Chapter 238: Two Counties

The prince of the prison country suddenly became energetic.

During this period, the matter of checking the fields gave him a huge headache.

He is just weak-tempered and occasionally complains, but he is not really stupid.

Inventorying the land is just one thing. The fundamental contradiction is that officials compete with the father for the right to speak.

No matter the lofty father, or the intricately connected aristocratic families, the Prince of the Supervisory Kingdom knew that he could not afford to offend him, so he could just be a bystander.

So I went to court every day, looking drowsy. No one could wake me up. I couldn't hear anything. However, this matter must be settled as soon as possible, and the investigation regulations must be finalized as soon as possible. The longer the delay, the more and more things will be involved, and sooner or later, Chi Yu will be affected.

It is impossible for the father and the aristocratic family to really lift the table. The prince of the prison country stands in the middle and is an excellent tool man.

Both sides will find ways to use it. In the end, no matter who wins or loses, the tool man usually has no good results.

When Emperor Jingtai was in power, the prince had been watching the government for more than thirty years. No matter how stupid he was, he knew how to protect himself...

"Xuan."

The Prince of the Supervisory Kingdom sat up straight, his sleeves and robe gently brushed his mouth, and he took a concentration pill, which immediately made him full of energy.

After a while.

The imperial guards led a pale young man into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

When Cui Yongnian saw Cui Yuan come in, his expression suddenly became gloomy and his eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Beware of everything, but it’s hard to guard against house thieves!

"Cui Yuan, a common man, pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long live."

Although Cui Yuan is a minor official in the Ministry of Finance, he is not of high rank and is just a commoner in the eyes of the court bosses.

"Well, get up and talk."

The Crown Prince asked, "I heard that you sued the Cui family. Do you have any evidence?"

Cui Yuan took out two account books from his arms and said: "These are the accounts of the Cui family's land and acres found by the grassroots, as well as the land and acres transactions found over the past century. In fact, there are only a lot more."

"Send it up."

The chamberlain immediately presented the account book.

The Prince of the Supervisory Kingdom flipped through a few pages at random, frowning slightly. When he turned to the last few pages, his expression gradually became gloomy.

"Sir Wang, what is the number of acres of land that the Ministry of Revenue has sent for statistics?"

Wang Yan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, immediately replied: "Going back to your highness, last year there were 123 counties in the sixteen prefectures. Excluding the southern and northern frontiers that were caught in the flames of war, the remaining areas totaled about 40 million hectares."

"A county has about three to four million hectares. According to the account book, Cui's fields and forests total 6.5 million hectares, which is exactly the size of two counties!"

The Prince of the Supervisory State looked at Cui Yongnian and praised: "The Cui family deserves to have a long heritage, and its bloodline is nobler than that of the royal family. It is really rich that can rival the country!"

"Your Majesty, Cui Yuan's mother became pregnant inexplicably before she was given birth to her daughter, which seriously ruined the Cui family's family tradition. Due to blood and family ties, the Cui family covered up the matter and raised him without discrimination."

Cui Yongnian's voice was calm and he said slowly: "However, because of his origin, he was ostracized by the Cui family, so he held a grudge..."

The Crown Prince asked, "What does Lord Cui mean?"

"This account book is definitely a forgery and a frame-up!"

When Cui Yongnian spoke, he stared at Wang Bo'an without hesitation and said coldly: "Your Highness, please be careful and don't let the treacherous villain succeed!"

"Haha, Mr. Cui, don't worry, I will verify the truth truthfully."

Wang Bo'an said: "Your Highness, please hand over this matter to the Ministry of Agriculture for thorough investigation. The Cui family's acres of land will be found out within ten days!"

Cui Yongnian said: "Your Highness, Mr. Wang has a personal enmity with his ministers, so he should avoid suspicion."

The Crown Prince ignored the argument between the two, looked at Cui Yuan in the palace, and asked: "Cui Yuan, can you guarantee the authenticity of the account books?"

Cui Yuan said: "The common people are willing to guarantee with their lives that every piece of land on this account book has been verified personally!"

Hearing this, all the officials in the palace suddenly felt chills running down their spines. The acres of land in two counties were not connected together. It would take at least a year or two to verify everything, so Cui Yuan had long been interested in investigating the Cui family.

