Chapter 982

The two stared at each other for a long while, then both smiled brightly, everything understood without a word.

The next day, before dawn, light footsteps sounded outside the house.

Pan Yun had just completed one full circuit of Qi circulation; hearing the sound, she ceased her practice and opened her eyes.

She turned to glance at Chun Lian lying beside her, quietly lifted the quilt, stepped down, slipped on her shoes, and walked soundlessly to the window to look out.

The peasant family had no extra rooms, so last night Pan Yun and Chun Lian slept together, while Xue Shao and Xi Jin slept in Chun Wang's room, and Chun Wang slept with his parents.

Outside the window, the old man was hunched over, carrying a bundle of rice straw to spread out for the three horses tied in the yard; he affectionately stroked the horses' necks, then took up his sickle from the corner and stepped out.

Soon after he left, the young couple also rose one after the other—one carrying a hoe to go out, the other picking up a sickle to chase after the old man.

Pan Yun stood quietly for a while, until she heard movement from the next room, then turned back, put on her clothes, and stepped outside.

She deliberately changed into arrow-sleeved attire: a top and trousers, neat and practical.

Xue Shao also shed his robe, donned coarse hemp, similarly dressed in top and trousers, his hair tightly bound and wrapped in a cloth towel, dressed as a farmer.

The two opened their doors simultaneously and stepped out, exchanged a glance, and couldn't help but smile.

In a peasant household, even a sickle was not spare; fortunately, Da Quan hadn't taken the sickle today, and Chun Lian had her own.

Without disturbing anyone, they found their sickles and slipped into the darkness toward Tian Ye.

Xue Shao had spent half a day working in the fields yesterday with the old man's family, learning nearly everything about the village, and naturally knew where their field was.

He led Pan Yun toward that field.

The night before dawn was pitch black—so dark that only the faint outlines of those beside you could be seen—but at this hour, daylight came quickly.

After passing through the darkest stretch, morning light suddenly broke; the sky turned pale, and in the blink of an eye, when she looked up again, the view before her cleared like mist parting—figures emerged faintly from the fields.

Few households in the village, like the old man's, had replanted seedlings, but at this hour, many laborers were already in the fields.

They wielded hoes, or one pulled the plow like an ox while the other guided it, turning the soil.

Pan Yun slowed her steps; Xue Shao stopped to wait for her.

Since entering officialdom, he had spent two-thirds of his time on inspection tours abroad, and coincidentally, all of them had been in Jiangnan and southward regions—he had seen this countless times, yet each time he saw it again, his heart still ached.

He was glad the peasants worked so diligently, yet saddened that they needed to toil so hard.

Pan Yun suddenly remembered: "Aren't you the Jiangnan Inspection Censor? How come this part of Quanzhou is also under your patrol?"

Xue Shao: "Last year, the capital's officials suffered heavy losses; nearly half of the Censorate's censors died in the imperial campaign. With insufficient personnel, Your Majesty ordered me, while inspecting Jiangnan, to extend my route southward and cover the entire southeast, including Guangdong."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Patrolling Jiangnan, the southeast, and half of Lingnan alone—doesn't Your Majesty fear you'll abuse power or pervert justice?"

Xue Shao: "I thought Your Majesty would only worry I'd die an untimely death."

Pan Yun burst into laughter, then fell into thought—His Majesty's trust in her ran deeper than she'd realized.

Xue Shao said: "His Majesty's trust and reliance are blessings, yet also curses."

His deep faith in and reliance on Pan Yun could, one day, become charges against her if things turned against her.

And Xue Shao himself would be one such charge.

Pan Yun said: "Indecisiveness is not my nature. If reform succeeds and he refuses to abolish the reforms, and if he demands my death, I'll die for him—just to show him."

Xue Shao's eyebrows twitched slightly; he glared at her unhappily. Though he knew she spoke of feigned death, he still said: "There are prophecies in the world—be more cautious."

Xue Shao paused, then said: "The outcome of reform depends on the successor. If no one inherits it, even if reform succeeds now, it will be but a fleeting bloom."

Pan Yun's gaze shifted slightly: "Concubine Hang is five months pregnant; by timing, she'll give birth around February next year."

Xue Shao looked at her strangely: "The Emperor and Empress have deep affection—shouldn't the Crown Prince come from Empress Wang?"

Pan Yun said calmly: "Empress Wang has no son."

Xue Shao was astonished.

Although Zhu Jianji arrived two years later than in the other timeline, he still came—before leaving the palace, she had seen Concubine Hang in Empress Wang's quarters; this child was a boy, just as in the other timeline, he was Zhu Qiyu's eldest son.

She wondered what name Zhu Qiyu would give his eldest son this lifetime.

But no matter the name, Empress Wang was fated to bear only two daughters—she could not change that.

