Chapter 72: Chapter 72: No Tax Evasion! Conspiracy in the Inn

"Did you sleep well last night?"

Xie Qingwu was watering the flowers in the courtyard. When she saw Pei Shaoqing return, she glanced at him and asked nonchalantly.

Dressed in a white gown with a light gauze shawl, she looked otherworldly and refined, like a fairy gliding among the flowers.

Even a hundred flowers in full bloom could not compare to a fraction of her beauty.

"It was so-so," Pei Shaoqing said, his spirits low.

’Why do amphibious creatures spend most of their time in the water? It just goes to show, the waterway is more comfortable.’

Xie Qingwu looked up. "You didn’t get to have your fun?"

"She’s on her period," Pei Shaoqing said.

Xie Qingwu blinked. "Then you..."

"I gave her an eye-opening experience," Pei Shaoqing replied.

Xie Qingwu’s red lips parted slightly. She never imagined that what Pei Shaoqing had failed to accomplish with her, he had managed with Zhao Zilan. Blushing, she spat, "You’re disgusting and shameless."

"’It’s not that I prefer the chrysanthemum among flowers... The petals fall as the river flows; one longing, two idle sorrows.’" Pei Shaoqing sighed, patching together a poetic phrase that reeked of helplessness.

He hadn’t wanted to, either. It’s not like he had a choice.

Xie Qingwu rolled her eyes. "You just love finding new ways to torment people, and now you’re getting all dramatic after you’ve had your fun."

"My Lord! My Lord!" General Li came tearing over, its voice as mournful as a cuckoo crying blood. It threw itself at Pei Shaoqing’s leg and clung on. "I have been wronged, my Lord!"

"What is it? Get off me," Pei Shaoqing said, repeatedly kicking his leg to try and shake General Li off.

But General Li clung to his leg for dear life and couldn’t be shaken off, repeating tearfully, "I have been wronged!"

"Well, why don’t you tell me how you’ve been wronged?" Pei Shaoqing said, bending down to forcibly pry it off his leg.

General Li stood up on its hind legs, pacing back and forth and grinding its teeth. "Your servant was following your orders, my Lord, to find the Poisonous Plant and the Soul-Attracting Flower. I have already found the Poisonous Plant, but the Soul-Attracting Flower was nowhere to be seen.

"Finally, last night, the scouts I sent out discovered a large patch of Soul-Attracting Flowers in a remote area. I led my subordinates to harvest them for you, my Lord, but we were ambushed by an extremely vicious wild boar that tried to fight us for them.

"Despite the overwhelming disparity in our strength, under my brilliant leadership, the soldiers of the Mao Camp fearlessly fought off the beast. But then the wild boar summoned a human!"

At this, General Li’s chubby cheeks puffed out in anger as it furiously continued:

"Since I began following you, my Lord, I have long been prepared to lay down my life! I was ready to fight to the death, but in order to preserve my own useful life to repay your great kindness in the future, I was forced to lead my subordinates in a strategic withdrawal! My Lord, you must obtain justice for your servant!"

"Those flowers were planted by someone, weren’t they? And the wild boar was guarding the field. General Li, you failed to steal the flowers, and now you’re trying to blame the victim?" Xie Qingwu said, her insight as sharp as a torch.

"How can you call what a cat does ’stealing’!" General Li puffed out its chest and said righteously. "This general is not human; I am not bound by your laws and morals! Besides, Soul-Attracting Flowers require the yin energy from corpses as nutrients. Who knows how many people that person killed to grow such a large patch."

"General Li makes a good point," Pei Shaoqing immediately agreed with a cold snort. "’Under all heaven, there is no land that is not the king’s; to the borders of the earth, there is no one who is not the king’s subject.’ We’ll set aside for now how many people he killed for fertilizer. He opened a medicinal field in Tongzhou—has he paid his taxes to the County Government Office?"

"My Lord, surely not! That godforsaken place is all cliffs and precipices with treacherous mountain paths. How could anyone from the County Government Office get there to collect taxes?" General Li said at once.

