Chapter 985

Xue Shao planned to visit the county office; he would travel southward on inspection, then northward through Jiangnan.

"I forgot to ask you last night—how did you end up here?"

Pan Yun: "I grew bored in the capital; my cultivation stagnated for two months, so I left to undergo trials, experience the people's lives, and find a place of spiritual mountains and clear waters to close myself off in cultivation."

"Aren't you cultivating merit?"

After she reclaimed the late emperor's body, her merit surged; after the campaign ended and she returned to the capital, it surged again. After becoming State Preceptor, she shattered two seals on her spiritual realm, and since then, her merit bar has shrunk to the size of a fingernail, while the progress bar stretches the full length of a finger—the longest one.

This means the merit she spent over a decade accumulating is worth only a fingernail's worth before the next seal.

But after shattering two seals, her spiritual realm is vastly different; she has a premonition that if she breaks one more, she will touch the mystery of soul-body separation—soul departing the body yet remaining unextinguished. Isn't that half-immortality?

And such vast merit can only come from the people.

Xue Shao, seeing she did not answer, did not press for an answer, and instead invited: "Since you're experiencing the people's lives, will you join me?"

After thinking it over, Pan Yun nodded: "All right."

The two returned to Xu's home, summoned Xi Jin, and took their leave from the Xu family.

Old Man Xu sighed repeatedly: "I had no idea you were an official from above—I truly neglected you."

Xue Shao apologized: "As long as you don't blame me for concealing my identity, I'm grateful."

Old Man Xu looked hesitant, saw them off to the crossroad, then couldn't help asking: "My lord, will our newly reclaimed lands be subject to back taxes?"

"By law, no back taxes are due; this year they're exempt, and taxes will begin next year."

Old Man Xu exhaled in relief, then remembered something and his heart tightened again. He whispered: "Then… our land registered under Gu family…"

"The Gu family will return your land deeds. The county office will send someone to register them tomorrow or the day after—you must no longer register your land under the Gu family."

Old Man Xu's face twisted in distress; he wanted to curse, but Xue Shao was a good man—this high-ranking official had spent the whole day since yesterday helping him harvest rice in the fields. Clearly, he was a good official—he couldn't bring himself to curse, yet felt a pang of guilt.

But thinking of the sudden, heavy burden ahead, his heart ached.

Old Man Xu sighed as he watched the three of them ride away.

Xue Shao took them straight to the county office.

He had already visited once, spending half a day reviewing the household records of land taxes paid over the past two years and the land registers.

He had always possessed an eidetic memory; since cultivating, his martial skill hadn't improved much, but this ability had grown sharper—he could glance once and imprint the content into his mind.

Pan Yun envied this skill of his.

Xue Shao chuckled bitterly: "It's painful."

Pan Yun made an "mm" sound and looked at him in confusion.

Xue Shao said: "Remembering too much can be painful."

Xi Jin immediately said: "Miss Pan… you're a healer, right? Could you check on my young master? He sleeps only two hours a day and can't sleep at night."

Pan Yun sized him up: "You look energetic—you don't seem like someone with insomnia."

Xue Shao smiled: "When I can't sleep or wake too early, I sit in meditation. Even without cultivating, just calming my breath restores my body."

Pan Yun waved her hand: "Then no problem—your body won't collapse."

"I just haven't felt truly rested in a long time. It's rather regrettable."

Pan Yun thought a moment and said: "For someone like you, I could try acupuncture—you can't sleep because your mind is overactive from remembering too much."

"Sleeping needles?" Xue Shao said: "I've stuck myself with them before—they worked at first, but now they're useless."

What a ruthless person—to needle himself to sleep.

Pan Yun thought again and said: "There's another way."

She raised her palm and brought it down sharply: "Let me knock you out."

Xue Shao turned and walked away: "Let's go—we must meet the county magistrate and depart. There are many places to inspect; we can't linger here."

Pan Yun tugged at her horse's reins to catch up, calling out: "My lord, I'm accompanying you on inspection—won't you cover my travel expenses?"

Xue Shao glanced at the nag beneath her, which barely shuffled forward after three whacks, and asked: "You want me to rent you a horse?"

"Why rent? Just buy one."

Xue Shao: …

Xi Jin immediately glared: "Miss Pan, do you know how expensive a horse is? Our horses are rented from the post stations."

"So they're official horses? Then rent me one too."