And Pan Yun had no intention of interfering in such matters.

Yet Zhu Jianji…

Pan Yun fell into thought—she'd have to wait until his birth to see his facial features; she wondered if he'd still die young this lifetime.

The next Emperor must be cultivated early—she couldn't let him be corrupted by others.

The two soon reached the field; the old man and his daughter-in-law each occupied one side, harvesting.

The old man looked up, saw them, and hurried to stop them: "You're our guests—how could you do such work?"

Pan Yun smiled: "It's nothing. We'll be stealing breakfast from you later anyway."

Da Quan had gone to hoe the fields—that was heavier labor.

Pan Yun and Xue Shao helped cut for over an hour; the sunrise crept slowly up the mountain ridge, and by the time it was around the hour of Si, the sun grew fierce—they finished cutting the rice.

Xiu Niang shyly smiled at them, squatted down, tied two bundles of the rice cut yesterday, stuck a pole through them to make a shoulder load.

As she rose from her squat, her lower back ached, and she couldn't stand up.

Pan Yun saw this, stepped forward quickly, and took the load: "Let me."

"No, no—it's already wrong to let Miss work in the field; how could we let you carry this?"

Pan Yun laughed: "Carrying a load is easier for me than cutting rice."

She lifted the two bundles of rice with one hand and set them aside, then told her to tie three more.

Xue Shao smiled: "Sister-in-law, just listen to her—she practices Wu Gong, she's very strong."

Xiu Niang: "Still, she's a girl—she should be cherished."

Pan Yun smiled, picked up four bundles of rice on the pole, held one more in her hand, and walked home with ease.

The old man and Xiu Niang both gaped, then hurriedly grabbed their sickles and chased after her.

They couldn't catch up.

The old man could only slow his pace, waiting for Xue Shao to catch up before sighing, "This young man is truly formidable."

Xue Shao smiled. The old man turned and asked, "Young Master and the young lady—are you old acquaintances?"

Xue Shao paused slightly, then asked, "Why do you ask that, old man?"

The old man chuckled, "Last night I already thought you two knew each other, but since you didn't say anything, I pretended not to notice. But this morning, when the two of you came together, I could see your relationship wasn't strained."

Xue Shao smiled again. "Yes, we know each other."

The old man didn't press further, only nodded with a knowing smile.

Pan Yun had returned ahead of them, but hadn't expected guests in the courtyard.

She pushed open the gate, set down the rice she carried on her shoulders and in her hands, and raised an eyebrow at the young man standing in the yard.

The young man stared at her in surprise—wasn't this the little girl who had followed their cart yesterday and fallen off her horse?

Young Master Gu glanced at the rice she'd set down and hesitated, "Miss, are you a relative of Uncle Lai Fu?"

Pan Yun looked at Chun Lian, who quickly said, "Cousin, this is our guest, passing through and staying here temporarily."

"Staying temporarily?" Young Master Gu studied Pan Yun up and down. "Wasn't it said the guest was a young gentleman, accompanied by a servant?"

"I am!" Xi Jin, who was helping bake pancakes in the kitchen, poked her head out. "I'm the servant!"

Chun Lian laughed. "Cousin, they're two separate groups—not one."

The way she put it, it sounded like they were up to something.

Pan Yun cleared her throat, brushed off the rice stalks from her shoulder, and bowed. "I'm surnamed Pan. May I ask your name, Young Master?"

Young Master Gu quickly returned the bow. "I am Gu Qingyan. May I ask, Miss, where are you from, and where are you headed?"

Pan Yun was hesitating between making up a lie and telling the truth when her ears twitched—she heard their footsteps returning. She smiled. "Young Master Gu, the person you're waiting for has come back."

She walked forward to wash her hands, then took off her shoes to wash her feet. The fields were still damp, so they couldn't step into them wearing shoes—hence they'd removed them when working the fields.

The ditch beside the path had run dry, so she couldn't wash her feet there. She'd dragged her shoes all the way back, and they were filthy.

She washed the shoes too.

It seemed she'd need to buy two pairs of straw sandals to keep on hand.

Pan Yun scrubbed the mud off her shoes. Young Master Gu caught sight of her pale feet and immediately turned his eyes away.

Pan Yun didn't mind. Chun Lian didn't mind either.

They weren't young ladies from wealthy households. Girls from farming families worked the fields and washed clothes by the river—it wasn't considered improper to show their feet.

Chun Lian even lent Pan Yun a pair of her own straw sandals and helped hang them up to dry.

As soon as her grandfather returned, she hurried forward to open the gate. "Grandpa, Young Master Gu from the Gu family is here to see you."

The old man was startled, then delighted, and immediately invited Gu Qingyan to sit. He told Chun Lian to call Da Quan back, and ordered Xiu Niang to buy meat and wine.

