"Thank you, my lord!" Ye Feisheng stopped the two. "My lord, please don't be impulsive. Do you know what your actions mean now?"
"Defying the will of the sage, can you bear the price?"
Xie Jiayan merely smiled, pulled on the reins, and rode away.
Ye Feisheng angrily flicked his sleeves, but in the end, he still led his men to do as Xie Jiayan said.
...
"Open the granaries and distribute grain? Nonsense!" Official Qian refused.
With the Cui family's misfortune, all this grain was to be handed over to the imperial court. If he now ordered the granaries opened, what would he have to present to the court?
"Official Qian, the common people are already out of control. The number of yamen runners is far less than the Cui family's guards. Even the Cui family can barely protect themselves. If they start robbing grain, do you think we can stop them?" Xie Jiayan knew Official Qian's concerns and continued, "If you open the granaries and distribute grain, you will be saving the people from dire straits and preventing a riot. The imperial court will surely remember your contributions. If Magistrate Cheng from outside the city leads his troops into the city, Official Qian will have nothing left."
Official Qian pondered for a moment and understood Xie Jiayan's meaning. If General Cheng entered the city to quell the unrest, all the credit would be his. When reporting to the court, the more severe the riot was described, the more it would highlight his bravery.
Not only would he gain nothing, but he might even be accused of dereliction of duty.
It would be better to open the granaries and distribute grain now. At least the people would remember his kindness. Moreover, this Academician Xie was a trusted confidant of the sage. If he could speak a few good words for him in front of the sage, why worry about not achieving merit.
"Academician Xie's words are timely. This subordinate will immediately order the yamen runners to open the granaries in the east, west, north, and south of the city and distribute grain."
"I, Xie, thank Official Qian on behalf of the people of Qinghe." Xie Jiayan cupped his hands in a bow.
"Not at all. I will have to rely on Academician Xie in the future."
Official Qian personally escorted Xie Jiayan away. After entering the yamen, he ordered his confidant, "Tell Old Master Cui that the Cui family owes me a great favor this time."
Even a centipede dies hard. The Cui family was no longer what it used to be, but they still had considerable overt and covert assets. Gratitude in real gold and silver was the most practical.
"Your subordinate understands!" The man smiled and withdrew.
Soon, a yamen runner on horseback left the yamen. Although the common people hated the Cui family, they still instinctively feared officials in uniform. No one dared to stop him.
...
Cui Manor
The main gate of the Cui manor had already been smashed open. The common people were rushing in like madmen. Although the Cui family's guards fought one against a hundred, they couldn't withstand the sheer number of people.
Furthermore, they discovered that there were martial arts experts mixed among these common people, otherwise, it would not have been easy for these commoners alone to break down the gate.
The guards retreated while fighting. The captain of the guards called out to a subordinate and ordered, "Tell the family head to find a way to escape. We brothers can't hold on much longer."
Old Master Cui calmly watched the guard who came to report the news and waved him away.
Escape?
Where could they escape to at this point?
The Cui family's foundation was in Qinghe. The Cui family members could leave, but they could not flee in disarray and lose their spirit.
One wrong move, and they would lose everything. This time, the sage had won completely.
The Cui family could afford to lose!
Old Master Cui sat in the courtyard. The autumn night wind was a bit cool. Cui Jiulang brought a cloak and draped it over him, then handed him a cup of hot tea. "Father, have some hot tea to warm yourself."
Old Master Cui took the tea and sipped it. "Your tea-making skills, you still need to learn."
"Yes!"
"I heard you promised Sixth Daughter that you would go to the Imperial Academy as a Doctor of the Five Classics?" Old Master Cui seemed not to hear the sounds of fighting outside.
After a long pause, Cui Jiu replied, "Yes!"
He understood who the mastermind was behind the Cui family's current predicament. In his father's eyes, his actions were undoubtedly a betrayal of the family.
"Go, tell Sixth Daughter that the Cui family's books are all left to her," Old Master Cui said with a smile.
Land and gold were indeed important, but the Cui family's legacy was these books.
