But if it succeeded, there was hope that Mianyang would improve, and by then, he, the Prefect, would also benefit from it.
"Thatās not being timid, thatās clearly selfishness. But itās not wrong for him to be selfish, thatās just how people are."
"Regardless of what the prefecture thinks, after the autumn harvest and once the tax revenue comes in along with the money Iāve raised this time, we will be able to start working on some things."
"By the way," Yang Chuxia said when she heard about the tax collection, "when you were away, some people from Peach Blossom Village in Yanghe Town came to seek help. They said their village was taxed twice a year, and each time the amount was more than what other villages paid. It was only because their village had offended the brother-in-law of Principal Clerk Zhou. I had Fugui look into it, but thereās been no word yet."
"Principal Clerk Zhou..." Ye Ziāan thought to himself, it seemed that Principal Clerk Zhou could not be kept on any longer.
"Those people are still at the mansion. Do you want to meet with them?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ziāan nodded immediately, "Iāll go take a look first."
~~~~
Just yesterday they had said Fugui had not returned, and today, Fugui was back.
After hearing his investigation report, Ye Ziāanās handsome face immediately darkened.
"What do you plan to do?" Yang Chuxia asked. This Principal Clerk Zhou was clearly a corrupt official and couldnāt be kept around. Otherwise, this yearās taxes wouldnāt need to be handed over to the courtāno telling how much less would end up in his hands.
Indeed, upon hearing that Mianyang would not need to hand over tax revenue to the court for the next five years, Principal Clerk Zhou was ecstatic beyond measure. Heaven only knew how much he had profited from his position.
This year, not having to submit to the court meant he could embezzle even more.
However, he was unaware that Ye Ziāan was already gathering evidence of his crimes.
"Punishment! He has been in that position long enough. If there is an issue under my watch, how could I possibly not know? Last year, when I had just arrived, I held back from making a move against him because it might have caused restlessness among the other officials in Mianyang. But he shouldnāt even dream of touching this yearās taxes, and he must cough up not only this yearās but also last yearās and prior yearsā taxes. Iāve been worried about how to squeeze some more money for the Mianyang county government, and I guess a good amount will come out of his familyās pockets."
Listening to Ye Ziāan, Yang Chuxia found that she had worried for nothingāit seemed like he had Mianyang well under control.
"So when do you plan to make your move?" Yang Chuxia then asked another question.
Ye Ziāan just rubbed her head, "Youāll see. Those two concubines from the Zhou Family, isnāt one of them surnamed Cao?"
"Eh, how did you know?"
"Guessed it."
Thinking of the Zhou Familyās troubles, Yang Chuxia laughed, "Exactly her, such a disgusting woman. She did despicable things and now tries to shift the blame on you. Even Madam Zhou backed her up. In the end, Cao Lingling countered and bit back. As for the other concubine, I sent her myself. The Zhou Family started quarreling yesterday, and itās probably going to get even worse in the next few days."
As expected, the Zhou Family has been quarreling day and night since yesterday, and Principal Clerk Zhou was exceedingly annoyed.
The three concubines vied for favor together and even banded together, completely disregarding Madam Zhou. Moreover, when Madam Zhou went shopping, she was beaten up on the street and her face was so swollen that her original appearance was unrecognizable.
But the person who beat her let slip that it was Concubine Cao who had ordered the beating, so the brainless Madam Zhou went home and punished Cao Lingling. But who knew that Lingling was pregnant, and due to the punishment, not only did she lose the child, but she also became unable to conceive in the future.
Principal Clerk Zhou was immersed in the joy of having a child late in life, only to be informed that night that the child was gone.
Needless to say, he was so angry that he wanted to divorce his wife!
Yet before he could do so, the Mianyang county government officials arrived with an arrest warrant and raided his house.