The woman in blue froze, glanced at the grain collection point in the distance, and smiled bitterly. “I won’t deceive you, Madam. My husband and I worked this land painstakingly for half a year and produced ten dan. We submitted four dan in taxes, paid three dan in rent, leaving three dan for our family of three to eat for half a year.”

Four dan? Shen Guiyan gasped. Sixi’s family only had two acres of land yet had to pay four dan. Wouldn’t others with seven or eight acres have to submit over ten dan in half a year?

This was simply absurd. The government decree clearly stated agricultural taxes at twenty percent. Did these people not know this?

“Madam, would you be willing to lend me Sixi for a few days?” After thinking for a long while, Shen Guiyan looked at the woman in blue. “This young woman is from Prime Minister Gu’s residence. If you’re worried, you may accompany her to the residence for a few days.”

The woman’s eyes widened in shock and she retreated several steps. Sixi quickly reached out to support her, saying, “Mother, don’t be afraid. The school where Sixi studies was built by this madam. She’s much kinder than those fierce people.”

The woman didn’t recover for quite some time. After all, the Prime Minister was a high official, an important personage that ordinary officials couldn’t even meet. Having someone suddenly appear claiming to be from the Prime Minister’s residence was truly hard to believe. After standing dazed for a while, the woman in blue still went to murmur with her husband for a bit, then had the man follow along to escort Sixi to the residence gates.

“What is Miss bringing this little girl back for?” Baoshan asked curiously. “This servant thinks giving some money and grain would already be kind-hearted enough.”

“Treating symptoms without treating the root—what use is that?” Shen Guiyan held Sixi and pinched her little face. “Since Sixi is so clever, I’ll trust that she can rescue the common people from their suffering.”

Rescue the common people from their suffering? That was too exaggerated. Baoshan clicked her tongue and couldn’t help tugging at Sixi’s twin buns. Just a child—being able to save her own family would already be good enough.

The little girl sat in Shen Guiyan’s arms with a bewildered expression.

Gu Chaobei was practicing martial arts in the back courtyard. Since becoming Military Inspector, he had become considerably stronger. That group of soldier brats were insubordinate—without some ability, he couldn’t suppress them. Wasn’t he forced to start strengthening his body?

He was just practicing when he heard an exaggerated little girl’s voice from the front courtyard: “Wow—so beautiful!”

Sheathing his sword, Gu Chaobei turned to look. Shen Guiyan was leading a dirty little girl toward the main chamber.

“Who’s this?” Gu Chaobei asked.

Sixi turned her head, looked at Gu Chaobei, and froze. She gripped Shen Guiyan’s hand and shook it. “This… this is what Master said about that!”

“What?” Before Shen Guiyan could answer Gu Chaobei, she bent down first to ask Sixi.

Sixi seemed to have momentarily forgotten how to say it. She patted her head for quite a while before having a sudden realization. “What Master said: ‘The gentleman of virtue, cut and filed, chiseled and polished.’ He looks just like this!”

Gu Chaobei raised an eyebrow, feeling very pleased. He came over to look at Sixi and said, “Little girl, you speak so well. Brother will teach you—that’s called a gentleman like jade.”

Sixi looked at him and nodded dumbly. On her mud-stained face, there was actually some hint of shyness.

“No wonder my wife wanted to bring her back—she’s truly adorable.” Gu Chaobei looked up at Shen Guiyan with a curved smile. “It’s just that she’s a bit young. Otherwise, this husband could also take her… Ow!”

Before he could finish his teasing words, someone pinched his waist hard.

Shen Guiyan smiled very warmly, looking at him. “Sixi isn’t here for my husband to tease. I have a matter I’d like to ask my husband’s help with.”

Gu Chaobei cried out in pain, circled around the courtyard once, then returned with a completely serious expression to look at Shen Guiyan. “Whatever my wife needs, just give your orders!”

Shen Guiyan pulled him into the room and told him everything she had seen and heard among the common people recently.

“Behind vermillion gates, wine and meat go to waste, while on the roads lie frozen corpses.” Shen Guiyan said. “In the past, there was National Uncle Wen who mocked disaster victims with carriages and horses. Today there are tax collectors wantonly collecting taxes, leaving the common people unable to fill their stomachs—man-made disasters becoming natural calamities. Didn’t His Majesty decree that all corrupt officials may be ‘beaten’? Why doesn’t my husband try and give them a good ‘beating’?”

Listening, Gu Chaobei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Why is my wife always concerned with such matters?”

Shen Guiyan’s face showed no smile. “As a citizen of our dynasty, why shouldn’t I be concerned with these matters? The law does not stipulate that women cannot think about the realm.”

Her gaze was too resolute. Gu Chaobei sighed—he was getting used to this by now. He lowered his gaze and said, “But right now I’m just a lowly eighth-rank Military Inspector. The Revenue Ministry tax collector is also eighth rank. He’s not beneath me—how can I beat him?”

The decree made it sound easy—corrupt people could be beaten by anyone. But the official world naturally had its rules. If you truly offended someone, you’d be retaliated against later. Wouldn’t it be yourself who suffered in the end?

Shen Guiyan looked at him deeply. “Hasn’t my husband always disregarded the rules? If you want to beat them, who would dare stop you? Even if the other party is higher in rank than you, isn’t Father-in-law still above to support you?”

Those people with high positions and great authority could act willfully and oppress the common people. Why should they, with high positions and great authority, have to follow rules properly and be unable to thoroughly thrash those corrupt officials? If they had the means, they should go beat them—first vent the people’s anger.

