Chapter 240 Stopping and Complaining
Unlike other yamen, the Infantry Commander’s Yamen had certain judicial powers, and only cases with imprisonment or above needed to be sent to the Ministry of Justice for conviction. Because the Infantry Commander’s Yamen would judge some soldiers and even generals, the main prison of the Infantry Yamen was a dungeon.

People are locked up there without seeing the sunlight for years, and even if they are not tortured, they will inevitably become weak and suffer from various diseases over time.

There was no telling whether it was day or night in the prison, only the lights on the stone walls of the passage were emitting a yellow glow.

The weak light from the oil lamp on the wall of the prison corridor reflected into Xue Pan’s cell. A figure could be vaguely seen lying in the straw, with faint bloodstains on his back.

In the words of the jailer, Xue Pan was returning to his old place, as he was imprisoned in this cell last time.

Xue Baoqin was right. The Infantry Commander’s Office was the territory of King Zhongshun, and no one dared to disobey him. However, there was always room for maneuver. The Xue family paid money, so the jailers naturally showed mercy, allowing Xue Pan to suffer less.

He was whipped a full hundred times yesterday. Fortunately, the jailer knew how to use the whip to restrain his anger and only hurt his skin but not his bones. Otherwise, those hundred whips would have cost Xue Pan half his life.

At this time, Xue Pan was drowsy and vaguely heard the footsteps of several people walking towards this side.

“It’s here.” Xue Pan heard the jailer whispering at the prison door.

“If you have anything to say, please say it quickly. It will be time to change shifts soon.” Another prison guard’s voice.

“Excuse me, both of you. Please take this banknote and have some tea.”

Xue Pan moved slightly, this voice sounded so familiar!
“Master Jiang, you are too polite.” The footsteps of the two jailers gradually faded away.

“Uncle Xue!”

Xue Pan slowly opened his eyes and looked. There was a man standing outside the prison door. He was wearing a black satin cloak with a hood. His face could not be seen clearly, but he knew it was Qi Guan.

The man took off the hood on his head, and it turned out to be Qi Guan.

Xue Pan seemed to be in a dream, lying there staring at Qi Guan in a daze.

Qi Guan also looked at Xue Pan deeply.

After a long while, Qi Guan lowered his head and said softly, “I know everything. It’s all because of me that you suffered this disaster.”

Xue Pan grinned: “It’s none of your business. That little bastard dared to set his sights on my sister, and beating him is the least of his problems. If he dares to fart again next time, I’ll beat him to death.” As he said this, he tried to stand up, but the pain in his body was unbearable, and he couldn’t support himself, so he let out a “ouch” and fell down, lying on the straw.

Officer Qi was silent for a moment and then told what happened yesterday.

Xue Pan’s eyes widened when he heard this.

After a moment of silence, Qi Guan spoke first: “Heart disease must be cured with heart medicine, and the person who tied the bell must untie it. This is my fault, so I should solve it.”

Xue Pan was anxious: “Good brother, please don’t say that”

Officer Qi interrupted him and said, “I came here to tell you that you can leave today.”

Xue Pan was shocked: “What are you going to do?!”

Qi Guan smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I will be fine. I will ask him for mercy and he will let you go.”

Xue Pan opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

Qi Guan smiled and said, “Take good care of your injuries when you go back. I will come to see you.” Then he turned and left.

Xue Pan was stunned there for a long while, and suddenly he remembered something, and cursed loudly, saying, “You little bastard, you’ll be in trouble when Master Xue gets out.”

The land that Lin Daiyu bought was under the jurisdiction of Wanping County, and taxes were also increased in the first half of the year, and it was three times that of previous years. The heavy burden caused some people who were not rich to become poor again, and some even abandoned their homes to flee.

This was also the main reason why Emperor Yongchang ordered the return of the extra taxes to the people of Shuntian Prefecture. Emperor Yongchang and Dai Quan guessed the nature of local officials, but they forgot one word: the darkest place is under the lamp!

Since the winter solstice, the Gyeonggi region has had two consecutive heavy snowfalls, both of which lasted for two or three days. Many people live in thatched houses, so it is not a big deal if they leak in the summer, as they can just use some containers to catch the rainwater and live a decent life. But in the winter, it is more troublesome. After the thatched houses are crushed by the heavy snow, they have nowhere to go. Not to mention the elderly, women and children, even young and middle-aged people cannot withstand it. It is not uncommon for them to lose their lives in a heavy snowfall.

