Shao Qing burst into hearty laughter, returning to his sprightly and genial teenage demeanor.
Song Jiyun breathed a sigh of relief.
Dai Sishi hurried over, his expression awkward as he said, "Owner, the Inspection Division people want fifty taels of silver, claiming it’s for the boat trackers’ wages."
If it really were the boat trackers’ wages, why weren’t the trackers themselves asking for the money instead of someone from the Inspection Division?
This was clearly extortion.
Such deeds were commonly done by Inspection Divisions everywhere, and this was still one of the better cases—they at least had a pretext. Some didn’t even bother with a pretense, demanding money outright and rudely.
Song Jiyun had been psychologically prepared for this.
To the merchants, this was considered a normal loss.
She instructed Zhou Zheng to give the money to Dai Sishi.
Then she observed Shao Qing’s expression.
Shao Qing seemed unaware of anything inappropriate, chatting and laughing with several boatmen, even preparing to go night fishing with them.
Song Jiyun thought about his reactions to these events during their journey and concluded that he was not too familiar with these little tricks.
Following Yuan Yunzhong, yet unaware of these mundane affairs...
Song Jiyun wandered in thought.
Little did they know that after yielding their docking spot, the squint-eyed man from the Inspection Division had someone bring over an Auspicious Ship that was just like theirs.
The steward-like figure on the Auspicious Ship was on quite familiar terms with Squint Eye, arm in arm with him.
It was unclear whether he had paid Squint Eye off or had some connection with the Inspection Division.
Song Jiyun glanced over and then promptly dismissed it from her mind.
She repeatedly imparted instructions to Dai Sishi to make proper arrangements for the night patrols and watches.
She wasn’t afraid of thieves sneaking onto the ship; what she feared was the Inspection Division officials turning thieves. If the government and bandits were colluding, playing a game of thief shouting ’catch the thief,’ then she wouldn’t be able to safeguard the porcelain on the ship.
Dai Sishi obviously understood the gravity of the situation and discussed the arrangements for the night patrols and watch with Song Jiyun.
A curse came from the bow of the ship.
Song Jiyun and Dai Sishi looked up in that direction.
They saw Shao Qing, fuming with anger, throw his fishing rod onto the deck of the grain transport ship with a "snap," pointing at the Auspicious Ship that had taken their original position and loudly demanding, "What’s going on here?"
Song Jiyun quickened her pace alongside Dai Sishi as they walked over.
The steward of the Auspicious Ship that had taken their spot, upon hearing Shao Qing’s uproar, didn’t try to calm the situation but, quite the opposite, scoffed at Shao Qing with a disdainful smile. He then turned his head enthusiastically towards Squint Eye and the others, loudly saying, "Many thanks to the officials. It’s on me at Drunken Immortal Tower, no return until we’re plastered."
Squint Eye and the other people from the Inspection Division laughed boastfully, with Squint Eye even mocking, "Some people just don’t know what’s good for them!"
Shao Qing, so infuriated he leaned against the ship’s railing, was about to jump down.
Song Jiyun firmly held onto him, saying, "We have valuable things on our ship, it’s better to stay here."
The ships of similar size all occupied comparatively good positions. Because they were of similar size, their hulls were close enough that jumping from hull to hull was possible. However, their current position was mixed with both large and small ships. It was feasible to go from a large ship to a smaller one, but not so easy for someone from a small ship to get onto a large one.
This was the main reason Song Jiyun was willing to give up their original mooring spot.
Ever since Shao Qing learned that a pair of her newly produced Blue and White Plum Vases, each one foot tall, could sell for two thousand taels of silver, he no longer saw the ship’s cargo as mere porcelain but as a ship full of gold.
Hearing Song Jiyun say this, he immediately calmed down and lowered his aggressive stance.
Squint Eye glanced at them and strode off with the Steward of the Auspicious Ship.
Unexpectedly, the next morning when they got up, ship after ship from the Canal Transport left the dock, and the Inspection Division officials started inspecting their travel permits and goods as per normal procedures. However, Squint Eye suddenly brought a group of people over and stopped them from leaving, claiming that they had discovered fleeing pirates and that all passing ships must undergo another inspection of their travel permits and goods.
