Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 274 My Sister-in-Law's Family Background

The minor official immediately unfolded the paper in his hand, found some wall paste, and pasted it on.

—This was a notice bearing the bright red seal of the Kaifeng Prefecture.

They carried several thick stacks of these notices, clearly intending to plaster them all over the Hongqiao Market.

"To all vendors and residents of Hongqiao Market!"

Wang Anshi's voice was loud and clear, piercing through the cold wind: "From this day forward, the Kaifeng Prefectural Government will implement the 'New Market Rules' at the Hongqiao Market. First, all illegal levies and miscellaneous fees will be abolished! Merchants may refuse to pay any fees demanded by clerks under the guise of 'regularities' and should immediately report such demands to the newly established 'Censor-Checking Pavilion' in the market. Those found guilty will be severely punished, and the informant will be rewarded!"

"Secondly, the official scales and measures used in the market shall be uniformly calibrated by the government and placed at the market entrance, so that the people and vendors can check them at any time. Anyone found to have tampered with or used private scales shall be severely punished!"

"Thirdly, commercial taxes shall be collected in accordance with the quotas set by the Three Departments, clearly marked, and issued with the unified seal of the prefectural government. Tax collectors shall not demand any extra money. If any difficulties or extortion are encountered, one may directly appeal to the 'Inspectorate' or the Kaifeng Prefectural Government by beating the drum!"

"Fourth, all market clerks will have their salaries paid by the government after the cleanup, so that they can support their families without having to exploit others. However, if anyone is found guilty of embezzlement, extortion, market manipulation, or collusion with thugs, they will be punished three degrees more severely and exiled to the army!"

The four new regulations formulated by Bao Zheng and Wang Anshi in Kaifeng Prefecture directly addressed the core problems of corrupt officials.

"It's saved!"

The cheers of the crowd were like a flood bursting its banks, instantly engulfing the Rainbow Bridge.

Countless merchants were moved to tears; they had been exploited and suffered for far too long by these corrupt officials!

Wang Anshi's move was tantamount to giving them a protective shield, a source of confidence to do business with their backs straight!
Lu Beigu stood at the edge of the bustling crowd, looking at Wang Anshi's not particularly tall but seemingly able to support a vast sky, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.

This stubborn prime minister's courage and execution are truly admirable.

Afterwards, Lu Beigu composed himself and turned to look at the woman behind him who had just experienced an undeserved calamity.

In the thin winter sunlight, the contours of her eyebrows and eyes overlapped more clearly with the face of her birth mother in her memory.

Lu Beigu stepped forward and asked softly, "Excuse me, is it Lu Nanzhi in person?"

Upon hearing the sound, the woman's body stiffened abruptly, and her reddened eyes widened instantly as she looked at Lu Beigu, her expression one of utter disbelief.

Look at that.
"It's me. You...you are Bei Gu?"

A cold wind swept across the Rainbow Bridge, fluttering the cloth banners of the tofu shop.

Not far away, Wang Anshi was directing his yamen runners to clean up the scene and explaining the "New Rules of Market Regulation" to the vendors.

But in front of this small, messy tofu shop, time seemed to stand still.

Looking at the woman's surging tears and the glimmer of hope in her eyes, Lu Beigu had no more doubts.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke forcefully, "Sister, it's me! Lu Beigu."

The woman's mind went blank.

The tall, handsome young man before her overlapped with the image of her younger brother, who was only a few years old and barely reached her calves, clinging to her clothes and sobbing.

Fourteen years!

She has been separated from her family for fourteen years since her father died unjustly.

Her husband was away on military service most of the year, and what kept her going, besides her son, was that faint hope. Perhaps her relatives in Sichuan were still alive! Perhaps her younger brother had grown up!
And at this moment, that thought actually came true!
All the grievances and longings, at this moment, burst forth like a flood, overturning all the defenses in her heart.

Lu Nanzhi reached out her hand tremblingly, as if wanting to touch her younger brother's cheek, but her fingers froze in mid-air, trembling.

Lu Beigu took her hand and said.

