Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 786 Too Difficult_1

Chapter 786: Chapter 786 Too Difficult_1

Zhou Shuren looked up and saw the Crown Prince flipping through the tax records from various regions. Turning his head, he saw a guard still moving the account books. It seemed the Crown Prince couldn’t leave anytime soon.

However, he felt quite annoyed. This wasn’t his workspace—why should he share an office with the Crown Prince?

It was all because, at the mention of needing someone to explain things, Mr. Qiu immediately pushed him forward. Sighing deeply, he didn’t want to share the room with the Crown Prince either. He feared that the Crown Prince would discover even more of his talents and end up trapping him again—yes, that’s how self-absorbed he was.

The Crown Prince lifted his head, "Why does Lord Zhou sigh?"

Clutching his teacup, Zhou Shuren said, "Your servant laments the brevity of life. I just think one must eat and drink well while they can."

The Crown Prince’s mouth curled into a smile, "I don’t think so. One should maintain good health, so they can do more."

Zhou Shuren, "...."

That wasn’t even a hint; that was an outright declaration—pah! Who wanted to do more? He certainly didn’t intend to work himself to death for the Royal family. The mere thought terrified him!

The Crown Prince picked up a tax record, "Here are last year’s taxes from Huaizhou. Lord Zhou, take a look."

Hearing the name Huaizhou, Zhou Shuren felt a pang of familiarity. He and Zhao Bo had exchanged many letters while in Huaizhou, and he was curious about what the Crown Prince noticed. Truth be told, since joining the Ministry of Revenue, he’d been preoccupied with amassing silver, then disbursing it, and hadn’t had time to examine the tax records from the various regions.

Taking the book, Zhou Shuren thought of Huaizhou, which was among the wealthiest in surplus among the upper provinces. As he flipped through the account book, all other taxes seemed in order, but what caught his attention was the salt tax. Standing up, he said, "Your Highness, I will fetch the salt tax records from the Ministry of Revenue for this year’s first half and compare it with those of previous years."

Only the amounts were recorded in the Ministry of Revenue’s account books, and the detailed accounts for the salt tax were held by the Salt Transport Department. This record of Huaizhou’s taxes detailed the entire province’s various taxes, so the recorded information on Huaizhou’s salt tax was limited to a few figures.

Zhou Shuren quickly found what he was looking for: the account books that recorded the silver amounts from the salt tax paid to the Ministry of Revenue. Every salt tax collection was overseen by the Imperial Censor in charge of salt affairs, with everything under surveillance, and the Ministry of Revenue saw only the figures.

As Zhou Shuren browsed, comparing the figures from this year’s first half to last year’s entries, he swiftly identified a problem. The numbers were curious, and after fetching several account books from previous years, Zhou Shuren was left speechless.

The Crown Prince thought it remarkable how quickly Zhou had noticed. The Crown Prince could spot the issue since he had encountered many spies his father had placed in the Jianghuai area, but Zhou Shuren had deduced the problem merely by looking at the numbers. The Crown Prince asked, "Does Lord Zhou see something amiss?"

Zhou Shuren gathered several account books, intending to place them on the Crown Prince’s desk, but finding no space, he had to put them on a chair. He then took out the account book with this year’s figures, "Your Highness, look at the amount of silver entered into the Ministry of Revenue for the first half of this year."

Zhou Shuren picked up the volumes from the past few years, "Your Highness, these are the past years’ figures. Look, there isn’t much difference annually, with the biggest discrepancy being only tens of thousands of taels, which is unusual."

The Crown Prince was genuinely curious, "How is that unusual?"

The account book was so simplistic that problems that were sent to the Ministry of Revenue were unlikely to be discovered, especially since the Ministry was only recording figures.

Zhou Shuren pointed to the figures, "Your Highness, the Imperial court has enjoyed favorable weather for several years, allowing the common people to rest and recover. This means an increase in population, the longevity of the elderly, and the yearly growth of children who will also need salt. Although your servant is unaware of the exact population increase over these years, the annual amounts should have grown, especially over the last two years—it should be a significant increase, not the negligible variation we see over the last five or six years."

