Huang Yichun was stunned. "Could it be that you have already started to doubt him?"
"That's not the case," Jiang Yushu said, looking him in the eye. "When I first announced the new farming regulations, the 'anonymous letter of accusation' I mentioned didn't actually exist. I was just trying to trick those with ulterior motives. As a result, after the news spread, the authorities began to receive a number of genuine anonymous accusations, ranging from murder and arson to minor neighborhood disputes. They were all one-sided accounts and needed to be verified."
"Among them," she briefly explained, "someone claiming to be a foreign merchant sued Li Qigong, alleging he had deliberately resold the same batch of grain to three different buyers, profiting hugely. He then feigned ignorance and cunningly shirked responsibility, leading to a brawl between the buyers. The accuser suffered heavy losses, nearly losing everything, and angrily reported the case before returning home."
Huang Yichun hesitated to speak, showing no surprise at all.
Guo Honglei wasn't surprised. "No matter where you are, there are always some corrupt officials."
"This is the first one. Although it hasn't been verified, it's likely true. Otherwise, how many years after the war? With Li Qigong's salary, he couldn't afford to build a luxurious three-story house or support so many slaves." Jiang Yushu continued:
"The second case isn't anonymous. A while ago, a villager in this county formally filed a complaint, accusing a fellow villager of raping his sister. The defendant was Li Qigong's cousin. Investigations revealed that the plaintiff had already been beating drums to protest the accusation before the fall of Yongzhou, but the Northern Qi suddenly invaded the border, and the case was shelved. The plaintiff and defendant had been arguing privately and had fought several times, leading to a court case. The plaintiff was detained on charges of 'affray,' awaiting trial. The defendant escaped unharmed, while the plaintiff was tortured, severely injured, and near death, before being carried out of prison by the jailers."
Guo Honglei scowled in disgust, "Shameless and despicable people, birds of a feather!"
Jiang Yushu took the opportunity to order, "The defendant is still at large. Who would believe Li Qigong if he said he wasn't partial? This case is in your charge. Investigate boldly and make sure the verdict is impartial. We will support you. Don't be afraid of the local tyrants."
"I will do my best to get it done!" Huang Yichun accepted the order excitedly.
Guo Honglei encouraged him, "Sir Huang is honest and pragmatic, which is admirable. The chaos in Tuning needs officials like you to clean up the mess. Although I am not in the government, if the county government needs assistance, I will personally help with all my strength, even if the military headquarters does not approve of intervention!"
"I don't dare. I don't deserve it. Captain, you're too kind." Huang Yichun waved his hand modestly. "It's only with your words that I have a backbone. Otherwise, when I was isolated and helpless, no matter how angry I was, I would not dare to rashly deal with the local bullies."
Jiang Yushu pondered over it again and again, then said softly, "Let's not touch Wen Xi for now. We should investigate the rape case openly and the adultery case secretly, and punish Li Qigong first."
"Wen Xi is Li Qigong's brother-in-law. They've been colluding with each other, flattering their superiors and bullying their subordinates. They've been tyrannical for over a decade, committing countless crimes. Even someone named Wen can't stand up to scrutiny." Huang Yichun couldn't help but ask, "You're now promoting Wen Xi, asking him to collect fines and manage the workshop. What are your plans?"
After months of careful observation, Jiang Yushu chose to trust the county magistrate, explaining, "I'm not afraid of thieves thinking about it, I'm afraid they won't steal! Be patient and wait and see how much money Wen Xi can raise from reselling grain. Once the workshop is completed and the grain is stored in the warehouse, I guess he'll be unable to resist his greed. If he makes a mistake or breaks the law, the government will punish him severely according to the law."
Guo Honglei stared at her, raising his eyebrows in disdain. "What if he gets carried away by greed and secretly embezzles the stolen money? How can we build the workshop?"
“I don’t think so!”
Jiang Yushu speculated confidently, "Because he's so greedy, he's probably willing to sacrifice a small amount of money in exchange for the magistrate's trust and, in turn, long-term benefits. Imagine, once the workshop is up and running, not only will there be summer and autumn harvests stored in the warehouse each year, but also countless batches of potato flour, vermicelli, and other items. If Wen Xi had any ulterior motives while handling these, he'd have plenty of opportunities to enrich himself! So, why would he deliberately mess up his job and anger the magistrate right from the start?"
Huang Yichun nodded in agreement, "That makes sense."
Guo Honglei's eyes were filled with admiration. "Madam, you are becoming more and more independent-minded! This is a good plan. I'll follow your advice."
When her husband praised her privately, she was either modest or happy, and she didn't need to hide it. But in front of outsiders, Jiang Yushu felt a little embarrassed and answered seriously: "Besides this, I can't think of any other way. I can only take it one step at a time and adapt to the situation."