Cui Yuan's status is low and there is no way he can know His Majesty's thoughts in advance.

This is even more frightening, so Tianmu's account book may be just one of the incriminating evidences written down by Cui Yuan.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he was deliberate and brave.

"That's it."

The Prince Supervisor ordered: "This matter is left to Mr. Wang for verification, but it is related to Mr. Cui's innocence, so he can accompany him to supervise."

"As you command!"

Wang Bo'an and Cui Yongnian bowed to accept the order.

"As for Cui Yuan, the evidence has not been proved to be true or false, so it is difficult to reward him."

The Prince of the Supervisory State said: "Eunuch Liu, please order someone from the Chamberlain to send someone to protect you. Don't let any accident happen."

"As commanded."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Cui Yuan ignored Cui Yongnian's cannibalistic gaze and strode out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

…

The Demon Slayer Division.

Ministry of Things.

"Brother Yuan, why haven't you come back yet?"

Chen Yingjing couldn't help but asked after a while.

"No need to worry, no danger."

Zhou Yi flipped through a book called "Cui's Land Examination". When he came on duty in the morning, many beggars on the street gave it away for free.

The printing quality is very poor, and I don’t know which printing shop it is from. I am not afraid that the Cui family will come to me just for money.

Cui Yuan's work efficiency is very fast. Zhou Yi just talked to him about public opinion yesterday, and today it has begun to bear fruit. Many scholars who claim to be clean and honest are yelling on the street that the Cui family is causing harm to the country.

"Tsk, tsk, six million hectares of land, Xiao Chen, your family's hundreds of thousands of acres of land is not even a fraction of the Cui family's."

When Chen Ying heard this, he lowered his voice and said, "How can we compare with the Cui family? In a three thousand-year-old family, even the king killed a loyal minister for his meritorious service!"

"Ahem."

Chief Chen appeared at the door, coughing twice on purpose, followed by two servants from the chamberlain.

"These two are the adults from the Internal Service Department, responsible for protecting Master Cui. They will not disturb Old Zhou's practice. Please bear with me."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly: "No problem."

"Greetings to Grandmaster Zhou."

When the guard saw Zhou Yi, he bowed and saluted, then stepped out and stood at the door.

First, the name of the Internal Service Department was a warning and deterrence, and second, to keep an eye on Cui Yuan and make sure he didn't run away.

Chen Zhubu also told Cui Yuan a few more words, to stay in the Demon Slaying Department as much as possible, and to rest in the yamen where he was on duty at night. The Chen family sold most of their land and supported His Majesty with all their strength, and Cui Yuan became one of their own.

"Thank you, Uncle Chen."

Cui Yuan returned to his seat, his tense spirit relaxed, and he collapsed on the chair.

After Chen Zhubu left, Chen Ying came over with a look of admiration: "Brother Yuan, you will be my idol from now on!"

Cui Yuan smiled and said: "Let's go to Chunfeng Tower tonight. I had an appointment with Sister Wan and Sister Xi to talk last night!"

"Hiss!"

Chen Ying took a breath of cold air: "Are you going to die?"

"If I was afraid of death, I wouldn't go to the emperor to complain!"

When Cui Yuan spoke, he glanced at Zhou Yi without leaving a trace. With the master of Dan Dao by his side, he should be able to save his life.

The Cui family couldn't let Cui Yongnian or the old man take action. Once something happened, it would ruin the foundation of the Cui family. Other first-grade cultivators would not wade into the muddy water. At most, the second-grade cultivators would take action.

Cui Yuan knew that he was just opening a lid, which could not determine the outcome.

Evidence could be overturned even if it was conclusive, not to mention that the two volumes of account books were true or false.

Chunfeng Tower was still noisy and lively.

It never felt sad because of someone's sadness, but used the warmth of home to soothe the fear in the hearts of guests.

Cui Yuan was originally a little hesitant, whether to stay in the Demon Slayer Division or stay with Zhou Yi, but in the end, the caring sisters helped him make a decision.

No matter what the wind and rain, he worked at the Demon Slayer Division during the day and drank at Chunfeng Tower at night, and just lay down happily.