However, some people recognized Sun Benxian and knew that he was the manager of the horse stables in Tianjin Port. Although he was usually richer than them, they were of good social standing, and naturally felt a sense of superiority in front of people of low social standing.
"Manager Sun, you also care about national affairs?" an old man asked with a smile.
Sun Benxian knew that he was of low social status and could not compare to good citizens. Now that the court had changed the laws and was more lenient towards them, he heard that the court had also set up an official school, which was overseen by Lord Qiu, to teach good citizens under the age of sixteen skills and writing. Otherwise, the complaint box would be useless if no one could write.
Hearing that the Emperor had eaten a grilled fish, he decided that it was better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Although he was now valued by Sun Yun, what would he do if his descendants were all servants and another master like Sun Zhong appeared?
What should be done if a daughter and granddaughter are sold to a brothel after committing a crime?
He cupped his hands in greeting, his expression unchanged, showing no envy, and said politely, "I'm just accompanying you, young master, to take a look." He bowed to Zhao Shu in response to the old man's words.
Taking advantage of the situation, the old man struck up a conversation with Zhao Shu, "May I ask which family you come from, young master?" He had lived for decades and knew all the prominent families in Tianjin.
Zhao Shu smiled and raised his hand in a bow, displaying a refined and gentlemanly demeanor, and replied, "I come from Jiangnan, have traveled to the capital, and am now about to return home."
The old man sized him up a few times, and seeing that Su Xiu and the others didn't seem like easy targets, he wasn't afraid but didn't intend to cause trouble, so he let it go and didn't pursue the issue of Zhao Shu's accent. Instead, he pointed to a few other items on the imperial edict and said, "The court now stipulates that aristocratic families also need to pay land tax and commercial tax, and the amount to be paid depends on the proportion of income. I'm sure you know this, young master."
He spoke with a hint of pride, as if he had finally gotten his revenge. "Yesterday, the Zhou family refused to pay, so the official made them pay the taxes for the past ten years. If they didn't, their property would be confiscated. In the end, the Zhou family did indeed pay the taxes for the past ten years."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shu smiled but remained silent. Huo Baichuan was capable of confiscating a family's property if they didn't pay taxes, but that family must have some kind of leverage over him.
Huo Baichuan must be a reasonable person.
"I have never been interested in family matters, nor in national affairs. However, my father will certainly respond to the court's call and support Lord Huo's reform of the laws." She spoke with great interest to the old man.
Upon hearing this answer, the old man's eyes lit up, and he asked curiously, "Don't you think the court is being somewhat unreasonable, young master?"
"Why do you say that?" Zhao Shu asked again, seeing that he was about to launch into a long and eloquent speech, and since she also wanted to know what was going on.
The old man was quite tall. He glanced around and gestured to Zhao Shu, "There are too many people here, it's noisy. If you don't mind, could we go somewhere else?"
"Okay." Zhao Shu also gestured for them to proceed. Su Xiu and the others cleared a path, pushing through the crowd so that the two could walk out.
Emerging from the crowd, the old man led Zhao Shu to sit on a long wooden bench not far away. He rolled a pipe, took a puff, and said, "The other day, my eldest grandson returned from the capital. He received news that Lord Huo wanted to implement reforms, but Lord Yang disagreed. The two officials immediately started arguing, which even made the Emperor sick."
Wasn't it because Wei Tingsi destroyed the capital's branch offices, and Hu Lin pinned all the unsolved cases since the founding of Dayong on the branch offices, that Emperor Mingde fell ill in a fit of rage?
"Oh? And then?" This was clearly another version, and she was eager to know.
This old man is usually very talkative, and when Zhao Shu asks him a question, he wants to tell her everything he knows.
"Then Lord Yang's health is poor, and his younger generation is not up to par. I heard that Lord Yang's nephew bullied the granddaughter of Lin University student. Alas, these aristocratic children are really outrageous. A few years ago, they said Prince Yong was outrageous every day, but now in my opinion, Prince Yong is not outrageous at all. He is the smartest."
After saying that, he took a puff of his old pipe, slowly exhaled a puff of white smoke, and continued, "We've gone off on a tangent. Where were we?"
Su Xiu and the others exchanged glances, all feeling that it was quite impolite of the old man to speak to the princess.
Zhao Shu didn't seem to care and continued smiling, "Speaking of the Yang family's sons bullying the Lin family's daughter."
"Oh, right, right, right." The old man immediately chimed in, reverting to his old man storytelling manner at the village entrance. "Young master, you mustn't be like that Young Master Yang, who bullies people and doesn't even take the initiative to marry them. And when the Lin family's daughter was bullied, she didn't ask her family for help. Later, she went out to a teahouse and fainted. Fortunately, a royal physician happened to pass by, and upon examination, it turned out she was pregnant. Isn't that absurd? Isn't that absurd? This girl is vicious; I wonder who she's going to harm."
Zhao Shu suppressed her laughter, but finally couldn't help but burst out laughing. "She's probably thinking of finding a husband even better than Young Master Yang. People naturally strive for better things, just like water flowing downhill."
The old man clearly knew that Zhao Shu's words were not meant as a compliment, and he laughed along, "I never expected that the learned Lord Yang and the student Lin could produce such a disappointing descendant. It's truly a misfortune of our ancestors."
“The dragon has nine sons, each different. It’s not surprising that one or two are outwardly beautiful but inwardly rotten.” Zhao Shu had been holding back for a long time, so she stood up, bowed to the old man and said, “The boat will not wait for anyone, so I will take my leave.”
"Young master, please take care. Do not follow the example of that Young Master Yang." He was kind-hearted and waved goodbye, not forgetting to give these repeated instructions.
Sun Benxian glanced at Zhao Shu out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was in a much better mood than when they first met. Even Xiao Guozi had a big smile on his face, and he wondered why she was so happy.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
