The Empire will continue to win

Money makes the world go round, and even jailers are no exception.

"Thank you, sirs."

Driven by an intense will to survive, Shen Moqing forced himself to calm down and began to write furiously in the dim light filtering through the fence.

Half an hour later~

The two jailers returned to the cell and checked the letter repeatedly until they were sure that it contained no prohibited words before taking it away.

"Second brother, what's wrong?" Zhang Zongcang, though rough, was also perceptive and noticed that something was amiss.

"The imperial court may kill them to silence them."

"What?"

After hearing the analysis of the whole incident, Zhang Zongcang turned pale with fright and knelt down to pray for the Bodhisattva's protection.

Yes~

When faced with such a situation, besides a Bodhisattva with boundless magical powers, which mortal can one turn to for help?

Shen Moqing clenched his fists, oblivious to the blood seeping from his fingernails as his nails dug into his palms, radiating a murderous aura. The rats in the cell scurried away; when it comes to the sense of danger, animals are far more sensitive than humans.

Not reconciled!

If one dies so hastily, one will surely be reborn as a vengeful ghost.

.........

dusk.

Needle and Thread Alley.

The mottled vermilion gate looked rather deserted.

However, a bronze plaque hangs high above the gateposts—"Imperial Construction of Yunqiwei Mansion." Imperial construction means that this mansion was bestowed by the emperor.

This indicates that this family was once wealthy, but is now just average.

So fat sheep!

The two jailers were secretly delighted and boldly went forward to knock on the door.

"And you two are?" the old servant who opened the door asked.

"May I ask if your esteemed household has a young master named Shen Moqing?"

"Yes, yes, he is the second young master of our family."

"That's good. Quickly take us to see this young master Shen's parents."

"Who are you two?"

"He works for the Shuntian Prefecture."

"So you are two officials. My apologies for not acknowledging your presence. Please come in."

An old servant led the way, while two jailers followed behind, exchanging knowing glances.

Along the way, the houses were old and quaint, the women were quite attractive, and there were few guards and servants, indicating that this was a wealthy and powerless family that was easy prey for the family.

.........

Although the Shen family did not achieve great success in officialdom, they were very prosperous in terms of population.

The family has three branches.

Shen Moqing's father, Shen Zheng, was the second son, but he was naturally muddle-headed and also had weak bones. Shen's mother finally managed to find him a sinecure of the seventh rank in the Court of State Ceremonial, but he was dismissed and sent home because of a mistake in guiding the ceremony.

This made things even worse for the already struggling Shen family.

From then on, Shen Zheng was not well received in the mansion and was called "the muddle-headed second master" behind his back.

Flower Hall.

"Who are you two?"

"May I ask, Mr. Shen, is Shen Moqing your son?"

"Exactly."

"Young Master Shen is currently imprisoned in the capital's prison. He entrusted us to deliver a letter."

"What? Isn't my Qing'er working in the Northern Fleet?" A woman emerged from behind the screen; she was Wang, Shen Zhengzhi's wife.

Wang was born into a wealthy merchant family in Jiangnan. However, no matter how much wealth a merchant family has, it cannot change the reality of their low social status. Thus, this marriage, which seemed like a happy ending for everyone, came about.

"Where is my son's letter?" Shen Zheng was sweating profusely.

The two jailers remained silent, only sneering.

Shen Zheng was momentarily at a loss, but his wife, Madam Wang, came from a merchant family and was quite adept at interpersonal relationships.

"Hong'er, fetch some money."

A small floral purse containing more than twenty silver dollars.

That's quite a lot, but the two jailers still sneered.

Not enough!

Helpless, Wang went back into the house herself to get a packet of silver dollars, which she wrapped in red paper.

The two men looked at the number of people and counted about forty or fifty before reaching out to take the letter, saying with smiles, "Thank you for the gift, Madam. This is a letter from Young Master Shen."

"What crime?"

"deserter!"

Overwhelmed with anxiety, Shen Zheng fainted on the spot.

The news spread quickly, shocking the entire household.

