Volume Two: The Noble and the Base Chapter Forty-Five: Exploiting the Loophole

If it were an ordinary household, having an extra person would naturally be a significant matter. But in the Huang Residence, the addition or loss of a person went unnoticed—at least to Young Master Huang, who felt nothing at all.

The next day, Huang Ming quickly dismissed thoughts of Zheng Ziyan; he had far more important matters to attend to and no time to concern himself with any young lady, despite her undeniable beauty.

As for the others in the household, Huang Zhong assumed that since the young master wished to keep her, he must have his reasons. So, Zheng Ziyan was confined to residing in the backyard and was not assigned any chores.

Thus, in a state neither fully servant nor master, the young lady of Yueqing Residence, now Zheng Ziyan, found herself living there in a bewildering haze. Before long, half a month had passed.

With June arriving and the weather growing ever hotter, the Imperial Academy relaxed its schedule. Though there was no summer vacation as in later eras, students were not strictly required to attend classes every day.

Huang Ming seldom went there now, but he did not neglect his studies. He made it a point to visit Zhang Bi in the cooler evenings to attend his lectures.

This arrangement, one-on-one instruction, proved far more fruitful for Huang Ming than attending regular academy classes. He requested Zhang to teach him only the original meanings of the texts, bypassing the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and Zhu Xi’s commentaries entirely, thereby accelerating his progress.

Within a few days, he had already grasped the essentials of the Four Books and Five Classics, enough to be considered half a scholar by the standards of the era.

Though Zhang Bi found Huang Ming’s unconventional approach peculiar, he still taught diligently. He recognized that his student had no intention of pursuing the imperial examinations in the traditional manner; his studies were likely to equip himself for dealings with those who did.

Huang Ming paid even more attention to historical records, studying them meticulously. Many topics required Zhang’s careful contemplation before offering explanations, which in turn enriched the teacher’s own understanding.

Time passed both slowly and swiftly, and soon it was mid-June.

Around the second watch that night, Huang Ming returned from his lessons as usual—now wiser, he had Huang Bingkun procure a brocade guard’s badge for him, ensuring he would not be questioned or arrested by patrols for breaking curfew.

Though the brocade guard’s influence was waning, some privileges still remained.

Upon entering, Huang Ming felt a surge of pride at his cleverness, only to be interrupted by a servant reporting, “Young Master, Huang Baifu has been waiting in the side hall for some time.”

“Oh?” Huang Ming raised his brows. Could this be the long-awaited development?

Indeed, without much preamble, Huang Bingkun hurriedly said, “Young Master Huang, there is finally some progress regarding Liao Kui.”

“Come, sit and have some supper,” Huang Ming perked up, instructing those below to prepare immediately.

Soon, a table spread with wine, dishes, and pastries was set before them, allowing the two to eat as they spoke.

“Liao Kui, in the capital, has proven to be quite prudent—almost no faults can be found. Even if he wished to ally with Elder Yang, he never acted recklessly… especially after his failed attempt to harm you, Young Master. Since then, he has become even more cautious and low-profile.”

Huang Ming nodded, signaling him to continue. This outcome was as expected.

“However, some issues have been uncovered in his hometown of Ruyang, Henan,” Huang Bingkun explained. “He is a jinshi graduate, so he and his family enjoyed exemptions from taxes and corvée labor. Since he passed the provincial examination twenty years ago, the land and slaves registered under his name have grown considerably.”

Huang Ming understood perfectly; he was well aware of these lingering historical problems.

Like most dynasties, the Ming burdened the common people heavily with taxes and forced labor—requiring them to work without pay for the government for roughly one to two months each year.

Such levies were a great strain on ordinary families. Only those with official degrees—scholars of the xiucai rank or above—were exempt from these duties. Those who reached the juren level or higher could even exempt some of their family members.

This privilege was a major reason for the rapid expansion of the imperial examination system in the early Ming. Even if one failed to become a jinshi or hold office, merely earning a degree improved their social status and granted tax relief, often extending to family members.

Consequently, relatives, friends, and even unrelated townsfolk would donate land or sell themselves into servitude to jinshi and juren to exploit these benefits.

By transferring land ownership to a degree holder, all taxes were exempted. The original landowner would then pay a portion of the harvest as rent, which was considerably less than official taxes.

Thus, the original landlords benefited, the degree holders gained more assets, and some expanded their holdings substantially—while the government’s revenue suffered losses.

Selling oneself into servitude to a family with official rank had a similar effect.

The continuous growth of this class of privileged scholars caused a bizarre situation in the mid to late Ming: despite accelerated development, registered population and landholdings stagnated or even declined.

Because of this, it was unrealistic to attack Liao Kui solely on these grounds.

“Attacking him just for this flaw would likely be ineffective,” Huang Ming smiled wryly. “If we pursued it seriously, we’d offend all officials and scholars alike.”

Huang Bingkun nodded. “Exactly. We never intended to convict him on this basis. But while investigating the lands he acquired through his status, our brocade guard brothers uncovered something else.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“He hails from Sanlitown, outside Ruyang County, where two great clans coexisted in harmony, jointly governing the town—a rare balance of power.

“More intriguingly, Liao Kui and Zheng Qian of the Zheng family were long-time friends. They took the imperial examinations together, both passed the jinshi, and remained in the capital as officials.

“But five years ago, a drastic change occurred. Zheng Qian was accused of corruption for impeaching the powerful Qian Ning. He was imprisoned in the brocade guard’s secret jail and never released. When convicted, his family was implicated and their estates confiscated.

“Surprisingly, shortly thereafter, the Zheng family’s properties—including Zheng Qian’s wife and daughters—fell into Liao’s hands.”

Speaking of matters related to the brocade guard, Huang Bingkun did not conceal anything, though a trace of awkwardness lingered on his face.