Pei Shaoqing said coolly, "After breakfast, this official will go to the County Government Office to get a writ from Old Wang. I’ll take some men to collect taxes on his behalf and confiscate the gains from his illegal land cultivation and planting. General Li, you will lead the way."

"Yes, my Lord!" General Li was overjoyed.

Xie Qingwu sighed helplessly. ’This master and pet are truly cut from the same cloth,’ she thought. ’Not a decent one between them.’

Meanwhile, Liu Yuheng, dressed in a goose-yellow long dress, arrived at Zhao Zilan’s room and raised her hand to knock.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! "Lan’Er, it’s me."

"Please come in, Mistress," Zhao Zilan said.

Liu Yuheng pushed the door open and entered. Her beautiful face paled at the sight of the mess on the floor. Seeing Zhao Zilan still lying in bed, looking as if she were in discomfort, made her heart tremble.

"Lan’Er, did you... Did you give it to him?"

Zhao Zilan blushed, first nodding and then shaking her head.

Liu Yuheng was frantic. "What do you mean, nodding and then shaking your head? Did you or didn’t you?"

"I gave him... the back," Zhao Zilan whispered, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

"The back?" Liu Yuheng froze, her expression baffled. This was beyond her realm of knowledge.

Zhao Zilan’s face turned crimson as blood, and she said no more.

"Don’t tell me you mean..." Liu Yuheng finally understood, her eyes widening as she stared at Zhao Zilan.

Overcome with shame, Zhao Zilan managed a quiet, "Mhm."

Seeing her admit it, Liu Yuheng was left dumbfounded. Her face flushed beet-red, a mix of shock and second-hand embarrassment. She stammered, "How could... You two... This is absolutely outrageous!"

’Pei Shaoqing was constantly broadening her horizons,’ she thought.

Before entering the Pei Mansion, she had never imagined such a thing was even possible.

Zhao Zilan had described Pei Shaoqing as a man of extraordinary bearing, but her own disciple was so delicate and petite. Liu Yuheng found the scene difficult to imagine.

Zhao Zilan kept her head down, too ashamed to speak.

"Sigh, at least you’ve preserved your innocence," Liu Yuheng could only comfort herself this way. Then she looked with heartache at the red marks covering her disciple. "How do you feel?"

"Not bad, actually," Zhao Zilan said in a tiny voice.

Liu Yuheng shot her a look. "Who’s asking about *that*? I’m asking if you’re still in pain."

"Mhm." Zhao Zilan blushed and nodded.

Liu Yuheng said gently, "Well, Lan’Er, you should rest well. Don’t try to walk around today."

"Mhm," Zhao Zilan nodded obediently.

Liu Yuheng sighed and turned to leave.

’But, did it really feel ’not bad’?’ she wondered.

During breakfast, she found herself constantly stealing glances at Pei Shaoqing, completely unable to reconcile this graceful, gentlemanly man with someone so crude and vulgar in bed.

"Lady Gongsun," Pei Shaoqing called out to her.

Liu Yuheng, thinking she’d been caught staring, averted her eyes. "Yes, Young Master? What do you need?"

"You’ll be going out with me later." Pei Shaoqing didn’t know how powerful the person growing the Soul-Attracting Flowers was. For safety’s sake, he felt more at ease bringing Lady Gongsun along.

Liu Yuheng replied softly, "As you command."

After the meal, Pei Shaoqing first made a trip to the County Government Office.

"Young Master Pei, you’ve been visiting my County Government Office quite frequently these days," County Magistrate Wang said slowly.

"I only come here for official business," Pei Shaoqing replied, then added, "You look a bit haggard, Old Wang. Didn’t sleep well last night? Don’t tell me you were trying to steal some man’s wife and got caught at the door."

"You’re the one stealing wives," County Magistrate Wang retorted, clearly irritated. "Just get to the point. What do you want? This official is very busy today."

