Chapter 65: Breaking the Situation and Being a Good Person Also Has Conditions
Song Jin's life in the backyard was not going well. It was getting worse and worse, more and more boring and more and more scared. If the stacked tables and benches were not enough for her to climb over the wall, she would have run to the government office to find Ji Shubai.
Mother Chen invited a doctor to check her legs, told her to rest well, and gave her a prescription for recuperation. She took the medicine and stayed in the backyard all day, unable to go out the door at all.
Looking at the rain in the yard, she was filled with resentment. She had had enough of this kind of life.
The weather finally cleared up that morning, so she went out of the yard and sat by the lotus pond in a daze. Due to the continuous rain in the past few days, the lake water had risen sharply, and the stretched lotus leaves were close to the water surface, almost filling the entire lake.
Just as she was counting the days on her fingers, Ji Shubai's figure appeared at the other end of the corridor bridge. Song Jin couldn't even muster the energy to stand up and salute. She just sat on the stone bench and watched Ji Shubai approach step by step.
She originally thought that Ji Shubai would be angry, but to her surprise, Ji Shubai smiled as he approached, and Song Jin saw the contempt in his smile.
"You can go now."
"Leave?" Song Jin didn't quite understand: "Where to?"
"Go wherever you want to go."
Song Jin was even more confused: "Did Master Ji forget something?"
"I haven't forgotten," Ji Shubai sat down on the side, speaking in a relaxed tone, "You are right, that piece of paper is nothing to be afraid of. Since it is nothing to be afraid of, you can't do anything to me. If you can't do anything to me, why should I keep you in my house?"
"Aren't you afraid of being picked up?"
"Just give it away. No matter who you give it to, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Ji Shubai's eyes were firm, but Song Jin was a little flustered: "What do you mean?"
Ji Shubai chuckled: "Didn't you trick me into writing down the questions for this year's palace examination? I don't know how you knew the questions, but the questions with the date and seal are not enough to pose a threat to me..."
"Sir Shen is your fellow countryman, and you were personally promoted by the Prime Minister. This year's top scorer in the palace examination has caused controversy. If there is another scandal of a question leak, even the Prime Minister will..."
"Don't be afraid!" Ji Shubai finally told her the truth: "There are at least dozens of people in Suzhou who have that exam paper. I copied them myself and signed them with my seal for students to exchange and study with. As for the date, I deliberately wrote it wrong in front of you all, so there are many exam papers in Suzhou with the date marked in early March."
He looked at Song Jin and said word by word: "What you have is just one of them. You can't identify me at all."
Song Jin felt like the sky was falling.
All efforts failed at the last moment.
"You locked me up here..."
"It's just a delay. Just give me a few days and I can complete the layout. Isn't that what you did too?"
"Master Ji, I just want to get rid of my slave status, why are you doing this?"
"Why would I do this?" Ji Shubai suddenly became furious, slammed the table and stood up and said, "You have evil intentions. You forced me to write the questions, threatened the imperial officials, and said you just wanted to escape. Don't you think about how many people will suffer and how many people will be implicated if you are found out? And you are so confident about all these things."
"What else? Do you still expect me to be sad and blame myself?" Song Jin finally couldn't stand it any longer after learning that all his efforts were in vain. He stood up and started to curse Ji Shubai: "I want to ask you, why did you study so hard for so many years? Was it to wear a black hat to bring honor to your family, so that you can stand above others and enjoy your privileges as a Jinshi, or was it to speak up for the people and create a prosperous and peaceful world?"
"Since I came to Suzhou as the Tongzhi, I have worked diligently. Although I dare not say that I have achieved my goal, at least I have no regrets."
"Without a guilty conscience? Your Excellency's words are really nice." Song Jin sneered, "If I remember correctly, Your Excellency is in charge of the grain tax in Suzhou Prefecture. Since the Prime Minister carried out the tax reform and implemented the Single Whip Law, how much has the annual tax paid by the country increased? I would like to ask Your Excellency, where did all this money come from? From the people? From the common people? The people's pockets have been emptied by you, and you still say that you have a clear conscience?"
"Taxes have indeed increased a lot in recent years, but it is the rich landlords who pay more, not the common people."
"Then, sir, please tell me why the rich landlords increase taxes so much? The rich are people, and the people are people too. Why do the rich landlords keep getting more and more land, while the people can only sell their children and daughters and sell themselves into slavery? Why can't a farmer even keep a dozen acres of land, while the rich landlords who don't farm at all can easily own tens of thousands of acres of land?"
Ji Shubai had never been questioned like this in his life. His eyes were red with anger, but he didn't know how to answer Song Jin's question.
"If you don't answer, I will answer for you. It's because you officials protect each other, because you use your privileges to annex land. It's you Confucian scholars who are well-read and always say you want to consider the people of the world, but you have joined forces to squeeze the people step by step, making them homeless and forced to sell themselves into slavery to survive."
"You were born a slave and yet you blame the heavens and the earth, but you don't think about the way you act. Is it because of your status as a slave that I don't help you?"
Song Jin almost jumped up: "Am I the only one complaining? Since I came to this world, I have never seen a woman stronger and more aggressive than my mistress, but so what? After her husband died, she had to look after the tribe members just because she had no children. Don't you think she doesn't complain?"
"As a man, whether you are taking the imperial examination or doing business, it is better than us women. I am doing business for my mistress and I have to pretend to be a man. I am very careful every day, afraid of being discovered. Is it because I don't want to be a woman?"
"Even a girl like Miss Pei, who has grown up to this age, has probably never stepped on the cobblestones of this street many times."
