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Chapter 33 Another Account
Lu Qing lit the lamp, picked up the golden mask from the desk and put it back on his face. Zhu Yu also sat up, put on the leather mask and straightened his clothes.

The sound of footsteps outside was getting closer and closer. Zhu Yu pricked up his ears and listened. It seemed that there was only one person's footsteps. Just as he was wondering, he saw Fu Wen, wearing a bronze mask, walking in with a person in his hand.

The man he was holding had his feet barely touching the ground. He was probably frightened by the sudden rush of runes, and now he seemed to have lost his soul.

Fu Wen carried him into the room, threw him on the ground with a plop, turned around and closed the door, then picked up the things that the man had thrown in through the crack of the bed and handed them to Lu Qing.

Zhu Yu then saw clearly that what was stuffed in was actually an account book.

Lu Qing brushed off the dust on the account book, put it next to him, and looked up at the man in front of him who had just climbed up from the ground.

Zhu Yu had already recognized the man at this moment. He was the black-faced man who had shown disdain before.

Lu Qing's mood was unpredictable, and now with the golden mask on, his emotions were even more unpredictable.

He stared at the dark-faced man silently for a moment, then spoke in a voice that was low but loud enough for the other man to hear clearly, "Since you dared to sneak over here at night, you must be no coward. If you can still walk, come over and let's talk."

The black-faced man had just struggled to get up. After hearing Lu Qing's words, he hesitated slightly, slowly moved over step by step, stood more than a person's distance away from them, and did not move forward any further.

Lu Qing didn't care. He flipped through the account book in his hand and found that the records on it were neat and well-organized. Every entry seemed to be about the tax revenue of Qingshui County.

He flipped through it briefly and handed it to Zhu Yu who was standing beside him. He also picked up a book from the account books he had checked, opened a page, and handed it over.

Zhu Yu held one in each hand and compared the two books. He soon discovered that the pages on which the two books were opened recorded the tax revenue of Qingshui County during the same period.

She was a little surprised. She didn't expect that Lu Qing had such a photographic memory. He had spent most of the day reading so many files and account books, but he just flipped through the accounts that the black-faced man had secretly stuffed in, and immediately found the part that matched the official accounts of the yamen.

Holding the two account books in his hands, even though he knew nothing about this, Zhu Yu could clearly see the difference from the income records.

This clearly organized and understandable account book did not match the tax book that the chief accountant had given him before.

There is not even a little difference here.

While Lu Qing was flipping through the account books, the black-faced man was trying hard to guess his attitude and intentions through his eyes. Unfortunately, the mask was so ingeniously designed that the high brow arch cast a shadow, covering Lu Qing's dark eyes, which were already like a deep pool. It was impossible to find out what emotions the man behind the mask was feeling.

Zhu Yu could see clearly from behind Lu Qing that the hemp shoes on the black-faced man's feet were very worn out and it seemed that they had been worn for who knows how long.

She still remembered that before in the hall, the chief clerk was wearing an official uniform and brand new boots with dark patterns embroidered with silk thread. For a ninth-rank clerk in the county government, it could be said to be very exquisite.

The county magistrate was dressed in a similar manner.

Although the identity of this dark-faced man was still unknown, the fact that he was standing in the hall with the others during the day meant that he was also a minor official in the Qingshui County government office. Although they were both minor officials in the government office, the difference between him and the chief clerk was still intriguing.

Lu Qing placed the account book on the table and looked back at the dark-faced man. "Who are you, and what position do you hold in the county government?"

The dark-faced man had calmed down from his earlier shock and answered, "My name is Shen Xiang, and I work as a tax collector in the Qingshui County government office."

The tax collector is an official in the county government who is responsible for recording the tax collection situation. He has no rank. No wonder he can only stand among the crowd in front of the hall during the day and does not even have the right to speak.

"Tax Collector Shen sneaked into this backyard late at night just to hand over this account book to me?" Lu Qing asked, "You want me to know that Qingshui County has two sets of accounts, one open and one hidden?
Since you are the tax collector in charge of taxes and have such a clear account book in your hands, why don't you hand it to me in public during the day, instead of doing it secretly at night?"

"How should I know what kind of censor you are..." Shen Xiang stiffened his neck. After a brief panic after being caught, he had completely calmed down and looked less scared. "Lord Li and his gang have been in control of Qingshui County for so long. Qingshui County is so close to the capital. If he didn't have someone to protect him, how could he be so arrogant here so peacefully?

Although I want to speak up for the people of Qingshui County, I also have my family to take care of. If I speak up in public, and if you collude with them, I will not end well.

So I had originally thought that while I was on duty tonight, I would sneak over, stuff the account book in, and then leave quickly without anyone noticing.

If you take notice of it later, it means God has mercy on you. If you ignore it, it means all the crows in the world are evil. At worst, I will take my family with me and find a relative to go to as soon as possible, and then I will go out to make a living!

But now that I've been caught red-handed by you, there's nothing I can't admit!"

"Besides you, is there anyone else in the yamen who knows about this account book?" Lu Qing asked.

"No." Shen Xiang shook his head, guessing Lu Qing's intention in asking this question.

Lu Qing nodded and placed Shen Xiang's account book on the side of the desk. "Do you know that farmers in this area have abandoned their farmland and moved south to plant flowers and plants? Is this related to the Yin-Yang account?"

Shen Xiang's eyes lit up. Lu Qing's question gave him hope. He quickly restrained his attitude and nodded, "That's right!
Farming and growing crops already have taxes levied by the imperial court, and in Qingshui County, there are many additional taxes that are not levied anywhere else.

Those who used oxen to plow the fields were required to pay ox plowing taxes, and those who planted rice were required to pay paddy field taxes. There were many such problems, and the people were suffering terribly.

However, once the tax money entered the government office, it was like a drop in the ocean, never to be seen again. Every year, the taxes Qingshui County paid to the court were far from enough, but no one in the provincial government ever cared about it.

The people in this area were already struggling under the weight of taxes, but just a few years ago, some people went south to plant flowers and plants, and then someone collected them to make dyes. Since there were no taxes on planting flowers and plants, naturally, more and more people went there to earn a living.

When Shen Xiang talked about the current situation in Qingshui County, he couldn't help but feel worried and sighed heavily.

　Thanks for the monthly pass of Vegetarian Piggy x2!
　　(End of this chapter)