Crying Poor (Revised)

So Elena welcomed a wave of relatives, a wave of relatives who came to cry poor.

"Miss Viscount, please help us. We are being forced to death. Those people in the administrative office are really too much, too ruthless and too heartless. They are actually collecting taxes from us behind your back." As she spoke, Eli's wife turned from shouting in anger to wailing. She held Elena's hand and cried and wailed.

"My poor master just passed away, and he didn't even show any mercy to us, an orphan and a widow."

"My poor master has devoted his entire life to the Field family, busy with official business every day, and has never had a selfish motive."

Elena saw that Mrs. Eli was about to cry tears and snot, so she frowned and pulled her hand away.

Old Bernie's eldest son came up to greet him immediately.

"Miss Elena, our estate is only small and not wealthy. My father has been ill for years, and the cost of medical treatment and medicine is a considerable expense. He also had a funeral a while ago, which was another significant expense. Therefore, our estate truly cannot afford such a large tax this year. Miss Elena, please allow a little leniency for the sake of our shared surname and ancestry."

Bernie's eldest son did not cry, but instead acted pitifully. He was older than Elena and was nearly forty years old, so it was even more heartbreaking to see him act pitifully in front of the younger generation.

The cold-hearted Elena listened calmly to the complaints of the two families. At the same time, she looked through the land area and number of farmers of the two estates presented by the treasurer. Haha, isn't this quite rich?

Let’s take a look at the actual tax paid in the previous three years. Haha, the money saved should be quite a lot.

"You're pitiful, and it's really difficult," Elena finally said. The eyes of both families lit up, but she then added, "I'll allow you to pay in installments. How about this? I'll allow you to defer this year's taxes to the next three years. You can choose when to pay and how much to pay each time."

The two families didn't expect that Elena would be so cold and heartless. They cried so hard but she still insisted on asking for money. She only extended the deadline instead of directly exempting them!

So cruel!

The two families communicated secretly with their eyes and lip language, discussing how to plead next, but Elena didn't want to deal with them anymore.

She made her attitude clear directly: "You also know what Eli and Bernie did to me before I inherited the title. It is already kind and generous of me to extend the deadline for you to pay taxes." So don't expect her to exempt them from taxes this year as usual.

When talking about the past, both families looked as if someone was strangling them, and their expressions were varied.

Elena admired their expressions grimly.

It took a long time for Bernie's eldest son to break the weird atmosphere.

"You, you can't do this," Bernie's eldest son chose his words carefully. "My father had no intention of being disrespectful. He's just, just, just old. Yes, older people always hope that the family can live in harmony. When Eli was attacked and killed in the Viscount's Mansion, he had a slight misunderstanding about you, so his tone may have been so unpleasant at the time, but he absolutely did not mean to force you. I can guarantee that."

After hearing these words, Bernie's sons came to their senses and quickly echoed that their family had absolutely no intention of disrespect or offense.

The Bernie family was desperately trying to express their opinions, and the Eli family felt a little embarrassed. Anyone with a discerning eye could see what Eli was thinking at the time, and they didn't dare to lie when the Viscountess was obviously angry, saying that Eli had absolutely no disrespectful thoughts. Such deception would only make people more annoyed.

What should they do?

Elena was surrounded by Bernie's family. They expressed their loyalty and flattered her. Elena was flattered by them, no, they were persuaded by them, and the depression in her heart was relieved a lot.

But it is impossible to exempt her from jurisdiction, absolutely impossible, she is also short of money!

However, as a leader, she should know how to use both kindness and severity. She should warn them and if they show their loyalty, then she should show them a little kindness.

"Taxes still have to be collected. I won't reduce or exempt them, but I can relax the conditions a little bit." Elena looked at Bernie's eldest son, and Bernie's family immediately showed a flattering smile.

Elena continued, "You can pay only half of the tax. For the other half, you can pay with goods. Whether it's farm tools, chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, vehicles, weapons, armor, or even silver utensils, you can use them to pay the debt."

After thinking about it, Elena added: "You can also use people to pay off the debt, whether they are craftsmen or farmers."

She is short of money, things and people. She wants everything she can use.

Bernie's eldest son only thought for two seconds before agreeing. The most important thing now was to regain the Viscountess's trust and erase his father's previous disrespect and offense. Otherwise, if he was to inherit the manor and the Viscountess refused to agree to stamp her seal, wouldn't he be at a greater disadvantage?

Seeing that the Bernie family had already reached an agreement with the Viscountess, the Eli family became even more anxious.

Eli's wife quickly spoke up, "Miss, my master is a rude man who speaks without thinking. His actions are always confusing. We, his wife and children, have no idea what he was thinking. Miss, please forgive our sins for the sake of our shared family name and ancestors, and for the sake of our master's return to the Kingdom of God."