"Let's talk inside."

Seeing this, Zhang Zai knew that the family members had been reunited after a long separation, and he shouldn't disturb them. So he nodded slightly to Lu Beigu and left alone.

Inside the house, Lu Nanzhi cried so hard she almost passed out.

After a while, she calmed down a little, wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and grabbed Lu Beigu's hand, asking anxiously, "How did you find Kaifeng? Did your older brother send you? How are your brother and sister-in-law now?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Beigu's heart sank. He lowered his eyelids, avoiding Lu Nanzhi's hopeful gaze.

"Sister."

Lu Beigu paused, and in that pause, he felt Lu Nanzhi's hand in his palm suddenly stiffen.

Clearly, Lu Nanzhi had a bad feeling.

"My elder brother passed away several years ago after contracting a sudden illness."

"My sister-in-law single-handedly supported the family and provided for my studies. I came to Kaifeng this time because I passed the provincial examination in Luzhou and am going to the capital to take the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites."

Separation in life and separation by death.

Upon hearing this news, Lu Nanzhi's face instantly drained of color, turning ashen white.

She suddenly let go of Lu Beigu's hand, feeling as if all her bones had been removed. She leaned back softly in the chair, tears streaming silently down her face.

"Mother!"

A clear, tearful child's voice rang out.

A little boy, about four or five years old, had somehow run out from the back room of the shop. He looked at his limp mother in terror, rushed over and clung tightly to her leg, his upturned face full of confusion and fear.

The sound pulled Lu Nanzhi back to reality from her immense grief.

She managed to calm herself down and pulled the boy aside.

"Call him 'little uncle'."

"Uncle!"

Looking at the little boy who called him "Uncle," Lu Beigu reached out and patted his head.

Then, the two fell silent. At that moment, they had so much to say, but neither knew what to say.

The two stared at each other silently for a moment.

The older sister before him was completely different from the gentle and quiet young lady he remembered.

The pain of losing her parents at a young age and the hardships of raising her children have left indelible marks on her.

The stubbornness between her brows was forged by the relentless passage of time.

"Sister, I'm here for you too."

Lu Beigu gripped Lu Nanzhi's hand tightly.

Looking at his sister, Lu Beigu actually had some questions he wanted to ask about his family's past.

When he set off from Hejiang County, his sister-in-law Pei Yan asked him to come to Kaifeng to ask his sister Lu Nanzhi about it. However, although his sister was right in front of him, she was already in such deep grief that Lu Beigu really couldn't bear to let her reopen her wounds.

But we can't ignore the past.

After Lu Nanzhi calmed down a bit, Lu Beigu tentatively asked, "I was young when I accompanied my elder brother to escort the coffin back to our hometown, and I don't know much about the past. I only know that my elder sister got married and my sister-in-law lost contact with her family."

Hearing Lu Beigu speak, Lu Nanzhi knew that her younger brother had grown up and she could no longer hide these things from him, so she said, "Your brother-in-law Jia Yan is a warrior who is rarely home. I don't want the children to live near the military camp. What would that be like? So I have no choice but to bring the children here to make a living."

Jia Yan?

Lu Beigu frowned slightly. He seemed to have a vague impression of the name, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

"As for your sister-in-law's family, they looked down on our Lu family back then."

Pei Yan is well-educated and reasonable, which is obviously not something that can be cultivated in an ordinary family, but she has always been very secretive about her family.

Under Lu Beigu's persistent questioning, Lu Nanzhi revealed the truth: "Your sister-in-law's family is a branch of the Pei clan of Wenxi. Her grandfather, Pei Lizheng, was an eighth-generation descendant of Pei Yaoqing, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. Pei Lizheng's eldest brother, Pei Ji, was the prefect of Lingzhou. He died in battle in the fifth year of Xianping due to the rebellion of the Dangxiang people, which led to the fall of Lingzhou. Pei Lizheng's second brother, Pei Lize, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) along with Pei Lizheng. Many of the family's descendants held high-ranking positions in prefectures and counties. It is a truly prestigious family."

(End of this chapter)