Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 13 Pavilion Incident
In the spacious bedroom, wisps of green smoke escaped from the incense burner on the carpet, and the air was filled with the unique and intoxicating fragrance of storax.

Styrax originated in the Qin Empire, which was then Rome, and flowed into the Han Empire via the Silk Road.

Yan Yi was turning a teacup in his hand, his face as gloomy as water.

Du Qiu knelt beside the desk, touched his head to the ground, and said in a trembling voice, "I was foolish and deceived the young master before. There were three people imprisoned in the An Prison in the pavilion, and they were about to be taken to the county. I failed in my duty and released them yesterday."

The Anyu in the pavilion was equivalent to the detention center of later times, which only temporarily detained people with minor crimes. If they wanted to be escorted to the county, it would be a more serious crime.

"Who is being held captive?" Yan Yi asked.

Du Qiu whispered, "Two of them are guests of the Fei family, and one is a guest of the Shen family."

The Fei and Shen families were both powerful families in Wucheng, with thousands of servants and guests in their homes. When they went out, they rode in a row, and when they returned, they brought home a hundred taels of silver.

Among the most powerful surnames in Wucheng at present, the Yan family is naturally the first, followed by the aristocratic Shi family, and then six or seven powerful families including Fei and Shen.

Yan Yi placed the teacup on the table and tapped it lightly with his fingers. He had guessed something in his mind and frowned, "What crime did you commit?"

Du Qiu raised his head, his expression bitterer than coptis root. "The Fei family is lending money on credit to the refugees, charging exorbitant interest. They also tampered with the wooden planks of the hu (a measure of rice), lending out a dou (a dou) of rice when in reality they only had seven liters. A dispute arose between the two sides, and Fei's guests, taking advantage of their power, assaulted several refugees. To appease the public, I arrested two of the ringleaders."

Yan Yi's face was equally ugly. The so-called loan on credit was actually usury.

The usury in this era is much more terrifying than in later generations.

During the reign of Emperor Wen, Chao Cuo once said that in order to pay the urgent and heavy taxes, the people were forced to sell their products at half price, and those who had no products had no choice but to borrow money and bear "double the interest", that is, they had to pay double the interest.

And this multiple interest rate was only the lower limit. The more severe the famine or social unrest, the more rampant the "ziqianjia" (small money lenders) became.

Now is the end of the Han Dynasty and the time of chaos, the interest rate is probably more than three or five times.

When the people couldn't pay back their debts, they had no choice but to sell their houses and land, their children and daughters, and finally themselves.

"What crime did the other person commit?" he asked in a deep voice.

Du Qiu said uneasily, "Among the refugees, there was a family named Tian. They had a beautiful daughter. A guest from the Shen family wanted to buy her as a concubine, but after being rejected, they forced her to be bought. An old man from the Tian family stepped forward to stop them, but was pushed to the ground and hit his head on a rock. Although he didn't die, he became paralyzed."

Yan Yi's eyes were as sharp as knives as he stared at Du Qiu's face: "Is this what you call a minor crime?"

The color drained from Du Qiu's face, and his palms were covered in sweat. "I have failed in my duty. Please punish me, young master."

"Isn't it easy to punish you?" Yan Yi sneered, "This guy wouldn't be released for no reason, right? What's going on?"

Du Qiu said in a hushed voice, "I had already written a document and was about to submit it to the county, asking the thieves to come and arrest the man. Unexpectedly, the Fei and Shen families summoned hundreds of followers that same day, surrounded the pavilion, and tried to force me to release the man."

Yan Yi's eyes flashed with surprise. He had thought Du Qiu was colluding with the Fei and Shen families, or that the other party had some leverage over him, which was why he let him go. He hadn't expected this to be the case.

"I refused to release him, so they surrounded the pavilion, forbidding anyone to enter or leave. At night, they secretly climbed over the courtyard wall, intending to take him away. When I discovered them, they refused to retreat and surrounded me and my men at the gate of the prison." Du Qiu's face turned pale and blue, and the large man almost cried out: "I was worried they would attack the pavilion, so I had to release him."

Yan Yi's face turned pale. He stood up and took two steps back and forth: "Excellent! You just let him go! How dare you stay here!"

Du Qiu prostrated himself on the ground: "I acknowledge my guilt!"

Yan Yi clenched his fists, trying to suppress the anger in his chest, and asked, "Do you know the person who caused the trouble?"

Du Qiu said hurriedly, "The leaders are all strangers. One of them is called Brother Zhao by his attendant. He might be a recent guest of the Fei and Shen families. They are still in the pavilion. I know their whereabouts."

Yan Yi summoned Si Qing and Chen Gan, explained the situation, and ordered them, "Immediately take two squads of cavalry and capture the man!"

Si Qing and Chen Gan clasped their fists in response, then strode away with Du Qiu.

The three men left the bedroom, and Chen Gan selected twenty cavalrymen, twenty-three strong horses, raised a cloud of dust, rushed onto the official road, and headed straight for Andingli, the farthest of the villages in the pavilion.

In a two-story attic in Andingli, Zhao Ping and his three attendants sat opposite each other and drank.

"Second brother, you have done a great thing this time. You and I will be able to gain a foothold in the Fei family in the future." A short and fat servant stuffed a meat pie into his mouth.

Zhao Ping raised his head and drank a cup of wine, then reached out to wipe the wine stains from the corners of his mouth. "Gathering a crowd to block the pavilion is no small matter after all. Otherwise, why would the Fei family let us brothers do this? The head of the pavilion here is also very short-sighted. He even dares to interfere in the affairs of the Fei family! The Fei family has lost face, so how could they not seek redress from him? Not to mention there is also the Shen family."

The short and fat man shouted, "We brothers didn't hurt the bird pavilion chief at all. He was the coward who let him go. Since the Fei family has let us live here with good food and drink, don't worry, second brother."

Zhao Ping thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "After the reward arrives, I'll go to Qiantang and stay there for a few days."

As they were talking, the door was pushed open. The owner, Sun Ke, walked in solemnly and clasped his fists towards Zhao Ping. "Second Brother Zhao, please find another place for us to stay."

The short and fat man was immediately dissatisfied: "Yesterday he told us brothers to stay here peacefully, but today he asked us to leave. Why?"

Zhao Ping coughed lightly, and the short and fat man suddenly fell silent.

"My second brother and I hit it off right away, and I'm hoping you guys will stay with me for a few more days. But I just received news that Yan Yi suddenly went to Geqi Pavilion today. It's not a big deal to be cautious, so it's better to avoid him." Sun Ke bowed and apologized.

Zhao Ping frowned and said, "But that son of Yan Baihu? I've heard some rumors about him. He's said to be a playboy who doesn't care about anything."

"It's this boy." Sun Ke sighed softly, a strange look suddenly appearing on his face. "In the past, I wouldn't have taken him seriously. But today, he suddenly killed a few soldiers who were looting civilians. His behavior is very different from usual, so we can't be careless."

"In that case, let's move to another place. Thank you, Mr. Sun." Zhao Ping said in a deep voice.

Sun Ke smiled slightly and led Zhao Ping and others out of the house.

At the same time, Si Qing and twenty-three other riders had arrived at a woods next to Andingli.

(End of this chapter)