The Second Sister of a Farmer's Family's Path to Imperial Destiny

For several days, the group's journey was extremely smooth.

Leading the way was Zhao He's carriage. He sat in the carriage, looking at the map and calculating the speed of the carriages. They would not travel at night, so they would probably rest in Taiping Town at night. Calculating the schedule again, it would take about four days to reach the capital.

Just as he was looking forward to reuniting with He Xin, he heard a commotion outside. The carriage stopped. Zhao He frowned and lifted the curtain, only to see a large group of people kneeling in front of the carriage.

"Master, these people in front claim to be villagers from nearby and want to complain to Master Guo Xi."

Zhao He was puzzled: "If you want to file a complaint, you should go to the local officials. What's the point of going to a young man who is only a scholar in name only? He has no official status."

Guo Xi and others behind him also noticed that something was wrong. Guo Xi and General He stepped forward and asked, "What's going on?"

The uneven cries of pleading from not far away gradually became audible, and the soldier's explanation followed in due time.

Guo Xi saw that none of the common people had sharp weapons in their hands. He then looked at their coarse linen clothes and dark skin. He was even more certain of their identities and walked towards them. "Why are you looking for Master Guo?"

The leading peasant woman saw a handsome young man with an extraordinary demeanor, and knew at first glance that he was a scholar. She said, "I am a woman from the nearby Tianjia Village. My late husband was the village head of Tianjia Village. Today I have come to Mr. Guo to ask him to seek justice for us. The officials in Taiping Town are really too arrogant!"

Guo Xi was stunned. Although he had some experience in the village recently and had handled grievances for many villagers, he had never dealt with a case involving suing officials.

Moreover, this place is six days away from the village under Yong'an County. How could his name spread here so quickly?

Seeing that Guo Xi did not respond, the leading peasant woman looked puzzled and continued to cry, "Sir, please go and inform Master Guo. He will surely seek justice for us."

Guo Xi: "How did the official oppress you?"

The peasant woman said, "Three years ago, the harvest was bad, and the government was supposed to distribute a certain amount of grain as aid to the village. However, the official embezzled most of it, and as a result, most of the people in our village died. That would have been fine, but this year looked like a good harvest, and we thought the villagers would have a good year. However, the official, out of his own selfish desires, actually told my husband and the village chief that we should collect 20% more grain from each household this year to go into his private treasury."

Hearing this, Guo Xi frowned, and Zhao He came behind Guo Xi without him knowing when.

"My humble husband refused to obey, so the official threatened him with the livelihood of the entire village for the next two months. In the end, he was forced to death!" The peasant woman covered her face and cried when she said this.

Although the villagers make a living by farming, during the slack season, the idle labor force at home will go to the town to seek a living, selling small items or doing odd jobs in places like taverns.

But if the town officials deliberately make things difficult for the people, they only need to notify the various managers in the town, and the people will lose their lives.

Zhao He said in a deep voice: "Is what you said true? Can anyone testify?"

The peasant woman choked up and looked at Zhao He, who was obviously noble and imposing. She was about to call him "Mr. Guo", but then she remembered that none of the officials in the town had such a temperament, so it must not be Mr. Guo. She pointed to the people behind her and said, "Sir, they are all from our village and can all testify for me."

The people behind him all said at once: "I live next door to the head of the village. I heard what they were talking about that day."

"That's right. The village head has always been the best to us. He even fought for us after hearing the threat from the town official."

"Yes, but the town officials are getting more aggressive. They say that if the villagers don't agree to pay an additional 20%, they'll find a reason to lock up the village head and his men, beat them half to death, and then throw them back."

……

Zhao He pieced together what the people had said and had a general understanding of the situation. He waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately fetched paper, pen, and ink. "I understand your situation. Simply write down your complaint here and sign and seal it. I will take care of the rest."

The peasant woman looked at Zhao He with some hesitation. Who exactly was this gentleman? Would what he said deceive them? What would they do if this gentleman asked for their list and then turned around to complain to the town magistrate?

Guo Xi stepped forward at the right moment and said, "I am the Master Guo you are looking for. You can trust what this gentleman says." After a pause, he continued, "However, I wonder how you learned that you were looking for me to file a complaint?"

The peasant woman looked at Guo Xi, comparing his words repeatedly in her mind. Finding that they were basically the same as the rumors she had heard, she said, "Three days ago, rumors about you were circulating in villages like ours that were in similar situations. They said that if we could just find you, everything would be fine."

Guo Xi nodded slightly, thinking that this matter might have been instructed by Pei Lin.

He was just a scholar, a mere scholar. Even with the support of the General of Cavalry, he could not handle the grievances of all the people on their behalf.

Although Fang Peilin's grandfather has retired, he still has considerable influence in the court and the country. If the King of Shu and his entourage set out from the border to return to Beijing, they will definitely receive the news.

After further calculations, he would definitely know that the King of Shu would be able to go to the capital with him in the end.

Zhao He gestured for Guo Xi to get on the carriage with him. "The corruption case involves a wide range of people. I don't think you took the initiative to propose a solution."

Guo Xi instantly understood what was going on. He explained the Prince of Qi's letter and Fang Peilin's story, then added, "I just wonder what Your Majesty thinks of this corruption case. If all these officials are purged, will the newly promoted officials be honest? Will we repeat the same mistakes?"

Zhao He remained silent. These things were inevitable. Some things were not determined by people, but by positions. Once you were in those positions for a long time, it was hard not to be tempted. Moreover, in order to fit in, even if the people in the positions kept their original intentions at the beginning, it would be difficult for them not to waver in their original intentions later on.

After a long pause, he said, "Do you still remember the proposal you and Xin'er made over three years ago to get His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the corruption case?"

Guo Xi was stunned. Although the policy paper was written together with his second sister, it had been so long that he had long forgotten its general content.

Seeing Guo Xi's reaction, Zhao He explained, "There's actually a very good suggestion in the policy paper. It suggests that corrupt officials should be cracked down on every few years to prevent corruption from reaching a point where it becomes difficult for the people to survive."

Seeing that Guo Xi still had a blank expression on his face, he knew that this might have been written by Xin'er. Thinking of this, he felt a little sad. He hadn't seen Xin'er for three years. He wondered what Xin'er looked like now. Was she thinner or fatter, or taller?