Chapter 158 Stolen Money
Chapter 158 Stolen Money

Although Li Guodong has been dismissed, anyone who is not stupid enough would think that Beishan Huangzhuang is rotten to the core.

How is it possible that Li Guodong alone could exploit Beishan Royal Farm for three years?
After all, it is impossible for Li Guodong to do everything by himself.

Dirty and tiring work like collecting stolen money and transporting official grain always requires subordinates to do it, and this must involve the participation of other people, or even everyone in the Beishan Imperial Manor official residence.

Among them, the accountant is particularly involved.

Every single amount was calculated by Wu Qizao. Without Wu Qizao's cooperation, how could Li Guodong have worked for three whole years without making any mistakes?
As for rescuing Yunfang and paying off her debts, it was just a side job.

In fact, as early as when Ye Xuan was on his way to Beishan Imperial Manor, he had already been thinking about how to treat these people in the imperial manor.

I have already gone over in my mind which ones can be used and which ones cannot be used, which ones are just minor mistakes that are beyond my control, and which ones are deeply involved and unforgivable.

And the accountant in front of him, Mr. Wu Qizao, was undoubtedly one of those who committed unforgivable crimes!
Facing Wu Qizao's pleading, Ye Xuan remained indifferent and just said lightly: "Now I have already paid back the money Yunfang owed you. There is no relationship between you two anymore!"

"Yes, yes, I have nothing to do with Miss Yunfang anymore!" Wu Qizao kowtowed, looking at Yunfang who was standing aside with tears in his eyes and said, "Miss Yunfang, I was blinded by greed before. If I have offended you, please forgive me for my age!"

Yunfang was just a simple country girl. Even if she was beautiful, she would attract many admirers in Yingtian Prefecture. But she was soft-hearted. Seeing Wu Qizao's tears, she couldn't help but shrink back and said:

"My lord, let's just leave this matter alone."

Ye Xuan nodded, and under Wu Qizao's gaze, he said coldly: "The loan dispute between you two will naturally be resolved, but..."

Ye Xuan squatted down, stared at Wu Qizao and sneered: "Mr. Wu, you know what case you are still carrying. Li Guodong has now been confiscated and his family has been exterminated."

"I don't want to commit more crimes. You have to take care of your own affairs. I'll give you one night. I hope to see your choice tomorrow morning!"

After saying that, he winked at Yao Guang.

Wu Qizao, who still wanted to beg, was dragged away.

Seeing this scene, Yao Guang was still frightened and secretly thanked God that he had followed the right person. Otherwise, when he was still working under Li Guodong, he would have passively accepted a lot of money.

If one were to follow Zhu Yuanzhang's standards and embezzle 60 taels of silver, the penalty would be death, which would be enough for Yao Guang to die more than a dozen times.

However, looking at Ye Xuan in front of him who was enforcing the law impartially and without regard for his relatives, Yao Guang still made a secret decision in his heart.

The other clerks who saw this scene were also secretly frightened and had already made up their minds.

After dealing with Wu Qizao, Ye Xuan felt a little tired.

He turned around and looked at Yunfang and said, "Wu Qizao has been captured by me. You can live your life in peace from now on."

At this moment, before Yun Fang had time to come to her senses, Ye Xuan had already strode out of the courtyard.

Only a few clerks walked up politely and saw Yunfang off from the official residence.

…………

That night, someone knocked on Ye Xuan's door.

"Sir, have you rested?" Yao Guang's low voice came from outside the door. Ye Xuan was looking through the accounts of Beishan Royal Manor over the years and had not rested yet. Hearing this, he said lightly: "The door is not closed, come in."

The door creaked slightly, revealing Yao Guang's somewhat nervous face.

"Old Yao, is there anything wrong so late?" Ye Xuan said with a smile.

Yao Guang carefully closed the door, walked up to Ye Xuan with a flattering smile, took out a stack of Ming Dynasty banknotes from his arms, and placed it carefully on Ye Xuan's desk.

In the early years of Hongwu, the Ming treasure notes had not yet become worthless like in the later years. Thanks to Zhu Yuanzhang's tough style, the purchasing power of the Ming treasure notes was still very strong.

Ye Xuan only took a glance and roughly estimated the value of this stack of banknotes.

It is at least over a thousand taels, which is not a small amount.

Ye Xuan glanced at the treasure banknotes, then looked at Yao Guang without saying anything.

Seeing this, Yao Guang hurriedly explained: "My Lord, please don't misunderstand me. Although I was forced to go along with Li Guodong when he was here, I would never dare to be greedy."

As he spoke, he only thought of the banknotes on the table and said, "These are all the stolen money that Wu Qizao has embezzled over the years. In addition to the banknotes, there are about two thousand taels of silver. Because it is inconvenient to carry, it is still placed in Wu Qizao's room."

"So, this is the money to buy your life?" Ye Xuan looked at Yao Guang with a smile.

Yao Guang waved his hands hastily, "My Lord, please don't misunderstand me. I didn't take a single cent from him!"

"And Wu Qizao also knows that he will die. All he asks is that Your Excellency, considering that he has repented, please say a few good words in the file and spare his family."

"He still has self-awareness." Ye Xuan weighed the treasure in his hand and nodded, "Tell him that I don't want to commit more murders. Since he has come to his senses, I know that the disaster will not affect his family."

Yao Guang nodded when he heard this, but then hesitantly refused to leave.

Ye Xuan was a little amused and said, "What else do you have to say? Tell me now. Why are you hesitating so much?"

Yao Guang made up his mind and took out a few banknotes and a large bag of silver from his pocket and placed them on the table.

"Your Excellency, this is some of the people's money that I had no choice but to collect when I followed Li Guodong. I beg you to hand it over to the court on my behalf. Even if the court wants to punish me, as long as you can take care of my family, I will be very grateful!"

After saying that, he knelt down in front of Ye Xuan with a plop, looking like a man crying.

Ye Xuan shook his head and chuckled, then threw the bag of silver and several banknotes belonging to Yao Guang back to him.

"Well, I know that everyone in the mansion is watching every move in this room, right?"

Yao Guang was stunned, then lowered his head in fear.

Ye Xuan continued to smile and said, "When the Emperor asked me to handle Li Guodong's case, if this office wanted to investigate you, you would have been in the prison of the Ministry of Justice by now. How could you have the chance to cry bitterly in front of me?"

Yao Guang was slightly stunned, as if he had grasped something, and asked hurriedly: "What does the adults mean?"

(End of this chapter)