Thanks to HH for the kofi!! Enjoy the bonus chapter!

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Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed. The summer harvest and planting in Xiling Village were both over.

One day, Niu Fugui and Liu Pingshan came by to deliver vegetables and chatted with Yan Xiaoyu about the summer harvest.

“This year’s harvest is about the same as last year’s, but the land tax we had to pay was much higher. The officials wouldn’t nod in approval until every basket of grain was piled high to the brim.” Niu Fugui sighed with a grim expression. “They’ve tampered with the scales. If it’s like this for the summer harvest, I’m afraid the autumn harvest will be the same.”

Hearing this, Yan Xiaoyu felt a heavy weight on his heart. Farmers had no other means of livelihood; they depended on the meager grain from their fields to survive. The government’s actions were nothing short of stealing the people’s food.

In fact, it wasn’t just land taxes; commercial taxes were another avenue for him to amass wealth.

The merchants supplied by Yan Shaocheng had all been hinted by the minor officials of the Tax Bureau this year to pay an extra ten percent in silver as a “service fee.”

When Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Shaocheng went to make the payments, the officials behaved properly—they didn’t dare to overcharge. It was unclear whether they had “gone easy on them” out of deference to Yan Shaoxuan.

Back when Magistrate Ji was in office, although he hadn’t completely prevented the lower-ranking officials from skimming off the top, it hadn’t been this brazen, nor had the demands been so exorbitant.

Yan Xiaoyu came to deeply understand what it meant to be “at the mercy of others.”

The county magistrate was merely a lowly seventh-rank official who didn’t even have the standing to attend court in the capital, yet within his jurisdiction, he held absolute power over the lives and deaths of the common people.

After Magistrate Zhong took office, life for the people of Weishi County became much harder than before, yet they were powerless to resist and could only accept their fate.

Yan Xiaoyu had benefited from Yan Shaoxuan’s influence—he didn’t have to pay land taxes, and he hadn’t been harassed when paying his commercial taxes. But if Yan Shaoxuan failed to pass the provincial examination this time, it was anyone’s guess how he would manage to pay those commercial taxes in the future.

For the many common folk whose circumstances were far worse than Yan Xiaoyu’s, their only hope was that Magistrate Zhong would be transferred away soon—or that he might show a shred of mercy and grant them a sliver of breathing room.

Silence fell over Liu Pingshan’s room, and he made an effort to lighten the mood: “Our village is doing well, thanks to you two. We’ve earned a bit more silver this year. As for those few households that are truly struggling, since all their land is registered under Scholar Yan’s name, they only need to pay half the land tax to him this time, which saves them quite a bit of grain.”

Yan Xiaoyu owned eight mu of land and had originally hesitated about whether to buy more, using up Yan Shaoxuan’s fifty-mu tax-exempt quota. Later, when he heard Yan Shaoxuan say that the new magistrate wasn’t a good man and might use taxes to line his own pockets, Yan Xiaoyu immediately abandoned the idea of buying more land.

Although the grain saved by not paying the land tax was tempting, for him it was merely icing on the cake; but for those few families who didn’t have enough to eat or warm clothes, it was a lifeline.

With food already in short supply, an additional 10% in land tax could very well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. After discussing the matter, Yan Xiaoyu and the others unanimously agreed to distribute the remaining 42 mu of tax-exempt land to the village.

Upon learning this, Yan Shaoxuan specifically instructed Yan Shaocheng to announce the matter at his celebratory banquet. The villagers were all taken aback upon hearing the news.

Ever since they learned that Brother Yan had given all fifty mu of tax-exempt land to Yan Xiaoyu, no one in the village—including Niu Fugui—had held out much hope. After all, why would someone give away a windfall? No one expected Yan Xiaoyu to share the allocation.

Because of this, those few households now held Yan Shaoxuan and Yan Xiaoyu in high regard. As for the rest who didn’t receive a tax-exempt quota, they were so desperate they would have prayed to the heavens for Yan Shaoxuan to pass the provincial examination this time.

Passing the provincial exam exempts one from taxes on 300 mu of land. They didn’t qualify for the 50-mu exemption, but surely he must have some hope for the 300-mu exemption, right? That was the thought running through Niu Fugui’s mind.

“Thanks to Scholar Yan’s reminder, everyone in our village brought extra grain. Otherwise, we’d have had to make another trip. In the neighboring village of Nanling, there’s a hothead who nearly got into a fight with the soldiers collecting the grain over this. Luckily, a local dignitary from that village stepped in and put in a good word, which finally settled the matter. If only Scholar Yan could pass the provincial exams this time, our village would finally have someone to turn to for help.”

Yan Erlang passing the provincial exams? Yan Xiaoyu certainly hoped so.

That evening, after Yan Shaoxuan arrived, Yan Xiaoyu brought up the matter of the land tax and couldn’t help but sigh a few times.

