Chapter 10: 10. Chapter 10: An Old and a Young Handing Over

Chapter 10: An Old Woman and a Young Girl Cross Swords

Mother Dong would never betray her masters; she wouldn't do it even if beaten to death.

Mother Xu was at her wit's end, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

The Su family was short-handed, and Su Ruojin naturally wanted to bring Mother Dong back. But the current situation was no longer a matter of simply paying the rent; the wicked old hag surnamed Xu was clearly after the Su family’s craft.

Su Yanli was a Jinshi degree holder and a Doctor of the Five Classics at the Imperial Academy. By rights, he should have been able to intimidate the likes of Mother Xu, but in reality, not only did he fail, but his weakness only made her more insatiable.

Why was she so arrogant? Naturally, she had backing.

Mother Xu’s older sister was a head maid for the Princess of Jin, and her brother-in-law was a steward at the Prince of Jin’s mansion. Even a gatekeeper at a Prime Minister’s house holds the status of a seventh-rank official, let alone a steward at a Prince’s mansion. Her sister’s family had purchased a large residence in Kangyuan Ward and held considerable influence in that area. Any person of status would give the Lu family a bit of face, and by extension, Mother Xu ran rampant throughout the Xiqiao Lane area.

Two years ago, Su Yanli had rented Mother Xu’s small courtyard through a broker. He paid the first quarter’s rent, and all was well. But by the second quarter, the woman surnamed Xu began raising the rent for various reasons.

Su Yanli lived on a salary of ten taels to support a whole family; how could he afford a rent hike? Even if he had the money, it wasn't as if she could just raise it whenever she pleased. Su Yanli wanted to move out, but he—a mere scholar—had been swindled by the broker and Mother Xu. He hadn't noticed a predatory clause in the lease: even if he moved out, he would still owe every penny of the two-year rent.

Helpless, Su Yanli had to swallow this bitter pill and pay the increased rent. From then on, it was a downward spiral; she raised the rent every quarter, making their already tight life even harder. Last year, her father spent his time either begging Magistrate Fan for help or borrowing money from colleagues, living like a pauper.

You can imagine how stifling this life was.

Mother Xu wasn't afraid of a yellow-haired girl. She jutted out her chin and sneered, "A Doctor of the Imperial Academy daring to do business? If I report this to the magistrate’s office, not only will your stall be gone, but your father will lose his official position."

Two years ago, at age three, Su Ruojin couldn't participate in family affairs, but now that she was the one in charge, how could she let anyone trample on them?

Her gaze was no warmer than the old woman's. She looked at her coldly and said with biting sarcasm, "Go ahead, go right now..."

Mother Xu was so incensed she turned to head straight to the government office to report them.

Su Ruojin added slowly, "Lidong (the start of winter) is almost here. I hear that every year before the Winter Solstice, the Emperor cracks down on princes, nobles, and officials. I wonder whose head will be on the chopping block this time."

Mother Xu whipped her head around, her eyes sharp as knives.

Su Ruojin spread her hands. "My father is just a tiny eighth-rank official. He can't reach the ears of the heavens, and he isn't a censor, so he can't stir up any trouble."

Mother Xu’s fleshy face was already so squeezed that her eyes were mere slits, but now she squinted even harder at Su Ruojin, as if trying to see through her. A vicious smile curled her lips. "You little brat." She turned and walked away with a mysterious, smug air.

Su Ruojin didn't let her off. She called out loudly behind her back, "Mother Xu, I’ll be visiting your house come Lidong!"

Mother Xu paused and turned back to look at Su Ruojin.

The little girl met her gaze with a smile.

Though she was just a six-year-old "lowly brat," Mother Xu suddenly found her unreadable. She gave a look of disdain: "Do you think my threshold is something you can just step over?"

"I won't step over it."

What did she mean?

Su Ruojin deliberately glanced at the onlookers.

Mother Xu’s face darkened. She suddenly remembered her sister’s warnings, softened her expression, and reined in some of her arrogance.

Su Ruojin saw it all. She walked to Mother Xu’s side, smiling brightly, but whispered in a voice only the old woman could hear, "I’ll stand at your front door and beat a gong, and I’ll keep beating it until everyone gathers around to ask why."

"You..." Mother Xu’s shock was laced with venom as she glared at the six-year-old girl. To think she would accuse her of relying on her sister to extort others—what a poisonous scheme.

Mother Xu wanted nothing more than to reach out and tear the brat’s face to shreds.

Su Ruojin tilted her head slightly.

The two locked eyes.

Before she took charge, Su Ruojin had always encouraged Uncle Shutong to listen and observe more when he was out—from court decrees to street gossip—and report back to her.

Around March or April of this year, the wife of a minor official in the capital had hanged herself, leaving a suicide note that read: "I thought that after ten years of hard study, my husband’s success in the imperial service would mean a life without worry. Who would have thought that a man who can support a wife and children couldn't even afford to rent a room? Rather than being chased out like a dog, it is better to hang myself."

The incident caused a massive uproar; it was said even the Emperor heard of it.

Su Ruojin had seized that opportunity to threaten Mother Xu: if she didn't let her family break the lease, she would do the same and hang herself at her door, forcing the capital’s censors to submit a petition to the Emperor.

In the end, Mother Xu agreed, though she still squeezed the Su family for a sum and kept Mother Dong for a year.

Against a villain like Mother Xu with ties to a Prince’s mansion, a minor eighth-rank official like Su Yanli truly had nowhere to seek justice. Plus, with children in the house, it was better to avoid trouble, so he had helplessly left Mother Dong to work for a year.

In truth, the reason Mother Xu feared the threat wasn't because she was afraid of the censors, but because the properties she held were government-owned rentals. She relied on her sister’s status as a steward at the Prince of Jin’s mansion to rent them at extremely low prices, then sublet them to minor officials like Su Yanli at exorbitant rates. She was no different from the landlord who had driven that official’s wife to suicide. She let the Su family go mainly because she feared her hoarding of public housing would be investigated.

The Great Yin was similar to the Song Dynasty; small-scale commerce developed rapidly, and the masses flooded into the cities. Not everyone had the means to buy a house or build a courtyard, so the rental market emerged.

The booming rental market led to skyrocketing rents, and more and more people couldn't afford housing and were forced to sleep on the streets.

According to what Su Ruojin had gathered, Mother Xu no longer had any houses left to rent out.

What Su Ruojin found strange was that the Prince of Jin’s fury over his punishment hadn't trickled down to them. Not only did Mother Xu’s sister not lose her job, but other than losing her public rental properties, Mother Xu hadn't suffered any consequences at all.

Why? Was the Prince of Jin a magnanimous person?

Su Ruojin didn't think so. There had to be a reason she didn't know about.