Can't a girl be a traitor like Cao Cao?

At this moment, Chi Junlin seemed to have finished reading the document in his hand, and looked at the prefect in front of him, saying in a lazy tone, "Prefect, you seem to have done a good job in guarding this region all these years?"

Upon hearing this, the prefect was overjoyed, thinking to himself that he had indeed been recommended.

He immediately said, "Your humble servant..."

Before he could speak, Chi Junlin interrupted again, "I heard that the governor of Xiangzhou's daughter got married a while ago, and the prefect gave a dowry of three thousand taels of silver. Last month, the governor of the Southern Kingdom's military governor's mother celebrated her birthday, and the prefect sent a pair of longevity peaches worth a thousand taels of gold."

"At an annual salary of a thousand bushels of grain, how many years would it take to accumulate that much money, Your Excellency?"

Upon hearing Chi Junlin's words, the prefect broke out in a cold sweat.

Officials welcoming and seeing off each other, and lower-ranking officials bribing their superiors, has always been an unspoken rule in officialdom.

It's the kind of thing that weighs less than four ounces when you don't weigh it, but can easily weigh a thousand pounds when you do.

The governor felt extremely uneasy when Chi Junlin said this at this time.

What he didn't know was why Chi Junlin was so clear about his situation.

In reality, what Chi Junlin was holding at that moment was the intelligence related to the prefect of this place that Zheng Gaoda had collected over the past two days.

The spies of the Zhenbei Army were indeed exceptionally capable; it was these spies who gathered information about the northern border when Beimang was destroyed.

Using it to deal with a mere prefect is a huge waste of its potential.

But Chi Junlin hadn't finished speaking when she patted the document in her hand.

He continued, "I heard that the Prefect took his fourteenth concubine last month? He's really still going strong."

However, there is something I don't understand, and I would be grateful if the Prefect could answer it for me.

Why is it that in the territory under the jurisdiction of the prefect, when a young girl is about to come of age, her name must be recorded for review by the prefecture and county? And why is it that anyone who marries without prior review is fined five thousand coins?

Could it be that the Prefect is also choosing a concubine?

Chi Junlin's tone was puzzled, but the prefect felt immense fear at this moment.

He kowtowed repeatedly on the ground, pleading with Chi Junlin, "General, spare my life! I was confused for a moment, truly just confused for a moment..."

"I can spare your life, but only if you answer one more question for me."

Upon hearing Chi Junlin's words, the prefect raised his head and stared blankly at Chi Junlin.

Chi Junlin then casually tossed the document in front of him.

Then, staring into his eyes, he asked, "Last month, the imperial court issued a document ordering all regions to reduce corvée labor and exempt taxes."

However, instead of reducing or exempting taxes as usual, the government here imposed a celebratory tax under the pretext of the new emperor's accession to the throne.

"You answer me, where did the difference in taxes go?"

Upon hearing this, the prefect felt an overwhelming sense of fear.

He saw the documents before the Red King, each one listing his crimes.

If you give the wrong answer at this moment, it could very well lead to the annihilation of your family and clan!

He immediately kowtowed to Chi Junlin, saying in utter terror, "General! I didn't embezzle the tax money! I really didn't! The new tax was imposed by higher authorities! I wouldn't dare embezzle tax money even if you gave me a hundred lives!"

General, you are wise! General, you are wise!

"The higher-ups? The governor's office ordered you to add that?"

Upon hearing this, the prefect gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Yes! It was the governor's office that ordered it! And it's not just my prefecture; all the prefectures and counties are included!"

Seeing that he spoke sincerely and did not seem to be faking it, Chi Junlin nodded.

Then, turning to Zheng Gaoda, he said, "Then just confiscate their property and exile them; there's no need for execution."

Upon hearing Chi Junlin's words, the prefect was overjoyed and wept, saying to Chi Junlin, "Thank you, General, for sparing my life! Thank you, General, for sparing my life!"

Upon seeing this, Chi Junlin waved his hand.

Zheng Gaoda then ordered his men to drag the prefect, whose legs had gone limp, out of the room.

However, for Chi Junlin, dealing with a mere prefect was nothing.

The more crucial issue is that she now knows that some people are outwardly complying with her orders but inwardly defying them.

The Lou family...

After a moment's thought, seeing that Zheng Gaoda still had something to say, Chi Junlin gestured for him to speak.

Zheng Gaoda then said, "Although the position of prefect is not high, it is still a local official who is like a father to the people. After this position is abolished, who should be appointed to fill the vacancy?"

Upon hearing this, Chi Junlin thought of someone.

He then asked Zheng Gaoda, "When we passed through Huai'an before, how was the magistrate doing?"

Zheng Gaoda replied, "You governed well and the people loved you. You were indeed powerless to eliminate the bandits, but you did a good job."

Chi Junlin nodded and said, "Then let's transfer him over to be the prefect."

Chapter 89 Deep Affection in the Kitchen

For Chi Junlin, dealing with the prefect was a trivial matter.

More importantly, what happened in the South should not be an isolated case.

It is possible that corruption existed in various regions during the Great Zheng Dynasty.

Although Chi Junlin can handle this matter, she cannot travel the world all the time.

After thinking for a moment, he returned to his study and wrote a letter to Wan Zhaoji, which he then sent back by Zheng Gaoda on a fast horse.

We plan to have Prime Minister Zhaoji find a way to resolve this matter.

The aftermath of this incident will not be discussed here.

Let's go back to Mount Jiuyi.

In the past few days, under Yang Yuru's careful guidance, Beidou, the little girl that Chi Junlin brought out from the imperial tomb, has learned a lot of common sense about life.