“The county magistrate’s rank isn’t very high, but his power is considerable. If we end up with an irresponsible one who only knows how to fleece the common folk, the people under his jurisdiction won’t have an easy life.”

“If only you could become a high-ranking official one day and bring all those corrupt officials to justice!” Yan Xiaoyu’s eyes sparkled with hope. “The prefect is above the county magistrate? If you became a prefect, could you rein in Magistrate Zhong?”

“Well, there’s more than just the prefect above a county magistrate—there’s the deputy prefect, the prefectural governor, and the assistant prefect.” Yan Shaoxuan didn’t quite have the heart to dash his hopes. “First-place Jinshi candidates enter the Hanlin Academy; second- and third-place candidates have their assignments determined after the court examination—some go to the Hanlin Academy as Shuji scholars, some are assigned to various ministries and bureaus as Chief Clerks, and the rest take up posts in the provinces, usually starting as county magistrates, though some are directly appointed as prefects. I haven’t even passed the provincial examination yet; I have a long way to go.”

Yan Xiaoyu chatted animatedly about Yan Shaoxuan’s future in officialdom.

Yan Xiaoyu nodded: “Take your time. We’re in no rush.”

Yan Shaoxuan loved hearing him say “we,” and a smile immediately lit up his eyes: “Mm, let’s take it slow.” 

“I think being a county magistrate isn’t bad either; at least you can protect the people of the entire county.”

Yan Shaoxuan gazed at the young man before him, his eyes brimming with a warm smile, his gaze deep and earnest: “If I ever become a county magistrate, I will certainly live up to your expectations.”

Another half-month of peaceful days passed after the summer harvest, and Yan Shaoxuan’s birthday was approaching. Once again, he wouldn’t be able to celebrate it with Yan Xiaoyu. Last time, during his prefectural exams, it had coincided with Yan Xiaoyu’s birthday; this time, during the provincial exams, it had fallen on his own birthday.

Yan Shaoxuan’s birthday was on the nineteenth of the seventh month, but he was set to leave on the fifteenth. Yan Xiaoyu made a point of setting aside a few days in advance to help him buy a birthday gift for him.

Early that morning, after making arrangements with He Qiuhua, he set off with A-Chai in an oxcart.

A-Chai was delivering tofu ingredients to the busiest part of the county, which was exactly where Yan Xiaoyu planned to go to pick out a gift. He had already decided what to buy for Yan Shaoxuan, so he didn’t waste much time.

It was still early when he finished shopping, so Yan Xiaoyu sat down at the teahouse he’d arranged with A-Chai, listening to a storytelling performance while he waited.

The old storyteller was truly a master of his craft; the entire room was so engrossed that no one even had time to take a sip of tea, and everyone stared at him without blinking. Just as they reached the end, a commotion suddenly broke out at the front of the room. The noise grew louder and louder, eventually drowning out the storyteller’s voice.

The teahouse patrons glared at the manager in frustration, and some, unable to contain their curiosity, went to join the commotion.

Yan Xiaoyu didn’t go, but he could still hear the woman’s furious voice: “Stop it! You’re going to beat him to death!”

This was followed by the man’s dismissive retort: “So what if I beat him to death? He’s a servant I paid for, and now he dares to steal from me—he deserves it even if I kill him!”

So it was a theft after all. Yan Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment but managed to suppress his urge to intervene.

The county town was a mixed bag of people. Although he knew a little martial arts, it wasn’t worth getting involved in a fight, especially since this was just a thief—it simply wasn’t worth the risk.

Just as Yan Xiaoyu let out a sigh of relief, the boss’s voice froze him in his tracks.

“He merely took a bowl of your leftovers to give to a beggar on the street—how is that stealing?”

“Even if it’s leftovers, it’s still my property. Who gave him the right to dispose of it for me?! I feed him, clothe him, and give him work to do, yet here he is, taking my things to curry favor!”

The last remark came from the man who’d struck him, his voice brimming with rage.

But to fight—and fight so viciously—over a bowl of leftovers was indeed going too far.

Yan Xiaoyu frowned, and for the moment lost all interest in his tea and pastries. He was torn inside, hesitating over whether to go take a look.

“Someone who can afford to hire servants and speaks so harshly must have some kind of backing. I’ve only been in the county seat for less than two months and know nothing about the local situation. Going to meddle in this now would not be a wise move.”

It might even drag down the Yuye Pavilion and him.

Yan Xiaoyu quietly made up his mind: he would just go take a look, but he wouldn’t intervene unless absolutely necessary.

But before he could, he heard the attacker shout, “Jiang Xiaowu, you dare resist? I’ll beat you to death today!!” 

Jiang Xiaowu? Isn’t that Yan Erlang’s ‘informant’? The one who helped him keep tabs on Qian Hong back then!

At that, Yan Xiaoyu could no longer sit still.