Volume 1: River City Song - Chapter 52: Corrupt Official VS. Accountant (Part Two)

What does it mean to call a deer a horse, or to turn black into white? Today, Li Ling truly witnessed it firsthand. According to the man's logic, Magistrate Wei not only should avoid punishing him, but should instead lavishly reward him as a capable and diligent official. It is truly said that an official's mouth can speak both ways; when it comes to manipulating rules and twisting logic, ordinary citizens are simply no match for them.

Let alone the common folk, even Wei Liang, a superior official, was rendered momentarily speechless by this clever spin. He furrowed his brows deeply, racking his brain for a countermeasure. Behind him, Cao Jin was equally unable to come up with an immediate solution and fell into deep, anxious thought.

Seeing this, Zhuang Hong's arrogance grew even more intense. He immediately pressed on, saying, "If Your Honor the Magistrate does not believe me, you can simply ask the relevant personnel within the county yamen; they can all testify for this subordinate. Ordinary people may not understand the inner workings of the yamen, but we insiders know them well." As he spoke, he cast a significant glance toward Feng Ping.

The latter understood instantly, hastily letting out a dry cough before chiming in, "Your Honor, what Zhuang Hong says is entirely true. While this subordinate cannot remember every single detail, I certainly have some impression of the hospitality expenses incurred over the past two years. Prior to the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, officials from the prefectural office came to inspect the accounts. During the half-month they stayed, we treated them hospitably, with daily reception expenses exceeding three taels of silver, not to mention the parting gifts we presented when they left. Then, in October, the son of Regional Inspector Xue of Huainan passed through our territory, and we presented a full hundred taels of silver as a travel subsidy..." This man truly had an exceptional memory, instantly reciting seven or eight instances of hospitality exchanges that, when added together, amounted to over a thousand taels of silver.

"That's right, and in early February of this year, former Junior Vice Minister Fang retired and returned to his hometown. Nearly a full month of banquet and living expenses were also covered by outlays from our county yamen," Zhuang Hong finally added leisurely, delivering this heavy blow before casting a half-mocking, half-smiling glance at the gaping Magistrate Wei. "My Lord, this subordinate originally did not wish to bring these matters to light, but since someone has chosen to misunderstand this subordinate, I am forced to speak the absolute truth. I trust Your Honor will judge wisely." His underlying meaning was clear: I was forced into this, and you are the one who compelled me to reveal these internal secrets!

The citizens outside the hall were already buzzing with restless discussion. They had been completely oblivious to these matters until now. First came astonishment, followed closely by a lingering ache in their hearts—those were their hard-earned monies, yet they had been squandered by officials playing political favors.

"My Lord, although these reciprocal courtesies were never formally recorded in the ledgers, all of us subordinates can serve as witnesses. Viewed in this light, you and Li Ling have indeed misunderstood Registrar Zhuang," Feng Ping concluded. "To convict him of embezzlement on such grounds would truly chill the hearts of officials who serve with utmost loyalty."

Seeing the situation reverse completely and finding himself temporarily without a countermeasure, Wei Liang felt a wave of bewilderment. He decided to temporarily adjourn the court, confer with his advisors, and determine the next step afterward. However, just as his hand reached toward the gavel, a figure stepped out from the side and spoke up, "Please forgive me, Your Honor, but this commoner has a few questions for Registrar Zhuang."

The magistrate focused his eyes and saw that it was precisely Li Ling who had stepped forward. This brought a glimmer of relief to Magistrate Wei's heart; he stopped his hand from striking the gavel, nodded, and said, "Permission granted. Zhuang Hong, you must answer truthfully."

Zhuang Hong's eyelids twitched violently. He stared deeply at Li Ling before finally responding, "This subordinate obeys your command. Ask away."

"Registrar Zhuang, over the past few days, aside from examining the tax records and ledgers of this county that passed through your hands, this commoner has also reviewed quite a few guarantee documents and commercial deeds related to your family. Although they may not be exact, I have made a rough estimation: the commercial shops currently registered under the names of you and your brother, Zhuang Qiang, number no fewer than twenty-three. Furthermore, most of them are located in the busiest and most prosperous areas of the county, such as East Slant Street and Yamen Front Street.

"In addition, you own thirteen residential properties of varying sizes, along with more than five hundred and twenty mu of fertile land. Merely the tenant farmers who rent your lands number between sixty and seventy. As for the domestic servants registered under the Zhuang family name, a rough count puts them at over thirty. Might I ask if this commoner's summary is correct?"

"Your account is not incorrect. These properties are all properly documented within the county yamen, and this official has nothing to deny. What of it? Do you find something problematic about these assets?"

"The properties themselves presumably hold no problem, but the value of these assets derived from my estimation is somewhat perplexing. If my calculations are correct, combined together, these properties should be valued at over three hundred thousand taels of silver. Am I right or wrong?"

Zhuang Hong's previously serene expression hardened instantly into severity. Before he could utter a word in response, Li Ling continued relentlessly: "Yet, this brings up another problem. In the past, your Zhuang family was hardly a household of immense wealth. How on earth managed you to build such a massive estate in the short span of a little over a decade? Could it be relied upon your official salary of less than ten taels of silver a month, or upon the brothels and gambling dens operated by Zhuang Qiang? Moreover, those gambling dens and brothels were businesses established only within the past two years, and even the capital to open them was provided by you, Registrar Zhuang. This is precisely what I find curious: since you neither took bribes nor engaged in corruption, where on earth did you acquire such a vast fortune?"

