull thud of wood striking flesh, the only sound was the gusts of wind whipped up by the soldiers swinging their clubs with great force.
After the beating, the body was dumped in the muddy water, surrounded by other corpses.
The officers and soldiers packed up the shed and left.
The gloomy sky and misty drizzle, accompanied by the unknown howling of dusk, painted the world into a suffocating bluish-gray. In this suffocating bluish-gray, the south gate of the city suddenly opened wide, and a glittering convoy of carriages drove into the city, as if at dawn.
The lead carriage had an embroidered Shu brocade banner tied to its roof, with a large, bright and elegant character on it: "Gold".
The BMW's golden chariot drove over fields strewn with corpses, over desolate lands, over crumbling city dwellings, and arrived at the official residence in the north of the city.
A woman wearing a gold hairpin stepped down from the carriage with light steps, followed by a woman in a lake-blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). The umbrella-like ribs spread out a hibiscus-colored lotus leaf, sheltering the two women from the rain.
They came together to the door.
The maid at the entrance of the official residence cautiously inquired about the visitor's name and purpose of visit.
The woman with the golden hairpin said, "The Jin family of Suyang, Jin Lingxi and Jiang Hairong."
"At the request of Lord Yue Yining, I have come to Qinghuai to offer my assistance."
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Author's note: Finished writing... All night long...
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