“I was wrong before. It was all my fault.” Eldest brother slapped himself while apologizing.
Before, Xiao Ran had only thought eldest brother was a hotheaded fool. Now, he felt the man was completely insane.
His mind was not quite right either. He definitely had something wrong with him.
“Get up and talk!” Xiao Ran could not stand this anymore.
Second Lady and Third Lady, who had not been crying at first, started crying again.
“If I can help, I definitely will!” After all, Xiao Ran did have something to ask of the zhang siblings.
“What do you mean, you do not have much time left? An incurable disease?” This was all Xiao Ran could think of.
However, eldest brother did not look like someone who was ill.
Hearing this, Zhang Erya also felt a deep despair.
Now Xiao Ran was certain: the siblings had definitely encountered some major disaster.
Most likely, Third Lady was simply too young to know about it.
“No.” Eldest brother shook his head. “I am a death-row prisoner!”
Eldest brother lowered his head, seemingly reminded of some unpleasant events.
“Did you escape from prison?” After seeing the facial tattooing earlier, Xiao Ran had already made this guess.
That was why eldest brother had such a heavy baleful aura.
“No, that is not it. I did not escape from prison. The imperial court released me.” Eldest brother hurriedly explained.
The more Xiao Ran listened, the more confused he became. How could a death-row prisoner possibly be released? That made no sense!
“Why were you released?” Xiao Ran felt eldest brother was making a fool of him.
Death-row prisoners were terrified of escaping. How could they possibly be released?
“It was your majesty. Your majesty issued an edict to release us, but I have to return next autumn.”
Hearing this explanation, and remembering that this was the Great Tang, four words surfaced in Xiao Ran's mind: releasing prisoners to return to prison.
This had really happened.
The New Book of Tang recorded that Emperor Taizong, Li Shimin, personally inspected the prisoners in Zhenguan Year Six. After seeing many prisoners sentenced to death, he felt compassion and decided to let them return home and reunite with their families, on the condition that they return to prison on their own the following autumn.
In the end, all those death-row prisoners returned as promised, not one missing. Li Shimin was moved by this and granted them a pardon.
Thus, Xiao Ran determined that it was currently autumn of Zhenguan Year Six.
“It is Zhenguan Year Six now?” Xiao Ran asked weakly.
“Exactly!” Eldest brother nodded.
Zhang Erya began crying even more desperately. She had not understood before, but now Xiao Ran understood why Zhang Erya had been so despairing.
With eldest brother here, their lives were already like this. If eldest brother were gone, the two sisters would have an even harder time surviving.
Just thinking about it made them seem utterly helpless.
All of eldest brother's actions before now suddenly seemed reasonable.
He had wanted to kill Xiao Ran because he knew he could not survive, so he wanted to take Xiao Ran with him, lest his younger sisters be bullied after he was gone.
After discovering that Xiao Ran's intentions were not actually bad, and previously believing that Xiao Ran was capable, he had completely changed his attitude, hoping that Xiao Ran could look after his younger sisters in the future.
Xiao Ran pulled eldest brother to his feet, knowing that this fellow would not die.
“Second Lady, it is all right. Things will get better.” Xiao Ran rubbed Third Lady's head. Although the little girl did not quite understand the specific reason, she had followed along and cried her eyes out.
“Young master, I beg you, please help Second Lady and Third Lady. They cannot survive without help. In my next life, I will work like an ox or a horse for you and repay you.”
“Stop right there!” Xiao Ran interrupted eldest brother. “Second Lady, stop crying. It is all right. Things will get better.”
“Your elder brother will be fine. Since I need your help, I will naturally help you as well. You can rest assured.” Xiao Ran took out a tissue and wiped Third Lady's face.
The little girl was crying with snot and tears streaming down her face.
“Young master, I killed someone. A life must be paid for with a life; there is no way for me to live.” Eldest brother explained, “I can only move around inside the village now. I cannot go anywhere else.”
Xiao Ran glanced at the word “unfilial” tattooed on eldest brother's forehead and vaguely formed a suspicion. Eldest brother had probably killed someone from his own family.
Most ordinary people who had taken a life would surely suffer lasting psychological effects. If the victim had been a family member, the effects would probably be even worse. It was normal for his personality to have been affected.
“Trust me, you will be fine. I will help Second Lady and Third Lady. We can be said to each be getting what we need, and you also have to arrange household registration affiliation for me.” Seeing that eldest brother wanted to ask something, Xiao Ran continued, “Do not ask how I know you will not die!”
Xiao Ran could not exactly say that he was a time traveler and knew eldest brother would not die.
“Let us make a wager. You will return as promised next year. If you die, I will treat Second Lady and Third Lady as my own younger sisters and look after them. If you do not die, you will listen to me from then on. How about it?”
Eldest brother had not expected such a good deal. It was a guaranteed win with no downside, so he nodded repeatedly. “Good, good.”
What eldest brother wanted, in the end, was security for his two younger sisters. Now they had it.
With Xiao Ran willing to help, the two younger sisters would at least have food to eat.
Zhang Erya wiped away her tears, but her heart still ached. Her elder brother had less than a year left.
“How much land does the family have now?” Xiao Ran asked casually, wanting to understand the situation.
“Twenty mu,” eldest brother answered honestly.
“Hmm? That little? Why so little?” Xiao Ran knitted his brows.
Twenty mu might not sound like little, but grain yield was very low in this era. Twenty mu would definitely not be enough to eat.
“Because I committed a crime. The hundred mu of land the imperial court had previously given us was all confiscated.” Eldest brother lowered his head, filled with remorse.
“Because I accidentally beat father to death, and the consequences were severe, the county government office tattooed my face as a warning.” Although eldest brother was unwilling to bring up this matter, he still told Xiao Ran.
Xiao Ran was not surprised.
The word “unfilial” alone explained a great deal.
Without this incident, the family should not have been in such dire straits.
Under the Equal-Field System during the Zhenguan Period, adult men were granted one hundred mu of land. Twenty mu were hereditary estate fields, privately owned by the recipient. After his death, they could be passed on to his heirs and, under certain conditions, sold.
The other eighty mu were allocated land, owned by the state and not permitted to be bought or sold. After the recipient's death, the government office reclaimed them and redistributed them.
In other words, the twenty mu of land the zhang siblings now had were the hereditary estate fields of eldest brother's father, inherited by the three siblings.
Eldest brother's one hundred mu had all been reclaimed because he had committed murder.
Before eldest brother committed the crime, when his father was still alive, the family had two hundred mu of land. Now, it had suddenly become twenty.
Gasp!
One-tenth!
The Equal-Field System stipulated: “Widows and concubines: thirty mu of land; if she is the head of the household, an additional twenty mu.”
After eldest brother died, Zhang Erya, as the eldest daughter, would become the head of the household and could receive another twenty mu of allocated land. In other words, the two sisters would have forty mu of land in the future.
Zhang Erya was unmarried, so she could only be counted as the head of the household.
“Hmm, I understand. It is not a major problem. Tomorrow, first arrange household registration affiliation for me.” Xiao Ran was indeed anxious. Although household registration affiliation was not independent and placed one below others, at least it was legal.
Tang-dynasty household registrations were divided into the principal household and the guest household. The principal household consisted of local residents, while the guest household consisted of outsiders.
Household registration affiliation meant that a guest household attached itself to a principal household and became a dependent household, thereby obtaining a legal identity.
“Second Lady is the head of the household now, so Second Lady and the young master both have to go.” Eldest brother scratched his head.
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, eldest brother's baleful aura had lessened considerably. It might also have been because he felt his two younger sisters were now assured of protection.