From street beggar to high-ranking official

Li Lu, covered in dust, went to see Eunuch Qian.

Little Tiger was also dragged along. One of them had blood coming from his mouth and nose, while the other was covered in filth. It was hard to say who was more miserable than the other.

Lu Li was covered in dust, obviously from wiping it off. He was still trying to explain, but Eunuch Qian just glanced at him casually and said, "Why is Little Tiger so insensible?"

There was no question about Lu Li in his words, and the expressions of the godchildren accompanying Eunuch Qian varied.

"Little Lu, don't dirty our eyes. Why don't you change your clothes?" Grandpa Qian asked again.

The tone of the questions asked at the beginning and the end was completely different.

Judging people by their hearts and listening to their words, Lu Li immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, sir. We'll go wash up and get ready now."

Only after Lu Li left did one of Eunuch Qian's godsons step forward, bow, and ask, "Godfather, wasn't that young Lu too arrogant?"

"Yes, yes, harming one's own brother, I don't think Little Tiger will make it through the night," another godchild said.

Is it really impossible for Xiaohuzi to survive?

Lu Li didn't lose any hands or feet. Apart from the initial kick, he would recover after a period of rest and medication. However, if Xiao Huzi died, it would make his godfather dislike Xiao Luzi, and Xiao Huzi might also die from his injuries tonight.

"Is Xiao Luzi one of your brothers?" Eunuch Qian blew on the cooling tea and sipped it calmly.

"No," all the godchildren said in unison.

"Is Little Tiger your brother?"

"No, not exactly."

"That's it!" Eunuch Qian smashed the cold teacup onto his godson's face, his expression growing increasingly cold and stern. "I don't care what you all do behind my back, if Prince Consort Ouyang is short of tea, then you'd better arrange for him to buy it, steal it, or rob it!"

"You can't even tell what's important! I've wasted my time raising you bunch of godsons! Get out of here."

The godsons kowtowed and accepted the order, wiped the tea on the ground with their sleeves, and retreated together.

After his outburst, Eunuch Qian calmed down, as if his anger had been nothing but an illusion. He pondered quietly, realizing that whether or not to collect the tea tax was actually quite simple. Chengdu Prefecture had plenty of tea and tea bricks in its shops and markets, so it wouldn't be difficult to collect this year's quota.

What puzzled Eunuch Qian was the Emperor's decree.

The imperial edict stated: There are outstanding tea tax payments... Check and investigate them one by one...

"There have been a lot of arrears in tea tax... This is the only time that Sichuan is late this year..." Eunuch Qian took out a fish-scale book from his sleeve and looked at it carefully.

"It's a pity that we can't directly face His Majesty, otherwise we wouldn't have to be far away in Chengdu trying to guess His Majesty's thoughts."

......

The next day.

Lu Li did not go to the Zhou family again, but followed Eunuch Qian. This time they went to the government office's accounting office.

An old abacus-wielding man with a hunched back and almost blind eyes led the way for the eunuchs. When the old man tried to pull out all the account books from Chengdu Prefecture, Eunuch Qian simply waved his hand.

All the adopted sons stepped forward, and from this day forward, the Imperial Horse Administration would take over the accounting department.

Lu Li stole a glance at the old man who walked out. The old man seemed to be blind, deaf, and trembling, but his heartbeat was very even and steady. His breathing and pulse were not like those of an ordinary old man, and were even more vigorous than those of a strong man.

After Lu Li cultivated the Listening Ear Technique to the second level, he was able to clearly hear the pulse and breathing of ordinary people. Unless they deliberately concealed it or cultivated some unorthodox secret techniques, they could not be fooled by his ears.

Ordinary disguises can change appearance, posture, speech, and clothing, but it's very difficult to alter pulse and heartbeat.

I wonder if Eunuch Qian has noticed?

Lu Li himself wasn't sure about the old man's background, but that didn't stop him from saying something.

Bowing down to Eunuch Qian's right side, Lu Li whispered, "Eunuch Qian, that old shrew is no simpleton."

"Hmm, Little Lu noticed?" Eunuch Qian's tone was flat: "That old codger is fine. Even the most skilled expert wouldn't dare to harm an imperial envoy."