"So you blame yourself for being a woman..."
Ji Shubai came to a conclusion, but Song Jin disagreed: "You are wrong, sir. I don't blame myself for being born a woman, nor do I blame myself for being born a slave. I blame the fact that women are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. I blame why slavery is allowed. I blame why I can use silver to get rid of my status, but I am made difficult by others."
"Since Emperor Hongwu ascended the throne, the population has been relocated, land has been opened up, and the people have been able to live and work in peace and contentment, at least they no longer have to suffer from war and chaos. But what about now? The princes are given titles and are often rewarded with tens of thousands of acres of land. I would like to ask you, sir, if you were to go from a farmer who owns your own land to a tenant farmer who rents royal land overnight, how would you feel?"
Song Jin questioned and complained for a long time, but Ji Shubai remained silent, only his pale lips were trembling.
"Sir, have you ever thought about whether you are an honest official who protects the people or a slave who consolidates the imperial power?"
"Tax silver is not just for the enjoyment of the imperial family," Ji Shubai's voice was slow and trembling, and he seemed to not believe what he said, but he had no intention of stopping: "Back then, there were constant wars with Japanese pirates along the coast, and now the Jianzhou Jurchens are ready to make a move, and the barbarians outside the Great Wall are always coveting it. Do you think that tax silver is just for enjoyment?"
"I don't know all this, but I do know one thing. Once a person gains enough power, the first thing he thinks of is to consolidate his power, rather than to seek benefits for others. This is the curse of power, and there has been no exception from ancient times to the present. In my Ming Dynasty, it took only a hundred years from everyone having land to tens of thousands of farmers losing their land. How can you say that there is no merit in this? Why hasn't Lord Hai been reused until now? Isn't it because he refuses to go along with the crowd, so that even the Prime Minister can't tolerate him. Lord Ji is also a Jinshi, I wonder what he feels when he sees that this year's top scholar becomes the runner-up. After decades of hard study, he is still not as good as the father of a Prime Minister. I guess, Lord Ji, you are also afraid, right? Afraid of losing your official hat, afraid that your clansmen will no longer be proud of you, afraid of bringing shame to your ancestors, afraid of being spurned and excluded, afraid that decades of hard work will go to waste..."
“That’s enough!”
Song Jin's words were like a bolt of lightning that struck Ji Shubai's heart. He knew those secret methods better than Song Jin. If he had never seen the suffering of the farmers and tenants, he could still turn a blind eye, but for Xiao Liangyou's experience, he was heartbroken.
After studying hard for decades, one day when you finally get the chance to be proud, you have to give up your position to others and fall from the top spot to the second place. Who can be willing to accept this?
"Whether you are an official or a slave, a man or a woman, who doesn't have grievances? Who doesn't have difficulties? But how many people are as unscrupulous as you?" He was still defending them.
"My lord, do you want me to be a good person? Little do I know that being a good person is conditional. If I had money, I would open porridge factories and give out porridge everywhere, and those beggars would definitely regard me as a living bodhisattva. If I were the owner of a large mansion, I would definitely treat my slaves well, make sure they were well fed and clothed, and make them grateful to me. If I were an official, I would also want to be a judge for the people. But can I? I have no money and I am a woman. I cannot take the imperial examination to become an official. I have to rely on others' charity to save the money to get rid of my official status. How can I be a bodhisattva for others? As a woman and a slave, I can only rely on others to survive in this world. My lord didn't kill me that day, so I think you are a good person, but I have never thought of killing anyone from beginning to end. Will my lord think I am a good person?"
"Your Excellency, as a co-governor, could have been my bodhisattva and helped me escape from the officialdom, but what happened? You just left me alone, forcing me to resort to any means necessary. If your Excellency had listened to the advice of Mr. Chai that day, why would I have resorted to such a desperate measure and caused people's hatred for no reason?"
Ji Shubai sat down on the stone bench dejectedly, not knowing how to answer Song Jin's question.
Song Jin knows very well that it is difficult to empathize with the world. She came from a world where 996 is a blessing to a world where slavery is rampant. If everyone in the world had sympathy, these phenomena would not exist.
The reality is that no matter whether it is the modern 21st century or the feudal Ming Dynasty in the 16th century, no one has that much sympathy, especially the vested interests. Qingshan beside Ji Shubai is also a slave.
After a while, Ji Shubai stood up from the stone bench, without saying a word, and just walked out woodenly.
"Master Ji..."
Song Jin vented his anger, and now looking at Ji Shubai's expression, he lowered his voice unconsciously.
It would be easy for Ji Shubai to let her go, and it would be even easier to deal with her. However, although Ji Shubai was shaken, he didn't say a word, and Song Jin couldn't make up his mind.
"You stay here first. I have to go back to the government office to handle official business."
"Master Ji..."
Ji Shubai said nothing more and just walked forward dejectedly.
Song Jin was anxious. After all, Ji Shubai had broken the situation after locking her up for a few days. Now she had no advantage at all and it was even possible that she had seriously offended him.
"Master Ji..."
Ji Shubai still didn't look back. Song Jin began to panic, his nose felt sore, and tears welled up in his eyes.
She can't wait any longer.
Song Jin glanced around. Outside the pavilion was a lotus pond. The surging water made the pond look like a huge abyss. Song Jin came up with a plan.
"Master Ji, you killed me!"
Ji Shubai was walking out when he heard a strange voice behind him. When he was about to turn around, he heard a splash and high splashes of water on the calm lake. A slender arm waved on the water a few times and gradually sank to the bottom of the water.
Song Jin jumped into the lake.
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