Having arrived late the previous night without a clear view, Minglan immediately sensed something amiss when the estate managers came to pay their respects to her behind the screen early that morning. Head steward Wu Guang’s every gesture and glance prompted the other managers to kneel in unison, kowtow, and chant greetings to Minglan. During the silence, no one interrupted, and when responding to Minglan, most spoke in an orderly and logical manner.
There were only two explanations for this situation: either the Guyan Estate staff had rehearsed in advance, much like how Yao Yiyi’s former workplace prepared for leadership inspections or hygiene checks, or...
Even when she proposed measuring the farmland, Wu Guang responded calmly and provided the corresponding land registers and tenant rosters, while the estate managers promptly arranged assistance.
Minglan lowered her eyelids.
There are no walls without cracks. Her overt actions at Heishan Estate could easily have been disclosed by any servant or tenant. The same tactic couldn’t be reused—while Heishan Estate had been caught off guard, Guyan Estate was prepared. Besides, she hadn’t intended to conceal her actions in the first place.
Unlike Heishan Estate, Guyan Estate had been confiscated years ago from a disgraced official and had served as a royal estate for over a decade. Under the management of court-appointed eunuchs, few dared to question any irregularities here, given the imperial authority behind it.
Minglan wanted to see just how deep the waters ran at Guyan Estate and how well this facade of peace was maintained. The Cui brothers proceeded to measure the land as usual, Gongsun Meng was tasked with visiting all the tenants, while Minglan detained head steward Wu Guang for conversation.
"...So Steward Wu is a clansman of Eunuch Wu from the Estate Management Bureau. My apologies for not recognizing you sooner," Minglan said with a smile as warm as the spring breeze.
"I wouldn’t dare claim such honor. We’re only distantly related—I merely use the connection to make a living," Wu Guang replied deferentially with a bow. "After His Majesty bestowed this estate, my uncle originally assigned me to bureau duties. But having worked here for so many years, I’ve developed attachments to both the place and its people. If Madam and the Commander find me worthy, I’d be honored to remain and serve."
"How could we impose? You are, after all, Eunuch Wu’s clansman. It wouldn’t be proper, and if word got out, it might cause talk," Minglan feigned hesitation.
Wu Guang’s eyes flickered as he smoothly countered, "What kind of ‘master’ am I? Still... my elderly uncle has good relations with the eunuchs in the palace. They all say the Commander is generous and broad-minded, not one to fuss over minor details. Everyone is eager to befriend him, so I doubt there’d be any unfavorable talk."
The layered implications in his words were skillfully delivered. Minglan smiled slightly and lifted her teacup. "You make a fair point, Steward Wu. But as a mere woman, I must discuss this matter with my husband."
After three days of investigation, the Cui brothers and Gongsun Meng reported their findings in detail, supplemented by intelligence gathered by the Tu family brothers’ informants. Hearing their accounts, Minglan’s brows knitted tightly, and she briefly ordered Wu Guang to be summoned.
After exchanging pleasantries, Minglan said gently, "I’ve carefully considered this matter. As the saying goes, every family has its rules, and every state its laws. Not only has the Gu family never allowed outsiders to manage estate affairs, but if you inquire throughout the capital, how many households would dare employ former stewards of a royal estate? Ultimately, it’s simply not proper."
Wu Guang’s pale, triangular face darkened abruptly."...If I truly kept Master Wu, never mind how outsiders would mock the Gu family for having no rules, even the Gu family elders would likely come to scold me immediately." Minglan teased with a smile, carefully observing his expression through the gauze screen. She bet he wouldn't be willing to sell himself into servitude.
Wu Guang's face darkened briefly before quickly recovering. He sighed, "What Madam says makes sense, but these fifty or sixty tenant farmers still owe rent and debts to the estate. With previous accounts unsettled, this humble servant cannot properly report to superiors."
Minglan felt a slight shock inwardly. She hadn't expected this scoundrel's audacity to be so well-developed. Just then, there was a faint noise from behind the partition screen in the hall. She glanced sideways before continuing, "How much is owed in total?"Wu Guang, well-prepared, immediately responded, 'The accumulated rent arrears by tenant farmers over the years amounts to approximately twenty thousand taels.'" People eat grains and often suffer from headaches and fevers. When tenant families face difficulties, they need to borrow money - that comes to about thirteen to fifteen thousand taels."
Minglan was astonished: "That much?!"
"Ah..." Wu Guang deliberately sighed loudly, "Other matters can be overlooked, but those loaned funds are crucial! This humble servant has no money - most belong to noble superiors. Moreover, strictly speaking, this estate was only bestowed a few years ago, so those overdue rents actually belong to the imperial family!"
Minglan clenched her fingers tightly, biting her teeth until they ached. After catching her breath, she adopted a troubled tone: "This matter is quite difficult to handle. Manager Wu, please help me think of a solution..."
