Zhu Yu – Chapter 45

Fan Changyu didn’t immediately grasp the key point and asked, “Why do you say that?”

Yu Qianqian explained to her: “If the county magistrate’s superiors wanted to embezzle, he wouldn’t need to collude with bandits to block the road to Jizhou Prefecture. Even if the matter escalated, his superiors could easily suppress it.”

“As for using the old man’s death to pressure me, it’s simply because they’ve targeted Yixiang Tower’s wealth. Among the wealthy merchants in this town, our roots are the shallowest, making us easy to manipulate. The favors I usually send to those officials might help with ordinary troubles, but faced with something like this, they naturally wouldn’t dare to get involved. If Yixiang Tower falls, the county magistrate can then extort money from other wealthy merchants one by one. If those merchants don’t want to end up like me – losing everything and facing imprisonment – they’ll have no choice but to pay up obediently.”

Fan Changyu suddenly understood the stakes involved and slapped the table, saying, “Then we need to quickly unite with the other wealthy merchants in Qingping County!”

But Yu Qianqian shook her head: “We still need to consider this carefully. I’m just a merchant; I have no idea how much grain each household is supposed to contribute according to the requisition order from the prefecture. If you hadn’t mentioned that the county magistrate’s grain demand seems excessive, I wouldn’t have thought so deeply about it. After all, if he cheats on me, a single merchant, the imperial court might not investigate too closely. But if he oppresses all the common people of Qingping County without anyone protecting him from above, once exposed, he’ll surely face disaster. The county magistrate must understand this logic. After much thought, the only possibility I can think of is that he intends to defect to the rebel king.”

She paused here and looked at Fan Changyu: “Only those in official positions would know how much grain the military needs to requisition. Little sister Changyu, how did you know the county magistrate was demanding excess military grain?”

After Fan Changyu repeated the explanation Xie Zheng had given, she added, “The county magistrate blocking the road to Jizhou Prefecture must be because he has a guilty conscience!”

Yu Qianqian pondered briefly and said, “Adding the point about blocking the prefecture road, we can conclude that the county magistrate has rebellious intentions. But as long as he doesn’t admit it and just says bandits are blocking the road, we have no evidence to accuse him of colluding with the bandits. We can’t convince the people. The only thing that could incriminate the county magistrate is the grain requisition order. Simply saying this year’s grain demand is higher than before isn’t enough evidence to accuse the county magistrate. After all, Huizhou just suffered a defeat, and the grain supply routes were blocked. No one knows what those officials are thinking.”

When Fan Changyu had heard Xie Zheng’s analysis earlier, she thought his words made sense. Now, hearing Yu Qianqian’s perspective, she suddenly felt that Yu Qianqian’s points were also valid.

She carefully considered the words of both Xie Zheng and Yu Qianqian, and a strange feeling arose in her heart.

Yu Qianqian said only officials would know how much grain the military needed, but when Yan Zheng spoke earlier, he seemed to know clearly how much grain the officials should be requisitioning.

Secondly, Yu Qianqian worried that Jizhou Prefecture officials might not care about the common people’s lives for the sake of war, while Yan Zheng was very confident that Jizhou Prefecture wouldn’t push the people to such extremes.

Was it because Yu Qianqian, with her years of business experience, considered things more thoroughly, while Yan Zheng, with less experience, had higher expectations of the officials?

Considering the current facts, what Yan Zheng said seemed to be correct – the amount of grain Jizhou Prefecture required wasn’t as much as the county magistrate was collecting.

She frowned as she pondered these thoughts, her brows almost furrowing together.

Yu Qianqian noticed and thought she was worried about accusing the county magistrate. She comforted her, “Don’t worry on my behalf, little sister Changyu. I’ll slowly figure out a way to handle Yixiang Tower’s situation.”

Given how the county magistrate was using the death of the old man who had a seizure to slander Yixiang Tower, it was clear he wanted to put Yu Qianqian in jail.

Fan Changyu pressed her lips together and said, “That Scribe He is the county magistrate’s lackey, and he’s the one who hired people to slander you. I think Scribe He probably knows how much military grain Jizhou Prefecture is demanding. Why don’t we start with Scribe He?”

Yu Qianqian asked, puzzled, “How?”

