Chapter 266: Tax Review, Difficulties
Wang Yuchu was quickly called over, and Qin Yuwei asked everyone else to go down.
Biyu thought that her master was kind and righteous, and did not want to scold the cook in front of everyone, so she led everyone out.
After the others left, Qin Yuwei stopped looking unhappy and asked Wang Yuchu what happened.
"My lady, it was Miss Zhu Lan who went to the Imperial Fragrance Pavilion two days ago and asked Defa to bring a message to me, asking for your help with something."
When Qin Yuwei heard that Zhu Lan had something to do, her expression immediately became serious.
"Miss Zhu Lan would like you to go to the Shangfu Bureau and look for a man named 'Chu Xiuning'."
Qin Yuwei thought for a moment and nodded to indicate that she understood.
Shangfu Bureau...
Qin Yuwei tapped her chin lightly with her slender fingers. Although she didn't know why Lanlan suddenly wanted to find someone for her harem, she was the only one who could go to a place like the Shangfu Bureau in a natural way.
"Please tell Zhu Lan that I will have the opportunity to accompany His Highness to the palace in three days. I will then find an excuse to go to the Shangfu Bureau to inquire about this person."
Then he raised his voice a little and scolded Wang Yuchu a few words so that everyone outside could hear him, and then let him leave.
…
At the hour of You, the Ministry of Revenue was still brightly lit.
It was clearly time to close the office, but there was no sign of anyone leaving.
Even Qiao Youyou is busy.
Ever since the day when the Minister assigned the task of settling taxes for merchants in the capital and Min Yuan, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, recommended himself to supervise the matter, Qiao Youyou's workload suddenly became unprecedentedly huge.
The Minister gave a deadline of fifteen days to complete the task and assigned ten officials from the Ministry of Revenue to Qiao Youyou.
Xiao Wan put down her pen and handed a blue-covered account book to Qiao Youyou.
"This is the tax and silver statistics of several tea shops in the capital. I have checked it and there is no problem."
Xiao Wan was very efficient. Qiao Youyou was touched and took the account book. "Woo, woo, woo, luckily I have you. You really helped a lot!"
Qiao Youyou went to ask about other people's progress, but no one responded.
"Mr. Zhao, how are you doing?"
Zhao Shengping, who was also a member of the Yuanwailang, did not raise his head, but responded slowly: "Why are you in such a hurry? There are so many things to do, we have to deal with them one by one, right?"
Qiao Youyou moved closer, but this time the other party was not wasting time practicing calligraphy, but was seriously settling the accounts.
Qiao Youyou looked at it for a while, and suddenly asked in confusion: "Mr. Zhao, we are going to settle the taxes of the merchants in the capital, but the book in your hand... is the account of Yunzhou, right?"
Zhao Shengping put down his pen, looked up at Qiao Youyou, and frowned, "Mr. Qiao, Lord Min asked us to assist you, but that doesn't mean we have to put down everything we are doing. Look at these--"
As Zhao Shengping spoke, he patted the thick stack of files on the table, which were all account books of other states and counties.
"Your matter is not the only one that is important. We are very busy and it is impossible for us to serve you alone."
"But Lord Min clearly said--"
"What did Lord Min say? Lord Min said that we should come to help you, and he will ignore all the things he was doing?"
Qiao Youyou was a little annoyed. "But right now, His Majesty is concerned about the taxes in the capital, so it should be treated as a top priority. It won't affect things if we temporarily put other counties on hold for a while!"
Zhao Shengping chuckled, "Mr. Qiao, other people are eager to show off their talents when they take office, but you haven't even been promoted yet, why are you so eager to show off?"
After saying that, he shook his sleeves and picked up the pen again.
"I'm sorry, we are of the same level, you have no right to command me. If you have any opinions, please go and talk to Lord Min."
Seeing that he no longer paid attention to her, Qiao Youyou clenched her fists in anger as she saw that the other officials assigned to assist had the same attitude as Zhao Shengping.
"Okay, then I'll go find Lord Min and ask for an explanation!"
Qiao Youyou came to Min Yuan's office, pushed the door open, and recounted what had just happened in detail.
Min Yuansi sat on the chair, clasped her hands, and looked at Qiao Youyou in front of her leisurely, as if she was not surprised at all.
After Qiao Youyou finished speaking, Min Yuan was silent for a while and said, "Mr. Zhao is right."
"What?"
Min Yuan smiled calmly, "The Ministry of Revenue has limited staff, and everyone has a heavy burden. You have to do your job, and naturally you have to do other things as well."
"But right now, settling the accounts in the capital is the most important thing!"
Min Yuan shrugged, “The human officer has been assigned to you, but how to make everyone willingly do things for you is also a reflection of your ability.
If you still want me to take care of everything for you, then what do you need me as the supervisor for? Why don't I just be the supervisor myself?"
Min Yuan stood up after he finished speaking. "Alright, I still have some business to attend to. Time is running out for the settlement of the accounts, so Mr. Qiao should hurry up. If you delay, it will be hard for the Minister to complain."
…
It was not until the moon rose above the willow trees that Qiao Youyou finally left the yamen with Xiao Wan.
"Youyou, I saw today that Lord Min arranged a lot of things for Zhao Shengping and several other people. I was also assigned some urgent accounts to be dealt with. They are deliberately making things difficult for you."
Xiao Wan was a quiet person who spoke little, but she was very smart. Naturally, she had already seen the clues and reminded him with some concern.
Qiao Youyou kicked a small stone at her feet in anger. "Of course I know that Min Yuan did it on purpose! At this rate, it will be impossible to complete the settlement in fifteen days."
"Yes, even if I put aside other things, there is no way we can finish it with just the two of us. What will you do if the Minister blames you?"
Qiao Youyou fell into silence and said nothing.
The two returned to their rented house with things on their mind. Just as they were about to knock on the door, Qiao Youyou suddenly raised her head and laughed twice.
It was late at night and Xiao Wan was suddenly startled.
"Youyou, are you... okay?"
"Of course I'm fine." Qiao Youyou had a sly smile on her face and raised her hand as if to push up her glasses.
"Does Min think that such a small matter can stump me? Humph, I will open his eyes tomorrow!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com