He indeed hadn’t slept well. ’After all,’ he thought, ’the ’white moonlight’ of my heart, the Shaking Light Saintess, has gone missing on my turf. Her fate is unknown, so how could I possibly get a peaceful night’s sleep?’

’The murder of the Kaiyang Saint Heir has already dealt a major blow to the Holy Sect’s prestige. If news of the Shaking Light Saintess’s disappearance gets out, it will undoubtedly be even more detrimental.’

"Write me a writ for tax collection. This official is going into the mountains to help you collect taxes," Pei Shaoqing stated his purpose.

County Magistrate Wang raised an eyebrow. "Collect whose taxes?"

’It’s not time for the autumn tax levy yet,’ he thought.

"It’s like this..." There was no reason to hide the matter of the Soul-Attracting Flower, so Pei Shaoqing explained the situation truthfully.

After hearing the whole story, County Magistrate Wang was left speechless. He said irritably, "Someone is peacefully living as a hermit in the mountains, clearing land and farming, and you’re going to forcibly seize their property? Is that appropriate?"

’Even hiding in the mountains isn’t enough to escape a corrupt official like you,’ he thought.

"County Magistrate Wang, watch your tongue!" Pei Shaoqing’s expression turned stern, and he spoke in a heavy, deep voice. "From what position are you saying such things? Don’t forget that you are an official of the Great Zhou. ’To eat the emperor’s grain is to bear the emperor’s burdens.’"

"These people who call themselves ’hermits’ are occupying the Court’s land without paying any taxes. They are parasites on the state! If everyone follows their example, who will the Court collect taxes from? Where will military funding come from? Where will our own salaries come from?

"This kind of behavior must be stamped out! We must make them understand that as long as you are within the borders of Great Zhou, you cannot escape paying taxes. It is the duty of every citizen!"

Pei Shaoqing spoke with righteous, impassioned fervor. ’Once I have the power,’ he thought, ’I’ll not only tax the hermits hiding in the mountains, I’ll tax all the major martial sects too!’

"Fine, fine. You can have the writ," County Magistrate Wang said, shaking his head. He then added, "But let’s be clear upfront. I want a ten percent cut of those Soul-Attracting Flowers."

’I can’t be expected to do all the work for nothing,’ he thought.

"Of course, of course," Pei Shaoqing said, a smile returning to his face. He stood and cupped his fist. "I’ll take my leave."

Returning to the Jing’an Guard Hundred Households, he immediately mustered his troops and, under General Li’s guidance, headed into the mountains to collect taxes.

....................

「At the same time, in Tongzhou City.」

Inside a room at an inn, four men were plotting in low voices.

"We’ve confirmed the details. Li Si and his four men had successfully kidnapped the three ’yin’ women, but they were caught by the Jing’an Guard while taking shelter from the rain in a ruined temple outside the city. All five were beheaded on the spot, and the three yin women have returned to their homes."

One of them, a shorter man who looked simple and honest, spoke with a grim and cold expression.

"Those five were tough, though. Faced with the Jing’an Guard’s encirclement, they chose death before surrender," remarked another man, a thin, middle-aged fellow with a small mustache.

A portly young man dressed in the brocade of a wealthy scion disagreed. "It’s not that they were tough. They were afraid of our master’s power and feared implicating their families, which is why they didn’t dare surrender to the Jing’an Guard."

"The dead deserve respect. Let’s not speak with such emotion," said the leader, a middle-aged man with a pale, beardless face that made him look like a frail scholar. "We only need the last three, and then we will have all forty-nine yin women. As long as we bring these three back, we will have performed a great service."

"I just saw a large number of Jing’an Guards riding out of the city. If we’re going to make a move, now is the perfect opportunity," the shorter middle-aged man reminded them.

The other two men looked at the scholar-like leader, waiting for him to make a decision.

The scholar-like man pondered for a moment. After a brief pause, his gaze hardened with resolve. "The Jing’an Guard have left the city. We cannot miss this golden opportunity. There’s no need for elaborate plans. We’ll force our way into the residence, grab them, and retreat immediately."

Often, the simpler and more brutal the plan, the more effective.

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