Wu Guang felt relieved inwardly. Indeed, she was just a woman - young and timid. From his observations these past few days, he knew Gu Tingye rarely managed domestic affairs and doted greatly on this young wife, often complying with her wishes. Thinking this, he promptly offered courteously: "Madam need not worry!" As long as this humble servant remains here, all these messy matters can be properly handled for Madam!"
Minglan smilingly dismissed him. Spreading open her palm, it was full of nail marks.
Afterward, she made no commotion, continuing to have people inspect estate affairs. Even when Tu Hu and Gongsun Meng were furious and wanted to confront Wu Guang and other estate managers, she stopped them.
Two more days passed. That afternoon, Gu Tingye suddenly returned. After changing out of his heavy official robes and armor, bathing, and dressing in casual clothes, he sat comfortably on the kang holding a teacup: "...The military equipment has been organized, drills are orderly. Though not comparable to Old Commander Bo's strict military discipline from back in the day, it's presentable now. We rest this afternoon - tomorrow His Majesty comes to review the troops."
Minglan personally brought fruits cooled in well water. Hearing this, she chuckled lightly: "Isn't this just superficial work? If His Majesty truly believes everything in the army is smooth, wouldn't it be disastrous when deploying troops?"
Gu Tingye smiled wryly: "In just these few days, it's not like we can perform magic. His Majesty knows the actual situation well enough." Still, for the new emperor's first military review, maintaining appearances was important.
"So does this mean you can relax now?" Minglan smiled while peeling loquats for him.
Gu Tingye ate the sweet fruit, watching Minglan's delicate, coconut-milk-white fingers nimbly moving among the golden, fragrant loquats, as if her fingers themselves smelled delicious. He quietly watched her for a while.
"What happened at the estate?"
Minglan looked up at Gu Tingye, puffing her cheeks gloomily. Apologetically, she said: "I originally intended to tell you after you finished your busy period.""Speak," the man said gently, pinching her cheek. "What grand matter is this? Let me hear it."
Minglan bit her lip and finally recounted everything she had witnessed and learned over the past few days, including the full context. The more Gu Tingye listened, the darker his expression grew, until he could no longer contain his rage. He slammed a furious fist onto the kang table, causing the loquats on it to jump.
Minglan quickly spread her arms to gather the round fruits that threatened to roll off, glancing toward the door. Fortunately, Xie Ang had guards surrounding these rooms—in a place like this, she feared eavesdroppers.
"...I hadn't made up my mind until Ameng and the others reported back one after another. I was truly furious," Minglan said, picking up the loquats one by one and placing them back into the small basket woven from white jade bamboo stems. "Not only is the land rent twenty to thirty percent higher than other imperial estates, but that scoundrel Wu also routinely forces tenants to do private labor for him. He extorts money and demands laborers during festivals, and uses any pretext to raise rents. His estate managers rely on his influence to freely assault and humiliate people's wives and daughters—truly worse than beasts. A mere steward, disregarding all morality, exploiting to this extent—I cannot tolerate him!"
"Listening to what they described chilled me to the bone," Minglan said as she placed the last fruit back, her face showing distress. "In the bitter cold of winter, families without firewood rely only on thin clothing for warmth—some children freeze to death from illness. Because rent is so heavy, elders starve themselves to save food—some literally starve to death. Even so, able-bodied men and women must work in the fields without a day's rest—"
Coughing up blood from illness, they still work; feet frozen rotten, they still work; children crying desperately from cold and hunger inside, they still work... The tenants surely wished to rise up, but above them were the inspection offices in collusion, and below them were wolf-like thugs and estate managers. The tenants were tightly controlled, unaware they could appeal to censors. Several uprisings were suppressed, only to be met with harsher oppression.
Minglan's eyes gradually moistened. She couldn't imagine such scenes, and a fiery anger welled up inside her. In all her years in this ancient era, she had never despised anyone so intensely. The schemes of women in the inner quarters could be attributed to survival instincts or societal and systemic pressures—but what of a madman like Wu Guang? Minglan wished she could execute them, one by one!
Gu Tingye's face was stormy and sinister with fury. He told Minglan, "I had heard a little but didn't know the full extent. I hadn't gotten around to dealing with these beasts. I left men with you precisely so you could handle them! Just have them bound and sent to the authorities."
After venting his anger, Gu Tingye took several deep breaths and sneered coldly, "How dare he threaten his master? That ruffian must be tired of living! Too comfortable for too long! What 'bureau officials' or 'palace connections'—since when are there so many nobles in the world? They merely exploit the Late Emperor's benevolence, each inflating their importance and flaunting their power. An estate yielding three to five thousand taels a year—how could it accumulate twenty thousand taels in unpaid rent over just twelve or thirteen years? Was there a disaster here these years? I knew of none! Let's see who dares to justify this!"
