Calamity Befalls the Fish in the Moat, Rage Smolders in Secret

In the ancestral hall deep within the Military Governor's Residence, Qiu Yan battled the Demon King Shi Jianhui, ultimately settling the Karma gratitude and resentment.

At that time, on the platform of the ancestral hall lay a woman. In the last moment before his death, Shi Jianhui's shattered Demon Core tried to fly towards the woman, but was stopped midway.

Earlier, Qiu Yan had sent a wisp of his Divine Sense into the ancestral hall. In a fleeting glance, he saw two familiar figures. One of them was the Demon King Shi Jianhui, and the other was the woman lying on the platform.

In the battle at the ancestral hall, the Demon King perished. The ancestral hall was flooded and buried by earth during the battle between Tang Lai, Chen Yan, and the Crosscut Mountain God, and was completely destroyed. The woman on the platform disappeared into the ruins as a result.

But to Qiu Yan's surprise, the woman who disappeared with the ancestral hall that day has now appeared in front of him and calls him "Young Master".

Face to face, Insight Eye, Qiu Yan finally realized why he felt a sense of familiarity with this woman.

Two years ago, when Song Qian appeared before Qiu Yan in a sedan chair carried by eight men, besides Song Nu, there was also a maidservant who was dressed in blue and had her head down, making it difficult to see her face. However, Qiu Yan remembered her aura and temperament. She was the same woman from the ancestral hall platform, which is why she felt familiar to him.

"You..."

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, a cold glint in them, and was about to ask a question when he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

"Yan'er, you're back?"

Then, Liu Huai's voice came over.

"Uncle."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan had no choice but to stop talking, compose himself, and step forward to pay his respects. Then, upon seeing Liu Huai's figure, he frowned.

Compared to before, Liu Huai looked much more haggard. He used to be quite energetic, but now he showed signs of Elder Xu.

"Finally home! Master Song sent word over a while ago that you passed the Xiucai examination and became a scholar. I heard you even came in first place! Excellent! Excellent!"

Upon seeing Qiu Yan, Liu Huai burst into laughter, which greatly diminished his somewhat aged appearance.

This scene warmed Qiu Yan's heart, but a hint of anger immediately rose within him.

"I left Qingchang for the Dao Examination, and went directly to Wuxin City afterward. It was only a two-month period, yet my uncle showed signs of aging in such a short time..."

A thought flashed through his mind, and he guessed the reason.

"Song Nu..."

Thinking of Song Nu's previous attitude, Qiu Yan's anger intensified, but with Liu Huai beside him, he had to suppress it forcibly. Otherwise, given his Life Cultivation, if he revealed it, it would inevitably startle the old man.

"Your cousin went out to collect rent, he'll be back in a bit. He'll definitely be happy to know you're here."

Qiu Yan asked in confusion, "Collecting rent? Our family's newly purchased acres of land are already generating rent?"

When Qiu Yan first came to Qingchang, he helped the Liu Household buy a house and also paid for some farmland as a source of income for the Liu Household. However, those fields had been abandoned for a long time and needed to be reclaimed. Two years passed without any progress.

"It wasn't those plots of land," Liu Huai shook his head and sighed. "A few days ago, the farmers in the fields caused trouble, and I was afraid it would ruin your reputation, so I sold the land."

Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "Cause trouble? We haven't collected any rent in the past two years, and you've even been subsidizing them from time to time. Why would they cause trouble? Besides, even if they cause trouble, there's no need to sell the land; we can just replace them with new people."

Qiu Yan spoke, but he knew very well that if the peasants rioted and wanted to sell the land, the price would be driven down to an extremely low level, resulting in huge losses.

"Perhaps the land is barren and yields no produce," Liu Huai smiled. "Your uncle is illiterate, but I used to watch plays and know that families with officials are most afraid of this kind of thing. If word gets out, people won't be able to distinguish right from wrong; they'll just say our family is using our power to bully others. You just passed the Xiucai; your uncle can't cause you trouble or tarnish your reputation. A few plots of land, we'll sell them. The money from the land sale is still at home; I'll get it for you later."

Qiu Yan felt a surge of warmth in his heart, but his anger was equally intense. After a moment's thought, he knew that there must be someone behind this, and as for who that person was, it was obvious.

"No wonder my uncle has become so haggard in such a short time. It turns out he's been worrying too much and it's taken a toll on his mental health. I'll write a prescription for him to replenish his energy in a couple of days."

Having figured out the situation, but not wanting to cause a scene at home, Qiu Yan simply asked, "Now that the land has been sold, where will my cousin collect the rent?"

Liu Huai chuckled and patted Qiu Yan on the shoulder, "Your cousin is collecting rent for you. You passed the imperial examination and became Xiucai, so the government gave you a few acres of land."

"The government granted the land?"

Upon hearing this suggestion, Qiu Yan secretly shook his head.

The Great Rui Code did indeed contain provisions stating that those who passed the imperial examinations would be granted farmland by the government. However, this was a strategy adopted by the government to appease scholars when the country was first established.

Over the course of more than eighty years, with the Imperial Examinations every three years, not to mention the number of Xiucai passed the county-level examinations, many scholars who passed the provincial-level examinations have accumulated. Large landowners have also emerged one after another. Local powerful families have annexed large tracts of land, leaving behind only barren and difficult-to-cultivate farmland.

This was the situation in a frontier region like Jiannan Circuit. As far as Qiu Yan knew, in wealthy places like Jiangnan, land annexation was even more severe, and there was no room left to allocate to Xiucai. Therefore, the land was converted into money and grain, distributed monthly, and the land allocation clauses were merely nominal.

