Zhao Yuan looked solemn. As soon as the words came out, Gu Qinghan and Yang Ning both changed their expressions. Gu Qinghan stood up suddenly and said, "What did you say? The tax money has been sent over?"
Zhao Yuan said seriously: "It was sent there at the end of September, and it was Master Cheng...it was arranged by General Manager Qi personally. In order to ensure the safety of the tax bank, as before, he went to Jingzhou City to find the prefect, and dispatched a dozen soldiers to escort him. .”
Yang Ning thought that this matter was getting more and more complicated, and stood up and asked: "There is no tax money in the Hou Mansion. Because of this, Sanniang and I came to Jiangling in person to find out what was going on. "
"How is this possible?" Zhao Yuan said in shock: "General Manager Qi originally wanted to escort him personally, but because he had something to do, he sent Xiao Cui to escort him. Xiao Cui has been to the capital and is familiar with the roads. After they came back, they also said that the tax The silver has been delivered on time and everything went well." He said suspiciously, "Is it because of this batch of tax money that the third lady and the prince came back from this trip?"
Gu Qinghan stared at Zhao Yuan's eyes and saw Zhao Yuan's serious face. He sat down slowly, closed his eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked: "Let me ask you, what percentage of the taxes in the fiefdom are collected now?"
"The third lady knows that when the old Marquis was still alive, he set a rule that Jinyi Hou's food was first assessed and then collected at 20% of the harvest." Zhao Yuan said: "And if there is a famine, For example, if there is a drought, flood, or locust plague, taxes will be reduced. The Marquis is kind and kind, and he wants to let the people of the feudal city live and work in peace and contentment. Naturally, we will follow the rules set by the Marquis Mansion. "
Yang Ning said: "But as far as we know, Jinyihou's fiefdom has begun to increase taxes many years ago, and the increase is not just a little bit." He stretched out four fingers and said, "Today's fiefdom has increased taxes to 40% every year. , Mr. Zhao, is this also fake?"
Zhao Yuan was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "Forgive me for speaking frankly, Your Majesty, this is just a joke."
"I don't have time to joke with you." Yang Ning said lightly: "I just want to ask you, does this matter?"
"Your Majesty, the 20% tax was set by the old Marquis back then. Not to mention 40%, the Marquis Mansion wants to collect 30% of the tax. I also want to advise you, please give me 30% or 40%." Zhao Yuan said: "How many times? Over the past ten years, the people in the feudal town have become accustomed to the favor bestowed by the old marquis. Because of this, there are rarely any problems with the taxes in the feudal town and they can all be paid in time. However, if taxes are increased rashly, it will inevitably It will shake the hearts of the people, and everyone will be happy to reduce taxes, but even a slight increase in taxes will make the people resentful, so we must not increase taxes easily."
Gu Qinghan said: "Accountant Zhao, don't you understand? It's not that the Hou Mansion wants to increase taxes, but that you have increased taxes privately."
Zhao Yuan frowned and said: "Third Madam, what you mean is that we increased taxes without authorization from the Marquis Mansion?" He looked incredulous: "This... How is this possible? Third Madam, I just want to ask, if we really do this If you do it, will you lose your head?"
"It's good to know." Gu Qinghan sneered: "If you increase taxes without permission, the Hou Mansion will naturally not spare you."
"We all understand this truth, so the third lady thinks we will make such mistakes?" Zhao Yuan sighed: "Fortunately, there are accounts of the past few years in the accounting room. The third lady can understand it immediately as long as she goes to the accounting room and checks it carefully. "Third Madam, you don't have to worry about what tricks the villain will do. You and the Crown Prince come back suddenly, and the villain doesn't have time to do anything even if he wants to."
Although he is the accountant, the arrogance of a scholar is still there.
Gu Qinghan thought that he had to look at the accounts. He was in charge of the affairs of the Hou Mansion, and the accounts were one of the most important aspects. When he came back this time, he naturally had to check the accounts here.
"Since you are the accountant, you should know everyone who comes here to pay taxes every year." A smile appeared on Yang Ning's face, "Mr. Zhao, do you know Han Yi?"
"Han Yi?" Zhao Yuan thought for a while and said immediately: "Hui Shizi, Han Yi is the leader of Luwang Village, but he has a hot temper and pays taxes everywhere else very quickly. Only Luwang Village pays taxes every year. The most sluggish."
"Oh?" Yang Ning smiled lightly and said, "According to you, King Lu Village is a thorn in the side?"
"That's out of the question. In the end, they didn't pay less in taxes." Zhao Yuan said: "I heard that this person likes to make friends. Although he is just an ordinary banker, he has many friends outside and has a wide network of contacts. He also has the courage to do so. That's a big deal. When I came here to pay taxes last year, I had a quarrel with another farmer in the village, and the two started fighting. Han Yi almost beat him to death." He then asked Gu Qinghan: "Will the third lady do it now? Go to the accounting room and take a look? It's still early, and Manager Qi won't be back for a while."
Gu Qinghan nodded slightly and said: "Lead the way!"