Minglan bowed her head, silent for a long time, then sighed softly, "If it were that simple to act, I would have done so long ago."
"What are you concerned about?""It's not about caution, but..." Minglan sighed softly. "Many years ago, Father had a colleague named Qiu. Uncle Qiu was convinced the Third Prince would ascend the throne, but what good did his foresight do him? Before the Third Prince could be named heir, Uncle Qiu was impeached and imprisoned, later dying in military exile. The Third Prince never fulfilled his imperial destiny, and Uncle Qiu died in vain. To this day, no one has cleared the Qiu family's name."
Gu Tingye gradually calmed his anger. The succession struggle that had lasted nearly a decade back then had turned half the capital upside down, involving countless civil and military officials. After years of mutual accusations, even those who backed the right side didn't necessarily come to good ends.
Feeling contemplative, he listened quietly to Minglan's words.
Minglan lowered her voice further: "Better offend a gentleman than a villain. Though the Late Emperor has passed, those imperial concubines and eunuchs might not be completely powerless. They may have no means to resist now, but if we don't eliminate them completely, should they bear grudges and seek revenge over time, waiting for an opportunity to strike from behind... it's hard to say what might happen. After all, there's a world of difference between breaking off relations and merely keeping distance."
In the Sheng household, such admonishments usually came from Old Mrs. Sheng advising Sheng Hong. Unfortunately, Gu Tingye had no elders to rely upon.
Gu Tingye closed his eyes. From the large locust tree outside the window came the delicate chirping of cicadas, one long note followed by a short one, like the rhythm of Minglan's anxious and bewildered heartbeat. After a long, long while, Gu Tingye finally exhaled with difficulty.
"—Your concerns are reasonable. What do you propose we do now?"
"I don't know." Confusion spread across Minglan's face. "Those hateful, deserving criminals—I truly wish I could have them beheaded. But we're constrained everywhere, unable to move against them. I don't know what to do either. However, I think at the very minimum, we must drive them away before this estate can truly be considered ours. Otherwise, keeping these scoundrels while worrying about taking the blame for them—I can't even sleep at night. Therefore..."
"Therefore what?"
Minglan gritted her teeth and said in one breath: "Could we repay the tenants' debts for them? Settle everything at once and send those people away!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Minglan hurriedly watched his expression. He seemed first surprised, then sank into thoughtful contemplation. Minglan felt uneasy, knowing herself that this proposal was rather extravagant—even prominent noble families typically spent only five to six thousand taels annually, yet now she was asking Gu Tingye to produce thirty to forty thousand taels at once!
Not for buying official positions, not for bribes, not even for luxury—this was quite a demanding request.
Gu Tingye said nothing more, only slowly selected an especially plump loquat from the basket. His distinct-knuckled fingers peeled the fruit slowly until soon, a pitted loquat pulp was held between the man's slender fingertips.
Before Minglan could react, her mouth was stuffed with the fruit. Gu Tingye chuckled and poked her bulging cheek.
"This is an excellent idea." He smiled, his expression clearing. "I'll provide the money."
Before Minglan could recover from her surprise, he had already turned to call Xiaotao to summon people. Minglan had no choice but to go into the inner room to listen.
...
"Hao Dacheng."
"Your servant is here." A steward of medium build stepped forward, standing with bowed posture.Gu Tingye rested one hand on the kang table, his posture as immovable as a mountain: "Take a team and keep an eye on Wu Guang and the other seven. Provide them with good food and drink, persuade them with kind words, but do not allow them to leave their rooms or interact with anyone. Ah Meng, you go too. If anyone dares to force their way in, show them what you're capable of. In short, keep them under tight surveillance!"
Hao Dacheng cupped his hands and responded clearly; Gongsun Meng followed him out, brimming with excitement.
Gu Tingye nodded, then turned to Tu Long and said in a deep voice, "Return to the estate and ask Gongsun Xiansheng to write name cards. Invite Lu Tongpan of Shuntian Prefecture to send two county magistrates and clerks. Also, request Eunuch Xia to dispatch two eunuchs to take custody of the prisoners. Additionally, invite representatives from the local regional inspection office to act as witnesses. Will three days suffice?"
Tu Long, always reliable, immediately clasped his fists in acknowledgment.
"Master, what about me?" Tu Hu had been waiting impatiently.
"Old Hu, take your men and secure the entire manor. If anyone dares to cause trouble..." Gu Tingye picked up the plain silk handkerchief from the kang table and gently wiped his fingers, "I, Gu, have never hired thugs or idlers. Just make sure no lives are lost."
The pristine silk handkerchief in the man's hand was stained with a pale golden hue, exuding a faint fruity fragrance.
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