Xue Shao held an official post and was a touring inspector; whenever he entered an official post station, his food and lodging were free, and he could swap horses—technically rented, but no payment was required; with his official seal and documents, he could rent a horse, then exchange it at the next station.

Of course, he didn't have to exchange.

The two horses Xue Shao and Xi Jin rode were rented from the Nanjing post station—they were excellent, so they hadn't changed them since.

Pan Yun was curious about Great Ming's horse system and asked: "Can any official rent a horse from the post station?"

Xue Shao: "Ordinary officials can't. Only touring inspectors, the Five Military Directorates, the Northern Command of the Secret Police, and local garrisons transmitting urgent military reports may rent horses from the post station."

Pan Yun nodded: "That makes sense—if anyone could rent horses, the post stations' mounts would be stripped bare."

Xue Shao couldn't rent a horse for Pan Yun at the post station; as a touring inspector, he was only entitled to one horse for his attendant.

So he went to the horse market and bought Pan Yun a good horse, spending nearly all his money.

Pan Yun sold her nag and handed the coins to Xi Jin, telling him to handle their food and lodging along the way.

Xi Jin accompanied Pan Yun to shop for dried rations and medicinal herbs; Xue Shao went alone to the county office.

Pan Yun cared only for the people's livelihood and acts of merit that could earn her virtue—she had zero interest in meeting officials.

Xi Jin didn't care either.

So Xue Shao went alone.

He pointed out to the county magistrate that in some counties, people were trying to pass barren land as cultivated land to deceive the imperial court.

Xue Shao said: "Land surveying aims to increase state revenue without burdening the people. If anyone dares to pass barren land as cultivated and force land quotas onto commoners, I will not spare them once I uncover it."

The county magistrate broke into cold sweat and bowed deeply in assent.

It was incredible—just before Xue Shao entered, his secretary had just suggested this very method to him; from his tone, it seemed someone downstairs had already done it, yet he hadn't even verified it yet—how did Xue Shao already know? Who was really the local tyrant, him or Xue Shao?

Why did it feel as if this censor from Jingcheng knew this place better than he, the county magistrate who had managed it for four years?

Xue Shao didn't care what he thought; after issuing the warning, he offered a sweet reward: "I've met Gu Qingyan. He's willing to voluntarily return the land to the people. Tomorrow, take your men to register it—remember, act with impartiality."

The magistrate bowed repeatedly in assent.

The Gu family was the most prestigious in this county—the old master served as Prefect elsewhere, and his son, still young, had already passed the provincial examination; his future was limitless.

If the Gu family led the way in returning the entrusted land, then the rest of the county's work would proceed smoothly.

The magistrate's eyes gleamed; for the first time, he felt the censor's inspection wasn't a bad thing—look, the moment the censor left, the credit for the achievement fell squarely on his own shoulders.

The magistrate smiled broadly in agreement; as Xue Shao departed, he nearly begged his secretary to fetch a tray of silver as a parting gift.

But he dared not.

Xue Shao was a censor, here to investigate corruption—and his reputation for integrity in the south was too loud. He had the will but not the courage.

The magistrate could only sigh as he saw Xue Shao off at the government office gate, watching him go with lingering eyes.

Once Xue Shao was far enough away, the magistrate's lingering regret vanished, replaced by envy and jealousy: "So young—he'll go far."

He touched his hat, feeling how thin his hair had grown, how streaked with frost his temples had become.

He feared he'd never reach Xue Shao's position in his lifetime.

The magistrate turned, shaking his head, and returned to the government office, ordering all the officials summoned.

Whether deputy magistrate, Registrar, clerk, or government office Runner—even the gardener sweeping the courtyard was called, broom in hand, standing in the last row to receive orders.

The magistrate repeated Xue Shao's demands in full, his face stern: "The censor has left, but he can still turn back! If he hadn't come, our mistakes might be excusable—but now that he came, issued clear orders, and we still erred, that's willful disobedience, a grave crime!"

The magistrate shouted: "I'm old—I don't expect promotion. But if anyone makes me lose this hat, I'll kill him first! Understood?"

"Yes!" Everyone shouted in unison. The magistrate waved his hand, and they scattered.

The secretary and deputy magistrate, along with the Registrar, rushed after the magistrate as he turned into the main hall, leaning close to whisper: "Your Excellency, are we really going to follow his orders?"