Zhao Yuan led the way, and Yang Ning followed with Gu Qinghan. They arrived at a small yard. When they entered the house, they saw wooden shelves on the left and right. The wooden shelves were filled with various accounts. There was also a Xiao Si in the house. He's the accounting assistant.
Yang Ning really didn't have the patience to face the mountain of accounts. After seeing Gu Qinghan sit down, Zhao Yuan had already picked up a bunch of account books and put them on the table. He thought that checking the accounts would not be completed in a short while. Now he left the yard and wandered around. Gu Qinghan also knew that he was not good at such detailed accounts, so he let him go out and wander around.
There were many courtyards. Yang Ning walked around for a long time and realized that this old house was bigger than he thought. Although it was far less grand and grand than the Jinyihou Mansion in the capital, there were not many houses in this small place. See.
The old house was an old house after all. Although it was found that many places had been repaired, overall it still looked a bit quaint and old. Many walls looked very old. He had heard Gu Qinghan mention it before. The history of the house is not short. The old Marquis lived in this old house when he was a child. In this way, this old house also has a history of a hundred years.
A century-old house, no matter how it is repaired, is still a bit old. What's more, after the Qi family moved to Beijing, there were not many people in this huge old house, and now it seems extremely deserted.
Yang Ning followed the path in the house for a long time and suddenly saw a wall not far away. It was different from other places he had seen before. The wall of this wall was actually covered with vines. The vines were so lush that they almost covered the entire wall. The walls are all wrapped up in it.
Yang Ning felt strange, thinking that although there were few people in the old house, there were still people taking care of it, and the places that should be taken care of on weekdays would be taken care of. At least from what he had seen before, it was obvious that someone was taking care of it from time to time. The flowers, plants and trees in the house were also taken care of. Someone always pruned it, but this place seemed very abnormal. The vines had covered the courtyard wall, but no one was pruning it.
He couldn't help but walked closer and saw that the paths leading to the courtyard wall were covered with thick moss, as if no one had ever walked there before. Moreover, there were thick weeds on both sides of the paths. It was late autumn and the vegetation was withered. , looking withered and lonely.
After walking a little further, dead vines and wild grass blocked the way, but through the gap between the vines, we saw an arch in front of us. The door was closed, and the two door knockers were held together by an iron lock. It was already stained with rust, and the arch had already lost its color, making it look extremely ancient.
Yang Ning was wondering why the yard was so deserted when he heard a cough from behind him. He turned around and found Wei Tong standing not far away, looking at him.
Yang Ning thought to herself that this old guy like you makes no sound when walking, and you appear like a ghost, and you are not afraid of scaring people, but his expression remained calm, pointing to the locked archway behind the vines, and asked: "Who lived in this courtyard before? No one can take care of it, and the vines are reaching into the yard, and no one can get in."
Wei Tong didn't come close, he just waved to Yang Ning and said, "Your Majesty, that's not a good place. You... you'd better come here first."
Seeing that Wei Tong was acting weird, Yang Ning frowned and said, "Isn't it a good place? What does this mean?" Seeing that Wei Tong had no intention of coming over, and because there was no way to pass in front of him, he turned around and walked back. Only then did he realize that this place The courtyard has a single door, far away from other courtyards.
When Yang Ning approached Wei Tong, she lowered her voice and said, "Your Majesty, the food has been prepared. Do you want to eat some first?"
"Don't change the subject." Yang Ning turned back and pointed at the yard, "What do you mean when you say it's not a good place?"
There was a hint of fear in Wei Tong's eyes, and he whispered: "Your Majesty, this... this is an ominous place. Not only now, but also when the old marquis is here, this place is always locked. The old marquis has ordered , no one is allowed to approach this yard, let alone enter the yard."
"Ah?" Yang Ning was stunned and asked curiously: "Why? Why is this an ominous place?"
"Your Majesty, it's better not to ask any more questions." Wei Tong took two steps back and said, "Your Majesty, please come and have a meal." He avoided looking and did not dare to look at the courtyard.
Yang Ning glanced back, wondering if Wei Tong's words had any effect. Although it was a clear day and the sky was clear, looking at the courtyard now, there was really a gloomy atmosphere. This old house was already a bit cold and forbidding, but now it is... Seeing such a strange courtyard, Yang Ning felt a little creepy, but she still lowered her face and said: "Why are you so evasive? When I ask you, what are you doing so secretly? Why don't you tell me quickly? .”
Wei Tong naturally did not dare to disobey Yang Ning, so he could only say: "Your Majesty, there... there is a ghost in there!"
A gust of breeze blew by, and there was silence everywhere. Yang Ning felt that the wind seemed to be a bit chilly, and frowned: "You are not talking about the strange power and chaos, what is it about being haunted? How can there be ghosts in such a good house? Don't talk nonsense."
"Your Majesty, it's really haunted." Wei Tong didn't want to say more at first, but when Yang Ning said this, Wei Tong became a little anxious: "Because two people have died in this haunted courtyard."