Chapter 237: The Mass Version of 'Why Not Eat Meat Porridge

The clan school of the Marquis's Mansion stopped, stopped very suddenly.

One day they were still in class, and the next day they were notified that classes were suspended.

Teacher Du looked at the children being led home by their parents, completely bewildered.

He ran to the Master to ask for instructions, and the Master told him not to panic, that the suspension of the clan school was only temporary, and it would continue next year. He told him to rest assured and study at home, and the tuition would still be paid.

Teacher Du was still very bewildered; why was this?

The Master kindly reminded him, "Don't go outside recently if there's nothing to do; just move around the Marquis's Mansion to stay safe. You tell Chen Guanlou not to collect antiques, calligraphy, and paintings recently; this Marquis is cultivating his character recently, and we'll talk about it after the year."

Teacher Du, carrying a full belly of doubts, went home. He arranged for the old servant to buy wine and food, and notified Chen Guanlou to come over for dinner in the evening.

Chen Guanlou got off work, changed into ordinary clothes, and then rushed to Teacher Du's house.

Not having seen each other for a while, they naturally had to talk about family matters.

"The Master suddenly ordered the clan school to be suspended, and I don't know when it will resume. He said next year, but next year is when? Although the tuition is still paid, I don't feel at ease taking money without teaching."

"What's there to be uneasy about?" Chen Guanlou drank wine. "Take the money with peace of mind and do your research; stop thinking about this and that."

Teacher Du was very puzzled. "You tell me why the Master suddenly suspended the clan school. I also heard that the Master issued a grounding order to the Marquis's Mansion, and no one is allowed to go out without reason. Even the year-end banquets were all canceled. The second branch was very unhappy and made a scene in front of the Old Madam, but the Master still insisted on his own opinion and never loosened his mouth."

Chen Guanlou put down his wine cup, pursed his lips, and said, "Perhaps I really know the reason for this matter."

"You know?" Teacher Du was too surprised, appearing inexplicably astonished.

"I'll just guess, not guaranteeing it's right," Chen Guanlou said.

Teacher Du said eagerly, "Hurry, hurry, hurry, this old man can't wait. No matter if it's right or not, at least there's a train of thought. If I don't figure out the reason, my head is about to explode." After saying this, he patted his head a few times, clearly this problem had been bothering him all along.

Chen Guanlou organized his language before saying, "A few days ago, the Imperial Prison was broken into; you know that, right?"

"I know!"

"The Heavenly Prison was also broken into at the time. But that's not the point; the point is the Imperial Prison was broken into. I heard that the last time the Imperial Prison was broken into by thieves was fifty years ago, and calculating the time, that was during the late period of the late Emperor, when the struggle for the throne was most intense. In short, this matter reached the palace, and according to unreliable news, the old Emperor was very angry and even issued a kill order. Anyone involved with cult rebels, regardless of status or identity, will be handled severely. Catching cult rebels, regardless of size, will be exterminated to the third generation."

"What does this have to do with the Master's grounding order?" Teacher Du still didn't understand.

Chen Guanlou suddenly lowered his voice. "I heard that recently, many people have died in the palace, especially in the Taiji Palace."

Teacher Du widened his pair of muddy eyes, half-believing. "Where did you get this news? Is it accurate?"

Chen Guanlou told him quietly, "I am a prison guard, and I have contact with all kinds of people in the capital. The news came from the mortuary near the imperial city, which is responsible for handling the corpses in the palace. You say, is this news source accurate?"

Teacher Du looked bewildered, patting his head. "You said so much, but at first glance, these two things don't seem to be related. However, they both involve one person, and that is the old Emperor. Would the old Emperor be this angry because the Imperial Prison was broken into? This is impossible, right? It's not like the sky is falling or the earth is collapsing; is it worth it?"

