Chapter 286 No house is clean.
"The one who complained is still here?" Ye Yunshu frowned immediately.
Song Zhimian quickly placed another soft pillow behind Ye Yunshu's lower back and carefully helped her lean against it.
"Not yet! But His Highness hasn't seen him much."
His Highness meant that he enjoys brewing tea, and if he wanted to make a living, he should be sent to Chun Bu Wan in the capital.
Lang Qiuzhu, however, said he was waiting for the Ministry of Justice to return so he could see the final outcome of his elder brother's case.
After avenging his great grudge, he stayed by the prince's side.
Even when he went to the capital, Chunbuwan, he only brewed tea for His Highness.
"His Highness didn't say anything, but simply arranged for him to stay in a separate courtyard," Song Zhimian said with a smile.
Ye Yunshu then nodded.
They've arranged for him to stay in a separate courtyard. Lan Qian keeps quite a few male concubines there. It's good to arrange for Lang Qiuzhu to go there too, so he can see that there are many people who want to serve the princess, not just him.
If he wants to serve the princess, he has to wait in line obediently.
"Very good, you just need to keep an eye on things for me. Lan Qian is really something, why does she keep so many male lovers?"
"Now, if she glances at a man even slightly, everyone assumes she wants to make him her gigolo." Ye Yunshu said, frowning.
Song Zhimian dared not discuss this topic.
Actually... if allowed, she would also like to keep a few good-looking male concubines.
When I'm feeling irritable, I call over all my male companions. Some massage my shoulders, some rub my legs, and a few of them showing off their eight-pack abs do a couple of wiggles in front of me...
Ah, life was pretty good back then!
Ye Yunshu glanced at Song Zhimin, knowing that she must be thinking about something.
"Song Zhimian!"
"Ah? What are your orders, Your Majesty!" Song Zhimian quickly squatted down.
"Why are you so nervous? Don't bow so often. You don't need to be so formal when you're with me."
"Have you investigated everything thoroughly by the Supervisory Department?" Ye Yunshu asked with a smile.
Song Zhimian quickly took the memorial that the Censorate had just delivered that day.
"Your Majesty, the Censorate just delivered the memorial this afternoon."
The Censorate secretly investigated and found that all the officials in the court had land registered under the names of students to be exempt from land taxes.
Even one of the estates owned by the Lin family had affiliations.
"But it seems Prime Minister Lin is unaware of this matter; it was the steward of the outer courtyard of the Prime Minister's residence who caused it," Song Zhimian said softly.
Ye Yunshu sighed.
She trusted Lin Xiang, but Lin Xiang was so busy every day that he might not know all the little things about his family.
"Send this memorial to Prime Minister Lin! You should deliver it yourself."
"In a couple of days, have Prime Minister Lin lead the people from the Six Ministries to the Phoenix Heaven Palace for a meeting," Ye Yunshu said calmly.
Song Zhimian immediately took the memorial to the Prime Minister's residence.
...
Lin Xiang looked at the memorial in his hand, somewhat incredulous.
Before that Lady Song arrived, he was very confident that he could withstand the investigation and that no matter how His Majesty dealt with him, he would not be implicated.
Now……
Lin Xiang felt a burning pain on his face. How could he not have imagined that the housekeeper would do such a thing?
"Bring this bastard here!" Lin Xiang's hands were trembling.
The old man from the Lin family quickly brought a cup of tea to Prime Minister Lin.
“Father…this is a servant’s matter, it has nothing to do with you. I will definitely teach him a lesson.”
Lin Xiang waved his hand and sighed.
"His Majesty is being lenient with me! In the end, this is still a matter for our household."
Why did the steward dare to do this? Wasn't it because he was relying on the name of the Prime Minister's residence?
If he dares to do something like this, how many bad things will he do behind the scenes using the name of the Prime Minister's residence?
Those who willingly help others register their land must have something in mind!
Go investigate! You might uncover a lot of shady dealings!
...
Prime Minister Lin arranged for someone to investigate the matter of the steward of the manor privately affiliating with the students' land. After the matter was investigated and clarified, not only was Prime Minister Lin covered in a cold sweat, but everyone else in the Lin manor felt as if they had been stabbed in the back.
The steward of the Prime Minister's residence is quite intimidating to outsiders.
The steward of this outer courtyard secretly arranged for a piece of land in the Prime Minister's estate to be exempt from land tax, and then also arranged for 300 mu of land in his own family to be exempt from land tax.
That's not all; this housekeeper also did his fair share of minor, everyday chores.
Whenever his family encountered any problems, they would come to him for help, and he, in turn, used the name of the Prime Minister's residence to do a lot of things for them.
The most outrageous incident was when a distant relative of his family seized thirty acres of land belonging to a widow and her children in Tianjin. He immediately sent his son to Tianjin.
He also told the county magistrate that his nephew was handling matters for the Prime Minister's family, and told the magistrate to handle the matter accordingly.
He even threatened the county magistrate, saying, "Should I go back and tell the Prime Minister?"
Who is Prime Minister Lin? He is the head of all officials. Which official wouldn't want to curry favor with Prime Minister Lin? Naturally, the county magistrate judged the case according to the steward's wishes.
In the end, the orphaned mother and child had nowhere to turn for help...
Lin Xiang did not hide anything; he wrote down all these things and then knelt at the entrance of Fengtian Palace, begging for punishment.
After kneeling for half an hour, Ye Yunshu finally saw him.
...
No one knows what Ye Yunshu said to Prime Minister Lin, but in any case, Prime Minister Lin staggered when he left Fengtian Palace.
Before leading his officials to the Phoenix Heaven Palace for a meeting, Prime Minister Lin summoned all the officials together.
He brought the things that had been discovered about his family to the forefront.
"Everyone, go back and investigate! Once you find out, submit a memorial of apology, and His Majesty will handle it accordingly."
"Some things are too late if we wait for His Majesty to say them," Prime Minister Lin said calmly.
"Prime Minister, what are you saying? How dare we..." someone wanted to argue a little.
Lin Xiang chuckled.
"It's not that I don't trust you all, it's that I don't believe you can control everything in the mansion."
I thought so too until the day before yesterday.
I dare not speak of anything else, but I have always believed that I have lived a clean and honest life and have never done anything corrupt that would betray the court.
Just because I haven't done it doesn't mean that no one else in the manor has.
Everyone, go back and investigate. Investigate those around you, distant relatives, and even the servants.
It might really open your eyes!
I'll say it again: if you find out the truth yourselves, write a letter of apology and submit it. As long as it wasn't you who did it, His Majesty won't pursue the matter too harshly.
But if you don't investigate anything... and wait for His Majesty to point it out in court... you should know what the consequences will be.
"Who can guarantee that their family is completely innocent?" Lin Xiang said in a deep voice.
None of the officials dared to speak.
Yes, they can guarantee their own innocence, but can they guarantee the innocence of their family members?
And then there were the relatives and friends, the servants who used the mansion's name...
"Prime Minister, we'll go back and investigate immediately. We'll make sure we find out everything."
...
"Song Zhimin, tell me, if you were to handle this land tax matter, how would you handle it?" Ye Yunshu from Fengwu Palace suddenly asked Song Zhimin, who was tidying up the documents beside her.
"Me? I'll just solve it in a simple and straightforward way."
"Since they've come up with a way to exempt people from land taxes, let's just let everyone enjoy the benefits of that exemption," Song Zhimian said.
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