When Zhang Mu thought that he had to keep this bowing posture longer, Zhao Xian finally put down the report and asked, "Magistrate Zhang, do you admit to your crime?"

Hearing his words, Zhang Mu’s heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath to calm down before he replied, "Lord Zhao, this subordinate doesn’t understand what you mean. Please enlighten me."

Zhao Xian let out a chuckle when he heard his words. The next second, the smile on his face disappeared, and he threw several reports toward him.

"You still dare to say you don’t know?! Look at these reports!"

One of the reports hit Zhang Mu’s nose, causing a nosebleed. He didn’t wipe away the blood but knelt down with a loud thud. He lowered his body until his forehead touched the ground.

"Lord Zhao, there must be a misunderstanding. This subordinate always follows the rules and works tirelessly for the people. This subordinate doesn’t know which vile person slandered this subordinate. But I beg Lord Zhao to investigate and uphold justice for this subordinate!"

Looking at the plump middle-aged man prostrating on the ground, disgust and disdain flashed in Zhao Xian’s deep eyes.

"You only took office recently, yet you have already bought 1 manor, 1 villa, and 7 shops. With your meager salary, I wonder where you got the money from."

"Lord Zhao, those properties were bought by this subordinate’s wife using her dowry. It has nothing to do with this subordinate," Zhang Mu replied calmly.

Seeing how shameless he was, Zhao Xian was angered. He slammed the desk and stood up. "Zhang Mu, you are really bold! Do you think I’m a fool?!"

Crack!

Zhang Mu was stunned when he heard the sound of the desk breaking. He raised his head only to see the sturdy wooden desk split in half by Zhao Xian with one strike.

The moment he met the young man’s cold gaze, his face turned pale instantly. He kowtowed loudly as he shouted, "This subordinate didn’t dare!"

"Didn’t dare? I see that you are very daring!" Zhao Xian snorted.

Without giving Zhang Mu a chance to spout excuses, he continued, "Yu Ji, bring them in!"

Yu Ji bowed and went out. Soon after, he returned, followed by a group of guards dragging several people. They threw them to the ground and stood to the side.

The moment the group saw Zhao Xian’s darkened face and the broken desk, the blood drained from their faces. They knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Lord Zhao, please spare our lives. We only followed Magistrate Zhang’s orders. It has nothing to do with us."

Hearing this, Zhang Mu glared at them and shouted, "What nonsense are you saying? I don’t even know who you are. Why are you slandering me?!"

Noticing his master’s frown, Yu Ji drew his longsword and said, "Shut up, or I will cut off your tongue!"

Seeing the sharp blade pointed at them, the group finally shut their mouths.

While everyone was shouting and claiming innocence, the guards had already cleaned up the debris and reorganized the reports. Zhao Xian sat on the chair and stared at them coldly.

He pointed at the lowest-ranking clerk and said, "Speak. What did Zhang Mu tell you to do?"

The clerk nodded and replied tremblingly, "Replying to Lord Zhao, Magistrate Zhang told me to forge the ledger so he could embezzle the disaster relief funds."

"Do you have evidence?" Zhao Xian asked.

The clerk nodded again. "To leave myself a way to survive, I recorded the accounts separately. The real ledger is hidden behind the 3rd brick behind my bed."

Zhao Xian glanced at Yu Ji, who went out to retrieve the evidence. While they waited, Zhao Xian pointed at another person and asked, "What about you?"

The young scholar trembled and replied, "Replying to Lord Zhao, this student is a distant relative of Magistrate Zhang’s 6th concubine."

"What’s your role in this matter?"

The scholar hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and replying, "This student was entrusted to handle the land tax. As a Xiucai, any land recorded under this student’s name is tax-exempt."

"Magistrate Zhang said the tax was too high and that he wanted to help the villagers. So, he told them to register their land under this student’s name. They only needed to pay 70% of the original tax as long as they listened to him."

After he finished speaking, Zhao Xian looked at Zhang Mu sharply. "How long have you been helping him?" he asked.

"It has been around 7 years."

Hearing this, Zhao Xian laughed. "Zhang Mu, you are really something." Although he was laughing, his eyes were full of killing intent.

The national treasury and granaries were empty. In the past few years, whenever there was a natural disaster, the imperial court had let the people fend for themselves because it couldn’t afford relief funds.

Everyone said it was caused by tax exemptions, but he knew that the Great Yan Kingdom was corrupted and rotten from within. Now that he had finally caught the tail, it was impossible for him to let this matter go.

Soon after, Yu Ji returned with a stack of ledgers. Zhao Xian took the top book and checked it. The numbers written in it were far higher than he had imagined.

With just half a year of tax, he could have rebuilt all the villages affected by the disaster. He couldn’t imagine how much silver had been embezzled by the Empress Dowager and her faction.

Closing the book, he said, "Yu Ji, bring our people and seal Zhang Mu’s manor. Search for the silver and seize the properties. Whoever dares to block you, kill without mercy!"

"Understood," Yu Ji bowed and left in large strides.

Zhang Mu was stunned by the sudden turn of events. He stared at Zhao Xian in disbelief and shouted, "Lord Zhao, you have no right to seize my properties!"

Too lazy to respond, Zhao Xian said coldly, "Guards, throw these people into the dungeon and await punishment!"

"Yes, my Lord!"

The guards covered their mouths before dragging them away.