Ah, the salt tax, one of the court’s most crucial sources of revenue. A fluctuation of ten or twenty thousand taels, huh!

The Crown Prince took the account books, checking the figures himself, and then had a guard fetch even earlier records. The guard soon returned with them, and as the Crown Prince reviewed them one by one, his expression darkened significantly.

Zhou Shuren twitched the corners of his mouth. There wasn’t much variation in the figures—he would have definitely taken into account factors like population, natural disasters, and environment if he were cooking the books!

The Crown Prince grounded his breath, what did this mean? It meant that even a decade and a half ago, there were issues with the salt tax revenue. Despite the frequent personnel changes over the years, the problem had hardly been resolved. It was almost like a joke compared to the efforts of his father, the emperor. Thinking about the people around him who could be problematic, he stood up and signaled the guard to pack up the account books. "Mr. Zhou, I must visit the palace. Accompany me."

Zhou Shuren, "....Yes."

He felt emotionally drained. When the Crown Prince asked questions, he couldn’t afford to stay silent—doing so would present him as incompetent, but speaking up meant he was dragged into the palace, a truly difficult situation. Zhou Shuren gritted his teeth internally— it was all the fault of the Salt Transport Department. If you’re going to falsify accounts, at least do it with a bit more care!

Zhou Shuren first excused himself with Mr. Qiu. Qiu Yan had been paying close attention to the Crown Prince and Zhou Shuren, and now that he knew they were headed to the palace, he felt quite anxious, fearing their business might reflect on his management of the Ministry of Revenue.

Qiu Yan’s forehead was slick with sweat. "Mr. Zhou, can you give me a hint if this matter is related to the Ministry of Revenue?"

Zhou Shuren hadn’t intended to scare Qiu Yan, who had not had an easy time lately and had not been seen smiling. "It’s unrelated to the Ministry of Revenue."

Qiu Yan heaved a sigh of relief, that was close. "That’s good, that’s good."

On the outskirts of the capital, there were three carriages from the Zhou estate. Zhulan was seated in one with her two daughters-in-law, Scholar Deng, Mingyun, and a few others occupied another—correct, not only Mingyun had come, but Ming Teng and Ming Rui also joined, as Zhulan couldn’t resist the pleas of the youngsters and eventually brought them all along.

The last carriage was filled with old maids and young maidservants.

Of course, there were also numerous young servants accompanying them, with Shen Xing riding alongside on a horse.

Zhulan, leaving the capital, felt particularly joyful. The open vistas of the countryside provided a different mindset. Lady Li and Zhao Bo were also happy, as they rarely ventured out.

Lady Li sat by the carriage window. "Mother, the crops in the fields look very good."

Zhulan glanced outside. "Yes, in a little while, your family will send the grain to the capital."

Lady Li was elated, she would soon see her family again. Her family had been doing well in recent years, and every letter from her parents always advised her to take good care of her in-laws. The Li family’s prosperity was all thanks to her husband’s family.

Zhao Bo was also delighted. She had even fewer opportunities than her elder sister-in-law to go out, and it was a rare treat that her mother-in-law was willing to take her along. Her lips curled up in joy. Previously, her life was not comfortable due to overthinking, but now she was very content, with a smile visible in her eyes.

They soon arrived at the estate, with the young servants leading the way. A steward was already waiting, and as Zhulan got out of the carriage, she looked at the high walls of the estate—truly tall. Observing the expanse enclosed by the walls, the estate was impressively large.

The steward said, "Please come inside."

Zhulan stepped through the main gate first, with the steward introducing the place. "This residence was built not long ago by our main house. Besides the front yard and the living quarters, there are six smaller courtyards, two pavilions, and two gardens—one is a flower garden, and the other is a fruit garden."

The property was quite expansive, nearly twice the size of the Zhou estate when measured in its entirety.

Zhulan toured around with her daughters-in-law, admiring the finely constructed courtyards and the top-quality materials. Each courtyard had its own thermal spring designed for drainage. She blinked her eyes; not buying this property would bring her to tears. After seeing the fruit garden, only one thought formed in her mind—to buy.