In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Not long after Zhang Shen returned to Yangzhou, he was about to embark on another long journey.

Zhu Qingyu helped him pack his bags, which seemed rather strange:

"You just visited the salt fields in Huaibei before the New Year, why are you going again? All this traveling is exhausting; can your body handle it? You've looked so worried these past few days, is something wrong?"

Zhang Shen never hid his business dealings from her, whether good or bad. He pulled her down to sit and sighed repeatedly.

"You don't know, Vice Minister Gu has been investigating smuggled salt recently, shutting down many shops, seizing many ships, and arresting many people. Our Salt Commissioner, Lord Dai, is a new official making his mark, and taking advantage of the ban on smuggled salt, he wants to reform the salt tax. In previous years, the salt tax was paid based on the amount sold, but this year, the tax must be paid in advance by purchasing quotas a year in advance. Everyone's money is tied up in business, so how can they come up with so much cash all at once? The official salt business is getting worse day by day, and even Huainan has a lot of unfinished salt stockpiled. The situation in Huaibei will only be worse. I need to go and see for myself how much salt from last year is stockpiled in the Huaibei salt fields and how much can be sold this year, so I can have a clear understanding."

Zhu Qingyu had followed Zhang Shen in business for several years and knew a thing or two about it. She wasn't optimistic about Lord Dai's new policies and advised him:

"Jingyan, Lord Dai is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. As long as smuggled salt remains at twenty cash a catty and official salt at sixty cash a catty, smuggled salt will never be eradicated, and the official salt business will never thrive. Living beyond one's means is unsustainable. You should think this through carefully and not be greedy."

Zhang Shen patted her hand, his eyes gentle:

"I know, I told you you're cut out for business. You think things through better than any of my managers. Don't worry, I won't be reckless. We may think things through, but others might not. A few days ago, I heard from the Zhou family that they didn't have enough working capital and were going to borrow government silver from Lord Dai to buy a quota, even at an interest rate of eight percent per month. They think they're getting something for nothing, but little do they know, they're courting death. We'll see, throughout history, how many people who have implemented reforms have had a good ending? In less than three years, eighty percent of the salt merchants in Yangzhou will die because of this new policy."

It was common for Zhang Shen to be away on business. After he left, Zhu Qingyu continued to go to the clinic every day as usual.

That afternoon, lightning flashed and thunder roared, continuing until evening. Zhu Qingyu was organizing recent pulse diagnosis cases and then writing "Treatise on a Hundred Diseases".

The head butler of the Zhang family rushed in through the thunderstorm, half of his clothes soaked through, his face filled with anxiety:

"Madam, disaster has struck! The Third Miss has been arrested by the yamen runners, and the Master is not home. What are we to do?"

Zhu Qingyu was so shocked that she stood up abruptly, almost spilling her ink, and hurriedly asked:

"How did Third Sister get arrested? When did it happen? Were they the ones who came to arrest her? Which government officials were they from, the prefecture or the county? Did they say what the reason was?"

Accompanying the head steward were Zhang Ruohua's two personal maids, young girls about the same age as Zhang Ruohua. They were so frightened that they were incoherent and crying uncontrollably, each chiming in with their own words as they recounted what had happened.

One person said, "I accompanied the third young lady to buy rouge. It started raining heavily when we went out, so I went to the carriage to get an umbrella. When I came back with the umbrella, the young lady was gone."

Another person said, "I was waiting in the shop for the shopkeeper to make rouge, and the girl was waiting at the door. Suddenly there was a commotion outside. When I took the rouge and went out, the girl was gone."

The two maids panicked when they lost their mistress. They asked around and found out that the shop next door had been raided by the government and many people had been arrested. The third young lady had also been arrested. So they rushed home to ask the head steward for advice.

Before coming to see Zhu Qingyu, the head steward had already gone to the government office with the silver and said:

"I've found out that the arresting officers were from the prefectural yamen. The Third Miss was most likely arrested by mistake because she was nearby. I bribed the prefect to release her. Lord Liu accepted the bribe, and said he knew the Third Miss was probably arrested by mistake, but the arrest was ordered by Imperial Envoy Gu, and the prefectural jail is currently guarded by Gu's soldiers, so he dared not release her. Lord Liu has already singled out the Third Miss, telling us to try and find connections, to go through the Imperial Envoy. Madam, do we have any influence with Lord Gu?"

For Zhu Qingyu, the only person she could talk to Gu Zhao about was Xie Ze.

Xie Ze once said that if anyone had any difficulties, they could come to him. With Xie Ze as an intermediary, persuading Gu Zhao to release a girl who had been wrongly arrested should not be difficult for him. It's just unknown whether Xie Ze is still in Yangzhou.

Zhu Qingyu took the umbrella and started walking outside:

"Steward, prepare more silver. You're coming with me to the government office again."

When Zhu Qingyu arrived at the government office, it was already dinnertime for everyone. Lord Liu, who was extremely busy, was still handling official business in his study.

Inside the study, a woman was crying pitifully, saying something that was difficult to make out.

Lord Liu's voice was quite gentle:

"Lord Gu doesn't want you to serve him, and he's kicking you out? How did he kick you out? What did he say to you? Tell me properly."

The woman said something else, and the servant who had led Zhu Qingyu to the door knocked. After a while, they heard Lord Liu say:

"Lord Gu comes from the capital, he's a young master from a prominent family, so it's understandable that he has high standards. Don't take it to heart, go down now."

The door opened, and a woman walked out, head bowed and wiping away tears.

Although she was a complete stranger, for some reason, Zhu Qingyu felt a sense of familiarity as she watched her departing figure.

The attendant was already being summoned, so Zhu Qingyu withdrew her gaze and went into the study with the head steward.

The head steward presented the box containing the silver notes, and Zhu Qingyu explained her purpose to Lord Liu:

"My third sister really went to buy rouge, please help us make an exception."

Even though he missed his meal, Lord Liu wasn't angry. He was very kind and said:

"Madam Zhang, to be honest, it's not about the money. If I could make the decision, I would have released the Third Miss long ago. What bad things could a little girl do, right?"

Lord Liu was somewhat surprised when he heard Zhu Qingyu say that she wanted to see Xie Ze:

"I had no idea that the Zhang family and the young master of the Marquis of Anyuan's mansion were old acquaintances? Alas, it's just unfortunate that the young master of the Xie family returned to the capital some time ago. But Madam Zhang, don't worry. Lord Gu is keeping a close eye on the salt smuggling case. He will be interrogated in the next few days. Once the third young lady has explained things clearly and understood the situation, the person will be released."

Zhang Ruohua was usually a pretty girl who loved to eat and drink. Zhu Qingyu couldn't imagine how frightened the girl would be if she were suddenly locked up in a jail and interrogated. She couldn't leave Zhang Ruohua at the government office.

Since Xie Ze wasn't around, she had to go directly to Gu Zhao. Things never go according to plan. She had just decided to never see this Vice Minister Gu again, but it hadn't been long before she came to him again.

She had just rejected Gu Zhao that day, which likely offended him, so he might not be willing to see her.

But we have to give it a try.

Zhu Qingyu said:

"Does the Imperial Envoy also reside in the prefectural government office? Could the Prefect please inform him that I wish to request an audience with Lord Gu?"