Although the imperial court had response procedures to resettle these disaster victims, there were officials who took advantage of natural disasters to enrich themselves, regardless of the dynasty.

This place is only fifty or sixty miles away from the capital, and is considered to be at the feet of the emperor, but many things cannot be reported to the capital.

The Ministry of Revenue allocated enough money, but after it reached the county government, all the officials had to pass it around, and only 20% to 30% of it ended up in the hands of the people, and the silver was paid in the form of old rice mixed with sand and gravel. The lower-class people were the easiest to satisfy, and as long as there was a little hope of survival, they would not rebel.

Old rice is also food, and seeing the return money from the court for the first time, everyone was somewhat happy. But the heavy snow two days ago put many people in a desperate situation. The heavy snow collapsed the houses. The head of the village reported to the county government, but only got a sentence: “The people have money and food, no need for disaster relief.”

Some wealthy people could still repair their houses during sunny days, but poorer people could only wait for the court to resettle them, which was undoubtedly leaving them waiting to die.

Coincidentally, one of the families has some connection with Rongguo Mansion.

The family’s surname was Wang. Their ancestor had been a minor official in Beijing. He knew Wang Xifeng’s grandfather and Wang Furen’s father in the past. Because he was greedy for the Wang family’s snobbery, he became a nephew. His grandfather had passed away and had only one son, named Wang Cheng. Because the family business was in decline, they had to move out of the city and live in their hometown.

Wang Cheng had also died of illness, leaving only one son, nicknamed Gou’er. Wang Gou’er also had a son, nicknamed Ban’er, and his wife Liu gave birth to a daughter, named Qing’er. The family of four worked as farmers, but as the couple was busy making a living, the siblings were left unattended, so Wang Gou’er brought his mother-in-law, Granny Liu, to live with him.

Granny Liu was an old widow with no children and lived on two mu of thin land. Now that she was taken in by her son-in-law to be raised, she was very happy and devoted herself to helping her daughter and son-in-law to make a living.

As the old saying goes, even a rotten boat has three pounds of nails. Although the Wang family has fallen on hard times, they still have some assets and are not as poor as those poor people.

But accidents happen. One of the Wang family’s houses collapsed under the weight of accumulated snow during the first heavy snowfall. While repairing the house, Wang Gou’er accidentally broke his leg.

Medical treatment costs money, and house repairs also cost money, and the Wang family’s meager assets were drained.

As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. During this period, not only should you rest, but you should also keep up with the food, otherwise you will develop a chronic disease! This worried Granny Liu and her daughter.

Seeing her daughter weeping, Granny Liu gritted her teeth and said, “Now that I’m so exhausted, I’ll risk my old face and go to Rongguo Mansion to ask for help!”

Mrs. Liu stopped crying and looked at Granny Liu: “We haven’t been around for so many years, will they still recognize us?”

Granny Liu sighed and said, “Let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we can just sell the land!”

Liu nodded.

Just then, a woman’s voice came from outside the door: “Is grandma home?”

Granny Liu got up and walked out, then asked the woman, “Sister-in-law, is there anything I can do for you?”

The woman: “The man who went to the city to inquire about the news has returned.”

Granny Liu: “What do you mean?”

The woman said: “The court has already posted a notice that all the extra taxes will be returned in cash.”

Granny Liu was shocked: “Cash, all returned? They are too wicked!”

The woman lowered her voice and said, “The half-immortal at the head of the village said that there will be a bigger snowstorm in a few days. It will kill everyone. Why don’t we make a big fuss? Maybe there will be a chance to survive!”

Granny Liu took a breath and said, “What do you want to do?!”

The woman: “Complain!”

Granny Liu: “It’s no use. All the officials in the government are the same.”

The woman said: “There were many soldiers passing by on the official road early in the morning. It was obvious that the high officials from the capital came to the royal hunting ground to hunt.”

“Is this okay?”

“Let’s give it a try. An official of such high rank must have some dignity to maintain.”

“I, I won’t go.”

“This is not just one family’s business. Besides, your uncle is still lying on the kang. How can you bear to watch him get sick?”

Granny Liu thought of her daughter’s words again. A noble family is like a deep sea. After not visiting for so many years, those people in the family might not be willing to communicate on her behalf. Even if they did, she might not be able to see them.
The woman spoke again: “We have agreed to stop them on the official road and file a complaint. With these few taels of silver, we can survive.”

Granny Liu thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

(End of this chapter)