She didn't dare ask Elena to forgive her husband, for fear of upsetting her. Her husband was dead anyway, and it didn't matter whether he was forgiven or not. Her life and that of her children were more important.

"Forgive your sins?" Elena raised her eyebrows.

Eli's wife nervously replied, "We failed to fulfill our duties as citizens. We didn't notice his disrespectful thoughts in time and didn't stop him in time. We are guilty, but my children and I really didn't have any disrespectful thoughts."

Elena smiled. He was also a smart man.

"Okay, since you admit your mistakes, I will forgive you generously. Your family can pay only half of the tax, just like Bernie's family, and the other half can be paid in the form of goods." Elena was in a good mood, so she waved her hands and showed her favor.

Eli's wife quickly bowed and thanked him: "Thank you for your kindness and generosity."

After the two families left, Elena laughed even more wantonly.

Sure enough, power tastes really good.

After the Eli and Bernie families received collection orders, more collection orders were sent out. All the estates of the Field family members were required to pay taxes truthfully and were not allowed to make excuses to shirk them.

It was originally thought that the Eli family and the Bernie family would be able to step forward, but in the end it was of no use. They still had to pay taxes. Those collateral masters hiding behind became even more angry, and it was an indescribable anger of being betrayed.

They gathered together without giving up, thinking that there was strength in numbers, and also thinking that the law does not punish the masses, and that no matter how ruthless the Viscountess was, she should at least give them some face.

Although they heard that the Eli family and the Bernie family were reprimanded in person by the Viscountess, they did not think that they would be reprimanded as well.

They did not participate in forcing the Viscountess at that time. They just stood by and watched. How much responsibility could they have?

Even if they really do have some responsibility, there are so many of them and the law cannot hold everyone responsible.

But Elena did not have a telepathic connection with them. She did not play tricks on them at all. She slapped them in the face one by one. If they wanted to take advantage of her, it would be impossible!

Not only is there no door, there are no windows either!

Elena scolded all the relatives who came to plead for mercy in person.

"I don't care what your reasons are, no matter how many reasons you have, there is no reason not to pay the taxes owed to the lord!"

"I've already collected the taxes, so you'd better not try anything tricky, like hiding the tax amount or falsifying the tax items. If I find out, haha, I'll be in a bad mood."

"Don't feel wronged. What are you feeling wronged about? You said you didn't participate in the persecution, you just couldn't help. Haha, do you think I would believe you?"

"As the first in line of succession, the only direct heir, I should be the next Viscount! You don't come forward, don't express your stance, don't support me. This is your greatest sin!"

"Lord, do you think that loyalty is just empty talk? Do you think that just because my father is dead, I am a pitiful little thing that you can bully? Where is your loyalty?"

"Now that I've been granted the title of Viscount, a proper lord, shouldn't you, as my subjects, demonstrate your loyalty through concrete actions? Are you still expecting me, the lord, to pay you out of pocket to compensate you?"

"Oh, you guys are worthy!"

Elena shouted harshly, and the relatives who wanted to "beg" by relying on their numbers all lowered their necks.

Elena became more and more angry as she scolded them, and simply added another sentence, that as punishment they "cannot pay taxes in kind" and must pay actual money and grain.

Humph, what she hates most is threats. What does it mean that so many of them come here to beg for mercy?

Isn't it just bullying because she is a little girl? If she had been a little soft-hearted and had a little shame, and listened to their pleading, wouldn't she have given up the money?

They are beautiful.

Not only did she not reduce or exempt their taxes, she also wanted to destroy their desire to take advantage of the situation by using goods to offset taxes.

After coming out of the Viscount's Mansion covered in dust and dirt, some people could not bear it anymore and secretly ran to Book Harbor, stuffed money into the people in the Earl's Mansion, and asked them to secretly complain to Earl Barnett, saying that Elena was unkind and insisted on getting money.

After hearing this, Earl Barnett said, "Alas, Elena has it so hard. She's just a little girl, without the support of her elders. She's shouldering heavy responsibilities at such a young age, and she's got so many disobedient people under her. Shoot her some fruit, and tell her to relax and not get angry with those fools. Her health is the most important thing. If she's really angry, I can send someone to deal with it for her."

People who want to file a lawsuit: ...I feel so upset. It was all in vain and I even lost money.

The superior lord didn't care, and the masters of the Field family had no choice but to face reality and endure it.

It has to be said that in this world, the lord's power is really great. He controls administration, justice, and military affairs. On the lord's land, even if you are a noble, the best way to live a happy life is to obey the lord and not conflict with him.

What can we do? We still have to pay taxes.