Zhuangtou was arrested and was not allowed to visit, which really made the Du family who were temporarily living in the county chief's mansion a little angry.
Ever since they became the head of Jiahua County, have they ever suffered such injustice?
"Who's the arrester?"
"Sir, the person who arrested the person was the county captain."
Master Du became angry when he heard this, "He is just a small county captain, an official as big as a sesame seed, but he dares to disrespect our Du family. It seems he is tired of living!"
"Sir, the person who ordered the arrest is the new county captain this year. I heard that he was born with Jinshi in Jinke."
Mr. Du was even less panicked now, "A fellow Jinshi, with such a status, is destined to be unable to become a high official. No wonder he only got a ninth-grade county captain."
"Master, what should we do now? Those people have already started to clear their husbands."
Master Du became anxious when he mentioned this. Once the father-in-law is cleared, they will no longer be able to hide the land they occupy and are greedy for.
"Which part is clear now?"
Part of the Du family's land is in the name of Du Zhihe. After all, he is an official and has a quota for tax-free land. The other part is in the name of Mr. Du himself. He was a Jinshi in the middle school more than ten years ago. When he reached the sixth rank, he was dismissed from his post because he was implicated by Shangguan. However, he still retained his title of Jinshi. Otherwise, his son would not have been able to catch up with the Lord of Jiahua County.
Now that the government is beginning to clear up the land, the first thing that comes to Mr. Du's mind is the Du family's fields. As for the land under the name of the Jiahua County Lord, he is not in a hurry. Anyway, he is a relative of the emperor and has the support of the holy superiors. He is not a A ninth-grade official can afford to offend him.
Mr. Du was so anxious that he walked around the room, but at this time, Du Zhihe went to work in another place. Now, they were really panicked.
Mrs. Du also heard about this and rushed over in a hurry. However, after the two discussed it, they could not come up with a result and could only worry.
Xie Rongzhao's people were not idle. Not only were they looking for information, but they were also secretly collecting evidence about Jiahua County Lord and the Du family.
Mr. Du's ancestral home is Feng County. After being dismissed from office, he has been reluctant to come back because he feels embarrassed and is afraid of being ridiculed.
It wasn't until his son later became the head of Jiahua County that he came back with a great deal of arrogance.
But they are so smart. Their daughter-in-law is rich, so naturally they are not willing to spend more money, so the whole family moved into the house purchased by the county owner in Feng County.
The Du family has an ancestral house, but it is a little dilapidated. There is also a yard, but it is too small. Mrs. Du and other family members are used to living in big houses, and no one wants to live in a small yard anymore.
After a final discussion, we simply rented out the house, so that we could have income throughout the year. Although it was small, it was much better than not having any money at all.
Moreover, Mr. Du has not allowed the house to be sold. That is because they are the Du family after all. They can live in the county owner's house now, but what will happen to him and his wife a hundred years from now? It’s hard for the other children to live here forever, right?
Although Mr. Du likes to take advantage, he still wants to save face.
In the end, Mr. Du sent his housekeeper to the county government office, but the result was not satisfactory.
"You said you haven't even seen the face of Lieutenant Li?"
The housekeeper shook his head, with a look of embarrassment on his face: "I said I was out on errands. So I asked to see the magistrate, but he said that the magistrate was not at the house either, so I had no choice but to come back first."
Mr. Du was so angry that he wanted to hit someone.
At this point, there was nothing he could do.
Mr. Du thought that it would be enough to get some benefits, but he didn't expect that he wouldn't see anyone at all.
He originally guessed that Li An and the others wanted to get some benefits, or at least give them some money, but he didn't expect that Li An deliberately hid from people. Was he trying to give himself a blow, or did he think the Du family was easy to bully?
Although Mr. Du no longer serves as an official, he still has connections.
"This Cheng Jingzhou is the number one scholar in this department and is highly regarded by the emperor. In addition, he is Xie Shangshu's son-in-law, so he must have never taken the Du family seriously."
Xie Shangshu is a third-rank official, and no matter how arrogant Mr. Du is, he knows that this is a master who cannot be offended.
Even if they have the support of Lord Jiahua County behind them, they are just ordinary people. Fighting between the people and the officials is never a wise move.
That's probably all Mr. Du can think of.
Instead, Mrs. Du reminded him: "I heard that the county magistrate's wife is still young and is favored by Lord Shangshu. How about we try to follow the path of this new lady?"
Mr. Du's eyes lit up and he thought it was feasible.
"Since you are a bride, you must love beauty. What about those exquisite jewelry that the county master gave you before? Pick them out and choose the best ones to send to Mrs. Cheng. In addition, take a look at some of our local rarities and bring them to you. superior."
Mrs. Du was puzzled: "Why do you still need to bring earthy rituals?"
"What do you know? If someone asks, they just say that these earthen rituals are for the county magistrate and his wife to taste. They are not precious things. Who can say that they are accepting bribes?"
Xie Rongzhao and Cheng Jingzhou were busy in the study room. Cheng Jingzhou was reading the local county annals, while Xie Rongzhao was looking at some accounts of his own property.
Liu Ruolan is a calculated person. Shops in the capital are expensive, and the fields near the suburbs of Beijing are also more expensive than the ones below. So when she bought her dowry, she specifically chose some in Feng County. The main reason was that she had her own property in Feng County. The son-in-law is sent to work abroad, and their natal family can also help take care of it.
This is indeed quite different.
The difference in the fields is not much, one acre of land can probably make a difference of one tael of silver, but the difference in this shop is much worse.
The difference between the shops in the inner and outer cities of the capital is several hundred taels, but it is cheaper here in Feng County.
Two thousand taels of silver may not buy you a satisfactory shop in the inner city, but in Feng County, you can buy a small shop with 800 taels, and even some large shops with backyards only cost more than a thousand at most. You can buy it for two.
Liu Ruolan bought two shops in the county and a village near Fuyuan Villa, and also gave Xie Rong as a dowry.
After Xie Rongzhao sorted everything out and met the stewards everywhere, he no longer cared. He just wanted to check the accounts twice a month and receive money once.
"Husband, according to the people I sent out, the Du family has concealed more land than the Lord of Jiahua County. Once this matter is reported, even the Lord of Jiahua County will not be able to sit still."
"Well, this Jiahua County Princess is difficult to deal with, and she has two dead men supporting her. It is indeed difficult to handle."
Cheng Jingzhou also understood this, so he couldn't touch Jiahua County Lord easily. Once he wanted to move, he had to hit it with one blow, otherwise, they would be the unlucky ones!
"Then let's take care of the Du family first. I believe the Lord of Jiahua County also likes to hear good things and put her on a high pedestal. I don't believe she will bother the Holy Emperor again about the Du family."
