The Husband I Snatched Is Not Right!-Chapter 103: Endless Petitions

"As far as I know, the bride was sold by her stepmother, and Landlord Dong is notorious for his lasciviousness. I fear this marriage is not the bride’s own wish."

Chi Yu acted as if he hadn’t heard, commanding, "Go!"

Yu Tingwan was neither hurried nor impatient, but her voice was firm.

"In the twenty-fourth year of Da Jin, bandits ran rampant in Yu State, taking advantage of the treacherous mountain roads and rugged terrain. They brazenly ignored the Court’s intentions to incite trouble, abducting and humiliating girls from good families before murdering them. The Court dispatched troops to suppress the bandits, but they suffered repeated defeats and heavy casualties."

"It was General Wei who led the troops to Yu State, crushing the mountain bandits. He rescued dozens of scarred young women, children, and countless bodies."

"The laws were strict, and during the Da Jin era and the previous dynasties, records regarding the suppression of bandits exist. Anyone involved with bandits’ women or their descendants faced a capital offense, and were sentenced to hanging."

"But the General investigated the backgrounds of these young women, confirming their identities as daughters of good families, all were abducted. The General couldn’t bear it and pleaded with the Holy Emperor to spare them from death."

"General Wei understood how harsh society was toward women. Losing one’s chastity was considered a crime, even if they were the victims."

"He once proclaimed that punishment should not extend to women and children. If the children were entangled by blood with the bandits, that was one thing, but what guilt did those innocent girls have?"

"The General died, talent lost, yet military orders were as firm as mountains."

Chi Yu appeared somewhat dazed.

Indeed, the General was a man of steel, yet he couldn’t stand to see human suffering.

He never killed the innocent wantonly.

However, if the other party’s identity was suspicious, Wei Zhao was decisive with his blade, never ambiguous, and would never leave even a hint of trouble behind.

Thinking of the General, Chi Yu felt particularly distressed.

He didn’t know... he didn’t know...

Breathing deeply, Chi Yu mounted his horse.

"If what the lady says is true, she will be unharmed."

————

The sky was dim.

The news of the Court’s crackdown on corrupt officials had yet to thoroughly spread in Ze County, yet a long queue had formed outside the Post Station.

The officials from the Capital, usually so noble, were now engaged in the rare activity of registering names.

An elderly man tottered forward.

"My lord, I’m a vegetable farmer traveling between Ze County and several towns nearby. I’m here today to ask how much it costs to get a road pass at other Government Offices?"

This...

This truly stumped these dignitaries.

Normally, these trivial matters weren’t within their purview in the Capital.

Ying Yin whispered to his confidant, "Go, bring a relatively honest County Magistrate over for questioning."

Consequently, the temporarily detained Yang Weiweng was brought over.

Yang Weiweng was quite bewildered.

He was also rather disheveled.

However, he knew these matters well.

He bowed respectfully to Ying Yin, "The Court, out of sympathy, reduced it to three coins two years ago."

The elderly man from before suddenly became excited.

He dropped to his knees with a thud.

"But our passage to Ze County costs six coins!"

Ying Yin suddenly looked up.

As a Prince, he had always lived in luxury, never wanting, but even he knew how hard it was for the common folk to survive.

The past few years have seen a consistent reduction in taxes levied by the Court, but could it be that in remote areas, instead of reducing, the taxes have been increasing, only to line the pockets of officials?

There’s a full difference of double between six coins and three coins!

Yang Weiweng was stunned.

He was despondent, incredulous.

Xiao Huaian had unknowingly approached him from behind.

"Hey, how much do you charge in your jurisdiction?"

Yang Weiweng hurriedly replied honestly, "Three coins." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Xiao Huaian: ...

You might have saved your life.

"Did you ever notice? Every time you took those funds to Prefect Zhu for account reconciliation, if he didn’t receive bribe money, he wasn’t pleased?"

Yang Weiweng shook his head, "No."

"The Magistrate always praised me."

Xiao Huaian was puzzled.

"What did he praise you for?"

"He praised me for being competent."

Yang Weiweng: "Prefect Zhu also cared about me."

"He’d ask if I was short on money, or why I looked so poor."

Xiao Huaian: ...

He was hinting at you.

Fool.

The wind howled, sounding like the cries of a baby.

The elderly man was filled with righteous indignation.

"The road pass is only valid for one trip; it must be renewed for a return trip. I have to carry vegetables to the county every day for sale, so the round trip costs me twelve coins!"

"My family tightens our belts and toils away on the farm just for the sake of selling!"

The more he spoke, the more heartbroken he became, his voice was tinged with tears.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice dared not look at the Fifth Prince’s grim expression.

"Elder, please rise. This official has noted everything. If the situation is true..."

Interrupted by Ying Yin.

"Leave an address; if it’s indeed true, the overcharged amount will be refunded one by one."

Since he had to deal with this, Ying Yin would handle it beautifully and win the people’s hearts.

But the old man did not rise.

"I didn’t come for the money, my lord. I came for justice."

"My grandson used to sell vegetables in the county."

He was old and not very mobile.

Yu Tingwan and Hui Niang had just hurried over, only to hear someone in front break down crying.

"My grandson complained yesterday about the expense, and the constable in town beat him so badly he broke a leg! He’s still lying in the clinic."

"After saving up some money over the years, I just hoped he’d get married soon. But now! Now, all the money’s gone to medical bills, and it’s not enough!"

What could an old man like him do?

He had only one grandson, and he’d sell everything to treat him.

"I toil for a whole day, selling vegetables only to earn twenty coins. I haven’t saved enough for a day’s medicine, yet I must pay over half of that just to enter the Government Office."

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice asked, "Who else is in your family?"

"Just me and my grandson."

"When he was born, his father was recruited as a soldier, and in less than a year, he got a death notice. He’s gone."

"The child’s mother..."

The old man sighed, "Couldn’t bear the blow, and drowned herself."

The people in the queue were numb.

They had long been accustomed to such things.

However, the officials from the Capital exchanged glances, sighing continuously.

Yet what awaited them was still ahead.

Piece by piece, case by case, there was simply too much.

A thick stack of papers barely remembered things.

And this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that... as the news spread, there would only be more and more people coming to the Post Station.

A person behind the old man stepped forward.

"My lord, I want to file a complaint about the mine to the west, which has been mining without the Court’s permission, resulting in deaths year after year!"

"There’s no compensation money."

"The person managing the mine is close to the County Magistrate of Ze County."

"My husband and son are both gone. My daughter-in-law protested at the Government Office, offended the County Magistrate, and was jailed. She still hasn’t been released."

Ying Yin stood aside, his face growing graver.

A woman with a worried expression nervously clenched her clothes. She took a deep breath: "Since the twelfth year of Da Jin, droughts have occurred year after year. Families can’t afford to eat, and people are dying."

Walking the streets, the stench was overwhelming, and bodies lay scattered everywhere.

She choked up, "In the thirteenth year of Da Jin, my grandparents passed away. In the fourteenth year, my mother died. To prevent my brother from starving, my father cooked my mother while I was digging a pit to bury her."

"Today, I don’t fear offending the nobles. I just want to ask, why have the Court’s disaster relief funds been delayed?"