Chapter 13

Although Liang Xiao felt that the prisoner was being overly serious, he did not dare to be careless. After all, his opponent was a well-known playboy in Guangling City. Despite his current noble appearance, who knew how low his limits could be? When it came to his own life, being too cautious was never a mistake.

In this era, murder was not a rare occurrence. After killing someone, one did not have to worry about the authorities—find a place to hide for a while, wait for a general amnesty, and then come out; the authorities would be too lazy to deal with old accounts. What one had to worry about was the victim's family. If he killed Hu Lai, there would be plenty of people to seek revenge for Hu Lai. If he was killed by Hu Lai, only his old mother would be left. Could he really expect his mother to seek revenge for him?

Therefore, Liang Xiao followed the prisoner's advice, first scouting the terrain and then trying to find out Hu Lai's intentions.

A good man needs three helpers, and Liang Xiao naturally thought of his best friend, Tu Niu'er.

Tu Niu'er was being beaten again.

Tu Niu'er covered his face, wailing and sobbing, "Stop hitting me, stop hitting me. It's not me who wants to duel; I'm just passing a message."

"Even passing a message is not allowed." Aunt Shi, with one hand on her hip and the other wielding a green bamboo stick, beat Tu Niu'er vigorously. "Because of your few words, the Hus won't buy our land. Without selling the land, where will we get the money to prepare your sister's dowry? Your sister is already eighteen; if she doesn't get married soon, she'll eat us out of house and home. What will we have left to get you a wife?"

"Mother, how can you say that, as if I'm just a freeloader at home..." Tu Niu'er's sister, Tu Hua'er, rushed out of the house, one hand on her hip and the other waving a broom, blocking Aunt Shi. "Mother, you have to explain yourself today, or I won't let it go."

"Oh, Hua'er, don't join in. When have I blamed you? I'm blaming your brother."

"My brother is a fool; what does he know?" Tu Hua'er insisted. "You're clearly saying this to me."

"You're the fool." Tu Niu'er, in a hurry, shouted, "You're a fool, that's why no one wants you. You stay at home and freeload. Oh, you crazy woman, how can you hit people..."

Liang Xiao was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He originally wanted to ask Tu Niu'er for help, but now the Tu family was in an uproar over this matter, and he felt awkward about entering. Tu Niu'er's mother was one thing, but Tu Hua'er was a fierce woman who could even make Tu Niu'er back down when she went on a rampage.

In the Han Dynasty, girls usually married young, often at fifteen or sixteen, and some even at thirteen or fourteen. Tu Hua'er was eighteen this year, and by custom, she was already a big girl, with the risk of becoming a spinster. She hated it most when people said she couldn't get married; it was almost her sore spot, and she would explode at the slightest provocation. If Liang Xiao went in now, he might end up getting beaten by her.

Liang Xiao, helpless, cupped his hands around his mouth and imitated the call of a cuckoo. The door of the Tu family's house clanged open, and a figure darted out. Before Liang Xiao could speak, he was hit with two broom strokes, and the person shouted, "What fool is this, imitating a cuckoo in this month?"

Liang Xiao, seeing things were not good, turned and ran. Tu Hua'er, wielding the broom, chased after him, shouting, "You scoundrel, you peeked at me last time, and I haven't even found you yet. Now you're fooling my brother again. I'll beat you to death."

Liang Xiao was embarrassed. Was there such a thing? The original Liang Xiao's taste wasn't very high.

"Hua'er, Hua'er..." Liang Miao stood at a distance, waving a piece of brocade that shimmered in the afternoon sun. Tu Hua'er, seeing it, immediately stopped and put on a smile, warmly calling out, "Auntie, you called me?"

"This is a leftover piece from last time, not very useful. I'll give it to you to make a handkerchief." Liang Miao held Tu Hua'er's hand, affectionately touching her face. "What a beautiful girl, I wonder who will have the luck to marry you and have a few chubby boys. Hua'er, when you get married, let Auntie know. I'll make you a belly wrap and share in your good fortune."

"Auntie, I'm still young." Tu Hua'er, swaying her waist, took the brocade, unable to let it go, and her fierce expression immediately turned into a charming smile.

Liang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Tu Hua'er was a great actress; her expression changed so quickly.

"What are you looking at, don't just stand there. If you don't run, your family will lose more. My sister dreams of having a piece of double-sided brocade, and she's almost ready to steal it from your house." Tu Niu'er, standing at a distance, jumped and shouted.

Liang Xiao suddenly understood and turned to run. His mother, Liang Miao, was an expert at weaving double-sided brocade, which sold for one gold piece per bolt. The small piece given to Tu Hua'er to make a handkerchief was worth more than a piece of clothing, something Tu Hua'er could never afford. A belly wrap made of double-sided brocade was like a royal sash to Tu Hua'er, enough to make her stand tall among her peers.

"Why is your family selling the land again, and to the Hus?"

"Without selling the land, how can we prepare my sister's dowry?" Tu Niu'er said irritably. "She's already eighteen; if she doesn't get married soon, she'll eat up the money for my wife. Our land is almost surrounded by the Hus. If we don't sell it to them, who would dare to buy it?"

"But selling the land is like drinking poison to quench thirst. Without land, there's no grain, and without grain, how can you pay the rent?"

According to Liang Xiao's knowledge, the nominal land tax in the Han Dynasty was light, but in reality, it was heavy. When collecting the land tax, regardless of how much land a family actually had, it was always collected based on a standard of one hundred acres. One hundred and fifty acres or fifty acres, the tax was the same. The less land one had, the heavier the tax burden. Selling land was a vicious cycle; once it started, it was hard to stop until all the land was sold.

Liang Miao had always refused to register, partly for this reason. Without registration, there was no need to pay taxes, and only the local chief needed to be appeased. Once registered, one became a registered household and had to pay taxes. Even if one didn't receive any land, the tax for one hundred acres was still unavoidable.

The benefits of the light taxes in the early Han Dynasty were all enjoyed by the powerful landowners. In fact, they didn't even have to pay the tax for one hundred acres, passing it on to the powerless commoners. This is why land consolidation was already very serious during the reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, and suppressing the powerful landowners became a political challenge for Emperor Wu after he ascended the throne.

Tu Niu'er sighed, looking profound. "I've thought about it. If it really comes to it, I'll rob a few more tombs. I heard that there are a few new graves in the west of the city."

Liang Xiao felt a bit ashamed. "Niu'er, it's all because of me that you're in trouble."

"Hey, why are you saying that? We're good brothers." Tu Niu'er waved his hand indifferently. "Even without your problem, our land wouldn't last long. We'd have to sell it all eventually. Sigh, it's not the Wu Kingdom anymore; we missed the good times."

Liang Xiao was startled and quickly covered Tu Niu'er's mouth. Tu Niu'er broke free, looking at him in surprise. "What are you doing, so jumpy?"

"Can you control your mouth?" Liang Xiao said seriously. "Why mention the Wu King? That's treason. If someone reports you, your head will be cut off."

"It's not just me who says it." Tu Niu'er shook his head carelessly. "I've heard several old people say that being a citizen of the Jiangdu Kingdom is not as good as being a citizen of the Wu Kingdom. During the Wu King's time, we didn't have to pay taxes, and we could eat salt freely. How good was that?"

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