"Then we'll just wait for Wen Xi to reveal his true colors." Huang Yichun was inexplicably excited. "We'll secretly gather evidence. First, we'll use the confiscated silver to build a workshop. Then, we'll raid the Wen and Li families. We'll definitely get a large sum of money!"
Jiang Yushu did not refute, and said seriously: "The government is short of money. It is difficult to do anything. We must increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Blindly saving is useless. The key is to have a stable income."
"Right!" Huang Yichun nodded vigorously. "Your Excellency is absolutely right! We need at least a sufficient initial sum of money to gradually escape poverty and revitalize Tuning."
Jiang Yushu nodded in agreement. The magistrate and the county magistrate were eager to get started and had a very pleasant conversation.
Guo Honglei smiled, and gave reminders or suggestions from time to time. They discussed the matter until noon. After lunch, they had another detailed discussion while drinking tea. The county magistrate left with a reluctant look on his face.
The couple saw the guests off and went back to their room to rest.
Guo Honglei paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and said with emotion, "I thought you would panic when dealing with people like Wen Xi and Li Qigong, but I didn't expect you to have already made a plan."
"Well... I'm not panicking, just worried. I don't know when this mess will be cleared up." Jiang Yushu remained calm and thankful, saying, "Thank goodness you're in Tuningwei. Even if you do nothing, you can still help me deter my subordinates with ulterior motives. Otherwise, I would have followed County Magistrate Huang's example and sent the child back home to avoid such fear."
Guo Honglei's eyes sparkled as he whispered, "I've reconsidered this. I gave the order last night to divide the existing guards into three shifts, standing guard day and night to protect you and Yan'er. We won't give any sinister individuals the opportunity to do evil."
"Great!" Jiang Yushu breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know the intricacies of patrol deployment. Every profession has its own expertise. I'll only feel at ease if you arrange it yourself."
Guo Honglei worriedly warned, "You must be careful and beware of Li Qigong. He's a man who will resort to any despicable means."
"I know!" In the wind and snow, Jiang Yushu suddenly felt playful. She quickly rolled a small snowball, threw it at him, then turned around and ran away, laughing.
Unexpectedly, after running a few steps, someone grabbed the back of his cloak, "Hey——"
"Where are you escaping to?" Guo Honglei was quick-witted and quick-handed. He caught the snowball with his right hand, grabbed it with a leap, and put his left arm around her, pretending to stuff the snowball into her collar.
"No, no, I was wrong!"
"Let go, I know I was wrong." Jiang Yushu admitted her mistake decisively. She struggled to grab the snowflakes, but ended up smearing them on his face. The two of them played affectionately, causing the servants to watch with laughter.
The north wind was howling, water was freezing, and the border gradually turned into a world of ice and snow.
In a blink of an eye, it is the twelfth lunar month.
That morning, Jiang Yushu sat at the head of the conference room as usual.
Winter was bitterly cold, and she wore a fur coat over her official robes, with a copper foot warmer beneath her boots. She raised an account book, flicked a few times, and declared with satisfaction, "This autumn's harvest is good!"
"The tax and grain accounts have been calculated. The wheat and corn yields are about the same as in previous years, but the potato yield is around 2,100 kilograms per mu, which is considered a good harvest."
Wen Xi was delighted and was the first to chime in, "It's much higher than the summer harvest, which is truly commendable! This bountiful harvest is thanks not only to the favorable weather and harvests from heaven, but also to the wise and decisive decision of the county magistrate, who issued the new decree on behalf of the farmers in a timely manner, allowing the government to collect the full amount of tax grain."
The other minor officials echoed and complimented him, saying, "Yes, the new decree has indeed given rise to a new atmosphere!"
"Your hard work has finally paid off."
"Your Excellency is extremely wise. Under your rule, the harvest will surely get better every year!"
"Of course."
…
Amidst the flattery, Li Qigong felt annoyed and just nodded without agreeing.
Jiang Yushu smiled, put down the account book, and instructed, "Today is the third day of the twelfth lunar month. Everyone should summarize their tasks as soon as possible. If there are no unexpected events, the county government will follow the old rules and start the holiday before the New Year and last until the eighteenth day of the first lunar month. However, if there is any urgent official business, we must work together to resolve it and then rest."
"yes."
"I understand!"
After working for a year, everyone looks forward to a break at the end of the year. They wish they could burn the midnight oil to finish the official duties of the year and start to rest after Laba Festival.
The next moment, Wen Xi stood up and reported: "Your Excellency, I have fulfilled my duty and have received three thousand taels of silver. Here is the account, please review it."