Sixi beside them couldn’t quite understand their words, but she knew the madam was asking this good-looking person for help. So she very obediently knelt down and kowtowed to Gu Chaobei. Her eyes were extremely pure. “Please help us, my lord. Sixi doesn’t want to keep going hungry. Sixi has been studying seriously and even helped weed at home, so why is there less and less to eat?”

Gu Chaobei froze. His heart inevitably softened. He was accustomed to scheming at higher levels and hadn’t exerted effort on behalf of these common people. Since Yan’er wanted his help, changing his plans wouldn’t matter.

Originally, he had wanted to expose Scholar Fu’s corruption, but because his foundations were too stable and it wasn’t certain he could be toppled in one move, he had delayed taking action. Since Yan’er was asking him to beat tax collectors, then he’d beat tax collectors.

It was just to give the Emperor a way to save face and curry his favor. Nothing else mattered.

“Alright.” Gu Chaobei nodded.

Both Shen Guiyan and Sixi smiled. Sixi quickly stood up and used what Master had taught her to praise Gu Chaobei, even calling him a banished immortal from heaven. She praised him until Gu Chaobei’s white teeth gleamed with laughter, not the least bit modest as he said, “That’s right, I’m exactly like that.”

Shameless, Shen Guiyan muttered in her heart. But looking at Gu Chaobei’s smiling appearance, she felt Sixi really hadn’t been wrong.

Several days later, Gu Chaobei departed carrying an iron staff he’d found from who knows where. When he returned, it was already dark. Shen Guiyan looked at his extremely exhausted appearance and asked, “How did it go?”

Gu Chaobei waved his hand and gulped down several large mouthfuls of water. “Just wait for a major incident at the residence tomorrow.”

A major incident? Shen Guiyan raised an eyebrow. How major could it be?

As it turned out, Gu Chaobei truly hadn’t exaggerated this time. As soon as dawn broke, the Prime Minister’s residence was surrounded tightly by the Imperial Guards.

“In response to the master,” Steward Gu returned after inquiring and reported trembling to Prime Minister Gu, “the Ministry of Justice sent people to make an arrest. They say a martial artist injured over ten officials of various ranks, then finally fled into the Prime Minister’s residence.”

Prime Minister Gu’s face turned pale. He immediately assembled all the martial artists in the residence. “Who committed this reckless act?”

Xu Zhuangzhou and the other martial artists looked very bewildered, each shaking their heads. The gatekeeper who had been summoned said fearfully, “Yesterday no martial artists left the residence. It was Fourth Young Master who went out carrying a staff…”

Shen Guiyan hadn’t yet risen when she heard a terrible commotion outside. After thinking for a moment, she still went out to see the situation.

Zhuiyun was blocking the entrance to the northern courtyard. Outside were Prime Minister Gu and a group of Imperial Guards.

The Prime Minister was furious, shouting at Zhuiyun, “Even this old master cannot enter?”

Zhuiyun lowered his head with complete seriousness. “My master instructed that while he hasn’t risen, this servant must guard here. Once he rises, then I’ll receive visitors.”

“That rebellious son!” Prime Minister Gu was quite angry. Just as he was about to have the servants force their way in, Shen Guiyan quickly opened the door. “Please wait a moment. Guiyan will immediately attend to my husband so he may rise.”

The other people in the courtyard had also been awakened. Jiang Shi came out wrapped in her clothes and bowed to Prime Minister Gu. Prime Minister Gu said with a stern face, “As a concubine, you should also remind your master to rise early. What kind of behavior is this?”

Jiang Shi was innocently caught by the angry outburst and stood to the side, unable to say a word.

When Gu Chaobei came out with half-opened eyes, he was immediately met with a slap from Prime Minister Gu. “Unfilial son!”

Shen Guiyan jumped in fright and instinctively blocked in front of Gu Chaobei. “Father-in-law, please calm your anger. So early in the morning—what crime has my husband committed?”

Gu Chaobei frowned. His face quickly swelled red. His brows were full of impatience. “The old man always strikes without asking questions first. How boring. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re my father, I would have struck back long ago.”

“You!” Prime Minister Gu was thoroughly enraged by these words. He raised his hand to strike again. Shen Guiyan stepped forward to block him, saying solemnly, “Why doesn’t Father-in-law make things clear first? It’s not too late to strike afterward.”

The Imperial Guard commander from behind stepped forward and bowed. “Inspector Gu yesterday carried a staff and beat officials—twelve in total, ranging from tax collectors to Principal Officials of the Revenue Ministry, all with serious injuries. His Majesty is furious, so he sent people to apprehend Inspector Gu for questioning in the court.”

Shen Guiyan gasped and turned back in shock to look at him. “You beat people?”

Gu Chaobei nodded nonchalantly. “Yes. The imperial decree said corrupt officials could be beaten. You also said I could do it, so I…”

Shen Guiyan’s temple twitched. After a long while, she took a deep breath. “This ‘beat’ is not that ‘beat.’ How could you actually beat people, husband?”

When they said to “beat” corrupt officials, it meant to report them with evidence so the authorities would beat them—not for him to personally carry a staff and beat people himself! This was terrible—he’d caused a major disaster.

Prime Minister Gu’s face was full of fury. Shen Guiyan helplessly stepped aside.

“Take this rebellious son to the main hall for me.”

“Prime Minister, sir,” the Imperial Guard commander said, “His Majesty’s intention is to go directly to the palace.”

Prime Minister Gu said with a grave expression, “This old master has failed His Majesty’s high expectations by raising such a rebellious son. Naturally, I must beat him first before having the face to see the Emperor.”

Both Shen Guiyan and Jiang Shi froze. The Imperial Guard commander also frowned. “This…”

“Take him away.” With a wave of Prime Minister Gu’s hand, the servants from behind directly came to seize him.