He then sought out Lu Dalang.

“You mean, this tax isn’t collected by Master Liu at all?” Lu Dalang was stunned, exclaiming, “How dare they?”

Jiang Zhou explained, “If you think about it carefully, there are loopholes. Master Liu has recently taken office, so he won’t implement such drastic changes in taxation without orders from above.”

Taxation formed the majority of fiscal revenue and was not easily altered without higher directives. Initially, they believed Master Liu, being newly transferred, lacked understanding of both sides’ taxation, but the revelation of trickery in the middle surprised them.

Jiang Zhou shared his encounter with Liu Lin and added, “To be honest, I once had a connection with him.”

“Oh?”

Jiang Zhou recounted the time traveler story, omitting the part where he lost consciousness.

Lu Dalang was shocked. He had always seen Jiang Zhou as restrained and accomplished in business, unaware of the specifics of his past events. Learning about this connection, especially with Liu Lin’s return, was surprising.

After thinking for a while, Lu Dalang asked, “What do you plan to do?”

Jiang Zhou shook his head, stating, “This isn’t something I can solve alone. Firstly, we don’t know Master Liu’s character. If we expose this matter hastily and apparently Master Liu colludes with Liu Lin, it could harm us.”

He added, “Moreover, I recall you haven’t paid the business tax for the first time, right?”

“Yes,” Lu Dalang nodded, “They mentioned they would come down to collect it in person on the seventh day of the lunar month.”

On regular days, land tax was paid to the village chief, who then transferred it to the government office. It was unexpected that they would personally come to collect commercial tax. The revelation surprised Lu Dalang, realizing the complexity of the situation.

Jiang Zhou smiled: “Don’t worry, we might as well wait until he collects the tax.”

.

On the seventh day of the lunar month, Li Han and Lu Yi arrived together.

Jiang Zhou intentionally stayed at Lu Dalang’s house but didn’t show up, wanting to observe how they would collect taxes.

Dealing with merchants like Lu Dalang, Li Han and Lu Yi remained calm. They were not as arrogant as they were when handling Jiang Zhou that day. Lu Dalang’s prompt and decisive payment seemed to have pleased them, reflected in their happy and smiling expressions.

Jiang Zhou and Lu Dalang exchanged glances as they watched Li Han and Lu Yi leave Lu Dalang’s house.

.

The following day, in the early morning, Liu Chengfeng was still in bed with his wife when a government servant abruptly entered, exclaiming, “Sir! Something significant has happened!”

Liu Chengfeng was momentarily taken aback, saying, “Wait outside. What’s going on? You seem in a hurry!”

The yamen officer anxiously reported, “Sir, the merchants in the village below are saying they want to sue you!”

Madam Liu was alarmed, asking, “What is this about? You haven’t done anything, so why would the merchants suddenly want to sue you?”

Liu Chengfeng could only reassure her, saying, “Don’t worry. How can they sue me on their own? There must be some misunderstanding. I’ll go take a look.”

.

Upon reaching the hall, Liu Chengfeng glanced at the kneeling merchants below, asking, “Tell me, what’s going on?”

Lu Dalang was at the forefront and bowed, saying, “Master, do you know that the government sent people to collect business taxes a few days ago?”

Liu Chengfeng frowned, stating, “That’s nonsense. The government has never dispatched people to collect business taxes.”

Upon hearing this, the people below began whispering, expressing some dissatisfaction. One of them said, “Could it be that the officials don’t want to admit it? We are all doing business, and we all paid the trade tax. What’s wrong with the yamen coming to collect it in person? Why do you refuse to acknowledge it now?”

“That’s right, why deny it?”

“I tell you, what’s the use of going to the government office to sue them? We might as well use the money to seek a higher-ranking official ourselves!”

There was a commotion below. Fortunately, Liu Chengfeng remained composed and stopped everyone, saying, “You claim that people from the yamen collected business tax, then point them out.”

The people already prepared for this, they glanced around and hastily replied, “They are not here.”

“Those two individuals with sharp tongues and monkey-like faces are not among these government officials.”

Liu Chengfeng inquired further, “Are all the government officials here?”

Someone whispered: “Not here, some of them are off to take a bath today.”

Liu Chengfeng pounded the wooden gavel, saying, “In this case, there are a few government officials who are not on duty today. I will summon them to come in. Please identify them.”

After a while, several government servants who were off duty were brought in, and among them were Li Han and Lu Yi.

The merchants erupted, exclaiming, “It’s just the two of them!”

Li Han and Lu Yi sensed something was amiss on the way there, but the person who summoned them remained tight-lipped. Despite their persistent inquiries, they received no effective information, leaving them uneasy.

To their surprise, upon entering, they found a group of people they had met just the day before.

They immediately realized that their secret had been exposed.

The two exchanged glances and knelt down, pleading, “Sir! It’s unjust!”

Liu Chengfeng’s eyes widened.

Trained to solve cases, he excelled in observing words and expressions. Seeing the panic on their faces, he couldn’t ignore the fact that a hidden secret was indeed present.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Chengfeng sternly scolded them, “You are so audacious, daring to privately collect taxes on behalf of the government!”

Li Han knelt, trembling, and protested, “Sir, this is truly unjust! How could we dare to do such a thing!”

As they continued arguing, their defense was shattered when a yamen servant threw out a package of items.

It contained a bag of broken silver and a bank deposit receipt.

As it turned out, when the yamen officer summoned people earlier, Liu Chengfeng had instructed a search of the yamen officer’s residence, bringing over anything that seemed suspicious.

Li Han and Lu Yi shared living quarters, and the bag on the ground was found in their residence.

Filled with resentment, Liu Chengfeng demanded, “What else do you have to say?!”

Li Han, usually fond of bluffing, was now drenched in cold sweat, paralyzed on the ground and speechless.

Only the usually quiet Lu Yi spoke up, saying, “Sir, I have something to say!”