Chapter 811: The Decision on the Farmland

The postal route from Guangdong to the capital went through Nanxiong Prefecture, Ganzhou Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture, Xuzhou Prefecture, Dezhou, and Zhuozhou, covering nearly eight thousand li. If taking inland waterways, it would require a much longer detour. Since Amber was pregnant and it was inconvenient for her to travel, Zhang Zhuo began preparations upon arriving in Guangzhou but waited until Amber safely gave birth to a daughter and rested for another month before setting off.

Considering the discomfort of land travel and its extreme slowness, and now that the sea ban had been lifted, the group found the sturdiest sea ship at Huangpu Town’s dock. After offering generous bribes, they also took a doctor along. With favorable winds, the six-masted ship sailed north along the coast, reaching Quanzhou in twelve days and nights. After resupplying, they continued northward and arrived in Ningbo Prefecture in another fifteen days and nights.

Switching to a smaller boat that traveled between Songjiang and Ningbo Prefecture, they sailed for another day and two nights before reaching Songjiang Prefecture’s dock. Though they weren’t sailing in deep waters and even avoided two storms safely, as soon as they stepped off the ship, not only was Mrs. Sun weak-kneed, but Du Wan also let out a sigh of relief.

“Master, we can’t take sea ships anymore. If we hadn’t stopped in Quanzhou in time, those storms could have been deadly. What if something had happened?”

Zhang Zhuo also felt shaken recalling the storm that hit Quanzhou Prefecture. Had it not been for hiring an experienced captain, the ship belonging to the Duke of Qian, and the sailors motivated by large bribes, plus the fact that the pirate threats had been eliminated after previous attacks, and with his highly skilled guards accompanying him, anything could have happened along the way. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “Even if you don’t say anything, I won’t dare rely on speed anymore.”

After stopping the ship, he didn’t have the family disembark immediately but sent servants ahead to the prefectural city to have the managers in charge of the shops in Songjiang Prefecture send someone to pick them up. When he saw his wife, daughter-in-law, grandson, and others board the carriage one by one, with luggage loaded onto it, he called over the manager who had come to greet them and asked about matters in the capital. Learning that it was just some censors filing accusations with nothing serious, he felt relieved. When the horse was brought over, he tried to mount it several times but couldn’t lift his leg high enough.

“Master, you’re still weak from coming off the sea ship. Riding a horse might not be possible. Let me help you sit in the carriage instead.”

Hearing what the manager said, Zhang Zhuo glanced at the tall horse and reluctantly agreed, though he secretly resolved that once back in the capital, he must work hard on strengthening his body—otherwise, how could he ride a horse even before he grew old? It was said that Suzhou and Songjiang accounted for half of the country’s wealth. Nowadays, in Songjiang Prefecture, there were countless cotton fields in addition to paddy fields. Every year during the cotton harvest, merchants from various places came to buy cotton. Zhang Zhuo already owned many silk shops, cloth stores, and dyeing workshops, with half of his annual income coming from these. Later, he got involved in maritime trade, so his assets in Songjiang Prefecture were quite substantial. When the whole family arrived at a separate residence, the managers who heard the news crowded the front yard. The ladies’ carriages entered through a side gate, and when they lifted the curtains, they saw Zhang Zhuo already off the carriage. A crowd of people bowed in greeting in a chaotic manner. Lady Sun immediately lowered the curtain and smiled at Du Wan, saying, “Wan, since we’re here, why rush? How about we take a stroll around your hometown?” Du Wan was surprised by Lady Sun’s suggestion and paused for a moment before smiling and saying, “If Mother wants to go, how could I refuse? Zhangyan Town is indeed a great place to raise one’s family; many there are scholarly families with a history of hundreds of years. In comparison, the Du family isn’t much—only the Shen family is truly a prominent clan.” Then Lady Sun remembered her husband mentioning that the Du family left Zhangyan because of the greed of its members. Qiu’s family even sold their paddy fields and houses, and the three ancestral homes were only managed by the clan leader. Plus, there had been trouble in the clan due to the issue of choosing a successor for Du Zhen. She feared this trip back wouldn’t be peaceful either, so she changed her mind. “Never mind. I wonder how Yue is doing all alone in the capital. It’s good that we’re not delaying. Speaking of which, you two were here with Yue before and encountered Japanese pirates. We must take me to see that place.” Hearing Lady Sun say this, Huobo Qiuhen naturally smiled and both agreed. Although they rarely stayed at this residence these days, the rooms were extremely clean. After everyone settled in, food was brought in. It wasn’t until Lady Sun and her daughters-in-law finished eating and ordered someone to take Jingguan and the children to rest that Zhang Zhuo came in.

