Yu Xiaolian spent a restless night, and had no appetite for breakfast the next day before running to the Mountain Moon Residence.
As she passed the vegetable market, Aunt Ge grabbed her and said that something major had happened in Yangcheng again.
Yu Xiaolian was in no mood to chat with Aunt Ge. She was about to say she was busy and would talk another day when Aunt Ge quickly blurted out, "I heard that the Pan brothers offended the Princely Heir of Prince Huainan. The Heir’s men turned their house upside down in an investigation, and they’ve been imprisoned."
Yu Xiaolian remembered then that Aunt Ge’s husband was a cook at the county government, so the news must have come quickly and accurately.
She wasn’t in a hurry anymore and listened to Aunt Ge as she spilled the beans.
"I heard the Pan brothers have several lives on their hands, including the deaths of Ji Da and Ji Er, and that’s because of them.
How formidable were Ji Da and Ji Er, and yet they fell at the hands of the Pan family."
Aunt Ge’s mouth hadn’t stopped since morning, and whenever she met someone she had a good relationship with, she transformed into a storyteller, vividly recounting what she knew.
But there was no greater sense of accomplishment than talking to Yu Xiaolian because she always had a look of amazement and admiration, like the old lady knew so much.
Aunt Ge loved this side of Yu Xiaolian, her naïveté about the world.
Yu Xiaolian played along, showing a thoroughly astonished expression, listening with great interest.
Aunt Ge talked until her mouth was dry. Seeing Yu Xiaolian’s shocked face filled her with pride.
Yu Xiaolian was astounded, "Does this mean the Pan brothers are waiting for execution in the autumn?"
Aunt Ge lowered her voice, "Autumn? More like in a few days, their deaths will be unexpected in the prison."
Aunt Ge winked, as if she knew all the ins and outs of the situation.
Linking this with the setup Jun Mobai faced in the book, Yu Xiaolian understood some things.
But why was Zheng Yuanfeng so certain Jun Mobai would take action against the Pan family?
Could it be that Zheng Yuanfeng was also secretly involved in this?
Did Zheng Yuanfeng know Jun Mobai?
Yu Xiaolian played along with Aunt Ge, fully cooperating and joining in enthusiastically.
Just when she thought Aunt Ge had finished, there was another sensational piece of news.
"The county government has decided, one person per household, and the notice should be posted in these two days." Aunt Ge had a look of inside information, and she couldn’t be wrong.
Yu Xiaolian knew very little about forced labor conscription by the ancient government, completely clueless, "My father is lame; does he also have to serve?"
"Anyone between fifteen and sixty years old must be conscripted, even those who are lame, unless your father is a Scholar, then he doesn’t have to go."
"My father isn’t a Scholar."
"Being a laborer is hard; many die every year. Someone like your father who is slow due to his limp will surely get beaten there.
By the way, how many people are in your family? Have you split the family? If you haven’t, let your uncle or cousin go. It’s better than your father going to his death."
Only then did Yu Xiaolian realize why ancient people didn’t divide families easily.
One person per household means if a large family doesn’t split, only one person has to serve as a laborer.
"Aunt, is it possible to use silver instead of labor?"
Yu Xiaolian was also concerned; if the government forcibly conscripted, Yu Changhe would suffer.
"Hey, you little girl, you know quite a lot, even about substituting silver for labor.
If you don’t want to serve as labor, as long as you pay enough silver for labor exemption, you can naturally avoid the service."
Aunt Ge knew Yu Xiaolian sold pastries, and since her mother was pregnant, they hadn’t been working for a long time. She doubted Yu Xiaolian’s family could come up with silver for labor exemption.
Aunt Ge added, "The silver for labor exemption is thirty taels, something ordinary families can’t afford."
Thirty taels are savings for a normal family for seven or eight years.
This assumes the family can earn and save money.
Even if a family saves that much, they might not be willing to pay it for exemption.
So, most families would rather send someone than pay the exemption.
Of course, legitimate big businessmen are unwilling to do labor and mostly substitute silver for labor.
But Yu Xiaolian’s family’s pastry business was so irregular that Aunt Ge doubted they could produce thirty taels. Googlᴇ search NoveI~Fire.net
Forced labor: An ancient government-imposed unpaid labor on people.
Unpaid work that you can’t refuse.
Yu Xiaolian was relieved her family could afford the labor exemption, but she felt sorry for those who couldn’t pay and shed tears of sympathy.
Aunt Ge saw Yu Xiaolian’s expression, determined she couldn’t afford the exemption, and worryingly said, "If you’re really worried about your father, I know a way to make money, if you’re willing to try."
Yu Xiaolian humbly asked, "What way?"
Aunt Ge leaned closer to Yu Xiaolian and whispered, "My man said that Magistrate Ke wants to brew milk rat wine, using those newly born, hairless mice. Why don’t you take your parents to the mountains to dig rat holes? When you bring the milk rats to Magistrate Ke, you might get the exemption for your family."
Yu Xiaolian: "Milk rat wine?"
This could be drinkable?
She was genuinely disgusted.
She braced herself against her nausea, thanked Aunt Ge, and decided to go to the Mountain Moon Residence to see what was happening.
As she left, Aunt Ge enthusiastically advised her that the rice fields had many rat holes, so she should dig there.
"Remember, it has to be milk rats, not the ones with hair." Aunt Ge acted as if this was an inside secret she shared only with special people.
Yu Xiaolian forced a stiff smile and quickened her pace.
Thinking of how Magistrate Ke perversely used milk rats to brew wine made her skin crawl with goosebumps.
When she reached the Mountain Moon Residence, the shop was open, but there were no customers, just a few staff cleaning up the mess from yesterday.
Zheng Yuanye wasn’t in the shop; Master Ma said Zheng Yuanye was called away by a gentleman named Fu just a short while ago.
Master Ma was also taken to the county government yesterday, so Yu Xiaolian asked him about it.
Master Ma said, "When we first arrived at the county government, the County Magistrate and his assistant were siding with the Pan family, trying to convict our Shopkeeper.
Then that gentleman, Fu, came. He had the Princely Heir of Prince Huainan’s Token and evidence of the Pan family’s crimes against the villagers over the years, saying he carried out the Princely Heir’s orders to severely punish the Pan family.
Magistrate Ke saw we had the Princely Heir’s backing and immediately took the side of Shopkeeper Zheng.
You have no idea; the evidence the gentleman Fu provided implicated the Pan brothers in several murders. Magistrate Ke said he didn’t have the authority to execute them and needed to report to the State Mansion and consult with the Magistrate.
Who knows what was in the letter gentleman Fu showed; after Magistrate Ke read it, he sentenced the Pan brothers to be executed in the autumn right there in court."
Helping the Mountain Moon Residence was actually Jun Mobai’s trusted Fu Qing?
Yu Xiaolian had a premonition that things were getting increasingly complicated.