When they arrived at the boy's house, they saw an old man and a woman of unknown age in the yard.
The woman's hair was dry, her face was parched like tree bark, and she wore a linen garment whose color was no longer discernible.
The two were sitting in the yard, sifting beans with a winnowing basket.
And those beans could be counted on one hand.
The family relies on this meager food supply; no wonder the children are all so thin.
The two women stared blankly as Su Wan and Wei Jingzhuo entered. It was the man who spoke first, “Mother, sister, this little brother just gave me a lot of candy, look.”
He ran over and gave the remaining two to the two people respectively.
The old man stood up. "Ah Hu, why are you begging for other people's things again? Didn't I tell you that you're not allowed to beg for food outside anymore?"
It turns out the child's name is Ah Hu.
Ah Hu said with a grin, "Grandma, I won't come back next time. You should try the little brother's candy. It's so delicious, even better than the ones sold in town."
The old man took it and looked at Su Wan, "I wonder what brings you two here?"
Before Su Wan could speak, Ah Hu said, "Mother, little brother is thirsty and wants to drink water."
"My elder brother and I were passing through this place today, and we just ran out of water. We would like to borrow your water, sir." Su Wan bowed to the two of them.
The old man was a little reserved, so he quickly waved his hand and then instructed Ah Hu, "Ah Hu, you take the two young men with you."
"Hey little brother, come with me," he called out to Su Wan.
Su Wan nodded to Wei Jingzhuo, then followed him, while Wei Jingzhuo's gaze never left her.
Su Wan came out very quickly.
She watched the old man sifting beans and went over to ask, "Grandpa, is this all the food you have at home?"
She glanced into the kitchen just now and didn't see any edible food.
The old man picked up the beans as he replied, "Yes, that's right."
The old man's face showed bitterness when the topic of food came up.
“In the past, when the Western Rong people came to rob this place, we could harvest the grain early and hide some of it so we wouldn’t go hungry. But now the new magistrate is demanding that each household pay double the amount of grain, so now we can only pick some beans in the fields to eat.”
Su Wan was unfamiliar with the ancient tax system, but she knew that such heavy taxes undoubtedly caused immense suffering to the people.
Wei Jingzhuo, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked, "Does the old man know that the imperial court has no intention of increasing taxes on the people?"
The old man sighed after hearing this, "The emperor is far away in this place, how can the imperial court manage this area? Nowadays, it's all up to the county magistrate. Now, every household is taxed. If they can't pay, the men are taken away to do corvée labor, and the women are sold to slave traders. Some unlucky women are even sold to brothels."
She glanced at her daughter; her face was dry and cracked, and anyone could tell that she was only fourteen years old.
She escaped death because of her unattractive appearance.
Upon hearing this, Su Wan angrily exclaimed, "What kind of officials are these? They're completely different from bandits! Not only do they rob grain, they also rob people. This magistrate must have been a brothel madam in his past life!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Jingzhuo's face immediately turned as cold as an iceberg, and his dark eyes became as deep and cold as a moonlit pool.
When Prefect Su was still alive, the land of Youzhou was on the right track, but unexpectedly, it has changed beyond recognition in just a few short years.
If things continue like this, in just a few years, even without the formidable enemy of the Western Rong, the Great Jin Dynasty will be overthrown, and the Great Jin will be in grave danger.
The person in charge of this area is Cao Xing, the magistrate of Linchuan County.
Cao Xing previously served as the Vice Minister of Revenue in the capital, but was impeached by his own people for embezzlement and demoted to this place.
Unexpectedly, after escaping this calamity, this person became even more reckless in his actions.
Cao Xing cannot be allowed to live!
After leaving some rice and flour for Ah Hu's family, Su Wan left with Wei Jingzhuo.
After the two mounted their horses, they remained silent for a long time.
Along the way, she witnessed the hardships of life for many poor families.
Su Wan, who was riding a horse with Wei Jingzhuo, turned around and asked him, "Ah Jin, what do you think about if we plant potatoes and give some to these people next year so they can plant them too? Wouldn't that make their lives a little better?"
At least you won't have to go hungry for a long time.
Although she didn't understand agriculture, she knew how important crops were to the people and the court in ancient agricultural societies.
Wei Jingzhuo also knew the importance of crops.
He looked at Su Wan and saw that her clear eyes were shining brightly, as if she didn't think it was a big deal to share those things.
A slight tremor ran through him, and he tightened his grip on her waist, his voice low and hoarse, "Ah Wan, thank you."
“Don’t be shy,” she said with a smile. “Anyway, I can’t finish all that food by myself.”
The two quickened their pace and, after a day's journey, arrived at the General's Mansion.
Wei Jingzhuo's face had been modified by her, and his original appearance was no longer recognizable.
He was dressed in the same coarse linen clothes as her, and if it weren't for his tall stature that made him hard to ignore, it would be difficult to associate him with the former crown prince.
As expected, when the two appeared at the general's mansion, many spies observed them briefly before leaving.
Zhao Xian looked at Wei Jingzhuo with excitement. He sat on the bed and reached out to pull Wei Jingzhuo's hand, "Good, good! Grandfather knew you would be alright."
Ever since Wei Jingzhuo got into trouble, Zhao Xian has been sending people to look for him, but unfortunately, with the emperor watching, they have never had the chance to take him away.
Wei Jingzhuo stood up, then knelt down and kowtowed three times to Zhao Xian, saying, "It's Jinzhi's fault for making my maternal grandfather worry."
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