Although the Cui family's descendants had been a bit arrogant in recent years, their scholarship was not an issue. These books were already imprinted in their minds.
This was the foundation for the Cui family's comeback.
The sage viewed the aristocratic families as thorns in his side, suppressing them, and even using such despicable means to destroy the Cui family.
As long as there was one person of the Cui surname, what was wrong with starting anew?
"Father," Cui Jiulang felt his father's words were a bit strange, but before he could ask, several Cui family members, led by the eldest son of the Cui family, entered.
"Father!"
"Uncle!"
They all cupped their hands and bowed.
Those rioters had already passed the second gate and could not be held back. They had come to protect their father's safety.
The sounds of fighting were only a wall away.
Thick smoke billowed from the outer courtyard, and flames filled the sky. They intended to destroy the Cui family completely.
"Brave warriors, charge in! We can't let the Cui family escape!" a rough voice said with undisguised excitement.
*Clang!*
The Cui family's sons drew their swords. They had practiced martial arts for self-strengthening, but today they drew their swords to protect their family.
Old Master Cui nodded. He hadn't seen such a united spirit of mutual defense among the Cui family members in a long time.
Not a single member of the Cui clan, not even a servant, had fled in the face of family disaster.
Very good!
Old Master Cui's small courtyard was soon surrounded by a dense crowd, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"That's the head of the Cui family!"
"They oppressed the common people and occupied fertile land. Kill him."
"Yes, kill him!"
...
Old Master Cui rose from his chair and slowly stepped forward a few paces. The guards tried to stop him, but he pushed them aside.
"I am the head of the Cui family. If you want justice, come to me."
"Father!"
Old Master Cui raised his hand, signaling them to stop talking.
"The Cui family was able to establish itself in Qinghe entirely thanks to the support of the people. If the Cui family has done wrong, we will bear the consequences. But I ask only one question: are the Cui family truly guilty of heinous crimes?"
"Don't listen to his honeyed words, kill him!"
"Yes, kill him!" another person echoed.
Suddenly, a red light flashed in the sky.
The person speaking was startled. This was the distress signal of the Wuji Sect. Something had happened to the Wuji Sect.
The few instigators in front exchanged glances. They were on the verge of killing the Cui family members. Leaving now would make their efforts tonight in vain.
"Official Qian has opened the granaries and is distributing grain!"
"Official Qian has opened the granaries and is distributing grain!"
A wave of shouts gradually came from the outer courtyard. The common people looked at each other, opening the granaries and distributing grain? Had they heard correctly?
The voices grew clearer, spreading from the back to the front: "They are really opening the granaries and distributing grain. Let's hurry, or there won't be any left."
Many people in the back had already started running. The common people in the front who had just heard the news kept looking back, wavering.
"It must be a trick. They've planted mulberry trees, where would they get grain?" one person said resentfully.
This was clearly a diversionary tactic devised by the Cui family.
"There is grain!" Old Master Cui's voice was aged but carried a sense of authority. "The Cui family did indeed hoard land and plant mulberry trees, but that's because the Cui family had stockpiled three years' worth of grain for Qinghe. Not only in the city, but also in the granaries thirty li outside the city."
"Old Master Cui is correct. Official Qian has indeed opened all the city's granaries."
The people in the back, having received the news earlier, began to turn and run out of the Cui manor.
The sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, growing louder and louder. The crowd instinctively made way.
Leading the way were officials in official robes: "By order of Official Qian, the granaries are open, and the common people may take grain freely. The granaries will close at the hour of *si* tomorrow. Any later will be considered theft and punishable by beheading."
The people from the Wuji Sect immediately said, "They are reinforcements hired by the Cui family, colluding together to deceive us..."
Before the man could finish speaking, an arrow flew from behind and pierced his throat.
The scene descended into chaos again. The common people picked up their hoes and sickles, preparing to defend themselves.
"See? They are all in league..."
Before he could finish speaking, the clothes of the man who had just died were stripped off, revealing a blue dragon tattoo on his chest.