Song Jiyun looked at the other ships nearby.
Everyone had to undergo another inspection.
Song Jiyun frowned.
She wasn’t afraid of them inspecting again, but these people were very rough. The previous time they had inspected the goods on her ship, they almost broke one of their life-sized porcelain vases.
Besides, Squint Eye looked like he was up to no good.
She whispered to Zhou Zheng, "Go make a trip to the Inspection Division, see if you can bribe them to replace the inspector for our ship."
Zhou Zheng agreed with Song Jiyun’s method, and he took a pocketful of money to the Inspection Division.
Soon, someone else was sent from there to inspect their ship.
But Squint Eye pulled that person aside to whisper for a while, and after some hesitation, the new inspector eventually sided with Squint Eye, leading him to their cargo hold.
When Squint Eye saw their porcelain, his eyes turned red with greed. He pulled the new inspector aside for another round of whispers. When they returned to the deck, the tone of the entire group had changed, "The cargo is overweight, a triple fine."
As per Imperial Court laws, goods passing through the Inspection Division were subject to taxes.
Which meant, they had to pay taxes again.
And it would be three times the amount from before.
Song Jiyun’s porcelain had high profits, so she wasn’t afraid of them levying the tax again.
But such blatant bullying was simply infuriating.
Unfortunately, Squint Eye was still looking at them with a sneer, and with an implied insult, he cursed, "Ungrateful wretches!"
Remembering she still had Prince Huai’s name card in hand, Song Jiyun sneered coldly, just as she was considering making a scene by bypassing these troublesome underlings to deal directly with Yama Raja, Shao Qing had already retorted with a curse and, with a kick, sent Squint Eye sprawling on the deck, pointing at him, he said, "Let’s see how you ’lift me up’, you motherfucker!"
The Inspection Division officials could probably never have dreamed that someone would dare to strike them in broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of the public, in an open space. They were stupefied for a moment. But they quickly snapped out of it and with a whoosh, they drew their batons from their waists and charged at Shao Qing.
Song Jiyun, beautiful in both her past and present lives, often encountered all sorts of people while traveling by boat or horse, and to avoid trouble, she would either hide inside the cabin or wear a veil.
Hearing the commotion, she grabbed her veil and placed it on her head as she ran out of the cabin. Seeing that a dozen people were attacking Shao Qing alone, and that Dai Sishi and the Escort Masters she had hired to guard the ship were standing there dumbfounded, she became anxious and shouted, "Are you all dead? Seeing one of your own getting beaten up and not fighting back, who would dare turn their back to you in the future?"
Those were people from the Inspection Division!
The Escort Masters were still hesitating, but Dai Sishi and others who knew Song Jiyun’s mettle didn’t doubt her capabilities for a moment and immediately rushed to help Shao Qing fight against that group from the Inspection Division.
There was trouble!
Seeing this, the other Escort Masters realized that even if they did not participate, they couldn’t stay out of it entirely and simply rolled up their sleeves to join the fray.
The dock was bustling with people coming and going, and the conflict here quickly attracted everyone’s attention. People from the Inspection Division were being beaten — this was a serious matter — and immediately, someone reported it to the Inspection Division.
Before long, men in green official robes, leading a large group of stick-wielding government officials in black uniforms and soled boots, rushed over with an intimidating presence, shouting loudly, "Who is it? Who dares to beat the people from the Inspection Division? He must be tired of living!"
The Inspection Division at Xiaguan Dock in Nanjing was not just any ordinary Inspection Division; while others started from the ninth rank or were official ninth-rank agencies, it was a prestigious seventh rank.
Moreover, though it was under the administration of Yingtian Prefecture, the people working there were from the Imperial Guard under the Nanjing Military Department’s Five Armies Governor’s Palace.
Many distinguished offspring of Nanjing served there to make a living.
The Inspection Division’s people had been beaten, and it was the first time in many years.
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