In an instant, Zhuang Hong was thoroughly cornered by Li Ling's questioning. *I was reasoning with you, so why on earth are you suddenly rattling off cold statistics? Is this any way to have a proper discussion?* A wave of irritation and alarm washed over the registrar, and had they not been in a formal court of law with himself standing as the accused, he would have loved nothing more than to step forward and teach this odious young man a lesson.

After stammering for a long while, he could only offer a vague evasion: "This official entrusted all these matters to trusted aides. As for the specific operations, you will have to ask them."

Seeing him resort to such a light, evasive explanation, Li Ling chuckled and shook his head. "Registrar Zhuang must have misunderstood. When I asked how you earned that silver, I am not referring to the present, but to the past—to how your family managed to acquire the capital in the first place to purchase so much land, residences, and shops. If Your Honor truly cannot explain clearly, it matters not. Just send all the relevant ledgers to the yamen, and this commoner can tally them up one by one right here in front of everyone. I guarantee there will be no errors."

"You... what do you mean by this?" Zhuang Hong finally reached his breaking point. His face dark and gloomy, he stared at Li Ling and rebuked him.

Yet Li Ling did not shrink back in the slightest, meeting his gaze directly and levelly. "My meaning is already abundantly clear: the current assets of your Zhuang family are deeply problematic. Even if your family had spent generations working normally, it would be impossible to accumulate thirty hundred thousand taels of silver through legitimate means. The only explanation is that you abused your official power for personal gain—either embezzling public funds for your own use, or seizing property through coercion, acquiring others' estates at rock-bottom prices or even without spending a single copper coin."

As Li Ling spoke, his confidence grew stronger by the moment. The current Dayue Dynasty possessed no laws specifically targeting the crime of unexplained massive wealth; however, as long as an official's exorbitant fortune—completely disproportionate to his official salary—was exposed, it was sufficient to establish his involvement in corruption and other illegal acts. "If Registrar Zhuang feels my words are incorrect, you are entirely welcome to send over the ledgers for these properties. I will calculate them item by item right here in the county yamen for you to see. Never mind a mere dozen years or so; even twenty or thirty years would never allow your Zhuang family to accumulate a fortune of three hundred thousand taels so effortlessly!"

Though his final words were not shouted, Li Ling had completely overwhelmed Zhuang Hong in sheer momentum. Though the registrar's breathing was rapid and his face flushed red, he opened his mouth repeatedly yet failed to utter a single word of rebuttal.

Seated above, Magistrate Wei watched with surging delight. He had never imagined that Li Ling would be capable of turning the tide entirely. This young man was far more formidable than he had originally assumed, particularly in his familiarity and sensitivity with accounting—he was quite literally a natural-born prodigy at auditing and financial management. Hesitating no longer, he slammed his gavel down fiercely, fixed his gaze upon the stunned Zhuang Hong, and shouted, "Zhuang Hong, things have reached this point! Will you still not confess the truth? Exactly how much of the people's blood and sweat have you extorted over the years by relying on your official authority? And what of that night? Was that arsonist, Xu Fei, dispatched by you?"

Zhuang Hong's body gave a violent jolt. Embezzlement was a lesser offense, but if the crime of arson targeting the archive repository were pinned upon him, he would truly be finished. He hurriedly rallied his failing spirit to issue a desperate denial: "Your Honor, please discern the truth! This subordinate has never made any such decision, and as for that Xu Fei, he is merely a figment of Li Ling's imagination..." At this point, his voice cut off abruptly. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and his entire body began to tremble.

For at that very moment, through the side door, Lin烈 and several others were escorting a bloodied, stumbling man into the hall. Although he did not personally know Xu Fei, in that single instant, his heart made a definitive judgment: this man was none other than Xu Fei!

"Reporting to Your Honor, this is the arsonist Xu Fei who was apprehended by Li Ling on the night in question. Prior to this, he was somehow thrown into the county yamen's dungeons and subjected to severe torment!" Lin Lie stepped forward to report, provoking yet another wave of gasps from the common folk outside the hall.

Everyone had been speculating whether Li Ling's previous accusation—that someone intended to burn down the archive repository—was true or false, given the gravity of the matter and the lack of further evidence beyond his unilateral claims. But now, with the arsonist himself being dragged into the main hall, every doubt was thoroughly resolved and verified.

In that moment, the way everyone looked at Zhuang Hong changed utterly. The previous awe had vanished completely, replaced by schadenfreude and the silent verdict of *you've finally met your match!*

Zhuang Hong's body began to quiver uncontrollably. He cast a look of desperate appeal toward Feng Ping and the others, but this time, none of them made a sound. With matters having progressed to this stage, he would undoubtedly fail to escape conviction. All they were concerned with now was how to distance themselves from him and salvage their own skins amidst this upheaval.

"Crack!" The gavel struck once more. With a stern expression, Magistrate Wei directed his gaze toward the kneeling Xu Fei. "You are Xu Fei? I ask you, was it you who sneaked into the county yamen on the night of the thirteenth of this month with the intent to set fire to the archive repository?"

"It... it was this lowly one..." Xu Fei's voice was faint, weakened by his ordeals, yet as it reached the ears of everyone present, it sounded like a crashing thunderbolt. "But this lowly one was acting under orders and had no choice..."

"Who gave you the orders to commit such a lawless act?"

"It... it was him—Registrar Zhuang, along with his brother Zhuang Qiang..."