“Next, we’ll take a boat from here to Nanjing and then head north along the Grand Canal. The journey will be much smoother than the sea voyage before.” Seeing his wife’s grim expression at the mention of taking a boat, Zhang Zhuo quickly changed the subject and said to Du Wan, “A few officials just mentioned something. They said they heard from the yamen that someone investigated the fish-scale registers of several wealthy families in Songjiang Prefecture and also checked the land holdings on-site. Your Du family and the Shen family are among them. Yet, there’s no news from the imperial court, so it’s unclear what’s going on.”

Although she didn’t have much affection for her own family members, when she got married, it was several elders from Songjiang Prefecture who provided gifts for her dowry. Moreover, since her son was supposed to inherit the Du family line, Du Wan naturally couldn’t afford to neglect this matter. Thinking that the farm she brought as part of her dowry was near Nanjing and that her father no longer owned any land in Songjiang Prefecture, she pondered for a moment before asking, “Father, did those people say how much land the Du family owns?”

“Your mother probably doesn’t own an inch of land, but the entire Du family owns about two thousand mu of fertile land, spread among more than a dozen family members. When divided among them, it’s not much. Many in the Du family are in business now, and when they get rich, they buy some land. All of this is recorded, so it doesn’t affect your mother. But I heard that the Shen brothers own more land, around a thousand mu.”

Hearing this, Du Wan’s heart skipped a beat. She had lived in Zhangyan Town for over a decade and had to help her mother with household chores, so she knew something about farming. Although the government regularly updated the yellow registers and fish-scale registers to reassess taxes and population, there were many irregularities. Tenant farmers and servants were often considered private property by wealthy families and rarely appeared in the yellow registers, while many newly cultivated lands were registered under officials’ names. After all, although officials were exempt from certain taxes, the government never collected them exactly as required and often turned a blind eye. Her father was certainly innocent, and the Shen brothers didn’t own much land either, but what about the others? Was this investigation limited only to the land in Songjiang Prefecture?

Du Wan pondered for a moment before realizing this wasn’t the right place to discuss it, so she quickly changed the subject. Qiuhen never paid attention to such matters and naturally didn’t care. Seeing that Lady Sun was tired, she helped her go rest. Hupo was also worried about the children, but she found Du Wan’s expression strange just now, so she slowed down.

Sure enough, just as she was about to leave the room with Du Wan, Zhang Zhuo called out from behind, saying, “It must be tiring traveling by sea. Let’s rest here for a couple of days before continuing. Sister-in-law, you might as well go to Zhangyan Town and take a look. If they’re willing, we can take them along as well.”
Realizing that Zhang Zhuo had just observed her expression and might have guessed something, Du Wan quickly turned around and agreed. Once back in her room, she summoned Hu Bo over, intending to talk about writing a letter, but then thought it was likely too late for that trip, so she said with a smile, “Never mind. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Since Mother is in the mood, I must accompany her to Zhangyan Town tomorrow. You and Qiu Hen should decide for yourselves—go if you feel comfortable leaving the child behind, or stay at home and rest properly if not.”
Hu Bo already had some suspicions and certainly wouldn’t go to cause trouble the next day. She quickly declined, saying she would stay at home to take care of her daughter, and even convinced Qiu Hen as well, before leaving. With her gone, Du Wan couldn’t help pressing her forehead and temples, suddenly feeling extremely worried about her husband. She wondered if he had arrived in the capital, what position he had been given, and whether everything was alright with him…
Lost in thought, sheunconsciously dozed off on the concubine’s bed. In her drowsiness, faces flickered before her eyes, until finally she vaguely saw Zhang Yue lifting the curtain and entering—before being jolted awake by a voice.
“Mother!”
Hearing this call, Du Wan opened her eyes groggily and saw Jing Guan holding San San below, both of them looking up at her eagerly. Despite the heat, the siblings were wrapped tightly—one in a sky-blue gauze robe, the other in a small silver-striped top, with beads of sweat on their foreheads. Du Wan didn’t see anyone else with them. Hearing Aunt Cui talking to someone outside, she realized the siblings must have been sent in on purpose. She got up, carried San San to the concubine’s bed, and then sat down with Jing Guan.
“Have you been to Grandfather and Grandmother’s place?”
“Mother, it’s almost dinner time. Grandmother just got up after sleeping in and asked me and my sister to come and see you,” Jing Guan said, scanning Du Wan’s face. Then, seriously, he added, “Grandmother said if Mother is tired, she doesn’t need to go. It’s a time for rest—everyone should use what’s available in their own rooms and go to bed early. Grandfather said the same.”