You dare to kill my family? When the Great Qian army arrives, we will slaughter your entire family!

Lu Li lowered his head and glanced at Eunuch Qian, who was sitting on a carved wooden chair, carefully examining the accounts.

Among all the eunuchs, only Eunuch Qian had the strongest heartbeat and pulse, followed by the other adopted sons, plus some inconspicuous little eunuchs.

But Lu Li wasn't sure what rank he had reached in his cultivation.

He dared to launch a fierce attack last night because he knew that the eunuchs who surrounded him were not very strong, and that he could still handle it even if he was outnumbered four to one.

"I have a feeling things aren't that simple," said Clerk Lu, seeing that Eunuch Qian had given his tacit approval. "The tribute tea is kept at the Prince Consort's residence, but the account books are in the Prefect's office. That's a bit..."

The other eunuchs in the accounting room also pricked up their ears, after all, they couldn't figure it out either, but they didn't have the courage to ask Lu Li.

The godsons didn't dare to ask casually.

If Eunuch Qian is in a good mood, then the child is teachable; if he is in a bad mood, then the child is hopeless. Besides, Eunuch Qian just reprimanded him last night, so he should just work diligently.

"Isn't this a bit strange?" Eunuch Qian didn't put down the account book. "The Imperial Son-in-Law Ouyang is in charge of collecting taxes on tribute tea from the Tea and Horse Bureau, but to prevent embezzlement, the final inventory and record-keeping are all done by the Prefectural Government."

This is equivalent to two parties supervising each other. The intention is good, but one party's position is too special...

"But Ouyang Luntai is, after all, the imperial son-in-law, a relative of the emperor who can directly face His Majesty. Even if he is only a nominal first-rank official, he has more power than a fourth-rank prefect." Eunuch Qian stroked the account book in his hand: "Who doesn't know that the imperial son-in-law is corrupt? Who doesn't know that the prefect of Chengdu also embezzled tea taxes? Perhaps His Majesty sent the imperial son-in-law to collect tribute tea for this reason."

After careful consideration, Lu Li roughly understood what Eunuch Qian meant.

Rather than letting local officials embezzle the money, it's better to let one's own family members manage it.

Perhaps the Chengdu prefect understood the emperor's intentions and tacitly approved of the fact that the tribute tea was being stored and managed by the prince consort's residence.

If he can pay taxes in full as usual, no one can say anything. Perhaps in the future, Prince Consort Ouyang will even be praised for his diligence and merit in collecting taxes.

Unfortunately, this year's tea tax is several months overdue.

"So, Godfather, are we really going to find evidence of the Prince Consort's embezzlement?" one of the godsons asked.

"Of course we should look for them," Eunuch Qian said confidently. "I spoke with Prefect Wen and Prince Consort Ouyang yesterday. As long as the tea tax is paid in full, we'll just go through the motions."

But if the charges aren't fully resolved, the accusation of embezzlement will be irrefutable!

As for who died, Eunuch Qian estimated that it was most likely the head of the Tea and Horse Bureau, the Tea Envoy, followed by Prefect Wen. As for Ouyang Luntai, he guessed that he was just a figurehead.

This was a method devised by Eunuch Qian to guess the Emperor's intentions: there was a long history of overdue tea taxes... Since this term was mentioned, His Majesty would definitely have to find someone to be used as an example.

Looking at the status of the imperial son-in-law, the prefect, and the tea and horse bureau, it's self-evident who is the typical example.

"But Godfather, if there's no evidence of corruption, won't we be able to gain people's trust?" asked a godson who usually liked to make things difficult for Lu.

Grandpa Qian remained silent.

Colleagues are enemies. When Lu Li saw that his colleague had displeased Eunuch Qian, he immediately said, "We're here to catch corrupt officials and seize stolen goods. As for the stolen goods, if the tea tax is paid in full, then there's no such thing as stolen goods. Besides, why should we need to gain the trust of others for our work? As long as His Majesty approves, it doesn't matter how many people criticize us."

"Hmm~ Little Lu is a promising student." Eunuch Qian nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at his godchild who was hopelessly hopeless. The godchild immediately knelt down, kowtowed, and berated himself for being stupid.