Chapter 926: Extortion!
Hmph, this brat really has quite the nerve, daring to utter such blasphemous words!
The phrase "Longevity equal to the heavens" is reserved only for His Majesty the Emperor. If outsiders hear it, he would be guilty of deceiving the monarch.
Nonetheless, as Assistant Minister is a sixth-rank official of the court, he deserves the necessary respect.
Zhao Wanqing squinted slightly, feigning a smile: "Oh, it’s Lord Qi. What brings Lord Qi here for a visit?"
Feeling he had something on Qi Jingyu, his tone became much more relaxed.
Qi Jingyu frowned and asked in a deep voice, "I’ve received a secret report that Mr. Zhao has taken possession of the villagers’ lands, intending to raise an army for rebellion. I’m here to thoroughly investigate this case!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wanqing was so frightened that he was nearly paralyzed and immediately knelt down, claiming his innocence: "Lord Qi, I am wronged!"
"Whether you’re wronged or not needs to be thoroughly checked," Li Qingmu said with a smile, looking at him. "If it’s not to conspire rebellion, why hoard so much land? Can you consume it all?"
"Uh... this? I only wanted to earn more silver, I had no intention of rebelling. Please, my lords, see clearly..." Zhao Wanqing knelt on the ground, looking up at the three men, wearing a fawning expression.
The mere accusation of intending rebellion could lead to the execution of his entire family; such a grave crime isn’t to be trifled with.
Long Yue glanced at the deviously cunning man and advised, "Stand up, the case will be brought to light."
Zhao Wanqing hurriedly thanked them, invited the three inside the mansion, and sent someone to give a warning.
"Quick, someone, bring out the finest Biluochun tea!" Zhao Wanqing led the three into the front hall and instructed the servants to prepare a banquet.
Zhao Mansion was a luxurious five-courtyard estate, complete with pavilions, rock formations, and flowing water, exuding utmost opulence, with over a hundred servants and slaves.
While walking through, the more Qi Jingyu saw, the more he was astounded. For a mere local landlord to have amassed so much wealth, how much did the local County Magistrate receive? And how much did the officials above take?
Thinking of this, Qi Jingyu felt a chill down his spine.
The corruption within the Dazhou Dynasty was already worsening and beyond hope.
If drastic measures for rectification are not taken soon, in a few years, his Dragon Throne might be overthrown by others.
Water can carry a boat but also overturn it; only now did Qi Jingyu realize the extent of the people’s suffering!
With a grim expression, he asked the Zhao Bapi, "Mr. Zhao, as far as I know, a five-courtyard estate is only fitting for a first-rank current official. Are you still denying intentions of rebellion?"
Zhao Wanqing shivered in fear, explaining with a forced smile, "Lord Qi, I bought this estate with money; I didn’t build it myself. I didn’t realize it was this large when I bought it..."
"That’s easy to manage. I’ll report this to the court and have your estate sealed off. How about that?" Li Qingmu said with a mischievous smile.
"...Ah? That won’t do; I spent twenty thousand taels of real silver to buy this manor, milord!" Zhao Wanqing feared and knelt down again, cold sweat flowing.
In truth, he was lying. It was true that he bought the mansion, but at the time, it was only a two-courtyard estate. To display grandeur, he secretly hired people to expand it into a five-courtyard mansion, thinking no one would notice.
Anyway, the ordinary folks in the village didn’t know what a five-courtyard estate signified, and he had long bribed the County Magistrate. Everything had been peacefully stable over the years.
Who would have expected today to be exposed in one word?
According to the law of the Dazhou Dynasty, private construction of a five-courtyard estate by common folks without permission is a show of disrespect and a violation of the law, and offenders would be exiled to the frontiers for ten years, not allowed to return sooner.
Quickly, he drew out a stack of silver notes from his bosom, grinning as he offered them to Li Qingmu.
Long Yue glanced sideways, already guessing what the man would do next.
Sure enough, Li Qingmu smiled while counting the notes and stuffed them into his sleeve, "Mr. Zhao, a mere thousand taels of silver to avoid exile? You’re too naive."
Qi Jingyu looked surprised, thinking to himself, "Imperial Uncle, are you seriously shielding this Zhao Bapi for just a thousand taels of silver? Accepting bribes openly in my presence—could it be more fitting?"
Yet, Li Qingmu didn’t care, extending his right hand again with a clear expression on his face that this wasn’t enough; more money was needed!
Zhao Wanqing looked pained, reluctantly pulling out another bundle of silver notes from his bosom. This time the amount was larger; one note was for one thousand taels, two notes of five hundred taels, thinking three thousand taels should suffice.
Even when bribing County Magistrate Zhang, it didn’t require this much.
Li Qingmu glanced at the denomination of the notes, tucked them into his sleeve without a word, and extended his hand once again.
"What? More?" Zhao Wanqing was almost in tears; three thousand taels would be enough to buy dozens of acres of good land—was this trying to take his life?
Long Yue, however, was quite amused, realizing this man was earning extra to support his family.
"Milords, may I know your rank or position?" Zhao Wanqing had already taken out all the silver notes he had with him. To pay more, he’d have to use real silver from the storeroom.
The young one before him claimed to be the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but what about the slightly older one? Surely, he would not hand over more money without knowing their identities, right?
Li Qingmu put away his smile, displeased, "What, do you think I’m a minor official you can dismiss easily? Should I report you to the court, your entire family’s heads would roll, believe it?"
"Uh... I dare not, I dare not—no such meaning at all."
Though Zhao Wanqing said he dare not, his eyes were continuously darting around.
Logically speaking, officials below the fourth rank would have limits, even if they took bribes; how could these three be so difficult to satisfy that three thousand taels weren’t enough to dismiss them?
Could it be that they’re Jianghu swindlers here to exploit the situation?
As this thought emerged, he became more convinced of it. Smiling, he said, "I have brought all I had with me, I’ll instruct the storeroom to prepare silver right away; please wait a moment."
As he turned away, his face immediately darkened. He instructed the steward, Hu Er, who approached, "Quickly gather all the household staff; these three might be Jianghu swindlers. I want to capture them and report to the authorities!"
"Yes, Master, on my way."
"Wait!" Suddenly, Zhao Wanqing remembered something, stopping the steward, he added, "Also notify County Magistrate Zhang to bring the government officials over to arrest them!"
"Yes, sir!"
Watching the steward hurry away, Zhao Wanqing chuckled triumphantly, "Hmph, daring to target Mr. Zhao, you didn’t bother finding out who I, Zhao Wanqing, am—serves you three right for being blind!"
He wasn’t unfamiliar with greedy officials, but this was the first time being extorted in the guise of conspiracy—what else could they be if not frauds?
Moreover, within the trio, the young woman was truly beautiful.
Once those two lads with no sense of decency were dealt with, there would be time to... heh heh!
Thinking of such joys, Zhao Wanqing’s smile grew wider, nearly stretching to his ears.
In the front hall, Qi Jingyu noticed that Mr. Zhao wasn’t returning anytime soon and grew wary, asking, "Imperial Uncle, do you think that Zhao Bapi went to call for reinforcements?"
"No matter, his household staff can’t do much. Let them come as they please!"
Li Qingmu seemed unfazed, retrieving silver notes from his sleeve and handing them all to Long Yue, "Yue’er, keep these notes for now, and later, buy a few nice outfits for our Rui’er."
Qi Jingyu, "..."