Chapter 137: Justice
Prefect Liu and Mr. Cao came out one after another, got into the cart, and after the cart had swayed for a long distance, Prefect Liu let out a heavy sigh.
“Esteemed Master?” Mr. Cao looked at Prefect Liu with concern.
Prefect Liu rubbed his face hard, reached out and took the bag of tea leaves and the bag of pastries from Mr. Cao’s arms, placed them on the shelf, and sighed, “Tell me.”
“The Young Lord said that Miss Li is his friend? They are friends?”
Mr. Cao’s first sentence stunned Prefect Liu, who said irritably, “Didn’t I tell you not to talk about this!”
“I know, I know, my mind is a bit muddled. The Young Lord’s demeanor, his demeanor…” Mr. Cao nodded quickly.
“Not that either!” Prefect Liu raised his hand to rub his temples.
“I know, I know! I mean, what did Esteemed Master think?” Mr. Cao quickly collected his thoughts.
He was very confused. The Young Lord was too handsome to be judged by his appearance. The Young Lord was too approachable, no, the Young Lord…
Alas, his knowledge was too shallow.
“Are the Young Lord’s points one, two, and three real or fake?” Prefect Liu’s brows furrowed into a knot.
“They don’t seem fake,” Mr. Cao replied cautiously.
“I think so too, the Young Lord’s points are solid. But!”
Prefect Liu’s brows were tightly knit, and he stared blankly for a while before suddenly slapping the shelf, startling Mr. Cao.
“Old Cao, tell me, which law did the Yueyang Cloth Shop violate? Don’t overthink it, just stick to the facts!” Prefect Liu leaned forward, pointing at Mr. Cao.
“It didn’t violate any law, but it offended its competitors,” Mr. Cao leaned back and answered quickly.
He had already considered this matter when President Shi of the Silk Guild came to speak.
The business of Yueyang Cloth Shop was indeed clever, but it didn’t violate any laws or decrees.
“That’s exactly it!” Prefect Liu clapped his hands.
He understood why the Young Lord had laid out his points; it was precisely because no law was broken!
Alas, he shouldn’t have made this trip!
Prefect Liu regretted it for a while, then waved his hand at himself, saying, “Forget it, forget it, it’s done now, thinking more won’t help.”
“You’ll go to the Silk Guild in a moment. No, you don’t need to go. Let’s wait until they come to us again,” Prefect Liu said halfway through, then changed his mind.
Going there specially would seem too serious and deliberate. It was better to ignore it. They would definitely come again, and when they did, it would be most appropriate to casually retort.
………………………………
Li Xiaonan was contemplating whether to speak to the Young Lord when Wan Jing arrived.
Li Xiaonan leaped up, greeted Wan Jing with a beaming smile, “Let’s go!”
“Huh! Why are you so happy!” Wan Jing looked surprised.
“Where am I happy? I’m always like this,” Li Xiaonan pushed Wan Jing down the steps.
“Nonsense! Are you eager to see our Young Lord, or do you want to go out and watch the excitement again?” Wan Jing tugged at Li Xiaonan’s earlobe, examining her expression closely.
“I have a bit of a problem,” Li Xiaonan lowered her voice, “I want to ask your Young Lord for advice. Going to your villa specially is a bit… you know.”
“I knew it!” Wan Jing clapped her hands and said with a low laugh, “Our Young Lord is in a good mood!”
“Has your Miss Shi recovered from her illness?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“We’ll talk about it later, we’re at the alley entrance,” Wan Jing shushed her, her smile fading, and she smoothed her clothing placket.
Li Xiaonan imitated her, patted her placket, and put on a serious expression.
Gu Yan sat in his usual chair, fanning himself with a folding fan, looking at Li Xiaonan, who followed Wan Jing with a stern face.
Li Xiaonan met Gu Yan’s gaze, her smile blooming. Gu Yan raised his eyebrows.
She was smiling too brightly. Did she have something on her mind?
Yes, her matter and his reason for coming here were likely the same thing.
Gu Yan watched Li Xiaonan sit opposite him, watched her pick up her cup, bring the tea cup to her lips, bow slightly, look at his cup, then put down her cup, pick up the pot, and bow to refill his tea. Gu Yan’s eyebrows rose.
Gu Yan remained silent. Li Xiaonan, with a smile, asked first, “Did you get your Imperial Decree?”
“Mm,” Gu Yan gave a noncommittal hum, fanning himself, watching Li Xiaonan, waiting to see what she would do and say next.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Mr. Niu. Is Mr. Niu doing well?” Li Xiaonan took a small sip of tea and continued to ask with a smile.
“Mm,” Gu Yan hummed again, still not engaging in conversation.
“It’s not about tuition. I remember you mentioned once that Mr. Niu was at the wharf or something. Could it be the Maritime Tax Bureau wharf? It’s so chaotic at the wharf, is Mr. Niu alright?” Li Xiaonan asked again.
Gu Yan suddenly closed his folding fan and tapped it next to his cup, “This is like trying to hide something that’s obvious. Your previous statement, ‘not about tuition,’ is like saying ‘the neighbor Li Si didn’t steal.'”
Li Xiaonan glanced sideways.
Gu Yan pointed his folding fan at Li Xiaonan and chuckled, “Just tell me directly, what’s the matter?”
“The Silk Guild came to warn us. I really want to know if Mr. Niu is alright, if he’s okay!”
“Niu Cheqian is working as an accountant at a warehouse. He’s fine. How did the Silk Guild warn you?” Gu Yan unfolded his fan.
“They said we didn’t register with the guild, asked which weaving workshop our goods were from, and if the taxes were paid. They said we were selling fine cloth too cheaply and disrupting the market.”
“What are your plans? What do you want me to do?” Gu Yan looked at Li Xiaonan.
“I’ve memorized the criminal code and checked the tax laws, but I’ve found very few Ministry of Revenue documents and Imperial Decrees. Is it illegal not to register with the guild? The Silk Guild is a government-affiliated guild.” Li Xiaonan looked serious.
“The court doesn’t manage this,” Gu Yan replied curtly and directly.
“What about the tax regulations? From what I can find, five looms constitute a weaving workshop, but one, two, three, or four do not. If it’s not a weaving workshop, there are no taxes. Are there any other decrees?” Li Xiaonan continued to ask.
“If you sell locally what you produce locally, then no. If you leave the Liangzhe Circuit, there are several tax checkpoints to the north, south, and west where you pay taxes. If you sell south into Linhai Town,” Gu Yan paused, “there are no decrees at the moment, but it’s best not to sell into Linhai Town, and even less so to load goods onto a ship and sail out to sea.”
“Then the court doesn’t care if I sell cheaply or expensively, right?” Li Xiaonan smiled.
“It doesn’t. Unless you hoard goods and create artificial scarcity, leading to public unrest.”
“Then it’s fine,” Li Xiaonan reached out and weighed a scallion oil pastry.
“Is it really fine? Aren’t you afraid the Silk Guild will collude with the government and frame you? The Silk Guild is a government-affiliated guild,” Gu Yan asked, watching Li Xiaonan finish a scallion oil pastry.
“I’m with you all day. Does this Pingjiang Prefecture dare to frame me?” Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan, her expression as if to say, “Are you stupid?”
Gu Yan was speechless at her words. He took a deep breath, pointed his folding fan at Li Xiaonan, but couldn’t speak.
He really wanted to hit her!