Du Wan had originally intended to force herself to have dinner with her in-laws, but upon hearing these words, she felt pain all over her body and simply sat down. She also instructed Hu Bo Qiu Hen not to come over and told everyone to go rest early. After leaving her children to finish dinner, she personally escorted them back to their rooms before calling for Mother Cui.
“Tomorrow I need to accompany Madam to visit some guests in Zhangyan. Pick two smart and mature daughters-in-law to go with me, and gather as much information as possible while we wait. Especially inquire about the large and small farms of various families—see if anyone has come to inquire about them.”
When Du Wan got married, she didn’t bring any family members as dowry. Although Mother Cui started serving her later, she was cautious and kept her mouth shut. Over time, most of the maids around Du Wan had been replaced, but she remained. She only had a superficial understanding of external affairs, but since it was Du Wan’s order, she immediately nodded.
“Don’t worry, young mistress. I’ll go select people right away. I’ll go with you tomorrow and definitely get to the bottom of things.”
The night curfew in the capital lasted from 3 a.m. (8:12) to 3 a.m. the next day (4:12). Once the curfew bell rang, no one was allowed to walk on the streets, except in cases of official business, illness, childbirth, or death. Of course, there were always ways around these rules—any important person, those making visits, or those obtaining permits could claim it was for official business, so the night guards of the Five Cities Military Command would not stop them rashly.
Even so, no matter how high-ranking an official was, they would not travel through the streets ostentatiously at night. After 3 a.m., the streets would be quiet, with only the occasional sound of the watchman’s gavel. Yet that night, those living in houses facing the street were awakened by the sound of horses rushing past. The curious opened their doors to see what was going on, while the fearful simply closed their windows. As for the side rooms of the officials’ residences facing the street, the servants were all disturbed; they reported to their masters while sending someone to peek through the small windows in the corner doors. At that moment, no one rushed outside in a hurry.
Learning that there was commotion outside, Zhang Yue no longer kept Zhang Qi and Zhang Jiu around. He had said everything he needed to say, and the two brothers would surely give an account to their families when they returned. After sending them to the east corner gate, he glanced outside and saw that the Xuanwu Gate Street at the end of the alley had returned to calm. He pondered in his heart how far this night’s unusual events might escalate.
“Young master…”

When he turned around, Lian Hu looked worried. He waved his hand and said, “It’s not a big deal. Have someone keep an eye on the door at night. Tell everyone not to panic—just go to bed peacefully. This has nothing to do with our family.” With Zhang Yue’s calmness, the gatekeepers and servants behind Lian Hu exchanged glances and felt somewhat reassured. After giving orders to close the doors, Zhang Yue turned and went inside. As he approached the second gate, he saw Gao Quan standing there. He didn’t give any further instructions, only asking that the items under the grapevine trellis be cleaned up, before entering straight inside.

July was approaching. It was unknown where his parents and Du Wan and the others were.

That night, some people could remain calm, while others couldn’t. This was especially true for those who were dragged out of bed by the Imperial Guards in their sleep. Throughout the night, such shocking scenes played out everywhere in the capital, though most of those involved were insignificant people with no high official status.

When the curfew was lifted early the next morning and those who had slept soundly went to court, to work, or to open their businesses, they discovered that various seals had suddenly appeared on their neighbors’ homes and street houses.

So, as officials waited at the Left Gate of Chang’an to attend court, they couldn’t help but whisper to each other. Although only a few people had witnessed the events in the main hall of the Northern Pacification Bureau the previous day, and the documents related to them were quickly filed away and locked, the earlier incidents couldn’t be hidden forever, turning them into the focus of speculation. Yet, seeing the solemn expressions of several involved parties, no one dared to ask directly about what had happened, even Yang Rong wisely chose someone else to inquire.

“Yuan Jie, I heard the emperor met you at the British Park yesterday?”

Seeing that it was Gu Bin, who now served as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, coming to ask, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but glance at Yang Rong not far away before responding in a low voice, “Don’t worry. Everything will be clarified at today’s court meeting.”