She learned that she should cover herself with a blanket when sleeping, take off her clothes before taking a bath, not eat with her hands, and not eat animals from the mountains.

Beidou found some of the rules very strange, but fortunately she was always obedient.

Her master, Nandou, once said that if she could find her master one day, it would be the happiest thing in the world.

Now it seems that this is indeed the case.

Despite all the strange rules, life with an owner is truly blissful.

She learned that a bed can be soft and cozy, and it can be very warm when you sleep.

I also learned that you can take a bath in very warm water, and it's very comfortable to soak your whole body in it.

I also saw many edible things that I had never seen before.

There is a white food called steamed bun, which is soft, warm, and delicious.

There's a red food called pickled vegetables, which is spicy and salty, and I like it a lot too.

There's also a silvery rice porridge, which is very smooth, sticky, and served hot.

She had never eaten these strange things before, but she liked them very much.

Sure enough, everything got better after they met their owner.

The people around her master were also very kind to her, and she liked them very much.

Unfortunately, she couldn't stay by her owner's side all the time.

Sometimes the master would go to the room of the older sister who looked a lot like the master. If you followed the master at this time, the master would be unhappy.

But it doesn't matter, she can secretly follow behind without being discovered by her owner.

In Beidou's view, she could accept so many annoying rules.

As long as the owner is always there, that's enough.

As long as she has an owner, she can always be obedient and well-behaved.

Even if there aren't that many delicious foods, it's fine.

At this moment, in the kitchen, Beidou sat at the dining table, holding a spoon, with a slight frown.

In front of him was a bowl of steaming white porridge, Beidou's favorite food.

However, instead of picking up the porridge, she gulped it down as usual.

Because Yang Yuru is teaching her dining etiquette.

At this time, Beidou was willing to listen to Yang Yurou, not because Beidou was particularly honest.

In reality, this child was far less well-behaved than one might imagine.

When she feels uncomfortable, she will simply run away from Yang Yuru. Unless she is doing something she enjoys at the moment.

For example, eating, bathing, and sleeping.

Yang Yuru had absolutely no way to deal with her, so disciplining her was always very difficult.

The reason Beidou is willing to sit here obediently is entirely because Chi Junlin is sitting right next to Yang Yurou.

It was only at times like these that Beidou was willing to listen to Yang Yuru.

At this moment, Beidou looked up at Yang Yuru with a questioning expression in his eyes.

Yang Yuru sighed and said, "We can eat now."

She then obediently put the spoon into the bowl and fed herself small bites.

From BeiDou's perspective, this superfluous tool is completely useless.

Why use a spoon to drink the porridge slowly when you could just pick up the bowl and drink it all in one gulp?

At this moment, Yang Yuru patiently said to Beidou, "What makes humans human is that, compared to wild beasts, humans know etiquette. Without etiquette, then humans are no different from wild beasts, do you understand?"

Beidou didn't look at her, which means that although she heard it, she didn't pay attention.

Although the child rarely shows any expression, his behavior is remarkably easy to understand.

Upon seeing this, Yang Yuru showed a slightly troubled expression.

That's the problem: she's been living alone for too long, and her perceptions have become fixed.

She doesn't like listening to people talk, so teaching her has become very difficult.

But Chi Junlin still smiled and said to Yang Yuru, "Yuru has really gone to great lengths to teach her. I'm afraid she wouldn't treat her own daughter any better."

Yang Yuru sighed, her tone somewhat complicated, "As an empress, I was supposed to learn how to be a good wife and mother. But I never had the chance... I really feel sorry for this child, and I wanted to teach her more so that she could have more to talk about with her peers and not be completely unable to fit in..."

Chi Junlin then moved closer to Yang Yurou, putting his arm around her soft waist, and then said with a smile, "I know Your Majesty the Empress has worked hard, so how about I reward you?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Yuru rolled her eyes at Chi Junlin, her expression even somewhat coquettish.

It seems that Yang Yuru has gradually accepted her position by Chi Junlin's side.

She harbored no jealousy or resentment, and served Chi Junlin as if he were her own husband.

At this moment, only Beidou, Yang Yuru, and Chi Junlin were in the kitchen.

Chi Junlin's actions became somewhat unrestrained.

She thought to herself that she had been spending so much time with Tong Yan these past few days, while neglecting Yang Yu Rou.

Why not take this opportunity to have a tender chat with Yang Yuru?

Then he whispered in Yang Yurou's ear, "Your Majesty does not know, but Junlin's inner strength has improved in the past few days, and he has learned a skill that can allow Your Majesty to experience unparalleled pleasure in marital relations."

Yang Yuru was slightly tempted, but then shyly refused, "No... Beidou is watching..."

Chi Junlin laughed and said, "It's alright, she doesn't understand anything. I didn't hide it from her when I was with Sect Leader Tong before, and she has already seen it."

Upon hearing this, Yang Yuru seemed a little jealous and turned her head with slight dissatisfaction, saying, "Then the Commander-in-Chief should go find Sect Leader Tong, and not come looking for a withered flower like me..."

Chi Junlin then hooked her chin towards him and said with a smile, "My Yu Rou has also become naughty and has started to get jealous."

"Humph……"

Yang Yuru seemed to be trying to imitate Jiang Qianju's airs, but she couldn't quite get it right and ended up making herself laugh.

The beautiful woman smiled, her movements graceful and charming, revealing her lovely appearance.

Chi Junlin could no longer resist and pulled Yang Yurou into his arms.

With boundless affection, he kissed her lovely little lips.