Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 567 - 566: Forcing the County Magistrate to Swear an Oath
As they were speaking, the servant who had gone to retrieve the money had already returned, holding several pieces of scattered, broken silver in his hand, and then he said to the County Magistrate, "Sir, I’ve brought back the money; it was madam who went to fetch it."
The County Magistrate looked at the pitiful pieces of silver in the servant’s hand. This money was what he had painstakingly collected from door to door. Although it wasn’t a large amount, it was still his hard-earned money.
Everyone wanted to be an official, only for such bits of silver. Unexpectedly, just for such a little silver, they had gone in such big circles.
"Since the silver has already been brought here, then, Sir, please give the money to this young man, and later have this young man distribute it to the people who are fixing the water channels," the official from Kaifeng Prefecture said.
"This..." The County Magistrate still hesitated. "This is ten taels of silver. To just give it to him like this, what if he embezzles it?"
Tian Peng laughed out loud, "Haha, His Majesty gave me a chest full of silver, and I didn’t embezzle any of it. What now, do I want to embezzle your crumbled shards of silver?"
"What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that the silver is too little for you?" The County Magistrate was so furious that he puffed up his beard and glared, "Very well, if you think it’s too little, then immediately return the silver to me. You may find it too little, but I don’t."
"I do find it too little," Tian Peng said straightforwardly, "but this silver is to be distributed among those brothers, and it’s not up to me to decide. As long as they don’t find it too little, it’s fine."
The County Magistrate was so angry that he wanted his servants to beat Tian Peng, but his servants had already been frightened by Tian Peng; they were scared merely at the sight of him, let alone approach him—they didn’t even dare to look at him.
"Alright, let’s go to your residence now; we haven’t yet inspected the ledger. Let’s not waste time here," the official from Kaifeng Prefecture said.
The County Magistrate didn’t get the upper hand verbally and was very angry about it.
However, the official from Kaifeng Prefecture, seeing that he had bled a little, exchanged a glance with Tian Peng; it was enough to make him slightly uncomfortable for now. There were more dramas ahead waiting for him.
Tian Peng, having received the message, also stopped arguing with the County Magistrate and obediently shut his mouth and followed.
As soon as they arrived at the County Government Office of Huang’an Town, the chief clerk came out looking panicked and aggrieved, his clothes somewhat disheveled.
When he saw the County Magistrate, he hurriedly ran over, "Sir, just now I don’t know what kind of people came, but they took away all the ledgers from our residence!"
The County Magistrate was initially stunned and then suddenly realized something and rushed inside in a panic.
Upon reaching the courtroom, he saw the seldom-used courtroom was in disarray.
Originally, to save money, there weren’t many constables. The only ones present were soldiers dressed in uniform, wearing the same clothes as those brought by the official from Kaifeng Prefecture.
The official from Kaifeng Prefecture came from behind and, upon seeing this messy courtroom, showed no surprise but wore a smile, casually saying.
"What’s the matter, you went to get a ledger and acted like robbers. Look at the mess you’ve made here. Those who know we’re here for an investigation wouldn’t be surprised, but those who don’t might think we’ve come to rob the place."
The leading soldier saluted the official from Kaifeng Prefecture, "It’s my fault for not conducting my duties properly."
The official from Kaifeng Prefecture waved his hand, "It’s done now. No use punishing you; whatever the punishment, it’s useless. But don’t let it happen again next time."
The soldier bowed his head, "Yes, sir."
The County Magistrate was in a state of utter panic, his fingers trembling.
He stood even more unsteadily, almost leaning on the servant, but still tried to maintain composure with a forced smile, asking, "Sir, what’s going on here? Didn’t we agree that I would fetch the ledgers for you? Why the hurry?"
"Of course I had to hurry,"
The official from Kaifeng Prefecture took the ledger, flipped through it casually, noticing the messy writing and incorrect dates and locations, "Had I not hurried, perhaps I wouldn’t have gotten to see them at all."
"My lord, my subordinates have only been working with me for a few years, and besides disaster relief, we don’t have much to deal with," the County Magistrate’s mind whirled as he sought an excuse to exonerate himself.
"I see," said the official from Kaifeng Prefecture with a smile, not taking his words to heart but instead picking up another ledger.
"This records all the taxes you’ve collected. I want to see if they match the list you submitted."
The County Magistrate quickly looked at his chief registrar, who nodded affirmatively, giving him a bit more peace of mind.
"Rest assured, my Lord. Our town’s ledger of incidents might be a bit messy, but with something like this, there’s absolutely no chaos, I guarantee it. These figures have definitely not been falsified."
"Is that so?" The official from Kaifeng Prefecture opened the ledger and saw that indeed there was no fraud, and in some places, it even detailed the reasons why taxes weren’t paid.
Seeing that the official from Kaifeng Prefecture remained silent, the County Magistrate took it as a sign that there was nothing wrong with the ledger, and a great weight lifted from his heart.
As long as there was nothing wrong with the tax affairs, then everything else didn’t really matter. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
He even asked with some smugness, "How about it, my Lord, there aren’t any mistakes, right?"
"I’ve already said it, I definitely wouldn’t make a mistake. My chief registrar and I personally collect the taxes from our townsfolk, and we’re well aware of the conditions in the villagers’ homes. If they truly can’t afford to pay the tax, we won’t make things difficult for them."
Tian Peng scoffed, "It’s not that you don’t make things difficult; those who can’t pay their taxes are beaten to death by you."
The County Magistrate’s expression changed, and he glanced at the official from Kaifeng Prefecture, retorting defensively, "You’re slandering me, you rascal. When have I ever beaten anyone? Unless they’ve done wrong, I would never punish any of the citizens."
"Indeed," Tian Peng took over his words, "but in your view, being unable to pay taxes is a crime. By your own words, that could indeed fit with what you’ve stated."
"What nonsense are you spouting? I have never punished any common folk for issues related to taxes."
His words were unconvincing, but he managed to say them, albeit his forehead glistened with sweat.
"Really?" Tian Peng asked, "Then do you dare to swear an oath?"
The County Magistrate hesitated, his guilt intensifying, "Swear, swear what oath?"
"If there’s a single lie in what you said, may you be struck by five thunderbolts from the heavens and never reincarnate as a human in all eternity, how about that?" Tian Peng challenged.
The County Magistrate shakily extended three fingers to swear, but he dared not do it.
He knew he was lying, and what if the oath he took actually came true? Was he really to be struck dead by lightning?
Seeing his hesitation, Tian Peng knew he was scared and asked with a smile, "Go on, swear the oath. You were quite bold when talking to me just now, why so silent all of a sudden? Are you scared?"
"What am I afraid of?" the County Magistrate stubbornly retorted.
He was still wrestling with himself internally. On one hand, he believed the heavens couldn’t possibly be so precise as to punish him for a few lies.
Yet, on the other hand, he felt a fear within himself, what if it did turn out to be true?
"Hurry up," Tian Peng urged, "I’ll count to three, and if you don’t dare to swear the oath, then I’ll take it as confirmation that you were lying. The Governor is watching too; he’ll deal with your crimes when the time comes!"
The County Magistrate glanced at the official from Kaifeng Prefecture and felt a shiver in his heart.
It was as if two swords were hanging over his neck, acknowledging that he had indeed lied and wondering what to do now.
