A Clash of Gods - Chapter 85
Chapter 85 A Courtyard with a Ghost
Zhao Yuan looked serious. As soon as he said that, Gu Qinghan and Yang Ning turned pale, and Gu Qinghan even stood up suddenly, asking, “What did you say? The tax has been sent?”
Zhao Yuan answered solemnly, “We sent it at the end of September, and it’s Master Cheng… It’s Steward Qi who arranged it personally. In order to ensure the silver’s safety, they did like before and specially went to Jingzhou City to ask the governor, who dispatched more than ten soldiers to escort it all the way.”
Yang Ning thought it was getting more complicated and stood up, too. “The marquis’ mansion didn’t receive the tax silver, so Aunt and I came to Jiangling in person to check what happened.”
“How is it possible?” Zhao Yuan was shocked. “Steward Qi wanted to escort it personally, but he had something to do and couldn’t go, so he told Cui to send. Cui has been to the capital and is familiar with the way. Moreover, after they came back, they said that the silver had arrived on time and everything went well.” He then asked in confusion, “My Lady, Your Excellency, you came back this time because of the tax?”
Gu Qinghan stared at Zhao Yuan’s eyes and saw that he was serious. Then she sat down slowly and closed her eyes slightly. After pondering for a while, she asked, “I ask you, now what per cent of the crop in the fiefdom do you collect as the tax?”
Zhao Yuan answered, “My Lady, you know that the old marquis made the rules when he was alive. The fiefdom of the Marquis of Honor would evaluate the crop on the farmland and then collect twenty percent of the crop as the tax. If it is a lean year, with dry damage or flood, or plague of locusts, the tax would be decreased. Marquis is virtuous and wants the common people in the fiefdom to live in peace without worrying about their food and clothes. So we naturally did everything according to the rules of the marquis’ mansion.”
Yang Ning stated, “But as far as we know, the fiefdom of the Marquis of Honor started to increase the tax many years ago and it is increased greatly.” He stretched out four fingers. “Now the fiefdom’s tax has increased to forty percent every year. Mr. Zhao, is it false?”
Zhao Yuan was stunned and then laughed. “Please forgive me as I am straightforward. You are joking, Your Excellency.”
Yang Ning expressed indifferently, “I don’t have time to joke with you. I just ask you, is it true?”
Zhao Yuan responded, “Your Excellency, twenty percent as the tax was set by the old marquis. Even if the marquis’ mansion wants to collect thirty percent as the tax, let alone forty percent, I will advise them to think twice. In the past decades, the common people in the fiefdom have been used to the old marquis’ favor. Because of this, there was almost nothing wrong with the tax in the fiefdom, and they could pay it in time. But if we increase the tax rashly, it would shake the people’s beliefs. Everybody would be happy if the tax is reduced, but if we increase even a little amount of tax, it would make the people resent us. We can’t increase the tax randomly.”
Gu Qinghan asked, “Mr. Zhao, don’t you understand? It’s not that the marquis’ mansion wants to increase the tax, but you increased the tax in private.”
Zhao Yuan frowned. “My Lady, do you mean that we increase the tax arbitrarily without the order of the marquis’ family?” He looked doubtful. “How… How is it possible? My Lady, I just ask you, if we did that, would we be beheaded?”
“It’s great that you know it.” Gu Qinghan sneered. “If you increase the tax without permission, the marquis’ family won’t spare you.”
“All of us know that, so do you think we would make such a mistake, My Lady?” Zhao Yuan sighed. “Fortunately, there are accounts of these years in the accountant’s office. My Lady, as long as you come to my office and check them carefully, you can understand immediately.” He smiled bitterly. “You don’t need to worry that I have done something. You and His Excellency came back all of a sudden. Even if I want to do something, I don’t have time to.”
Although he was an accountant, he still had the scholar’s arrogance.
Gu Qinghan thought that she would surely check the accounts. She managed the domestic affairs in the marquis’ mansion, and the account was one of the most important things. She came back this time and would certainly check the accounts here.
“Since you are the accountant, you must know all the village heads who come to pay tax every year.” Yang Ning smiled. “Mr. Zhao, do you know Han Yi?”
“Han Yi?” Zhao Yuan thought for a while and then replied soon, “Your Excellency, Han Yi is the head of the Luwang Village, but this man is hot-tempered. The other villages pay tax quickly, but only the Luwang Village is the last to pay tax every year.”
“Oh?” Yang Ning smiled faintly. “As you said, the Luwang Village is a hot potato?”
Zhao Yuan responded, “We can’t say so. They have never paid less tax. I hear that this man likes to make friends. Although he is a common peasant, he has a lot of friends outside. He has many connections, so he is bold. Last year, when he came to pay tax, he quarreled with the head of another village, and then they fought against each other. Han Yi almost killed that man.” Then he said to Gu Qinghan, “My Lady, will you go to have a look in my office now? It’s still early, and Steward Qi won’t come back soon.”