Chen Guanlou nodded. "At first, I also thought it wasn't worth it. It's just breaking into prison; in the Heavenly Prison, one or two cases happen every year, and I haven't seen the old Emperor get angry, at most just verbally reprimanding the Ministry of Justice for handling matters unfavorably. However, the fact that a large number of people died in the palace is indeed from the time the Imperial Prison was broken into. Not thinking in this direction is impossible."

Chen Guanlou also thought the old Emperor was making a mountain out of a molehill at first; it was just breaking into the Imperial Prison, so just clean up that bunch of Embroidered Uniform Guard agents, so why go to such lengths?

Yet the old Emperor really went to such lengths.

There were already rumors spreading that Jiang Tu's scraping of Dongzhou was because the old Emperor couldn't calm his anger and wanted to use the blood of Dongzhou commoners and the nine generations of cult rebels to calm his anger.

This news source was uncertain, and its accuracy was uncertain, but it suddenly opened up Chen Guanlou's train of thought.

If the rumors were true, then everything could be explained.

For some unknown reason, the breaking into the Imperial Prison ignited the old Emperor's anger, and this anger was extremely terrifying; whoever touched it would die. Thus, there was Jiang Tu scraping Dongzhou, people dying in the Taiji Palace every day, the court being full of wind and cranes, and the Master ordering the Marquis's Mansion to be grounded.

"Is the old Emperor..." Teacher Du subconsciously lowered his voice, looked around, and then continued, "Crazy?"

Chen Guanlou chuckled. "Definitely crazy; he's been crazy since he started practicing Dao to seek longevity."

Teacher Du sighed immediately. "If this goes on, the commoners will be miserable. My son wrote to say that this year the government added taxes again, collecting the 'exemption from corvee' tax four times a year; I haven't seen this in all the years I've lived. It's only slightly better in the capital, without so many messy miscellaneous taxes."

"Taxes were added again? How come I don't know?" Chen Guanlou was greatly surprised; he was in the capital and was a prison guard with well-informed news, yet he didn't know that the imperial court had added taxes.

"Currently, it's only adding taxes in the southeast and the south and north of the Yangtze River; it's understandable that you don't know. By next year, it might be promoted to the whole world."

"When the Jinzhou rebels were making trouble, I didn't see the imperial court adding taxes; at that time, there were officials who felt for the commoners, saying the commoners' burden was heavy and it was not appropriate to add taxes, forcing the old Emperor to take money from the inner treasury. Now that the rebels have subsided, they are starting to add taxes instead. Isn't this playing the piano in chaos?"

Chen Guanlou didn't understand the way of doing things of that bunch of masters in the court.

"What's there to not understand? The old Emperor bled, so he definitely wants to find it back. When the Jinzhou rebels were making trouble, they couldn't add taxes, fearing it would incite civil unrest and shake the foundation. Now that the Jinzhou rebels have subsided, the old Emperor naturally isn't afraid of inciting local civil unrest; at worst, he'll just send troops to suppress the rebellion."

Master Du is still the one with insight; he must have seen many similar underhanded tactics and is very experienced.

"In this way, the days in local areas are indeed not easy. It's only the capital, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, that is unique."

Rabbits don't eat the grass by their nest.

The old Emperor knew this principle well. Exploiting the commoners usually bypassed the capital. Therefore, in the hearts of the commoners in the capital, the old Emperor's reputation was still okay. Even if the commoners in the capital cursed, they cursed the officials, and very few people would say the old Emperor was a muddled monarch.

This unique preferential treatment for the commoners in the capital, while making everyone's days pass well, actually paralyzed everyone's ears and eyes.

Chen Guanlou could already be considered a well-informed person, yet he didn't feel the hardship of the world, so other small commoners were definitely more dull and even less understood why there was trouble in local areas every three days. First, someone rebelled in the east, then someone rebelled in the west. Why did they have to rebel when they had good days?

It could be called the mass version of: Why not eat meat porridge! ===== CHAPTER 238 =====