During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Ye Qingqing deliberately frowned.

"Sir, if I remember correctly, the mountain and marsh tax is paid annually. My father paid it at the beginning of this year, and we have a receipt from the government office. You can see it if you don't believe me."

As for the prey that had been caught in the largest group, it was sold for three silver coins as fur. Why haven't I heard of such a rule in all these years?

Zhao Long, the short, fat guy, sneered, deliberately exaggerating to scare her.

"These are the rules of the government office. What do you, a commoner from the village, know about them?"

Sir, now that we're here, we're here to collect taxes according to the rules, understand?

Your two wild boars and six wolves could fetch at least a hundred or two hundred taels of silver. Plus, you deliberately concealed your harvest in an attempt to evade taxes. Including taxes and fines, you'll have to pay a total of one hundred taels!

Ye Qingqing curled her lips in disdain.

"have no idea."

"You brat, going against the officials won't do you any good. You'd better think it over carefully; not paying taxes will get you thrown in jail."

Zhao Long's face was cold, his facial muscles appearing even more ferocious and menacing. He sneered, "You delicate little girl, if I really threw you in jail, you'd be eaten by insects and bitten by rats. Even if you cried for your parents then, it wouldn't be any use!"

After saying that, Zhao Long and Zhang Hu both revealed a smug, cold smile.

They were used to this trick when they were officials collecting money in villages. Let alone a little girl, even a man in his fifties could be scared to the ground by just a stern face.

He had thought that Ye Qingqing would back down and obediently hand over the silver, so he could at least extort ten taels of silver from her.

They'll split it 20/80 with Ye Cunfu; he'll get 20 taels, and the remaining 80 taels will be theirs.

This is going to be a lucrative job.

To everyone's surprise, this blond-haired girl seemed completely unfazed. Her legs didn't flinch, her eyelids didn't even twitch, and she stared at them with a half-smile, as if nothing had happened.

"May I ask, Your Honor, which tax law does this clause originate from? Is there a document issued by the prefectural government?"

As far as I know, any tax collection process involves the provincial government issuing a document, which is first sent to the prefectures and counties, and then the prefecture and county governments stamp and distribute it to the town governments. So, when you collect taxes, there must be official documents in place.

Furthermore, our dynasty's laws clearly stipulate that prefectures and counties, and those below them, are not allowed to arbitrarily collect taxes under any pretext... If you two officials present the relevant documents, I will immediately pay the taxes."

These words left Zhang Hu and Zhao Long speechless.

"Ugh...this..."

Ye Qingqing sneered, "Without written terms, what taxes am I supposed to pay? Even if I did pay, I wouldn't know what I'm paying."

Zhao Long frowned, thinking to himself, "This young girl is speaking so eloquently, does she really know something?"

I don't know where they heard that, but they still dare to talk to them about any written terms or clauses!

They go to the villages to collect money, and they never use any written terms. They just say what taxes to collect and collect whatever taxes they want!

"What documents or terms? What do you know, you little brat?"

Zhao Long quickly calculated in his mind, then his face contorted with rage, and he said menacingly,

"Since you refuse to pay, then go with the officials! Go to the jail and think carefully about whether this little bit of tax money is more important than your delicate skin!"

A collective gasp filled the courtyard.

"We're doomed! Er Yatou is no match for them. We're finished!"

"Hey Er Ya, you can't compete with them like that! Hurry up and give them the money!"

"Her family isn't short of money, so just hand it over quickly, isn't it better than going to jail?"

"Second daughter, you mustn't do anything foolish..."

"No! No, don't grab me..."

Li Chunyan's legs suddenly cramped, and her whole body trembled like a leaf. She rushed over to protect Ye Qingqing, so trembling that she could barely speak.

"Sir, sir, my second daughter didn't mean it that way... We'll pay, we'll pay! We'll pay any amount of silver, please, sirs, don't arrest her!"

Ye Dali's face turned ashen. He strode in front of his wife and sister, using his body to shield them.

"Arrest me, not my sister!"

"Get out of the way!"

Seeing that this trick worked, Zhao Long snorted even more smugly and let out a vicious sneer.

"Now you know fear? Too late! Ye Qingqing, for resisting the officials collecting taxes, you should be thrown in jail for a month according to the rules!"

However, seeing that you are just a young girl, naive and inexperienced, I will let you go as long as you hand over half the price of the mountain goods.

Li Chunyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, wiping away her tears, and said...

"Yes! Yes! Thank you, sir, thank you... We'll pay half!"

The village head, who had been on edge, suddenly relaxed, and his smile was harder to suppress than an AK47.

"Serves you right! Serves you right for being so cocky!"

The village head's wife gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath, rubbing her chest and muttering, "That feels so good, so damn good!"

Ye Qingqing frowned. "Only half?"

Ye Dazhuang raised his hand to cover his nose, almost laughing.

This girl is about to trap someone again.

"Um?"

Li Chunyan trembled all over, looked at Ye Qingqing in disbelief, and her mouth twitched violently.

Is this girl scared out of her wits?

You've paid half the money, and that's not enough? What, you want to give it all?

"Yo ho..."

A hint of surprise flashed across Zhao Long's face as he narrowed his eyes and sized her up. "So, how much are you planning to pay? If you want to pay it all, we'd be happy to accept it."

Ye Qingqing nodded, looking at the two of them with a "sincere" expression, and slowly smiled.

"The two officials have come all the way to our Kaoshantun. It must have been hard work for them. Just to collect some taxes, how could one hundred taels be enough?"

One hundred taels per person would be more like it!

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Chunyan let out a "choking" sound, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Startled, Ye Dali quickly hugged her, "Yan'er! Wife! Wife, what's wrong, wife!"

"Two, two..."

As if in a death throes, Li Chunyan pointed a trembling finger at Ye Qingqing, unable to utter a single word.

"But since the official is here, he can help me with a case and catch the criminal who murdered me!"

Ye Qingqing abruptly changed the subject, raising her chin at Ye Dazhuang, "Brother Dazhuang, please bring up that thug who tried to kill us."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air fell into a deathly silence.

"What? What kind of thug? Who wants to harm you?"

The village head's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a flustered tone, "Second Girl, what kind of trick are you playing now? What thugs have nothing to do with me? You hurry up and pay the taxes to the officials, then we'll settle our accounts. You still have to pay me back for the mule!"

Ye Qingqing gave him a mysterious look.

"Uncle Village Head, what's the rush? Who said the thugs have nothing to do with you? They have a lot to do with you!"

The village head's face tightened. "What nonsense are you spouting? Who harmed you? What the hell does that have to do with me!"

"Blood relationship".

Ye Qingqing suddenly curled her lips into a smile, "Unless your son isn't your biological child, Uncle Village Head, if your son tries to kill me, do you think you, as his father, can escape responsibility?"