Gu Qinghan nodded. “Lead the way!”
Zhao Yuan led the way in the front, and Yang Ning and Gu Qinghan followed him. They went to a small courtyard. As soon as they entered the room, they saw shelves on the left and right. There were all kinds of accounts on the shelves, and a young manservant was in the room. He was the accountant’s assistant.
Facing the accounts piled up like a hill, Yang Ning was impatient. Seeing that after Gu Qinghan sat down, Zhao Yuan had moved a stack of accounts to the table, he thought that she couldn’t finish checking the accounts soon, so he went out of the courtyard and walked around. Gu Qinghan knew that he was not good at checking accounts, so she let him hang out.
There were courtyards inside the courtyards. Yang Ning walked around for a long time and found that the old house was bigger than he imagined. Although it was not as large and magnificent as the marquis’ mansion in the capital, such a house was rare in this remote place.
It was an old house, after all. Although he found that many buildings had been repaired, as a whole, it was simple and old, and many walls had been built decades ago. In the past, he had heard Gu Qinghan talk about it, which had a long history. The old marquis lived here when he was a child, so the old house was more than one hundred years old.
A 100-year-old house was listless no matter how it had been repaired. Moreover, after the Qi family moved to the capital, there were few people in such a big house, so it appeared cheerless.
Yang Ning wandered for half a day along the path in the house and suddenly found a wall not far away. Different from the other places he had seen earlier, this wall was full of vines which were flourishing and almost covered the entire wall.
Yang Ning was surprised and thought although there were few people in the old house, some people would take care of it and clean what should be cleaned at ordinary times. At least, it was obvious that some people often cleaned the places which he had seen. The flowers, grass and plants in the house were clipped now and then, but this place was unusual. The vines had concealed the wall of the courtyard, but nobody clipped them.
He couldn’t help but approach it. Then he saw that the path to the wall of the courtyard was filled with thick moss. It seemed that nobody passed here in the past, and there was dense wild grass on both sides of the path. It was late autumn, and the plants withered. It appeared to be deserted and silent.
He walked forward for a while and the withered vines and wild grass blocked his way, but through the cracks of the vines, he saw an arched door in front of him. The door was closed, and two knockers were linked by an iron lock, which was full of rust. While the arched door was faded and looked ancient.
Yang Ning was astonished and wondering why this courtyard was so deserted when he heard a cough from behind. He turned around and found that Wei Dong was standing at a short distance and looking at him.
Yang Ning thought this old guy walked without making sounds and appeared suddenly like a ghost, not afraid of frightening others, but he still looked calm and pointed to the locked arched door behind the vines, asking, “Who lived in this courtyard in the past? Why didn’t you tell somebody to clean it up? The vines almost spread to the courtyard and people can’t enter it.”
Wei Dong didn’t get close but waved at Yang Ning. “Your Excellency, that’s not a good place. You… you just come over first.”
Yang Ning saw Wei Dong’s weird reaction and frowned. “It’s not a good place? What do you mean?” Seeing that Wei Dong didn’t plan to come, Yang Ning turned to go back as he couldn’t walk forward. Then he found that this courtyard was detached, far away from other courtyards.
When Yang Ning approached, Wei Dong finally lowered his voice. “Your Excellency, dinner has been prepared. Will you go to eat something first?”
“Don’t change the subject.” Yang Ning looked back and pointed to the courtyard. “You said it’s not a good place. What do you mean?”
Fear was shown in Wei Dong’s eyes, and he whispered, “Your Excellency, this… this is an ominous place. Not only now, but it was also locked all the time when the old marquis was alive. He told us not to get close to this courtyard, let alone entering it.”
“Ah?” Yang Ning was stunned and asked in confusion, “Why? Why is it an ominous place?”
“Your Excellency, don’t ask anymore.” Wei Dong moved two steps backward. “Please go to have dinner.” He looked away and didn’t dare to look at that courtyard.
Yang Ning turned back and glanced at it. Nobody knew if Wei Dong’s words were effective. Although it was daytime, when he looked at that courtyard again, he felt a creepy smell. This old house was cold and terrifying, and now there was such a weird courtyard, so Yang Ning felt scared, but he still put on a straight face, questioning, “Why did you prevaricate? I am asking you. Why did you try to hide it from me? Say it now.”
Wei Dong naturally didn’t dare to disobey Yang Ning, so he had to reply, “Your Excellency, there… there is a ghost in that courtyard!”
A gust of breeze passed by, and it was silent around. Yang Ning thought this breeze was chilly and frowned. “The sage doesn’t talk about weird things and ghosts. What ghost? Why is there a ghost in such a nice house? Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Your Excellency, there is really a ghost.” Wei Dong didn’t want to talk about it, but he was anxious since Yang Ning said that. “Two people died because of this courtyard with a ghost.”