Queen Mother, she just wants to lie down

"Concubine Zheng? I haven't heard of any reaction from her." Sun An was stunned, then shook his head.

"You must be tired after traveling such a long distance.

There are ice cubes in the room, so it's not hot. Go in, wash up, and have a rest first." Ruan Qing didn't ask any more questions.

She did show some mercy to the Zheng family.

Concubine Zheng's father often interfered in the family's dirty work, but Ruan Qing only demoted him and did not punish him severely.

I hope Concubine Zheng Shu is a smart person who can distinguish right from wrong, and won't blame the heaven and earth for the crimes of her clansmen, and stir up trouble in the palace, otherwise...

“Thank you, Madam. By the way, this is the article written by Lord Xiao. Lord Lin asked me to bring it here.

There is also a new decree issued by His Majesty, which states that this year the taxes of the people across the country will be reduced by 20%."

Sun An thanked him, then took out two papers from his bag and handed them to Ruan Qing.

It was too hot and he was only wearing a thin layer of clothes. He was worried that the articles would get wet from sweat if he kept them in his arms, so he stuffed them in his bag.

"Master Lin is indeed very attentive. Liang Fan, take him inside and arrange a room for him to rest."

Ruan Qing looked at the article in his hand and a smile appeared in his eyes.

The intention of the person who gave her the title of Empress Dowager of Confiscation of Property was extremely malicious.

She and the emperor had only been in power for a short time, and they did not have enough control and deterrence over either the court or the people.

If they really carried a bad reputation of confiscating properties wherever they went, it would easily lead to a boycott by the entire Daxi clan.

Once the entire gentry class of Daxi boycotts her, both her and the emperor's positions will be unstable.

However, public opinion is a double-edged sword.

If controlled well, disadvantages can be turned into advantages.

The emperor had already lit a good fire for her, and she only needed to add fuel to the flames and spread the fire to the whole country.

The enemy's conspiracy was easily defeated.

I have to say that Xiao Hu is really a talented writer.

His article was not very long and did not contain any flowery words.

But every word hit the nail on the head, fully describing the process and reasons behind her house being confiscated.

The purpose of the copied money was also clearly stated.

Even the tax reduction was said to be her credit.

Once this article, coupled with the emperor's decree to reduce taxes, was published, the people of the whole country would only be grateful to her.

No matter what purpose the rumormongers behind the scenes have, it will be difficult to achieve.

After Ruan Qing finished reading the article in his hand, he handed it to Jiang Yuan, Queqi and Zhaoping to read again.

"When I first heard the rumor about the Queen Mother confiscating her property, I was quite worried.

However, if Lord Xiao's article is combined with His Majesty's tax reduction order, there will be no hidden dangers. "After reading it, Jiang Yuan also smiled.

Like Queqi, she also became anxious unconsciously after hearing what Sun An said.

It's just that she has a more stable temperament, so she didn't say anything at the first moment.

"With so many capable people in the court, they will definitely not sit idly by and watch others slander my aunt." Zhao Ping smiled.

"I have to thank your mother. If it weren't for her instruction, Xiao Hu would not have written such an article." Ruan Qing said.

Except for the Jiang family, all the other families involved in opium had their properties confiscated.

The Jiang family was demoted again, from Marquis of Anguo to Earl of Anguo.

Jiang Chi was also demoted from a second-rank official to a fourth-rank official.

All this was naturally done for the sake of Ronghua and her two children.

Ronghua obviously appreciated the favor, and when the rumor about the empress dowager's property being confiscated came out, he asked Xiao Hu to come forward and repay the favor.

"It may not be my mother's idea, Uncle Xiao is a true scholar with a very upright heart.

None of the families that my aunt has robbed are innocent. From his perspective, he would stand up and speak for you without anyone's instructions. My mother just didn't stop him." Zhaoping said objectively.

She had dealt with Xiao Hu twice and had a much better impression of him than of her own father.

He was a rare, true scholar with a strong character and insight.

If his mother chose him as her husband, she would definitely be much happier than if she chose his father.

“Girl, given your mother’s character, if she doesn’t stop it, it’s a disguised form of support.

Queqi, have someone inform Magistrate Ma and ask him to come over when he is free after leaving the yamen." Ruan Qing stretched out his hand and scratched Zhaoping's nose, then turned to Queqi and said.

"Yes."

County Magistrate Ma arrived around the end of the afternoon, with sweat all over his face and forehead.

When he came over, Ruan Qing was playing mahjong with Queqi, Zhaolai and Jiang Yuan in a ventilated and shady place.

"County Magistrate Ma is here. Have a cup of cold tea and relax." Ruan Qing said upon seeing this.

Jiang Xiaoyu quickly poured him a cup of herbal tea, and County Magistrate Ma took it and drank it in a few sips.

Seeing this, Miss Xiaoyu poured him another cup and handed him a fan.

"I just came back from outside. There have been too many things to deal with in the past two days. Please forgive me, madam." After drinking three cups of tea, the thirst in his mouth was relieved. Ma Ziliang spoke while fanning himself.

It is now the busy farming season, and the He, Xu and Zheng families suddenly fell from power, resulting in the countless pieces of land they held being handed over to the county.

In addition to collecting taxes, there were not enough people in the county, so Ma Ziliang was busy all day long.

"Your county government is not fully staffed. Now that there is no one to restrain you, you should staff it up as soon as possible.

Otherwise, even if you have great skills, you can't handle everything by yourself." Ruan Qing said.

Qingsha is a large and upper-class county. The basic staffing of the county government is one county magistrate, two county secretaries, two chief clerks, and a number of constables and yamen runners.

This was the configuration when Ma Ziliang first arrived.

But the county magistrate and the chief clerk were all from the He, Chen, Zheng, and Xu families.

After Ma Ziliang took office, they restricted his hands and feet in every way.

In a rage, Ma Ziliang dug up all the dirty tricks on their hands and feet and threw all four of them into jail.

Until the He, Zheng and Xu families fell, the work in the county that should have been done by five people fell on him alone.

“We have already found several suitable candidates and are currently trying them out over the past two days.

In a few days, when they are familiar with the tasks at hand, I won't be so busy anymore." Ma Ziliang said.

There was no new hire in the past few months, not because he didn't want to.

Instead, it was those prominent families that held him back and prevented him from recruiting new people.

"There is no need to rush about the taxation. His Majesty has already issued an edict to reduce the taxation by 20% this year.

It’s just that the imperial edict has only been issued for a few days and has not yet reached the place, so you can take a look first.”

Ruan Qing handed him the emperor's edict and the article written by Xiao Hu.

After reading the article written by Xiao Hu, Ma Ziliang was so scared that he almost fell to his knees.

He brushed his sleeves, bowed deeply to Ruan Qing and said, "It is you who has caused trouble for Madam."

If he hadn't deliberately made trouble, the Queen Mother would definitely not have overthrown several prominent families in Qingsha as soon as she came from Fu'an.

"What does it have to do with you? Judging from what the He, Chen, Zheng, and Xu families have done, it would only be a matter of time before their families are confiscated by the imperial court, even if you weren't there.

There are two reasons why I asked you to come here. First, the lands that were annexed by those companies must be returned to the people as soon as possible.

The second is to spread the content of the article as quickly as possible through teahouses and bookstores.

Let the people know the truth of the matter and don’t let them be instigated and used by others.” Ruan Qing said.

The other party wants to play a public opinion war with her, but she doesn't think she will lose to the ancients in this regard.