Chapter 836 Venting
After the death of Duke Hong, the Lu family experienced the most panic-stricken period in their history.
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was secretly helping them. They now had a new place to live, and they had spent money to buy slaves and carriages. Their food and clothing were gradually returning to what they had before.
The days seemed to have returned to the past.
However, this morning, soldiers from Jingzhao Prefecture suddenly rushed into the Lu Mansion and arrested all members of the Lu family.
The eldest son of Duke Hong, Lu Yin, the current head of the Lu family, was horrified and screamed when he saw this.
"What are you doing? We are all good citizens, why are you arresting us?!"
A soldier took out the arrest warrant issued by the prefect and shouted.
"More than ten merchants have jointly sued the Lu family, claiming that they did not pay for the goods they bought, allowed their servants to beat people, oppressed innocent people, and acted tyrannically. The Jingzhao Prefecture has verified that the facts are true. We are now arresting you and taking you to the Jingzhao Prefecture for trial!"
Amidst screams and curses, more than 30 people from the Lu family were all arrested and taken to Jingzhao Prefecture.
Mei Guangtao, wearing official uniform, sat on the high bench and began to try the case.
As the head of the Lu family, Lu Yin was naturally the main target of interrogation.
He refused to admit that he had not repaid the debt.
He had the confidence. When the Lu family bought things on credit, they did not write down IOUs. Even if the merchants wanted to sue them, they could not produce solid evidence.
However, he thought things were too simple.
Although merchants cannot produce IOUs, they have account books that clearly record how much they sold every day.
Not only that, they also have their own trademarks for items such as fabrics, furniture, gold and silver jewelry on the shelves. Everything sold from them has their unique mark.
Not to mention antiques, calligraphy and paintings, each one is unique and can be recognized at first glance.
The officials from Jingzhao Prefecture took the account books to the Lu family and compared them one by one, and soon found all the things.
Now Lu Yin couldn't deny it anymore.
He could only try his best to argue for himself, saying that they were not unwilling to pay back the money, they just didn't have much financial resources recently, and they would definitely be able to pay it back after some time, and he begged the prefect to give them some more time.
Seeing that he still wanted to cheat at this time, Mei Guangtao couldn't help but sneer.
"Do you know what to do with debtors who don't pay according to Dasheng law?"
As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked. Duke Hongguo himself is not a good person, so naturally the son he raised is not a good learner.
Lu Yin had been uneducated since childhood. Even though he had stayed in the Imperial Academy for a period of time thanks to his family's connections, he was still illiterate and knew nothing about the laws of Dasheng.
It was precisely because he did not understand the law that he dared to blatantly instruct his servants to drive away the merchants who came to collect debts.
Hearing Prefect Mei ask this, Lu Yin didn't think much about it and just curled his lips.
"It's just that I owe some money. At worst I can just have them return it all."
Mei Guangtao has been an official for many years. What kind of people has he not seen?
Seeing Lu Yin's ignorant and foolish look, he knew that it was useless to say more, so he simply had people move out all the valuables of the Lu family and pawn them to the pawnshop. He then used the pawn money to pay off the money that the Lu family owed to the merchants.
The merchants were naturally satisfied and happy when they got the money.
However, Lu Yin had a sad face and dared not say anything.
But that’s not all.
Mei Guangtao: "The Lu family bullies people by taking advantage of their power and allowing their servants to beat people. You are so arrogant even under the feet of the emperor. If you are not taught a lesson, I am afraid you will bully the innocent people even more in the future. Come, send all male members of the Lu family over the age of twelve to the Tongshan quarry for one month of forced labor as a warning to others!"
Lu Yin was horrified and screamed, "I don't want to do corvée! We are a noble family, we have the privilege of not doing corvée!"
Since the rise of the gentry, there has been a huge difference between the gentry and the common people.
The gentry did not have to perform corvée labor or military service, and their land and businesses did not have to pay taxes. Some powerful families were even able to keep private armies.
Not only did the common people have to perform three months of corvee labor every year between spring and summer, but every household had to have at least one male serving in the military, and the various taxes were frighteningly high. Not to mention doing business, the heavy taxes could almost crush people to death, and the merchants would have little left after paying taxes every year.
In the previous dynasty, common people did not even have the qualifications to take part in the imperial examinations; the imperial examinations were a game that only the gentry could afford.
It was not until the Great Sheng Dynasty that this restriction was broken and common people were given the opportunity to change their lives by taking the imperial examinations.
However, that’s all.
The various privileges of the gentry still exist, and they still monopolize most of the country's resources.
Mei Guangtao sneered after hearing what Lu Yin said.
"You have long been demoted to commoners, and are no longer members of the nobility."
Lu Yin choked and then shouted, "Although we are no longer a noble family, I am the nephew of the Grand Empress Dowager. Aren't you afraid that the Grand Empress Dowager will blame you for treating me like this?!"
Mei Guangtao supported himself on the table with one hand, leaned forward slightly, and smiled coldly.
"I am not afraid to tell you the truth. The censors have already impeached the emperor for the little things your Lu family did. The emperor is very unhappy and has told me that I must deal with this matter severely. Do you understand what I mean?"
Lu Yin didn't expect that he just owed a little money, but even the emperor knew about it.
He was so frightened that his face turned pale and he dared not speak any more.
Mei Guangtao waved his hand.
Immediately, soldiers came forward, roughly grabbed Lu Yin and dragged him out.
That afternoon, all male members of the Lu family over the age of twelve were sent to the Tongshan Quarry for a month of labor reform.
The matter was soon reported to the palace.
Lu Xinyao was so anxious that she burst into tears. Her father and brother had never done heavy work before. If they were asked to do corvée labor for a month, they would surely be exhausted to death!
She went to the Empress Dowager crying and begged her to help save the Lu family.
When the Empress Dowager heard this, she was shocked and angry.
She immediately sent someone to invite the emperor over.
The Empress Dowager questioned, "The Emperor has already confiscated all of the Lu family's property, so why did he send them to perform corvée labor? You know how hard corvée labor is, do you really want to wipe out the Lu family?!"
Now that the two military tokens are in Luo Qinghan's hands, he holds great power and is too lazy to continue playing tricks on the Empress Dowager.
He said expressionlessly.
"As long as the Empress Dowager agrees not to interfere in my private affairs, the Lu family will be safe."
The Empress Dowager was shocked by his undisguised threat.
After a long while, she finally uttered a sound of disbelief.
"You went through so much trouble just to vent your anger on the concubine?"
Luo Qinghan didn't answer, just looked at her coldly.
(End of this chapter)
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