Ye Yongjia withdrew from the yamen and returned to Tongzhifu. He estimated that the two suspicious horsemen must have disappeared, so he called out the two yamen officers who were monitoring their whereabouts and asked them. If so, the two yamen officers also said: "Listen tonight.
They discussed and said, "If the assassination is exposed, we will return to the Governor's Hall first. If someone catches him, it will be all over." After saying this, they did not listen to their further discussion, and just listened to the sound of footsteps at the base of the wall.
We originally wanted to go up and catch the thief, but then we thought about it and decided not to do anything without your orders."
Ye Yongjia nodded, took the silver note given by Zhao Ren as a reward, and gave it to the two of them, and they left happily.
He remembered that he had not seen the two office clerks recently because he was busy with work, so he wanted to see these subordinates, so he sent Kou Zhong to guard the Yamen.
He went to the execution room first, and was greeted by the secretary who headed the punishment room with a smile. Ye Yongjia asked about the number of prisoners in prison, whether the lawsuits had been settled, and other matters. The clerk talked about it one by one, but there was no important business.
The clerk's office took the book to Ye Yongjia and counted seventeen of them. Seeing that the items were complete, Ye Yongjia came out relieved.
To the west, separated from the execution room by only one wall, are the household rooms. The household rooms occupy a larger area, with stone steps extending straight from the dirt road to the door. There is no door on either side, and the room is open to the outside. There are a lot of people inside. But there are several people inside.
There was an inner room, and there was a counter with documents across the outside. Someone from the inner room came out to talk to the person leaning against the cabinet, then handed the documents outside and walked back into the room. The man was examining the documents and saw Ye Yongjia coming in.
He hurriedly pulled out of the cabinet and greeted Mr. Tongzhi.
"Are you the clerk in charge here?" Ye Yongjia asked.
The man smiled and said, "My surname is Liu. I will take over after Secretary Chen leaves."
"Oh," Ye Yongjia looked at the environment inside the house. A lot of sawdust fell from the beams from time to time, and there was an unpleasant musty smell floating in the air. "I'll report the taxation first."
"We all know that last month, a total of 536 dan of grain and 419 taels of silver were levied, which are both reasonable amounts."
"Is there money arrears in the household?"
"As soon as I asked, my subordinates couldn't figure out the specific number. I would like to read the brochure to avoid any omissions," Liu Shuban said.
"Where is the booklet?"
"It's in this room," Liu Shuban pointed to a room and led Ye Yongjia in. As soon as he opened the door, a heavier musty smell hit his face.
Ye Yongjia felt a little nauseous, but he still forced himself to go in. The piles of books, documents, etc. were all rotten yellow, and there were a few insects that had chewed up the book covers.
He was just wondering why the house was so dirty when he heard Liu Shuban's knees falling to the ground as soon as the door was closed.
When he looked back, Liu Shuban was kneeling on the ground with tears in his eyes, looking at him emotionally.
"Ye Tongzhi! I'm afraid they'll sue the government!"
This sentence made Ye Yongjia confused. He held his arm and said: "...If you have something to say, please speak slowly."
"Please don't blame me, sir."
"where……"
"Then I said it. Last month I went to the village to collect money. It was the same as usual, but there was an extra tax. Some unruly people got into trouble and kicked me. I was a little annoyed at the time and ordered their house to be smashed.
He also set fire to his family's fields. The magistrate should be able to understand my just action of punishing the unruly people, but they always confuse right and wrong, and I'm afraid they may confuse the magistrate, so please..."
"Please let me help you hide it, right?" Ye Yongjia sighed.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Liu Shuban shouted excitedly when he saw that his colleague was interested in helping him.
"Don't yell nonsense!" Ye Yongjia scolded. Liu Shuban immediately shut up.
He sat on the chair and rubbed his browbones.
Do you want to maintain your dignity, or go further into the deep pool?
He doesn't know.
Should he be a good official who upholds justice for the people, or is he a thief who has fallen into officialdom?
He doesn't know.
But he must decide.
And decision-making only takes a moment, and contemplation often cannot be independent at this moment.
"Okay." Ye Yongjia replied calmly and without any emotion.
Lu Deguang did not hear the people beating drums to express their grievances. This was because Ye Yongjia mobilized a few soldiers to follow Liu Shuban's instructions to surround the family tightly and not allow them to enter the city to report the matter. As the matter dragged on for a long time,
There is no way to inspect it.
But the villagers were so smart that they secretly asked a man in the village who was willing to fight against injustice to teach him how to play drums for him. The man then took three or two people with him, visited the streets and houses together, asked where the Yamen was, and ran straight away.
Ye Yongjia was discussing official matters with Lu Deguang at the yamen when he saw a yamen servant running in and said, "A group of people are playing drums outside the hall and say they want to sue Liu Shu to the Fish and Meat Village."
Lu Deguang looked at Ye Yongjia: "Liu Shuban?"
Ye Yongjia's face turned livid. "He's from a household."
"Why don't you complain?" he asked, but his tone didn't sound like a question.
"This..." Ye Yongjia's eyebrows moved hesitantly.
"I don't want to embarrass you," Lu Deguang gently put his hand on him, "I don't want to offend anyone. If Liu Shu is certain to handle this matter, I will be in a dilemma."
Ye Yongjia trembled and let out a slight hiss.
"If I go forward and dismiss Liu Shuban, everyone in the two houses will be in danger, and Yuan Lun can take advantage of it; if I go back and turn a deaf ear to the grievances, my reputation for integrity will be ruined, and Master Qingtian's sign will be destroyed."
No." He smacked his lips, "It's so difficult!"
Ye Yongjia has already made his decision. He will not hesitate a second time.
"Then I will fight for you." He raised his head and took away Lu Deguang's hand, "I said that if you are not in the government office, I will expel them personally."
"The more hateful you are, the better." He patted Ye Tongzhi, lay down on the chair and closed his eyes.
Ye Yongjia walked to the door and glanced back at him. He still closed his eyes leisurely.
"Follow me and drive those people away." He said to the yamen servant, threw down the curtain and walked out quickly.
Those men saw Ye Yongjia leading a dozen officers and soldiers standing on the steps in front of the lobby. The officers and soldiers were holding water and fire sticks. When they saw the battle, they became energetic: "Why don't you see Mr. Lu? Are you going to harm good people?"
What!"
"I'm telling you! Mr. Lu is not in the government office today. If you dare to file a complaint, you will be left without food!" Ye Yongjia yelled.
"You bunch of stupid officials, how dare you meet Mr. Lu! I will sue you life or death and let Mr. Lu punish the evildoers!" A man jumped out and said.
"Okay." Ye Yongjia looked fiercely at the officers and soldiers beside him: "Go up and beat him hard!"
As soon as the soldiers got the order, they rushed up, each holding a stick, and beat them all over their faces. One man started making noise, and several people dragged him to the ground, punched and kicked him, and there were large blood marks on his face. He was still high.
They cursed loudly; the soldiers robbed them of their money and then drove them out.
Ye Yongjia was rubbing his ears calmly while listening to the noisy curses.