When Xie Xun and Fengyu returned to the palace banquet, the Crown Prince had already resud his seat. The Crown Princess Consort, Lin Yushu, was pouring wine for him. The two spoke and laughed, appearing to be a loving and harmonious couple.
Fengyu thought of how, in the imperial garden, the Crown Prince had tangled with her sister. She felt that his intentions were odious and deeply malicious. Her sister’s wedding was approaching, yet he went after her and was even caught by Brother Xie Zhang. What if this put a wedge between them?
What treachery!
Xie Xun was even angrier than Fengyu. Xie Zhang, upon witnessing the Crown Prince tangled with Feng Shu in the pavilion corridor, deliberately avoided them, yet Xie Xun’s anger flared without restraint. His fury rose so fiercely that he wished for rebellion, to take up his blade and strike the Crown Prince down. His elder brother and Feng Shu were the rightful betrothed—why should he back away?
A ruler coveting a subject’s wife—shaless beyond belief!
He had overheard the exchange between Feng Shu and the Crown Prince. Never mind his self-infatuated delusions—even if he had shared so fleeting romance with Feng Shu years ago—the passage of ti had rendered it irrelevant. Over a decade had gone by, the world had changed, he was now the Crown Prince, and Feng Shu was about to be wed. This matter should have been buried, taken to the grave. Yet, emboldened by drunkenness, he dared to expose it—what was his intention? Was he unwilling to let go? Or was it deliberate provocation? The Marquis Mansion and the imperial family were already deeply estranged, and now, as the Crown Prince, he would heap insult upon injury. How foolish!
His cousin bore him a legitimate heir, and the entire Lin Family stood behind him. Yet he cared not for treating his cousin well and dared to seek trouble with Feng Shu—how despicable!
As much as Xie Xun loathed him, he could do nothing.
The divide between ruler and servant was an unbridgeable chasm.
Xie Xun thought, as soon as his elder brother and Feng Shu married, he would take his leave from the Capital City to Ningzhou, and everything would settle. From then on, he would never return, and he hoped there would be no more turmoil, treating this as re drunken babbling.
Privately, Xie Xun wished Emperor Jianming would live a long and enduring life, reaching the age of eighty, until Abao grew up. If the Crown Prince remained forever in his current title without ascending, that too would be a fine outco.
After the palace banquet, the new reforms were implented with fiery vigor. The policies were announced to the entire realm, rolled out comprehensively. The provisions addressed longstanding issues and included supplentary asures for comrce following peace talks. Though Xie Jue was not stationed in the capital, the terms behind the new policies were penned by him, with Elder Lin standing firm against opposition to ensure their implentation.
Imdiately following their enforcent, the aristocracy in the capital grew restless. Conflicts erupted among the gentry, tenant farrs, and governnt officials. The reforms, particularly those involving taxation and land rights, faced substantial resistance. The Kyoto Capital Guard and the magistrate of the capital spent these past days resolving nurous disputes. Despite opposition, the aristocracy bore the most intense dissatisfaction toward the new tax sches. Taxes were now due quarterly, based on land holdings. Fengyu had also reorganized her own estate but found that her tax obligation would triple compared to before. It was no trivial amount of silver.
Even for her, such increases were burdenso; for the great families, it was doubly so.
Elder Lin led by example to enforce the provisions of the reforms, yet managing an expansive household ant murky waters full of opportunists. Even within the Lin Residence, scandal brewed, of which Fengyu caught wind. She expected the rollout of these policies to ignite trouble, predicting a prolonged period of chaos.
Fengyu and Su Yuejiao discussed how best to reorganize their assets, yet their opinions differed. Fengyu had no intention of selling any land and preferred to bear the additional taxes.
However, with taxes increasing, it ant anding her agreents with the tenant farrs.
The tenant farrs were displeased.
The updated tax sche split the burden between landlords and tenant farrs rather than solely falling upon landlords. Accordingly, the tenant farrs’ share of grain drastically diminished.
The tenant farrs from Yiling Village stirred up unrest, unwilling to accept the new terms drafted by Fengyu. Accompanied by Qiuxiang, Chunlu, and Zhang Da, Fengyu visited the village once more.
Fearing the tenant farrs might make things difficult for Fengyu, Su Yuejiao dispatched a squad of personal guards to join her.
The Land Office representative ca to et Fengyu and conveyed the wishes of the tenant farrs. Having lived in Yiling Village for decades, it had beco their holand. They hoped for the chance to purchase the land outright from Fengyu, so they could tend their fields independently.
Fengyu was reluctant to sell off her land. With the tax rates adjusted, if she maintained the status quo, she would need to subsidize significant sums of silver year after year. As a businesswoman, not a philanthropist, her only recourse was to negotiate terms that would bring mutual satisfaction.
Yet the tenant farrs, emboldened by the new policies, appeared to be pressuring Fengyu to sell her land—a sentint she refused to yield under. Patiently, she discussed the matter with the Land Office representative and several senior farrs of Yiling Village. While Fengyu empathized with their predicant of reduced grain yield under the new system, she unequivocally stated that she would not sell the land. Upon hearing this, the representative and elders looked visibly displeased.
"The Third Miss has always been so unyielding toward us Yiling villagers!" One elder sighed. "Over a hundred households here rely on this land to subsist. You have a grand estate, but we have only the soil of Yiling. Wouldn’t you show so compassion for us?"
"Elder, the tax increase must be shared proportionally by all, and everyone must adapt and accept it—it is imperial policy. These lands are mine, and I choose not to sell; you cannot force to part with them. I have calculated the tax burden under the reforms. While your incos will diminish, it is far from starvation. Many others in Gaoping County are purchasing land—if you seek property, you may turn to others for sale. As for the Feng Family’s lands, I have no intention of selling them in the short term." Fengyu spoke gently, "I ask for your understanding in this matter, elder."
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