The magistrate glared at them: "What else?"

"But… the money we collected?" the Registrar whispered. "Wu Ju Ren, Old Ma—they all paid. They said it was just a formality. The Gu family didn't pay, but we can't touch them either."

"Lord Xue has already persuaded the Gu family. They will return all entrusted land in full. You just need to take your men and register it."

The men exchanged glances.

The magistrate knew what they were thinking and warned softly: "Xue Shao is no ordinary man, and the Gu family isn't deceitful. Put away those thoughts."

The men fell silent. The magistrate said: "Return the money to those few."

The Registrar: "But… my lord, the money's already collected. Isn't that bad?"

The magistrate glanced at him: "If you didn't do the job, how can you keep the money?"

The Registrar looked miserable, his face flushed red.

The magistrate pretended not to see.

The deputy magistrate agreed at once: "We must return it. Otherwise, once we take the money, our men will be hamstrung when carrying out orders."

"Correct," the magistrate nodded. "Whoever eats your food, you're soft with; whoever gives you money, you're weak to. Every single copper—return it all!"

He swept his gaze over the Registrar, warning: "Our county is close to Quanzhou. Quanzhou is changing daily. Once Xue the Censor leaves, he'll return. Don't give me trouble—don't make me lose my hat. Before Xue Censor acts, I'll act first and deal with you!"

The Registrar reluctantly agreed with the deputy magistrate and the others.

After they left, the magistrate told his secretary: "Keep a close eye on things."

The magistrate frowned: "Even an outsider like Xue Censor knows about replacing fallow land with cultivated land—I didn't even know."

The secretary hurried to explain: "That Xue Censor is strange. No one knows when he entered the county. After leaving the government office, I sent men to follow him—but before he even left the city, he vanished."

"The strangest part? I stationed men at every intersection. Yet every time, he slipped past our sight. He arrived at Gu Family Village yesterday morning—we only left the village in the afternoon, and he went west, then appeared east. Isn't that strange?"

The magistrate stroked his beard: "Rumors say Xue Shao is close to the State Preceptor—he knew him even before entering officialdom. Now I see, he has something unusual about him. By the way, did he leave the county? Which way did he go?"

The secretary shook his head: "The men followed him to the market. They saw him meet his servant, and there was a young female attendant too—but before they even left the market, he vanished again."

The magistrate broke into cold sweat: "Could he… not have left at all? Could he be hiding somewhere, waiting to catch me in the act?"

"No, no, that's too much—he has many places to inspect. The situations in Zhejiang, Nanzhili, and Jiangxi are no less severe than ours."

"Especially Zhejiang and Jiangxi—hmm, my lord, in my view, he won't stay long here."

The magistrate sneered at him: "Do you think the problems in Minyue are minor?"

"Still…" the magistrate stroked his beard, "Zhejiang and Jiangxi are indeed dangerous. He may survive leaving Minyue—but whether he survives Zhejiang and Jiangxi is another matter."

The secretary's eyes lit up: "Then…"

"No!" the magistrate snapped. "I don't know if he'll survive—but if I dare do anything after his warning, then just as he can drag me down before he dies, so too will I drag you all down before I die!"

The secretary: …

The magistrate told his Lady to hand over the money collected recently to the secretary.

The secretary sighed, took the money, found the others, pooled it together, and sent men to return it to each household.

As soon as the households saw this display, they panicked.

Worse still, when the second group of government office runners arrived at Gu Family Village to survey the land, the Gu family immediately set up a formal reception at the village entrance and returned all the land entrusted to them.

The imperial court showed mercy: past taxes on entrusted land would be forgiven, but this year's land tax must be paid!

As the Gu family handed back land deeds, the government office Runners recorded them. Once registered, officials went to the fields to measure the land.

Over the years, many families had relied on the Gu family's holdings to build their wealth, then used that wealth to buy land or open new fields.

These lands had never been registered or taxed—some hadn't even been entrusted under the Gu family's name. They were simply farmed, harvested, year after year, without paying a single copper in tax.

This was hidden land.

And now, during the survey, they discovered even more hidden land belonging to the Gu family.

Even Gu Qingyan was stunned, staring at the measured acreage, speechless: "Wasn't it said all land was returned? Where did these extra plots come from?"

The old steward bowed his head: "These were gradually purchased and reclaimed by the household over the past decade."