Fan Changyu said, “Knock him unconscious with a stick, put him in a sack, drag him back to the tower, and interrogate him. What do you think?”

Yu Qianqian looked at the honest and pretty young woman before her, finding it hard to believe these words had come from her mouth.

Remembering that she had just used such methods to help her deal with some ruffians, the astonishment in her heart lessened a bit.

After careful consideration, she nodded and said, “Fine, let’s treat this dead horse as if it were alive.”

She looked at Fan Changyu: “But you shouldn’t get involved in this. I’ll hire someone to do it. The county magistrate is mainly extorting money from Qingping County’s wealthy merchants right now. If this is exposed and traced back to you, it could implicate your husband and your sister.”

Fan Changyu had a rebuttal on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it back because of Yu Qianqian’s latter words.

She indeed feared nothing for herself, but once Chang Ning was involved, she didn’t dare act recklessly.

If something happened to her, Chang Ning would be left alone in this world.

And there was Yan Zheng. He was about to leave, and she couldn’t let him get tangled up in such a lawsuit because of her.

In the end, Fan Changyu could only say, “Then, proprietress, is there anything else I can help with?”

Yu Qianqian smiled at her: “You’ve already helped so much by offering advice. From now on, don’t keep calling me ‘proprietress.’ It sounds so distant. Although I’m six or seven years older than you, don’t make me sound old. Just call me Qianqian.”

Fan Changyu could feel that Yu Qianqian was treating her more intimately than before. She didn’t dwell on the address change and immediately said, “Qianqian.”

Yu Qianqian smiled, her eyes crinkling, and continued, “I heard you brought a cart of braised meat. My restaurant can’t sell it today, and it would be a shame for you to take it back and let it spoil if you can’t sell it all. How about this: send it to the Drunken Carp Restaurant. I have a good relationship with the owner there, and they happen to have a banquet today. Your braised meat would be perfect for them.”

As she spoke, she called over a waiter from the restaurant and asked him to accompany Fan Changyu to the Drunken Carp Restaurant. She then settled the payment for the braised meat with Fan Changyu: “I’ll pay you for the meat on behalf of the Drunken Carp Restaurant owner first, and I’ll collect it from him later.”

Fan Changyu refused: “You should focus on solving the restaurant’s issues first. You can give me the money after the Drunken Carp Restaurant owner pays you.”

Yu Qianqian put the money pouch in her hand: “Take it. If Yixiang Tower still can’t be saved, I might need to come to your place with Bao’er for a couple of days of food and lodging. I can’t owe you money first.”

Given what she said, Fan Changyu had no choice but to accept.

After delivering the braised meat to the Drunken Carp Restaurant, Fan Changyu asked the old man driving the cart to take Yixiang Tower’s waiter back to the restaurant. After much consideration, she still decided to make a trip to Constable Wang’s house.

It wasn’t to ask Constable Wang to help Yu Qianqian. Fan Changyu knew Constable Wang was upright. If the county magistrate made Constable Wang and his subordinates do something unconscionable, and Constable Wang didn’t know about the magistrate’s rebellious intentions, he might unwittingly become a tool for the magistrate. He would likely spend the rest of his life in guilt if that happened.

Worse still, if he were labeled a rebel, it would be even more disastrous.

Fan Changyu knocked on Constable Wang’s door. The same old woman opened it, but unlike before, she didn’t seem pleased to see Fan Changyu. With a worried expression, she said, “Oh, it’s Madam Fan.”

Fan Changyu asked, “Is Constable Wang home?”

The old woman said, “He is.”

She then led her into the house. Constable Wang and his wife were both in the main room. Fan Changyu wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt Constable Wang seemed dejected, lacking his previous martial spirit.

Mrs. Wang, however, smiled and invited her to sit: “Changyu, you’re here. Have you encountered any difficulties?”

Fan Changyu shook her head and said, “No, I came to ask Uncle Wang about some matters at the county office.”

Mrs. Wang’s face immediately showed some difficulty: “Your Uncle Wang… I’m afraid he can’t help you much. He’s no longer working at the county office.”

Fan Changyu exclaimed in surprise: “When did this happen?”

Mrs. Wang sighed and said, “On the second day of the New Year, when your uncle went to work at the county office, he was told he didn’t need to come anymore. They said he hadn’t handled the treasure map murder case effectively. All the young men working under your uncle were also replaced. This county magistrate, usually so quiet, made such a move just before his transfer.”

