The moment Zhao Baozhu heard those words, he nearly forgot how to breathe.
Yet Ye Jinghua seemed not to notice his reaction at all and continued: “For the past half year, I didn’t receive so much as a single word from you. I don’t know how worried I was.”
“What?” Zhao Baozhu froze. Immediately forgetting even his embarrassment, he exclaimed in shock, “How could that be? I wrote Young Master a reply…”
And he had even had the You family send it to the capital by fast horse,
Zhao Baozhu’s thoughts suddenly paused. He began to wonder whether the now-dead You Qian had obeyed him only on the surface while secretly never sending the letter at all. Yet thinking carefully, that seemed unlikely. First, Zhao Baozhu doubted that coward had such courage. Second, during the confiscation of the You family estate, his letters had never been found there.
Then what exactly had happened? Zhao Baozhu frowned tightly.
As though noticing the confusion on his face, Ye Jinghua lowered his eyes. “Do you know how I learned you were in trouble?”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu’s expression sharpened.
That was true. He had never learned how Ye Jinghua discovered the matter with the You family in the first place. The reason the You family had been able to dominate Qingzhou for so many years was naturally because the former prefect had concealed matters from above while deceiving those below. Even the local governor had not discovered it, much less the capital. So how had Ye Jinghua, sitting in the Hanlin Academy, learned of it?
Ye Jinghua did not leave him in suspense long and instead slowly guided him. “Think carefully. Where is the courier station located?”
Zhao Baozhu furrowed his brows, then suddenly realized. “The courier station is in Zixian County!”
No matter how much the You family had wished to flatter him back then, they could not possibly have sent people all the way to the capital personally. At most, they would have found a swift horse and delivered the letter to the courier station. Yet Wuya County itself had no courier station; the nearest one was in neighboring Zixian County. If the You family had not played tricks on him, then the problem must have arisen at the courier station.
“What happened at the station?” Zhao Baozhu asked in confusion. “Could someone really have deliberately intercepted my letters?”
Ye Jinghua quietly looked at him and answered at just the right moment: “The You family’s affairs spread far and wide. The raw silk trade alone brought in enormous profits. Yet the beneficiaries of this trade were not limited merely to the prefectural city, ”
Zhao Baozhu had still looked puzzled moments ago, but hearing this, his mind suddenly cleared. “That’s right! The other six counties too!”
Every prefecture had fixed quotas for silk taxation. Yet eighty percent of Qingzhou’s silk taxes had been paid by Wuya County alone, which naturally meant the other six counties contributed far less.
Zhao Baozhu’s eyes shifted as understanding fully settled in.
Taxation was an immensely important matter. The magistrates of those six counties must certainly have known about it. Even if they had not directly colluded with the You family, they had at the very least silently understood the situation and enjoyed the benefits without protest!
Seeing that he understood, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Ye Jinghua’s lips. “The moment you began taking action, they must have noticed signs of it. They became wary of you, which is why they intercepted any letters bearing your name.”
He paused, then reached out to smooth the hair beside Zhao Baozhu’s ear. “The fact that you thought to send the evidence directly to the governor by trusted courier means you must already have sensed something was wrong.”
By now, Zhao Baozhu no longer even noticed Ye Jinghua’s small gestures. His brows were tightly furrowed as he nodded. “When I realized Young Master’s replies never arrived, I felt something was wrong too. But…”
But he had never imagined there were such twists hidden beneath it all!
The more Zhao Baozhu thought about it, the deeper his frown became.
His very first letter had never even reached Ye Jinghua’s hands. The people back in the capital must have worried terribly. And that magistrate of Zixian County was truly hateful! From this matter alone, it was obvious they had long known about the chaos surrounding Qingzhou’s silk taxes, yet had never reported it to the central court. Even if they could not be considered accomplices, they were certainly guilty of dereliction of duty!
What was more, the silk taxes should originally have been shared jointly among Qingzhou’s seven counties. Even if redistributing Wuya County’s burden would have increased taxes upon the other six counties, that was tax they should have paid all along! Yet not only had those people concealed the truth, they had even dared intercept his correspondence the moment he attempted to act.
…How utterly shameless!
The more Zhao Baozhu thought about it, the angrier he became. Fury surged straight upward, and with a sudden whoosh, he sprang out of his chair.
“You despicable vermin!”
Zhao Baozhu burst into loud curses and immediately began pacing around the room, fire blazing in his eyes.
“What vile and foolish people! They are fellow court officials just like me, entrusted with governing entire counties, yet for such petty scraps of profit they resort to such disgraceful conduct! I never knew there were such dark-hearted villains all around me, truly, truly, ”
Zhao Baozhu stamped furiously. “This infuriates me to death!”
