Chapter 20

Freedom of Speech

Owner Zhang’s showing up to bring Mu Shi and the others away alarmed the itinerant merchants nearby. Everyone secretly paid attention. When they saw Owner Zhang pulling strings for Mu Shi and introducing him to Jiang Rong and Guo Cai from Wenzhou, their expressions turned ugly. However, they also saw Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin beside Mu Shi and his daughter. Although they did not know their identities, judging from their luxurious clothes and the fact that they managed to invite Owner Zhang over, it was obvious that they were not ordinary people.

Though some of the itinerant merchants were unconvinced, they had no choice but to suppress their tempers and pretend not to see it.

Those who were broad-minded only frowned for a moment before letting go. However, there were also those who were narrow-minded and secretly bore a grudge. One had to know that Mu Shi’s leather goods were of fine quality. They had just been waiting for Mu Shi to take the initiative to accept the low price. If there was a first time, there would be a second time. In the future, they would be able to buy Mu Shi’s leather goods at a low price.

Qi Haoran was sensitive to good and evil. Sensing malice, he glared back fiercely. Those itinerant merchants who looked dissatisfied could only lower their heads.

Qi Haoran snorted and said to Mu Yangling, “What else do you want to buy? I’ll accompany you.”

Mu Yangling glanced at her father and said, “We want to go to the grain store to take a look.”

Seeing that it was still early, Qi Haoran said, “I’ll go with you guys.”

Fan Zijin frowned, unable to understand why Qi Haoran would continue to hang out with them after they had already returned yesterday’s favor to Mu Yangling. Shouldn’t they be going back to look for Brother Xiuyuan now?

However, Qi Haoran’s mind was filled with thoughts of getting close to Mu Yangling and becoming good friends with her. Following which, he would ask her for guidance on martial arts.

Although Mu Yangling felt that Fan Zijin was too scheming, considering the other party was just a 12 or 13-year-old boy, she decided to be magnanimous and not be calculative with him.

However, Mu Shi was very grateful to the two youths, so he said, “Let’s go to the eatery. Uncle will treat you to a meal.”

Only then did Mu Yangling realize that she was hungry. She hurriedly nodded and said, “Yes, yes. It’s all thanks to your help today. Do let my father treat you to a meal.”

Knowing that they didn’t come from a well-to-do family, Qi Haoran waved his hand and said, “How can I let you treat us? It’s all thanks to the pancake, pheasant, and wild rabbit you gave us yesterday that we were able to last until the county. We merely spoke a few words earlier on. Let me treat you instead.”

Without waiting for their rejection, he pulled Fan Zijin to an eatery and entered. Mu Yangling and Mu Shi had no choice but to follow.

The four of them chose a seat by the window on the second floor. Qi Haoran asked curiously, “Don’t you guys farm? Why are you going to the grain store?”

“Our family only hunts but not farms. However, we’re not going to the grain store to buy grains, but to inquire about the price of grains.” Mu Yangling said, “Now that it’s autumn harvest, we only need to buy grains in the village.”

Fan Zijin smiled and said, “Coincidentally, we just visited the grain store this morning. Right now, medium-grade rice is priced at 1 tael 300 copper coins per stone. Low-grade rice is priced at one tael of silver. I didn’t pay attention to the rest. What else do you wish to find out?”

Seeing that the Mu father and daughter were frowning, Fan Zijin asked curiously, “Why? Is the price of grains different from that in your village?”

Mu Yangling replied with a straight face, “It’s not just different, it’s simply too different. Before we came, my great-uncle even complained to us that the price of grains this year was too low. A few shop-owners went to the countryside to purchase grains, but they only offered 428 copper coins. Although they are grains with the bran intact, there’s still a huge difference in the price. The grain stores in our town also sell grains at this price.”

Mu Shi said, “Cheap grains and expensive rice. This is the first time I’ve seen such a thing in my life. Previously, when I went to the grain store to buy rice, I thought that the war at the border was about to begin…”

Mu Shi shook his head and did not say anything else. However, he felt even more melancholic. If the situation in the county and town was the same, then his uncle’s grains would not fetch a high price.