Soon, the courtyard where the second wife lived was filled with beautiful women and maids, each with their own unique charm.

"I told you long ago, families like ours should take the path of studying for the imperial examinations. Why bother with military academies? Why bother with military merits? Look what trouble you've caused our family!" The speaker was the eldest son, Shen She, who now held a sinecure at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Anyone with eyes can see that if the Shen family doesn't produce another son who can bring prosperity to the family, the next generation will have to sell their ancestral home and move to the south of the city. The next generation after that might not even be able to live in the south of the city and will have to move to Baoding.

Some might argue that no matter how down on their luck the Shen family is, this ancestral home alone is worth 20,000 silver dollars.

The problem is, this family has no cash flow.

How can we live without money? We can't just eat roof tiles, can we?

Therefore, with their cash flow gradually drying up, the Shen family eventually had no choice but to sell their ancestral home to raise some cash. By then, the house would be worth less than 20,000 silver dollars, and they might have to sell it at a 20% discount, or even be forced to sell it at a 10% discount.

We can't refuse to sell.

When that time came, all sorts of ferocious beasts came attracted by the smell, and jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards feasted on the Shen family's rotting corpses.

this is the truth.

.........

Suddenly~

The light at the entrance dimmed.

"Who disturbed the Old Madam?" The eldest son, Shen She, asked with obvious displeasure.

"That's enough. With such a big thing happening in the family, if I, an old woman, could still sit still, wouldn't I be deaf and blind?" The over 60-year-old Mrs. Shen looked weathered.

"Where are my grandson's letters?"

"Mother, I'm here."

The letter contained very little, just three lines, and there was really nothing useful about it.

Madam Shen held the slightly damp paper, pondered for a moment, and then said softly, "Lian'er, go to the accounting office and get 300 silver dollars to inquire at the yamen. Our family is willing to spend money to ransom them."

"Yes."

The eldest son was extravagant, the second son was cowardly, and the daughter was married off to a distant place.

There is no one available.

Shen Lian is the eldest grandson of the first branch of the family and the legitimate son of Shen She.

Although he was usually dashing and unrestrained, in the eyes of the old lady, he was the only capable man in the household. Because although Shen Lian was unrestrained, he was never confused about important matters.

Among the grandchildren, Shen Moqing was honest and straightforward, and also very strong. His mother had supported sending him to the Northern Fleet. If he made military achievements, the family would benefit; if he unfortunately died in battle, the family would also benefit.

I never expected this!

.........

The next day.

The usually quiet Shen family home was almost overwhelmed with visitors.

There were genuine relatives who came to inquire about the situation, fake relatives who came to gloat, brokers from all walks of life who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to swindle money, and real estate agents who wanted to make a quick buck.

People only realize who is a friend and who is a foe when they are down on their luck.

Guests came and went, and occasionally someone would notice a little girl standing quietly outside the courtyard gate. She was slender, with an oval face, a red nose, and tears welling up in her eyes.

Unlike the frivolous and frivolous unmarried girls in the capital, this girl was dressed in a simple cloth dress.

Just stand there.

He neither spoke nor moved.

By evening.

Shen Lian finally returned, looking exhausted and reeking of alcohol.

"Who is that girl at the door?"

"Young Master, that is Miss Lan, the Second Young Master's fiancée, the daughter of the Du family in the south of the city."

"You insolent fools, why didn't you invite them into your mansion?"

"It was this Miss Lan who said that she hadn't officially married into the family yet, and refused to enter the mansion no matter what, saying it was against etiquette."

"Another stubborn person."

Shen Lian shook his head self-deprecatingly and strode into the inner courtyard.

Sure enough, everyone in the family was there.

"Lian'er, what did the yamen say?" Madam Shen asked anxiously.

"The situation is not good. I contacted several friends I know, and at first they all confidently said that as long as you have money, you can get any criminal out. But after asking around, they all said that you can't do this, Brother Qing."

"Is it because you don't have enough money? I'll go back to my parents' house to borrow some," Wang asked anxiously.

"It's not about the money."

"What?"