The bailiff took the booklet, bowed, and ran over to hand it to the magistrate's confidant.
Jiang Yushu lowered her head, her knuckles red from the cold, and opened the account book.
Wen Xi held his breath, waiting for the evaluation.
"Well, not bad! Very good!" Jiang Yushu glanced through it, praising it highly. She said gently, "You've been running around collecting fines for the past two or three months. You've worked hard. The government should credit you with this achievement!"
Wen Xi's face lit up with a smile, but he quickly suppressed it and bowed, "As I should. This is my duty, and I dare not neglect my duties. The money has been handed over to the treasury. Please take a look at it when you have time."
Jiang Yushu waved her hand, looking extremely worried. "There are a lot of things to do at the end of the year. I don't have time to review it for the time being. You can decide what to do. If you are undecided, ask for instructions." After she finished speaking, she looked at the county magistrate and the clerk of the etiquette office and asked with concern:
"Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year. How are the preparations for the Laba Festival sacrifice going?"
Huang Yichun stood up and replied, "Everything is ready."
"We can hold the sacrifice ceremony as soon as the day comes." The clerk said respectfully.
Jiang Yushu said seriously, "Be careful! The La Festival and the Winter Festival cannot be sloppy. I don't want to make a mistake on my first Winter Festival."
"Are you worried about something going wrong? How about getting familiar with it in advance?" Huang Yichun suggested.
Jiang Yushu thought about it, and glanced at Li Qigong, who looked a little worried, and answered happily, "Okay. On the afternoon of the seventh day, while the altar is being set up, I'll familiarize myself with it in advance."
The magistrate was in the lead, and the other clerks were discussing official business one after another as usual.
Li Qigong was absent-minded, occasionally agreeing with them, and endured until noon when the meeting was over. He then quietly called his brother-in-law to discuss his troubles.
Soon, in a secluded room
"Hmph~"
Wen Xi sneezed, folded his hands in his sleeves, stamped his feet, looked around, and urged, "What's the matter? Tell me quickly! Hiss, there's not even a charcoal brazier in this room, it's too cold."
Li Qigong sat down and sighed, "What else can happen right now? Last night, my fourth uncle and aunt came to beg me again, begging me to save Xiaofan—"
Wen Xi curled his lips and interrupted before he finished listening. "Tsk, it's your cousin's mess again! I told you before, County Magistrate Jiang is a woman. Women are naturally afraid of and hate rape. If she makes the decision, she will only support the plaintiff. How could she favor the rapist?"
"I understand the logic." Li Qigong frowned in worry, "But Xiaofan is my cousin after all. We grew up together. Besides, my uncle and aunt are begging for mercy, so I have to help them. Look, can we convince Huang Yichun? Money is not a problem. Jail or exile are fine. Just ask him not to sentence us to death—"
Wen Xi interrupted again, "Don't dream! Huang Mutou is as timid as a mouse. Jiang Yushu has ordered a thorough investigation. How could he have the guts to fool the magistrate?"
"This... we have to give it a try." Li Qigong said earnestly, "I'll host a banquet tomorrow night and invite the county magistrate to drink. Brother-in-law, remember to come and lend a hand. The success or failure depends on Xiaofan's fate. If we do our best, we will have a clear conscience."
We? Wen Xi hesitated to speak, thinking to himself: Your cousin is lustful and commits a crime, what the hell does it have to do with me?
"After the matter is completed, Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt will definitely reward you handsomely!"
Wen Xi sniffed, suppressing his impatience, and said helplessly, "Relatives should look after each other. Asking for a 'substantial reward' is awkward. It's not that I don't want to help, but I'm powerless. You've already sounded out Huang Mutou's opinion. Does he have any intention of showing leniency?"
"This...it's all in our hands. Let's try again!" Li Qigong never thought that rape was a serious crime.
The next moment, footsteps were heard outside the door.
Wen Xi opened the door and looked out, whispering, "Shh, someone is coming!" Then he walked out of the room and said, "Let's talk about this when we have time. I have to go to prepare for the Luodong sacrifice ceremony. If I leave for too long, everyone will get suspicious." After speaking, he hurried away.
"Will you come tomorrow night?" Li Qigong chased out the door.
"Well...let's take another look." Wen Xi didn't even turn his head.
Li Qigong stared at his brother-in-law's back, standing alone for a long while. His face gradually became long, and he snorted coldly, gritting his teeth and cursing: "Bah, you are so proud and ungrateful! You are so ungrateful!"
The author has something to say: It turns out that "淫/妇" is a sensitive word. I forgot to add slashes in the first few chapters, so it all became "口口"...
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