Regardless of whether Aoto loses his position at the Magistrate’s Office in the future, as long as his samurai status is not stripped away, he can still receive his family stipend—but this stipend for the Tachibana Family is quite meager, making it difficult to live solely on this income.

Aoto has grown up... No, it should be said that for generations, no one in the Tachibana Family has ever seen what the land granted to their family looks like, nor do they even know its exact location.

This situation is actually not uncommon. Due to the fact that the General and the Daimyos kept the usage rights of all samurai lands in their own hands, the vast majority of samurai for generations have never seen what their land looks like; they just wait to collect rice.

The salary is easy to understand; it refers to the salary for government employment. If you don’t hold a position in the government office, there’s no salary for you.

Regardless if it’s the Dōshin of the Magistrate’s Office or from the Judicial Examination Office or any other department, as long as they’re Dōshin, their annual salary after tax deduction is generally 30 bales for supporting two people.

One bale is 4 tou, and one koku is 10 tou, so 30 bales convert to 12 koku.

The "support for two people" can be understood as a subsidy, providing enough rice for two adults for a year.

An annual salary of only 12 koku plus a subsidy for two people... The income is extremely meager.

Therefore, all Dōshin from various departments live quite challenging lives—except for those at the Magistrate’s Office.

Because the samurai working at the Magistrate’s Office have another source of income: tributes.

Each year, various Daimyos and Edo merchants would regularly present a "gift" to the Edo Magistrate’s Office, asking the Magistrate to "take good care" of them in the coming year.

Since a portion of this "gift" is also paid to the Shogunate, the Shogunate has always turned a blind eye to this hidden income of the Edo Magistrate’s Office.

The Town Magistrate distributes these "gifts" to various officials at the Magistrate’s Office based on their status, position, and political achievements.

People habitually refer to this "hidden salary" that officials at the Magistrate’s Office can receive as "tribute."

This "tribute" is actually the main source of income for officials at the Magistrate’s Office.

Take Arima as an example—as a Yoriki, Arima’s annual salary is 200 koku.

But with the tribute they can receive each year, every Yoriki at the Magistrate’s Office has an actual annual income as high as 500 to 1000 koku.

The family stipend and salary are distributed in three seasons.

One quarter is distributed in spring, one quarter in summer, and the remaining half is distributed fully in winter.

The tribute at the Magistrate’s Office is distributed in four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

How much tribute you can receive each season depends on your position and ability.

Previously, when Aoto was still the "Original Tachibana Aoto," because his political achievements were truly terrible, the tribute he received each season was always pitifully little.

But now—Aoto is no longer the "Blockhead Don" he was before.

Aoto’s outstanding performance last season made him receive an exceptionally high tribute this season: 51 ryo of gold!

When Hosoi announced the spring tribute that Aoto could receive this year, the receiving room resonated with low gasps.

For a Dōshin to receive a tribute of 51 ryo of gold in one quarter... this is extremely rare.

With the spring tribute of 51 ryo of gold, plus the 15 koku spring family stipend, 3 koku spring salary, and the "support for two people" subsidy, Aoto’s wallet swelled once again.

As for the second momentous event, it was quite serious.

On the night Aoto’s house was set on fire, Aoto and Chokata together captured one of the arsonists—this fat man, who was immediately sent to the Prison Compound in Little Chuanma Town after his arrest.

On the orders of the Shogunate, the Action Officers at the Prison Compound, who were responsible for interrogating prisoners, used various harsh interrogation methods on this fat man day and night.

The fat man’s resolve was unexpectedly firm.

No matter if it was the "Stone Embrace Punishment," which made one feel the agony of their legs about to break, or the "Shrimp Torture," which made life seem worse than death, he gritted his teeth and endured them all.

However... the interrogation methods at the Prison Compound are the "crystallization of human wisdom," created over thousands of years of accumulation and continuous improvement by generations.

You may endure these cruel tortures for a while, but can you withstand them for a lifetime?

Those who can withstand these tortures for a lifetime are rare to find—Dragons among men—and the fat man is not such a person.

After nearly three months of abuse and interrogation in the Prison Compound, he ultimately could not hold on any longer and revealed everything he knew.

According to the fat man’s confession, he belonged to an organization named the "Anti-foreigner Group."

All members of this organization are radical anti-foreigner faction members committed to expelling all barbarians from Japan.

A young samurai named Kamino Tatsugorou leads this organization.

The fat man knew very little about the leader of their Anti-foreigner Group. He had only seen Kamino a few times.

His limited understanding of Kamino was only that he talked very little, had a strong Qi Field, and was very skilled in Swordsmanship.

Although the fat man had never seen Kamino perform Iaijutsu, he had always heard about Kamino’s exceptional Swordsmanship since joining the Anti-foreigner Group.

According to the rumors the fat man heard—Kamino was able to become the leader of the Anti-foreigner Group at such a young age, not only because he was one of the group’s elders but also because of his exceptional Swordsmanship.