Fan Changyu’s eyelids twitched as she heard this. It was clear that the county magistrate knew Constable Wang’s character and, fearing he might interfere, had dismissed him in advance.

She asked, “Uncle Wang, do you know where the yamen runners currently employed by the county office are from?”

Constable Wang shook his head and said, “I didn’t inquire, but I heard they’re all specially recruited men with good martial arts skills.”

Fan Changyu pressed her lips together and said, “Those people might be mountain bandits.”

This statement shocked both Constable Wang and his wife.

Mrs. Wang was the first to react, laughing and saying, “How can this child say such nonsense?”

Fan Changyu’s expression was serious: “Auntie, I’m not talking nonsense. The county magistrate has colluded with bandits to block the road to the prefecture. He’s using military grain requisition as an excuse to exploit the people, and now he’s targeting all the wealthy merchants in Qingping County. He intends to take this money and defect to the rebel king.”

After she finished speaking, the entire room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Constable Wang, still in great shock, could only mutter, “How… how is this possible?”

Fan Changyu then explained Yu Qianqian’s situation, “He’s not just forcing the proprietress of Yixiang Tower to pay money; he wants all of Yixiang Tower’s wealth. He has also blocked the road to the prefecture, cutting off the route from the county to Jizhou Prefecture.”

Constable Wang had started to believe it, but the news was too shocking. He was still trying to convince himself: “Blocking the prefecture road might just be to prevent that Yu proprietress from going to Jizhou Prefecture to file a complaint against him?”

Seeing this, Fan Changyu deeply felt that Yu Qianqian’s concerns were not unfounded. Without concrete evidence, relying only on circumstantial clues to make guesses, most people wouldn’t dare to take sides even if they harbored doubts unless they saw irrefutable proof.

She remembered what Yu Qianqian said about the grain requisition order and said, “Uncle Wang, have you seen the grain requisition order sent to Qingping County from Jizhou Prefecture? If the amount of military grain the county magistrate is collecting doesn’t match what’s on the requisition order, that would be solid evidence.”

Constable Wang shook his head and said, “How could I have seen such a thing? The county magistrate and Scribe He review it, then directly instruct the subordinates to collect the grain. However, all documents are kept in the county office’s archives. I still have some connection with the official in charge of documents; he should be able to see the grain requisition order since he manages the documents.”

Fan Changyu’s heart began to race upon hearing this, and her palms unconsciously became sweaty: “Can we go find that Document Official?”

Constable Wang, with years of case-solving experience, remained calm and said, “We can’t alert them. I was just dismissed, and if I immediately go to Official Liu’s house, the county magistrate, if he truly has rebellious intentions, will likely have someone report to him the moment I step into Liu’s house.”

Mrs. Wang suddenly said, “We haven’t paid a New Year’s visit to the Liu family yet. Isn’t that a good reason? It’s almost noon. Old man, you stay at home. I’ll take Changyu with some New Year’s gifts to the Liu family. That way, the county magistrate’s side won’t suspect anything.”

Constable Wang nodded: “This plan could work.”

Mrs. Wang selected a few New Year’s gifts and took Fan Changyu to Official Liu’s house.

After hearing their explanation, Official Liu was also greatly shocked. He then said, “Jizhou Prefecture did indeed send a document for military grain requisition, but I haven’t seen that document. The requisition order has been kept by the county magistrate the whole time.”

The fact that the county magistrate had been holding onto the document and refused to hand it over to Official Liu for filing undoubtedly further confirmed the magistrate’s rebellious intentions.

Fan Changyu and Mrs. Wang left the Liu household, both looking deeply troubled as they walked back.

Without the grain requisition document, all hope now rested on Scribe He.

Mrs. Wang said sadly, “That damned county magistrate, taking money and grain to defect to the rebel king. How will those farmers whose seeds have all been taken away survive?”

Fan Changyu glanced at the sun, wondering if Yu Qianqian’s people had managed to capture Scribe He yet.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, another idea suddenly popped up.

She looked at Mrs. Wang and said, “Auntie, why don’t we just kidnap the county magistrate directly?”

Mrs. Wang, the redness in her eyes not yet faded, looked at the obedient and pretty young woman before her. She opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a word for a long time.