Seeing this, Ye Jinghua quickly reached out and caught him, gently pulling Zhao Baozhu back again. “Enough. I didn’t tell you this to make you angry.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu’s anger faltered slightly. Following Ye Jinghua’s pull, he ended up sitting in his lap, muttering softly: “I just can’t stand it… They’re officials themselves, yet they aid evildoers.”
Ye Jinghua wrapped his arms around him. Seeing Zhao Baozhu’s sullen expression, faint amusement surfaced upon his lips. “Men die for wealth; birds perish for food. It has always been this way. Not everyone can be like our Baozhu, untainted by glory and riches, possessing such a pure and crystal-clear heart.”
Suddenly being praised again, Zhao Baozhu’s anger vanished with a whoosh. Embarrassment colored his face red as he stammered: “I…I’m not that good either. Who doesn’t like money?”
Ye Jinghua’s hand rested around his waist. Hearing those words, he seemed to think of something, and his arm tightened slightly as he said quietly: “I don’t think you do. You came all the way to such a distant place without even taking a single banknote.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu froze. After a moment, he finally remembered what Ye Jinghua referred to.
On the day Zhao Baozhu had left the capital, Steward Li had insisted on stuffing an entire box of banknotes into his hands, each note worth one hundred taels. Zhao Baozhu had absolutely refused to accept them. In the end, only after the old steward nearly knelt did he reluctantly take twenty taels.
The moment Ye Jinghua brought it up, Zhao Baozhu felt guilty. He immediately coughed lightly and hurriedly changed the subject. “So Young Master came looking for me because you knew something had happened here?”
Ye Jinghua glanced at him without exposing Zhao Baozhu’s guilty conscience. Smiling faintly, he lowered his eyes. “You could say that.”
Suspecting something strange about Qingzhou was one reason. But even without the You family matter, he still would have come.
Because Qingzhou was remote and Zhao Baozhu lacked connections in court apart from Ye Jinghua, he had no idea that the capital was already in complete uproar over Ye Jinghua’s transfer away from the capital.
The news that Ye Jinghua had gone to become prefect of an obscure provincial city had caused endless uproar throughout official circles.
After all, the Ye family had enjoyed unparalleled glory this past year. First, after remaining quiet for three years, Ye Jinghua suddenly participated in the spring examinations and immediately won first place, becoming the zhuangyuan. Barely days later, the Consort Chen of the palace was elevated to Noble Consort Chen.
For a time, the Ye family’s influence blazed brighter than anyone else’s. Many speculated that because Emperor Yuanzhi favored the Ye siblings so greatly, once the Fifth Prince came of age, Noble Consort Chen would be elevated to Imperial Noble Consort, and the Fifth Prince would become the new Crown Prince.
As for why she would not become Empress, it was because over twenty years ago, after the death of the former empress, Emperor Yuanzhi had publicly sworn never to establish another empress again.
Yet times had changed. The former Crown Prince had vanished long ago, and the palace itself had already been filled with new faces.
Thus, the news of Ye Jinghua being sent out of the capital struck the official circles of the capital like a thunderclap.
It had only been half a year since Ye Jinghua entered the Hanlin Academy after the palace examinations, yet he was suddenly assigned elsewhere, and to Qingzhou, that godforsaken place of all locations. No matter how people looked at it, they could not discern the deeper meaning behind it. Among noble-born sons, who ever truly left the capital? Even when sent out, it was usually only for temporary inspections. Why would Emperor Yuanzhi assign Ye Jinghua to something as lowly as a prefectural posting? If it had been someplace prosperous like Gusu or Xuanfu, that would have been one thing, but Qingzhou Prefecture was a remote backwater.
For a time, rumors that even the Ye family had fallen out of imperial favor spread wildly.
This appointment was simply too unexpected. The endless stream of officials who ordinarily crowded before the Ye residence were frightened into avoiding it, leaving the Ye family gates unusually quiet for quite some time.
Only after Emperor Yuanzhi, in order to dispel the rumors, lavishly rewarded Chancellor Ye and Ye Yanzhen, who served in the Ministry of Justice, and also held an extraordinarily grand birthday celebration in the palace for the Fifth Prince, did the court gradually calm somewhat.
The Ye residence once again became lively, yet people began speculating anew whether it had nothing to do with the Ye family as a whole and that perhaps Ye Jinghua alone had somehow angered Emperor Yuanzhi.
Many in the capital firmly believed this explanation, some even exaggerating it into claims that the emperor had already decided to “banish” Ye Jinghua.
Yet Ye Jinghua himself did not care.
Holding Zhao Baozhu in his arms, he was in an excellent mood.
Because Zhao Baozhu was quietly complaining to him: “This is infuriating. There’s so much going on right now that I truly can’t get away. Otherwise I’d immediately go ask that magistrate of Zixian County exactly what he means by this.”
