"How many people starved to death in our village last year? Go and take a look at the back mountain. There are so many white bones there. I can hear my poor child crying in my dreams at night."
"Last winter, our whole family only had one cotton-padded coat, and whoever went out wore it..."
“My father froze to death on New Year’s Eve… He didn’t even see the sun on New Year’s Day…”
"Our family consists of several people..."
"My father died a terrible death..."
Yun Qingluo felt a chill run down her spine as she listened to the cries and screams of the people below.
This group of people is more vicious than the devils; it's practically cannibalism.
Hundreds of people died silently. How heartbroken my parents would be if they knew.
Yun Qingluo's voice was icy cold, "Since hundreds of lives were lost, why were the outsiders completely unaware? Why were the people in the General's Mansion completely unaware?"
“They rely on their status as members of the royal family to bribe the surrounding government offices. As long as the money is right, the officials turn a blind eye. Why would they bother with the affairs of us small fry?”
Yun Tao said angrily, "Hundreds of lives? You call this a trivial matter?"
“I overheard the stewards talking in secret, saying that they had bribed the people in the Prince’s mansion, so they had tampered with the accounts every year, and the masters couldn’t tell the difference.”
Moreover, they heard that the princess wanted to select some estates as part of her dowry, so they gave the steward a lot of money and asked him to speak well of the estates to the general and his wife so that they could be included in the princess's dowry.
"I also heard from those stewards that the princess is a virtuous woman who is easy to fool. When the time comes, the royal family will be so powerful that they won't be able to control them at all, and they will be even more comfortable then."
Yun Tao was furious. She rolled up her sleeves and said, "Pah! They should take a piss and look at themselves to see if they're even born into wealth. They dare to dream about such things. They've got so many lives on their hands. Aren't they afraid of ghosts knocking on their door in the middle of the night? They're so despicable... No, I'm going to settle accounts with them."
After Yun Tao finished speaking, she rolled up her sleeves and was about to walk towards the side hall when Yun Xin grabbed her arm. "Hey, hey, don't do anything rash. The princess has her own arrangements. Don't disrupt the princess's plans."
Yun Qingluo glanced at the people below, "We've inspected the estate in previous years, and we didn't find any fewer people during last year's inspection. Why is that?"
An old man sighed and raised his voice, "Your Highness, those stewards received word of the inspection long before it began, and they will specifically rent people from elsewhere to deal with the inspection."
"Rent someone?" Yun Qingluo asked with curiosity.
"Yes, many villages deliberately underreport the number of people in order to pay less tax and rent. So these unregistered people are often rented by other villages to deal with inspections from above. This is a common occurrence in villages."
Yun Qingluo took a breath. "With so many unfamiliar faces, won't we be discovered?"
"No. As long as you see a similar number of people in the fields, who would bother to identify each one? The village heads will try to avoid this situation. Besides, the patrolmen have been bribed and won't care at all."
Upon hearing this, An Jiu and the others were furious. They walked to Yun Qingluo's side and whispered, "Your Highness, should I go and fetch Han Shaoqing from the Dali Temple..."
Yun Qingluo raised her hand to stop An Jiu from speaking, "We'll talk about it later. An Jiu, you and Yun Tao register the detailed information of each tenant farmer. I'll review it tonight and then make a decision."
After saying that, Yun Qingluo walked towards the side hall with a livid face.
Yun Qingluo deliberately walked lightly, and sure enough, she heard a lot of talking inside:
"What does Your Highness mean by this? Could it be that you've discovered something?"
"Who knew the princess would come to inspect yesterday? We weren't prepared at all. We only notified her when she was almost there, so there wasn't time to rent people."
"Hmph, we went yesterday, but they knew we were in a hurry and tried to raise the price, so we didn't reach an agreement..."
"You greedy devil, is this the time to discuss money? I should have gone with you last night."
"Alright, all of you, stop talking. She's just a young girl. Looking at you all, anyone who didn't know better would think the Emperor had arrived..."
"Wait, even if the Emperor comes, we're not afraid. Everyone knows that..."
"Shut up, or you'll get into trouble."
“Stand up straight, all of you! Look at the way you’re all sitting! Stand up straight! Even if you’re scared, it’s the princess who’s scared of us…”
Yun Qinglu snorted coldly and stepped in. "Oh? Then tell me, steward, what is this princess afraid of?"
Everyone was startled upon hearing this, and turned around to kneel and pay their respects. Yun Qingluo did not look at them, but slowly walked towards the seat of honor.
Everyone smelled a strange fragrance, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it. It smelled quite pleasant, so they took a few more sniffs.
Yun Qingluo sat down and straightened her sleeves. "Get up, all of you. I'm terrified of you all. I wouldn't dare make you kneel."
"Your Highness, please calm down. They spoke recklessly. This old servant will punish them when we get back."
"How should I be punished?" Yun Qingluo raised her eyes and looked at the steward who had spoken.
Manager Wang was taken aback when he heard this. He had just said it casually; how could he really be punished?
But then Yun Qingluo said, "I have long heard that the late emperor was a good ruler. Under his leadership, even the lowest servant knew some rules. Now, I, the princess, would like to learn more from the steward. So, Steward Wang, tell me, how should this situation be punished?"
Steward Wang, being quite astute, had already realized what was going on and hurriedly said with a smile, "Your Highness is joking. They were just talking nonsense; how can you take it seriously?"
The implication was that the princess was too petty.
Yun Qingluo's face turned cold. "They dare to speak so casually about the Regent's Consort. Isn't that insubordination?"
Everyone felt a chill; insubordination was a serious crime.
Seeing the princess's expression change, Steward Wang dared not be perfunctory anymore. After thinking for a while, he said stammeringly, "This old servant will definitely punish them when I get back."
Yun Qinglu remained silent, her gaze fixed indifferently on Steward Wang.
Steward Wang felt uneasy under her gaze and stammered, "What do you think, Your Highness, would you like to give each of them twenty lashes?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed immediately. They looked at Steward Wang with resentment, but because of Yun Qingluo, they couldn't show it.
Yun Qingluo observed everyone's reactions, took a sip of tea, and then said with a smile, "Isn't this a bit too harsh?"
The expressions on everyone's faces changed slightly again.
The princess only mentioned punishment, but didn't specify how. This steward Wang certainly knows how to curry favor.
Manager Wang also felt the gazes around him and immediately felt a pang of distress.
If we speak too lightly, our ancestors will hold a grudge; if we speak too harshly, it won't work.
He finally understood: the princess was doing it on purpose; she wanted to create chaos within their household.
Before Steward Wang could speak, Yun Qingluo continued, "Now everyone in the manor depends on them for food. Even if Steward Wang is willing to give them up, I, the Princess Consort, am not."
Manager Wang was taken aback. What did that mean? He was the head of the estate, so how could he be relying on them for food?
"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?" Steward Wang's face turned cold.
Yun Qing chuckled, "Oh, not pretending anymore?"
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