Some of this information Qiu Yan learned from conversations with the students at the post station, while others he learned from Yan Yongjie years ago.

The thought flashed through Qiu Yan's mind, and he asked again, "Who delivered this land to us from the government?"

"It was delivered personally by Master Song Household. He's a good man. You don't know, ever since we sold the land half a month ago, your cousin's shop has run into trouble, and our family is almost penniless. I never expected that Song Household would pull strings and get the land deed for the land that was supposed to be delivered in a few months ahead of schedule. Otherwise..."

Liu Huai shook his head and didn't continue.

"The terms for the government to grant land to Xiucai have long been a mere formality. No matter how much Song Nu tries to bribe his way out, it's useless. This land deed was definitely not given by the government! My uncle's family was forced to sell their land before, and even my cousin's shop ran into trouble. It's obvious that someone else did it on purpose. Song Nu and I have a grudge, and he's most likely the one who did all this, causing my uncle to be caught in the crossfire. Afterwards, he gave me land as compensation. He was arrogant at first but obsequious at second..."

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan sneered inwardly.

Just then, Liu Huai said, "Oh, right, I'll have your aunt go out and buy some groceries to welcome you back..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a clear, crisp voice came from the side—

"This kind of thing can be left to me, how can I trouble you, sir and mistress?"

The one speaking was the woman who opened the door for Qiu Yan.

Previously, Qiu Yan had been preoccupied with Liu Huai's haggard appearance and wanted to understand the situation first. Now that he had a general idea of what was going on, his attention returned to the woman.

Unexpectedly, the woman had already become acquainted with Liu Huai. After exchanging a few words, she left home with her vegetable basket, while Qiu Yan was pulled into the house by Liu Huai.

"Your maid is quite diligent," Liu Huai smiled, and before Qiu Yan could speak, he said, "A few days ago, she suddenly came to your door, saying that she was a maid you took in in Wuxin City, and that she had a pitiful background. What? Is there something fishy going on?"

Liu Huai had served as a steward in the Pan Household for many years, and although he was getting old, he still had the ability to read people's expressions. He noticed Qiu Yan's expression and had already guessed what was going on, so he spoke up without waiting for a question.

"Ever since the news of your passing the Xiucai spread, many people have wanted to sell themselves to me, but I haven't agreed to any of them, fearing that I might ruin your reputation if I didn't investigate immediately. But this woman brought a letter from the daughter of the military governor, which had been reviewed by the county magistrate, and she told me a lot about what you did in Wuxin City. She also produced a scroll of your book as a token..."

After hearing these words, Qiu Yan roughly understood the situation and gradually formed a plan.

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle. Those who sell themselves into servitude are mostly idle and lazy. They come here to evade taxes and corvée labor. They really shouldn't be taken in. As for Biying, you don't need to worry about her. I have my own plan." Having come up with a solution, he reassured Liu Huai.

Not long after, the woman named "Biying" returned from grocery shopping, went into the kitchen, and started cooking.

A while later, Qiu Yan's cousin Liu Yue also returned from collecting rent. The brothers greeted each other with pleasantries, and then the women of the family set up a table and chairs, and the whole family sat around it.

"Last month, your aunt and cousin were taken away by the Pan Household. They were very polite to you. I heard it was because of your reputation. Apparently, some of your calligraphy works have become popular in Yuanning Prefecture and are sought after. The Pan Household has heard about it and regrets their past actions, wanting to make amends." During the meal, Liu Huai introduced the changes in his family, looking very pleased with himself.

But these words made Qiu Yan suspicious.

"My calligraphy? I made some progress in calligraphy during the Dao Examination, but I didn't leave any trace of it in Yuanning Prefecture. If I had to name anything, it would be those calligraphy practice books that Zhang Zhen took when I was Soul Condensation. I heard he took them all to Yuanning City. I wonder what that got into."

Nowadays, most households in Yuanning Prefecture have invited the Kitchen God, who is under the influence of Qiu Yan's divine Domain of Law. However, ordinary people don't have much contact with matters of Law Script. Even in wealthy families, it is mostly the cooks who worship the Kitchen God. How many truly powerful and wealthy people care about the ways of cooking?

Different circles lead to different perspectives and different knowledge. For example, Qiu Yan would have had difficulty knowing about the battle between the demons if Lu Jing's soul hadn't entered the Netherworld.

Therefore, even though stoves are ubiquitous throughout the city, the Domain of Law system for collecting information is still not perfect.

After finishing his meal and bidding farewell to Liu Huai and the others, Qiu Yan got up and returned home, followed by a woman.

By the time they entered the courtyard, it was already late. Qiu Yan didn't say much and went straight to the study.

Although I've been away from home for several months, the study hasn't accumulated much dust, indicating that someone has been cleaning it.

Looking at the spotless desk, Qiu Yan's mind flashed back to Pan Rongniang's image and voice.

With a sigh, Qiu Yan sat down, put down his bundle and longsword, and turned his gaze to the woman, "Biying".

"Tell me, what are your plans?"

Upon hearing this, Biying remained calm and composed, bowing her head respectfully, her delicate face showing no emotion whatsoever. "Biying truly wishes to serve as your maidservant to repay your life-saving grace."

As she spoke, she raised her head, her watery eyes fixed on Qiu Yan: "I will explain the reasons to you, young master, but before that, there is something else to do." With that, she clapped her hands.

Creak.

Suddenly, a noise came from outside, and then the study door was pushed open. Song Nu walked in tremblingly. He was shirtless, his hands were tied behind his back, and he was carrying a bamboo pole on his back. As soon as he entered, he knelt down with a thud. (To be continued...)