"He was beaten." Gu Jin’an was startled, his voice carrying an understanding that he had already suspected.

Young Master Dou nodded, "Yes, he was whipped twenty times by the Yulin Army, and his entire back was torn apart."

Back then, he had bought the rank of a Yulin Army Spear. Now returning to the Capital, he would invite a few Yulin Army members for drinks. He had a good relationship with them and could buy some news from the palace, so he knew quite a bit.

"The back completely torn apart!" Gu Jin’an was utterly shocked. How could this happen? Wasn’t Lord Qi a favorite of the Emperor? Is the Emperor ignoring the words of his favored officials now?

He was very worried: "That must be a severe injury. I wonder if it will leave any internal damage."

Young Master Dou: "It shouldn’t. The Yulin Army colonel performing the punishment knows Lord Qi is the Emperor’s favorite and held back. It shouldn’t have injured the internal organs."

Yet with the back all torn apart, surely some internal organs were also damaged slightly.

"Rest assured, Lord Qi is in his prime, with some recuperation, he should be fine." Young Master Dou still needed Gu Jin’an’s help with work and didn’t want him to be unsettled by Lord Qi’s affairs, so he casually said a few words.

Gu Jin’an noticed the perfunctory tone in his words and frowned, asking: "Young Master Dou, do you think that what Lord Qi did was courting death and had no benefits?"

Gu Jin’an was angry because Lord Qi was a benefactor to his family and a good minister pleading for the people, the kind-hearted official he admired. If Lord Qi’s actions did not receive the majority’s praise, he would be disheartened.

Young Master Dou’s heart skipped a beat, hey, being guessed. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Brother Gu misunderstood, I didn’t mean that. Lord Qi is a good official speaking for the people. I admire him very much."

Don’t doubt it; I truly admire him. But still, I think Lord Qi shouldn’t have provoked the Emperor when he was angry. How foolish, to counsel but fail and still get beaten up, almost losing his life.

It’s fine to be a good official, but the least is to keep one’s life safe first.

Endure—it’s only by enduring longer can more be done for the people.

Gu Jin’an stared at Young Master Dou, his hand gripping the pen tighter and tighter until it snapped with a crack, the brush breaking in his hand.

"Hey, don’t get excited; the brush isn’t worth much, but your Small Three-Yuan Scholar’s hand is." Young Master Dou stepped back a few paces, afraid Gu Jin’an would punch him.

However, Gu Jin’an withdrew his gaze, turned around, and propped one hand on the table, speaking in a low voice: "Lord Qi is a good man...he deserves good returns."

Young Master Dou laughed and unceremoniously said: "You, who survived hardship and have seen great evil, still believe in the idea that good people get repaid? Should I praise your purity or call you naive?"

Delusional, do you think you live in some immortal mountain’s cave dwelling? Believing in retribution?

Gu Jin’an knew he was a bit excited at the moment, but Lord Qi was the first person to stand up for his family and also a civil servant. Looking at Lord Qi, he saw his future self.

So, he hoped Lord Qi would receive good returns, rather than having his passion and talents washed away.

He raised his hand, touching the dagger hidden in his sleeve. This dagger was a gift from Lord Qi to Xiao Yu for saving his wife and children as protection. Later, when Xiao Yu got a better blade, he gave the dagger to him.

Xiao Yu said at the time: "Originally, I wanted to give it to Big Sister, but seeing Big Brother resembles Uncle Qi, it’s better to give it to Big Brother. Even if it’s not used for self-defense, it can be taken out to see, to encourage oneself to strive to become like Uncle Qi soon."

But now, does he still want to become like Lord Qi?

No, his goal has always been clear. He wouldn’t bet his and his family’s lives to support a tyrant.

"Brother Dou, your family lives in the Capital and has great influence. Could you send these two bottles of medicine to Lord Qi?" Gu Jin’an took two bottles of medicine for treating external injuries and handed them to Young Master Dou. "These two bottles contain herbs collected from the mountains. Though not as precious as the Capital’s medicinal materials, they thrive freely and are good medicine."

Young Master Dou listened and twitched the corners of his mouth, saying, "If you want Lord Qi to leave the Capital, just say so, why speak in such a roundabout way that gives me a headache?"

Gu Jin’an stuffed the medicine into his arms, his voice cold: "If you want me to make it clear, that can be done, but I’m afraid you might lose your head."

The Emperor would surely have people watch over Lord Qi, and it would be someone from Young Master Dou’s side delivering the message. If the Emperor’s people heard this, Young Master Dou might be finished.

Young Master Dou choked, indeed, the matter of asking Lord Qi to leave the Capital shouldn’t be too straightforward.

Young Master Dou accepted the two bottles of medicine and gave him a word: "Okay, I’ll send someone to the Qi Family, but whether Lord Qi listens and can leave, I can’t guarantee."

It’s said that Lord Qi is very loyal to the Emperor; even if the Emperor allows him to leave, he might stay, hoping to set the Emperor right.

Seeing Young Master Dou agree, Gu Jin’an put away his anger and worry, then asked about other matters: "What’s going on in Central State? Didn’t they not increase the taxes?"

Heh, Young Master Dou gave a cold laugh: "Indeed, they didn’t raise the taxes in Central State, but since the chaos of disaster victims began, it has never truly stabilized. The Yuchang Prefecture and Tongshan Prefecture near the Northwest Chidao have long been unable to hold on, unable to even collect ordinary taxes. The mountain bandits occupying Yuchang Prefecture and Tongshan Prefecture took advantage of the people’s woes over the summer tax and robbed them again, making life even harsher for Central State’s citizens."

"Officials in various prefectures of Central State disregard the lives of soldiers, using brutal means to collect taxes from soldiers’ families. The Central State Commander Department’s officials also have no extra Silver to pay soldiers or relieve the summer tax burdens on their families, angering the soldiers. Many soldiers took their families and hid in the mountains. Later, it escalated to the Chief Commander fleeing with his soldiers and family, establishing himself as a king in the mountains. Anyway, they know very well that with the current strength of the Central State Commander Department, it’s impossible to eliminate them."

"People, you see, always do as others do. As long as one soldier takes his family and runs, other soldiers will follow. It is said that now, in the garrison army camps of Yuchang Prefecture and Tongshan Prefecture, there aren’t many left; nearly everyone has fled."

"What? Young Master Dou, is what you said true? You aren’t deceiving, are you? How is this possible?!" He Jinseng was utterly shocked, trembling all over. He never experienced famine, never went hungry, and had books to read—a southern boy who couldn’t understand the Northwest’s hardships at all.

"And they are soldiers, receiving the court’s military salary. As long as they stay in the barracks, they can get paid. Why would they defect to the mountains to become bandits?"

He Jinseng was very puzzled, thinking that having legitimate work and not doing it only to defect to the mountains to become bandits was something only a fool would do.

Upon hearing this, Young Master Dou laughed and asked He Jinseng: "What if the court hadn’t given them military salaries?"