At Magistrate He's command, the bailiffs fanned out to search the entire storehouse.
The man who had brought Chu Qiguang inside broke into a cold sweat, watching the commotion in sheer panic.
Yet the scene they envisioned—of Chu Qiguang being caught red-handed—never came to pass. No matter how thoroughly the bailiffs searched, they found no trace of him.
Watching this, Magistrate He narrowed his eyes slightly. He walked over to the bookshelves, his gaze sweeping across volume after volume until it settled on a book that was remarkably clean and devoid of dust.
Pulling it out, Magistrate He read the text inside and muttered, "Year 2 of Yong'an?"
A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes. He could not fathom why this intruder would want to look up policy changes in Qingyang County from that specific year. That had been more than a decade ago; even this copy of the collected statutes had been recopied since then.
He turned toward the man who had let Chu Qiguang in and demanded in a cold voice, "Who came to read these collected statutes? Did he mention why he wanted to see them?"
***
In the alley behind the county yamen, Chu Qiguang vaulted down from the wall and sighed inwardly. *Good thing Qiao Zhi was keeping watch outside, or I really would have been caught like a turtle in a jar today.*
Qiao Zhi had been on guard outside earlier. Seeing the magistrate leading men toward the storehouse from a distance, the cat had let out several meows to alert Chu Qiguang.
It was precisely those meows that gave Chu Qiguang enough time to slip out through the ventilation opening before the magistrate arrived.
Yet Qiao Zhi asked in confusion, "Why would Magistrate He lead men to the storehouse out of the blue? Isn't that too much of a coincidence? Did someone sell us out?"
Chu Qiguang said mildly, "Quite possibly."
As they spoke, Chu Qiguang spotted the Hao family's steward, Hao Fulai, still waiting by the back gate, constantly peering into the yamen compound.
Seeing Chu Qiguang emerge unscathed, Hao Fulai showed a flash of surprise. He quickly suppressed it, however, giving a cold nod. "Good to see you're unharmed. Remember to come by the Hao residence tomorrow."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Chu Qiguang with nothing but a haughty view of his back.
Perched atop the wall, Qiao Zhi fumed, "Fuck! Was it this bastard who sold us out?!"
"Little kitties shouldn't use foul language," Chu Qiguang said mildly. "Whether it was him or not, it's just a guess for now."
Qiao Zhi snapped, "What more proof do you need! That clown clearly isn't a good person. He acts weird and sneering all day long, practically with the word 'villain' written across his forehead! Let's just hurry up and kill him!"
Looking at Qiao Zhi, who looked ready to strike the man dead this very second, Chu Qiguang said helplessly, "You're far too impatient. Who kills someone right in the middle of the street? We aren't villains."
***
After returning to his rented courtyard with the sulking Qiao Zhi, Chu Qiguang sat down at his desk. In his mind, he reviewed the grain and tax account books he had studied over recent days alongside the contents of the collected statutes he had just read.
Then he picked up a writing brush... and with a flourish of his arm, began to write...
A short while later, Chu Qiguang looked down at the crooked, unsightly rows of characters sprawling across the paper and sighed in resignation. "If anyone saw this handwriting, it'd ruin their impression of me completely. They'd probably look down on me before even reading the content."
Writing with a brush was truly no easy task for him. He had never practiced it in his previous life, and Ergou in this life had never so much as touched a brush.
*If I want to develop presentable calligraphy, it'll take at least a year or two of hard practice.*
*Forget it. I'll just explain it orally to the Hao family tomorrow.*
Putting aside whether his writing was ugly or handsome, Chu Qiguang continued jotting down his memories and thoughts, adjusting them repeatedly before finally nodding in satisfaction.
"That should do it. Then there's the Ding family..."
Chu Qiguang had never forgotten that he still had to settle scores with Ding Daoxiao, the 'killer of his father.'
He recalled the ledgers related to the Ding family. Their annual commercial tax amounted to a mere seventy-five taels of silver, far lower than the actual scale of their business.
*According to the intelligence Da Tou and the others gathered on the streets, the Ding family has massive merchant caravans delivering goods all over Lingzhou, doing immense business.*
*Still, dodging commercial taxes is something every powerful clan with government connections can pull off. The whole Great Han Dynasty evades commercial taxes; it's hardly solid leverage against them.*
Chu Qiguang sighed, knowing he would have to find another angle to deal with Ding Daoxiao.