Gu Qingyan quickly declined, then turned to Xue Shao, who stood silently to the side. He stepped forward two paces and bowed. "Are you the Imperial Inspector Lord Xue?"

Xue Shao glanced at Pan Yun without expression. Seeing her back turned, washing her feet, he nodded. "Young Master Gu has sharp ears. I arrived here yesterday; today you've already come."

Gu Qingyan gave a wry smile. "Lord Xue arrived yesterday afternoon. The Gu family failed to greet you properly."

Gu Qingyan had returned to the village just ahead of Pan Yun. The sky was already dark, and while speaking with the village elders about the land survey, someone mentioned that a stranger had entered the village that morning, helping villagers harvest rice near the village entrance—whether a passerby or an official sent to investigate.

He'd asked several follow-up questions, searched the village for half a day, and finally found someone who'd seen Xue Shao. After a long description, Gu Qingyan only learned the man was a young man with a gentle demeanor, clearly a scholar, accompanied by a servant who'd actually taken a sickle to help Xu Fu cut rice at the foot of the hill.

At once, he guessed the man was Xue Shao.

He'd heard of this Xue Imperial Inspector before.

His grandfather, his uncle, and he himself were all well-known, especially among scholars of the northern regions.

This inspector's integrity and uprightness matched his uncle Xue Xuan's, but Gu Qingyan had always felt Xue Shao was more proactive—and gentler—than Xue Xuan.

Based on this understanding, Gu Qingyan wanted to speak with him.

Gu Qingyan invited Xue Shao to the Gu residence, where he had prepared a fine meal.

When Pan Yun heard there was fine food, she stopped dawdling, slipped on her straw sandals, stood up, and slapped the mud off her trousers. "I'm coming with you."

Gu Qingyan was startled, about to refuse, when he heard Xue Shao smile and nod. "Very well."

Gu Qingyan's mind raced, then he smiled and nodded. "It's an honor to have Miss Pan join us."

Gu Qingyan bowed to the old man, then invited the two to follow him.

Xi Jin hurried out, wiping her hands, ready to follow—but Xue Shao shook his head slightly. Xi Jin stopped, staying behind at Xu's house.

At the hour of the snake, those who had worked the fields all morning returned home for breakfast. Others, who had slept late, only emerged after breakfast, hoe on shoulder—such people were usually looked down upon by villagers for being lazy.

As a result, the road was filled with villagers coming and going.

Every villager they met greeted Gu Qingyan with a smile, then curiously glanced at Xue Shao and Pan Yun—whose attire was similar but whose bearing was entirely different.

It was clear the villagers' affection was genuine. Clearly, the Gu family's reputation here was excellent.

Gu Qingyan's father, Gu Yuan, was the Prefect of Baoning Prefecture. Gu Qingyan had returned to his hometown to study, preparing to take the imperial examination in Jingcheng next year.

As a fourth-rank official and a Provincial Graduate, both Gu Yuan and Gu Qingyan were entitled to tax exemptions through patronage.

The Gu family clearly didn't own that much land, yet Xue Shao had checked the ledgers—nearly all the land in this area was registered under the Gu family's name.

All these villagers were under the Gu family's protection.

Gu Qingyan clearly knew he couldn't hide it from Xue Shao. Back at the Gu residence, after servants brought breakfast, he invited Xue Shao to eat, then subtly glanced at Pan Yun.

Xue Shao acted as if he hadn't noticed, steering the conversation. "Young Master Gu rushed back from Quanzhou City—surely you knew the county office was about to survey this land, and came to prepare?"

Seeing that Xue Shao made no effort to exclude Pan Yun, Gu Qingyan collected his thoughts and after a moment's pause said, "Lord Xue, my father and I have indeed accepted land under our care from relatives and friends, but we've collected only modest rents. I beg you, Lord Xue, to show mercy. I am willing to return all the rents collected over the years to the imperial court, and restore the land to its rightful owners."

Xue Shao asked, "How many mu?"

Gu Qingyan replied, "Two hundred and eighty-five mu."

Xue Shao said, "That's oddly precise. Do you expect me to believe you?"

Gu Qingyan frowned, fell silent for a moment, then said, "Lord Xue, you are an upright official, a good official. Give the people a way to survive. If you remove two hundred and eighty-five mu, every household will still have land to pay proper taxes on. Beyond that, they won't be able to make ends meet."

Xue Shao: "Young Master Gu, since you've passed the Provincial Graduate examination, you should know: tax quotas for a region are fixed. If your people pay less, others elsewhere must pay more. What of them?"

Gu Qingyan's heart clenched, and after a moment he said, "I can only protect the family and friends of my hometown. As for the rest, I am presently powerless."

Xue Shao said, "I am an official appointed by the imperial court. To the imperial court, the common people of the world are all the same — it would be improper to show favoritism toward the people of any one place."