After being a widow for half my life, I found out that my husband was not dead.

It wasn't an accidental fire, it was someone who set it on fire.

It turned out that the imperial court suddenly issued an order to levy an additional [-]% tax on Yanzhou, including land tax and commercial tax, and many taxation items were cleverly created.

At that time, Yanzhou was in a plain but had few rivers. Irrigation had always been a problem. It was not always possible to have a good harvest depending on the weather. And trade had just begun. When the [-]% tax was added, the people would not have enough to eat and the merchants would not be able to make a profit. earn.

"At that time, my brother-in-law had just taken over this silk and satin shop. He was young and vigorous, so he took the lead in refusing to pay the [-]% commercial tax. There was a lot of trouble at that time, and all the shops on this street were closed. Later, the people also With the commotion, the whole Yanzhou City will be in chaos. At this moment, the Silk Satin Mansion caught fire. The fire was so fierce that it burned into a sea of ​​​​inferno. My sister and brother-in-law were both in the backyard of the Silk Satin Manor. You also know the result . My brother-in-law and several other guys were burned to death. My sister luckily ran out, but she was also burned." Gao Yuanwai sighed while saying.

Liu Yunxiang frowned, "So the one who started this fire was... the government?"

"Later, when the merchants and people saw the fate of my brother-in-law and his family, they did not dare to fight with the government and paid the [-]% tax one after another. After that, it was [-]% for several years. The people were miserable, and the shops closed one by one. Yanzhou became poor. Place." Gao Yuanwai did not directly answer Liu Yunxiang's question, but his words had confirmed Liu Yunxiang's guess.

"Why did the imperial court suddenly impose more taxes on Yanzhou, and an increase of [-]% at once? Taxation is a major matter. The imperial court must consider many aspects, and it is impossible to implement it rashly. And why is it that other places do not impose more taxes on Yanzhou? There is no truth in this." Liu Yunxiang expressed his doubts.

After coming to Yanzhou, she learned that the imperial court had levied [-]% more taxes on Yanzhou. She originally thought that this was because Yanzhou was located in the plains and trade was prosperous, but now it seems that this is not the case.

The senior official looked around and saw no one around, so he whispered: "The imperial court has built a palace in the northeast of Yanzhou. Does the Seventh Lady know about it?"

"know."

She had also been to the palace, which was very ornately built.

"Could it be...could it be that the [-]% tax is for building this palace?"

The senior official nodded, "Exactly."

"Why did you attack Yanzhou alone?"

"Firstly, the palace is in Yanzhou, and secondly, if taxes are raised to build the palace, public resentment will inevitably boil. The more places involved, the harder it is to control public opinion, so we only add one place, and furthermore..." Speaking of this, Gao Yuanwai He sighed heavily and said, "In order to highlight its political achievements and please the emperor, Yanzhou Futai took the initiative to cover all the expenses for building the palace."

Hearing this, Liu Yunxiang paused and asked, "Did you cover all the expenses?"

"Yes."

"Who is this mansion?"

"Li Huai."

"what?"

"The current Yanzhou Futai is also the Yanzhou Futai of that year."

Liu Yunxiang was a little confused for a moment, "He built a palace for the emperor and wasted so much effort. Didn't he get a promotion?"

"Because Feng Lao, the Minister of Civil Affairs at the time, repeatedly impeached him for his harsh policies, which caused public resentment. Therefore, after Li Huai served as a government official in Yanzhou for three years, he was not promoted but was demoted to a farther place."

"It's because of the construction of the palace, so isn't this Feng Shangshu doing something bad for the emperor?"

"Yes, so he was later dismissed from his post for corruption. He died of illness within six months, and his family members were retaliated and killed one after another."

When Liu Yunxiang heard this, he immediately made the connection, "And Yang He took Feng Zheng with him in order to protect the Feng family's only seedling."

"Yes, Mr. Yang He is a student of the old minister. The last thing he did when he was in office was to urge Mr. Yang to take over the Yanzhou Prefecture. In order to live up to the teacher's expectations, Mr. Yang did his best to help the people of Yanzhou and Merchants try to escape the [-]% tax, but end up paying it themselves." Gao Yuanwai shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Liu Yunxiang was shocked and even more admired. He stood there and sighed for a long time.

"But Gao Yuanwai, it turns out you know so much?"

Knowing so much, but not telling Hongxuan and Xue Changfeng, they looked at it for so long and had no clue.

The senior member laughed and said, "If you say there is truth in this case, then there is truth. If you say there is no truth, then there is no truth. And if I tell them, I may harm them, after all..."

The senior member pointed to the top, "In the final analysis, it's the one who was wrong."

"Then why are you telling me now?"

"The Seventh Prince is here, so what are you afraid of?"

Liu Yunxiang snorted, "With him taking the blame, you won't be afraid anymore."

The senior official's expression became solemn, "If His Highness Seventh Prince saves Master Yang's life, then he will be our great benefactor in Yanzhou."

The words sounded familiar, someone had told her.

After separating from Gao Yuanwai, Liu Yunxiang turned his head and asked Zijin: "Where is Feng Zheng?"

She didn't see him anymore outside Luoxia Satin Shop.

Zi Jin shook his head: "If you don't pay attention, you will miss someone."

Liu Yunxiang's thoughts changed and he said: "He must have his purpose in coming to Yanzhou this time."

Back at Wanchun Garden, it was already dark and Yan Mu and the others had not returned yet. Liu Yunxiang was worried and kept wandering at the entrance of the courtyard.

After waiting for a while, the three of them finally came back, and they all came back covered in mud, even Yan Mu.

"You're not going to dig ditches again, are you?"

Yan Mu's face was already bad, but after hearing these words, his face became even darker, and he entered the courtyard angrily.

Although Hongxuan was also in a state of embarrassment, he was in a good mood. He walked up to Liu Yunxiang and whispered: "His Royal Highness and a group of people dug canals during the day, but they worked hard. It's good, it's good. You can be of one mind with the people. That's it." He is a wise prince."

"Then why is he angry?"

Hongxuan smiled and said, "I guess I feel like I've been cheated."

"what?"

Hongxuan smiled, no longer explained, and went inside with his hands behind his back.

Xue Changfeng walked at the end. Among the three people, he had the most mud on his body and his face was covered with mud: "We are going to find the Gu County Magistrate today. He is a lame man who is still digging ditches. I don't know who released the water and washed him away." We couldn't just ignore him, so Taoist Priest Hongxuan and I jumped down to save him. We finally picked him up, but we saw that the water had made several holes in the newly dug channel, and he was so anxious that he had to go in. Jump down, in that case, we have to go down and block the hole for him, isn't that what it is?"

"His Royal Highness Seventh also jumped?" Liu Yunxiang asked.

"Oh, at that time, both officials and ordinary people jumped down one after another, just like boiled dumplings. The scene was so shocking. I guess Lao Qi was infected by the atmosphere and jumped down unconsciously."

At this time, Yan Mu stood on the steps and said through gritted teeth: "I was pushed down by Gu Zian!"