In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

Pei Zhao took the wooden box with one hand, weighed it in his hand, and didn't rush to open it. He just tilted his head towards Chen Ye and said, "Tie him up and gag him. Take that woman and the assistant with you too, and throw them into the woodshed in the backyard of the county government office to keep an eye on them."

"Alright!" Chen Ye deftly pulled out the hemp rope from his waist and quickly tied Liu Shenxing up tightly, not forgetting to stuff a rag into his mouth.

"Brother Pei, what did those two employers say?" Chen Ye asked in a low voice. "They probably haven't gone far. Should I chase after them and catch them too..."

"No," Pei Zhao interrupted him. "Arresting Liu Shenxing is arresting a fugitive suspect. But what right do we have to arrest Tian Chengyi and Hu Rong? Just because they came to the south of the city for a walk in the middle of the night? Before we sort out what's in this wooden box and turn it into an ironclad case, taking action against them would be like stirring up trouble, which would only provoke the local powerful families to act desperately and directly confront the county government."

Although Chen Ye was somewhat unwilling, he knew that Pei Zhao was right, so he could only snort sullenly, grab Liu Shenxing by the back of his collar, and lift him up like a chick.

The night breeze grew cooler.

This close encounter in a narrow alley in the south of the city went unnoticed by anyone.

The mule cart was left behind, and Pei Zhao, escorting Liu Shenxing and his entourage, quietly fled towards the county government office.

……

At midnight, in the main hall of the county government office.

Several lanterns illuminated the hall. Yang Xuan sat at the head of the table, while Cui Shen and Han Jitong sat on either side of him at their respective desks, which were filled with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Yanhe wasn't in the front yard; the rules for the inner quarters had already been established, and tonight would be the night for the men to prove themselves.

A series of deep footsteps came from outside the door.

Pei Zhao strode into the hall and placed the wooden box wrapped in oilcloth heavily on the desk in front of Yang Xuan.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Ye brought in Liu Shenxing, who was bound hand and foot, and kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him to kneel in front of the hall.

"My lord, we've captured him." Pei Zhao reported, bowing. "We intercepted him in a back alley in the south of the city. The Tian family and Hu Rong did go there, and forced him to burn a bunch of fake accounts. That bastard is cunning; he kept the real accounts hidden in his undergarments."

Yang Xuan looked at the oilcloth bag, and a light finally shone in his eyes.

He didn't rush to look at the accounts, but instead looked down at Liu Shenxing kneeling on the ground.

At this moment, Liu Shenxing was nowhere to be seen in his usual amiable demeanor as "Manager Liu".

His hair was disheveled, his clothes were torn and askew, and his mouth was stuffed with rags, so he could only whimper without making a sound. Only his eyes were filled with fear and despair.

"Take the thing out of his mouth," Yang Xuan said calmly.

Chen Ye stepped forward and ripped off the tattered cloth.

Liu Shenxing gasped for breath and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Excellency, spare my life! Your Excellency, spare my life! I was just a messenger, I didn't even get to drink a few sips of the soup from the meat at Qing'ao Well!"

"Didn't even have a few sips?" Yang Xuan sneered, reaching out to untie the knot of the oilcloth bundle, revealing the flat wooden box inside.

With a "click," the latch was released.

Inside lay three account books, the paper of which was much better than the tattered books in the county government office, and the edges were even yellowed, indicating that they had been frequently read.

Cui Shen and Han Jitong immediately stood up and quickly walked to the table.

Yang Xuan pushed the account books towards them: "Take a look. This is the true face of Yanjing County."

Cui Shen took a deep breath and opened the top book.

His hands trembled uncontrollably after just one glance.

It wasn't out of fear, but out of extreme shock and the ensuing anger.

"My lord..." Cui Shen's voice was almost broken, "This...this isn't just embezzlement, this is practically plundering the Tang Dynasty's national treasury!"

He flipped the ledger to the middle page, pointed to the densely packed, tiny characters, and read through gritted teeth:

"In the fourth month of the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era, the Qing'ao Well produced 680 dan of coarse salt!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Ah Fu, listening nearby, was utterly astonished: "Six...six hundred and eighty dan? But yesterday we saw only ninety-eight dan in the register at the county office!"

Han Jitong's face turned ashen. Although he had known for a long time that a lot of money had been embezzled from Qing'ao Well, he had not expected the amount to be so huge.

"Read on." Yang Xuan's voice was flat, like a piece of cold, hard iron.

Cui Shen's finger traced down the ledger pages: "Of these 680 dan... the Tian family took 200 dan, Hu Rong's salt business took 150 dan. The head of the well households left 80 dan as wages and expenses for various tasks."

"What about the remaining two hundred and fifty loads?" Yang Xuan asked.

Cui Shen stared intently at the last few lines of text, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"The remaining 150 loads were handed over to Mo San of the caravan, who said they were to be transported to the prefecture... They were converted into cash as a 'customary' tribute. The last 100 loads were rounded down to 98 loads and reported to the county government for deposit."

boom.

It's like a fig leaf being completely torn away, revealing the festering, pus-filled flesh inside.

Of the 680 dan of salt, the county government only received 100 dan.

Four-fifths of the government-controlled salt was thus brazenly divided up in broad daylight by local tyrants, salt merchants, caravans, and even some bigwigs in the prefecture!

Liu Shenxing was the "accountant" who was responsible for turning the divided salt into various miscellaneous accounts, advances, and bridge and road repair fees, and finally laundering it into legitimate income.

Yang Xuan slowly stood up and walked to Liu Shenxing.

Liu Shenxing collapsed to the ground. He knew that the moment this account was read aloud, all his escape routes in Yanjing County were cut off.

"Manager Liu," Yang Xuan looked down at him, his tone surprisingly calm, "is everything recorded in these accounts accurate?"

"It's...it's true..." Liu Shenxing sobbed uncontrollably. "Your Excellency, I really was just an accountant. I didn't dare take a single penny of those big money! The Tian and Hu families are ruthless. If I hadn't obeyed, my whole family would have been thrown into the Nanhe River to be fed to the fish!"

"I don't care how much you took." Yang Xuan squatted down, looking directly into his eyes. "I only have one question for you."

"If this account, written in black and white, were to take place in court, before a crowd of people, would you dare to acknowledge it?"

Liu Shenxing was startled.

He looked up at Yang Xuan, at this young but chillingly cold new magistrate.

He understood that this meant he was to become a witness for the prosecution, and to personally drag the Tian family, the Hu family, and even the big shots in the prefecture down with him.

If he doesn't confess, the county government can rightfully behead him tonight on charges of embezzling government salt and attempted escape.

If he admits it, he will face a fierce backlash from the vested interest groups throughout Yanjing County.

But he had no choice.

Because a knife is now at his neck.

"I... dare to admit it." Liu Shenxing closed his eyes and uttered these words in despair.

Yang Xuan stood up and exhaled a long breath.

He turned to look at Cui Shen and Han Jitong.

"Tonight, compare these three genuine ledgers with that pile of rubbish ledgers in the county government office, line by line. I want an irrefutable case file, the kind that no one can overturn."

"Yes!" Cui Shen and Han Jitong responded in unison, their eyes gleaming with a long-lost fighting spirit.

Yang Xuan then looked at Pei Zhao.

"Lock Liu Shenxing in the innermost cell of the death row. You and Lu Cheng will personally guard him, and don't even let a fly in. His life is worth more than the county government's seal now."

"Understood." Pei Zhao picked up Liu Shenxing and walked outside.