Late that night, Qiao Zhi returned from his patrol outside and reported to Chu Qiguang, "I checked with Da Tou and the others. They took turns having dogs tail that steward Hao Fulai all day, but they didn't spot anything suspicious."
Chu Qiguang frowned. "Keep watching him. There's definitely something off about this Steward Hao... Don't just watch him, either; keep an eye on his wife, children, and relatives, too."
***
The following evening, Chu Qiguang was invited to the Hao residence once again by Hao Fulai. Stepping into the parlor, he discovered that in addition to the father and son Hao Wen and Hao Yongtai, Ding Daoxiao was also present.
Hao Yongtai introduced them: "Brother Chu, you know Brother Ding as well. He came by today to discuss the land situation with us."
"You are...?" Ding Daoxiao blinked, looking puzzled. "...A new student at the martial arts school?"
Hao Yongtai said, "This is Chu Qiguang. He was the one who tracked down the fox monster that killed Yongnian."
"Oh." Ding Daoxiao nodded, offering nothing more.
Hao Wen asked, "Chu Qiguang, you saw what you needed to see yesterday. Have you come up with a solution?"
Chu Qiguang replied, "Naturally, there is a way. The crux of the matter lies in the demon soldier pay collected by the county each year..."
Before Chu Qiguang could finish, Ding Daoxiao cut him off. With a face full of doubt, he turned to Hao Wen and Hao Yongtai. "Are we really discussing the magistrate's affairs with this Chu..."
Hao Yongtai supplied, "Chu Qiguang."
Ding Daoxiao continued, "We're just going to discuss the magistrate's business with this man? Are you certain he's trustworthy?"
He eyed Chu Qiguang with deep suspicion. "What if he was sent by the magistrate? If we blindly trust his words, wouldn't we be walking right into a trap?"
Standing to the side, Hao Fulai chimed in as well. "I heard that not long after Chu Qiguang entered the county yamen's storehouse yesterday, Magistrate He showed up. He even stayed in the storehouse for nearly the burn time of an incense stick. Who knows if he had a word or two with this Chu Qiguang?"
Hao Wen asked in surprise, "Chu Qiguang, is this true?"
"The magistrate did indeed come." Facing the steward's crude provocation, Chu Qiguang did not even glance at him, remaining entirely composed. "However, I slipped away beforehand to avoid him. We never met."
Hao Fulai sneered, "A one-sided claim."
"All the yamen bailiffs present can testify to this, so how could it be a one-sided claim? Meanwhile, Steward Hao, you seem quite reluctant to let me offer a solution to Master Hao." Without giving Hao Fulai a chance to retort, Chu Qiguang smiled and added, "Why don't you gentlemen hear my plan first?"
Hao Wen shot a sidelong glance at his steward, then turned to Ding Daoxiao. "Worthy Nephew Ding, what do you think?"
After all, the Hao family no longer had any living jinshi high officials, which left them a step below the Ding family, whose old patriarch was still alive.
Ding Daoxiao gave a nod. "Go ahead and speak, then. But let me lay the ugly truth out first: this land survey is no trifling matter. It is a national policy promoted by the imperial court, and even Grand Secretary Wu would find it difficult to intervene. Meanwhile, Magistrate He is backed by someone who is at least a high official of the Six Ministries and Nine Courts. The slightest misstep could invite utter disaster."
With that, Ding Daoxiao turned an intensely oppressive gaze upon Chu Qiguang, the qi and blood within his body surging violently.
Accompanied by the rushing roar of blood coursing through his veins, the distinct spiritual pressure of a tier 4 martial artist bore down relentlessly upon Chu Qiguang, as though the slightest misstep would bring down a thunderous strike.
This was an oppressive force born directly of the sheer gap in physical might between a tier 4 martial artist and Chu Qiguang. A common person subjected to it would easily have their spirit crushed, stumbling and stuttering like someone coming face-to-face with a tiger in the wild, unable to string together a coherent sentence.
Feeling the unbridled pressure pressing in, Chu Qiguang's brows furrowed slightly. He could sense both his flesh and his spirit growing sluggish under the weight of this mental force.
Ding Daoxiao spoke word by word, "This matter is of the utmost gravity. From here on out, if there is the slightest flaw in Chu Qiguang's words, he shall not be permitted through these doors again."
Chapter 71