Mu Yangling was also a little worried. If the villagers were having a hard time, they would definitely be having a hard time too, since they were all fellow villagers. When the time came and they came looking for help, should they help or not?

Besides, Mu Yangling felt aggrieved just thinking about it. She had always taken the farmers’ hardships to heart. It was not easy for them to get a good harvest, but they had to encounter such a situation. It was simply forcing everyone to a dead end.

Mu Yangling couldn’t help but complain. “If that’s all, it’s fine. At most, we won’t sell the grains. However, not only did the payment to a porter increase this year, but they also stipulated that we can only pay in silver and not grains. That way, everyone had no choice but to sell their grains.”

Qi Haoran asked curiously, “What is payment to a porter?”

Fan Zijin was equally curious.

Mu Yangling rolled her eyes. “You don’t even know about this? Every year, the tax money and grains paid in lieu of taxes have to be transported to the capital. That’s why you make payment to a porter. If you don’t pay, you have to transport the grains to the capital yourself. It’s a distance of two thousand miles from here to the capital, and it takes half a year to go back and forth, not to mention the expenses on the way, so…” Mu Yangling shrugged and said, “Do you understand? You have no choice but to pay the payment to a porter. Otherwise, the government won’t accept your taxes. If you can’t pay the taxes, the government can confiscate your wealth and exile your entire family.”

Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin’s mouths were wide open. Qi Haoran shouted, “How can this be? Didn’t His Majesty say that he would lower the tax burden?”

Mu Yangling sneered. “You guys really believe it? If His Majesty really wanted to lower the tax burden, he wouldn’t have imposed taxes on the village markets and marketplaces. Now, the tax burden from the soldiers’ salaries is even distributed to the various villages. A few years ago, they were even charging city entrance taxes. When the Great Ancestor established the dynasty, there were no such fees.”

“Ah Ling,” Mu Shi called out to his daughter disapprovingly. “Be careful with your words when you’re outside.”

If this was the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, Mu Yangling would definitely not dare to say such a thing. However, this was the Great Zhou Dynasty. The founding emperor had once issued an imperial decree that stipulated the people could practice freedom of speech.

He even carved this point on a monolith inscription. Now, it was erected in front of the imperial palace of the capital’s Lin’an Prefecture.

Speaking of this, Mu Yangling found it very funny. Back then, when the royal family and the imperial court fled south, there was actually someone who brought the monolith inscription along amidst all that chaos. After the palace of Lin’an Prefecture was built, the monolith inscription was erected in front of the palace again, like a huge mountain pressing down on the emperor’s head.

Therefore, three years ago, after the Yuan Family’s army recovered the lost land, they were transferred south by the suspicious emperor. As a result, the three prefectures of the Imperial Capital, the Fengxiang Prefecture, and the Lintao Prefecture were lost. The battlefront was pushed south to the Xingyuan Prefecture. Furious, the civilians ran to the entrance of the palace to spit. There were even scholars who wrote articles scolding the emperor and the treacherous officials in the imperial court and spread them. Meanwhile, the emperor hid in the palace and did not dare to utter a word. Instead, he had to issue an edict for his own crimes. Only then did the anger of the people subside slightly.

At that time, Mu Yangling, who was only six years old, had just come into contact with the books of this world. That first time, she had heard the commoners scold the emperor in a teahouse, while the constable sitting at the side actually echoed them. Mu Yangling was nearly scared to death then.

What happened to not speaking about state affairs?

Mu Yangling realized that the freedom of speech of the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty was even greater than in the modern era.

However, the strange thing was that in the Great Zhou, which practiced freedom of speech, no one had ever said anything about overthrowing the emperor. Even if everyone scolded him for not doing a good job and heeding the words of the treacherous officials, no one had ever suggested changing the emperor.

Mu Yangling could not help but sigh at the Great Zhou Emperor’s good luck.

Hence, Mu Yangling was never afraid of saying these things outside. At this moment, she pouted and said, “I’m speaking the truth. Everyone says so.”

Mu Shi lowered his head to eat his food and drink his tea, ignoring his daughter.