Zhao Baozhu was indignant. He had already decided to submit a memorial on the matter, yet still did not feel satisfied. If not for the busy farming season, he would already have stormed into Zixian County himself.
The room was warm and cozy. A faint smile played at Ye Jinghua’s lips as his arm encircled the youth’s slender waist and back. Lowering his eyes, he looked at the angry, catlike eyes in his arms.
“I knew you would be angry,” he said with a smile. His thick lashes lowered slightly, concealing eyes like star-filled heavens. “I’ve already sent orders. Tomorrow they will all arrive.”
Zhao Baozhu froze, then immediately understood who “they” referred to. Delighted, he exclaimed: “You mean the magistrates of the other counties?”
Ye Jinghua nodded. “It would have been normal for them to come pay respects when I first took office anyway.”
Zhao Baozhu stood there dumbfounded for several breaths before recovering. Joy immediately flooded his cheeks red. Not knowing how else to express his gratitude, he impulsively threw himself into Ye Jinghua’s arms.
“Young Master, you’re so good!”
His arms wrapped tightly around the man’s shoulders as he said emotionally: “I… I truly don’t know how to thank you.”
Ye Jinghua said nothing. He merely smiled faintly. A trace of dark light flashed rapidly through his eyes as he raised a hand to gently stroke Zhao Baozhu’s back.
***
The next day, the six county magistrates indeed all arrived, filling the hall completely.
Had anyone else summoned them, they likely would never have gathered so neatly. First, because the six counties varied greatly in distance. Second, because it was currently the busy farming season. To require everyone to free themselves and arrive at Wuya County, the most remote county in Qingzhou, within two days essentially meant that the magistrates from farther counties had to depart the moment they received the order.
Yet all six still came. Not one was absent.
The mere fact that the new prefect’s surname was “Ye” was enough to make them whip their horses hard enough to throw sparks.
After all, this was a genuine imperial relative. Even if the six of them were bundled together, they probably would not be enough for this lord to swallow in one bite.
All six seated below wore uneasy expressions, and among them, the magistrate of Zixian County was the guiltiest-looking of all.
He had clearly dressed with care, wearing a brand-new official robe, the embroidered sparrow pattern upon his chest gleaming brightly, yet it still could not conceal his pale complexion.
Bent over slightly, the Zixian magistrate constantly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Yet unwilling to appear too cowardly, he occasionally cleared his throat and lifted his teacup for a sip.
Unfortunately, he was the only one in the room constantly moving, making him stand out even more.
Oblivious, the Zixian magistrate continued speaking to the magistrate of Qixian seated beside him: “Lord Wang, look at this chair. It doesn’t seem like an ordinary piece at all.”
Qixian magistrate wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, afraid of being implicated.
The moment they had been summoned to Wuya County, they already knew matters were bad. The instant this Young Master Ye took office, without even pausing to rest, he arrested the former prefect Chen Si, then hurried nonstop to Wuya County. Now he had summoned them all here. Anyone with even a little sense could deduce two things from this string of actions:
First, Chen Si had completely fallen.
Second, this Young Master Ye was standing on Wuya County’s side.
What none of them understood was why Lord Ye had arrived with such thunderous methods, and why he seemed to have coordinated perfectly with Zhao Baozhu. On this side, Zhao Baozhu had only just executed You Er and You San, while on the other side, Ye Jinghua had already uprooted Chen Si’s entire stronghold in one stroke.
The only thing they knew was that Zhao Baozhu and Ye Jinghua had both been newly graduated jinshi from the same examination year. But there were countless people from the same examination cohort every year. Moreover, they were neither fellow disciples of the same teacher, nor remotely from similar backgrounds. One was the zhuangyuan, the other merely third-tier ranking. Even their names on the examination list had been separated by a great distance. How could they possibly know one another?
Could there truly be some strange fate connecting a noble young master and a poor scholar from humble origins?
Everyone harbored different thoughts. Most leaned toward believing this matter was a secret imperial decree, with Ye Jinghua sent specifically to purge corruption. Otherwise, there was no explanation for how swiftly he had acted.
Seeing no one responding to him, the magistrate of Zixian awkwardly gave up and lowered his head to wipe sweat again.
The atmosphere in the hall became extremely oppressive.
Yet the silence did not last long before footsteps sounded.
“Lord Prefect, County Lord arrives!”
Accompanied by Ah Long’s loud announcement, Ye Jinghua and Zhao Baozhu entered the hall side by side.
All six magistrates were stunned, staring unblinkingly at the two figures emerging from the rear hall.
Not front and back.
The youth wearing the sparrow-embroidered magistrate robes did not lag even half a step behind. He walked directly beside the handsome man in crane-embroidered prefect robes, the two entering together in unmistakable closeness.
