Published at 16th of March 2020 06:07:43 AM

Chapter 238

These days Gu Tingye only came back at nighttwice . It seemed that the review job in the military camp gradually got busy . Lots of the military campshad freeloading problems and the inspection results of the arms depot werent very good . Every time he went back to theestate, he would ask Minglan if she had any difficulties . Minglan didnt want to trouble him,so she only told him that everything was fine . Gu Tingye wasexhausted every night since he had been on the run the wholeday and night, so most of the time he would fall asleep right away .

The third day, after the inspection in theestate, the Cui Brothers and Meng handed in the brochures which recorded everything about theestateclearly . The actual area of the Black MountainEstatewas six hundred and ninety acres more than what had been recorded, and there were also a few tenants who hadnt been registered . Whatwasmore, some zealous persons exposed that those stewards including Ba Laofu had all bought farmlands outside of theestate, butsuchland property of them were registered under their relatives names .

Ba Laofu andother stewards knelt in front of Minglan, not even daring to wipe away their sweats .

Minglan sat there while leafing through the brochure slowly and saying in a flat tone, You used to be the servants of a guilty official . When your former masters mansion was confiscated, the other servants like you were sold, but you guys wereappointedstraightly to theestate . Now thateverythingin your former masters mansion was confiscated, I wonder how you managed to possess so muchof your former masters property . What a bunch of great servants!

Her voice sounded calm but her words were quite frightening . All the stewards kept kowtowing and begging . Ba Laofu, whose forehead got purple and swollen, raised his head and said, We were being so silly atthattime . We know we didthewrongthing . Madam, please have mercy on us . Well sell those farmlands right away andgiveyou the money we get . . .

Nonsense! You think Madamis coveting your few bucks? Danju scolded him loudly .

The few stewards continued kowtowing . Minglan stared at them and then said in a softer tone, All right . You all used to workin Duke Lings mansion for a long time . After all those years toils, its reasonable for you to have some savings .

The looks on the stewards faces became eased aftertheyheardMinglans gentle words . However, the next second Minglan continued in a strict tone right away, However, you concealed the actualacreageof the farmland and kept many tenants to yourselves secretly, which means youdo haveviolatedthe family rules . If I forgive youforthis, what if everyone else imitatesyou? Our family would be in a mess then . This is tough . . .

The landlords and stewards were all ill at ease, waiting for their punishments . After Minglansawtheir facesturning green andpale, she thought it was enough . Then she said gently, All right, Ill deal with you guys after Master finisheshis business .

After saying that, she ordered two stewards who werein charge of the accounts in GusMansionand a few guards to guard those landlords and stewards . Then she left the Black MountainEstatewith alltheaccount books and registers of names . That night, Minglan and Gu Tingye met each other in the Ancient StoneEstate . Seeing that Gu Tingye was in a good state, Minglan then told him about what had happened today .

Should we give the extra farmlands to His Majesty? Minglan askedwitha serious look . After all, when shewasa little girl, shealways turned over the money she had picked up to the authorities .

The man who had just frowned couldnt help but smile, saying, Did His Majesty tell you the acreagewhen presenting youwiththeestate?

Minglan shook her head .

We havealreadyfound the servants who concealed the facts . We arenotthe onesthatforcibly occupied the citizensfarmland . Why are you being so afraid?

Minglan found those words quite reasonable . Then she started to dry Gu Tingyes wet hair with a towel . Gu Tingye was surprisedathow calm she looked . Then he asked, You are not angryafterthey have lied to you?

. . . I really am not very angry . Minglan raised her head and pondered for a while,continuing, Although they have embezzled some silvers and farmlands, they know how far to go . After all, they never treated the tenants so harshly .

After these days inspection, Minglan found most of the tenants in the Black MountainEstateactually lived very well . They didnt need to sell their children, nor were they starved to death .

Inbrief, the impression Minglan had for those landlords and stewards in the Black MountainEstatewas: Not bold, but loving to commit petty crimes .

Since that was the case, the servants in theestatewho hadntmade huge mistakeswerenotsold but given to the meritorious officials .

Of course, Minglan didnt have confidence in the efficiency of the servants in the ancient times at all .

Those servantsin the mansionwhosecontractswereinthehandsoftheir mastersormadamscould still haveregular wages andevenget extra rewards if theywerefavored by theirowners . So their efficiency could be guaranteed more or less . However, it would be a very complicatedproblemif those servants managed a manor . The failure of the big-pot distribution system proved one thing:humans were always driven by profits . The rewards and punishments were always necessary .

Those stewards who handled large sumsof money could make the manor a prospering place through their hard work . However, the servants whose personal liberty wasrestricted couldnt possess their own property . That was against the laws of economics and the human nature .

The most important thing was figuring out how much Ba Laofu and other stewards had embezzled . If the number was not thatbig, they could still be forgiven . After all, according to Minglans observation during these days, the Black MountainEstatehad been taken good care of . Besides . . .

Minglan sighed, The people we can trust now are so few . Can you remember if there are any loyal servants inthemasnsion ofMarquis Ningyuan? Anyonereliable could actually . . . She didnt believe Old Madam Qin was capable of winningovereveryone in Marquis Ningyuans mansion . There were still some servants whose families had served inthe mansionfor generations . After all, Gu Tingye could still be regarded as their master .

After Gu Tingyeremainedsilentfor a long while, he nodded slightly . Then he changed the subject, The reputation of the Black MountainEstateis not bad . If you see anything inappropriate there, you can decide how to deal with it and tell Hao Dacheng to do it for you after we get back to our own mansion . He paused and then pointed to the ground, Thisestateis different . Tomorrow Ill leave you a group of soldiers .

Minglan stopped what she was doing and said smilingly with her head tilted, Its fine . I already have enough guards .

She was pretty satisfiedwhenthe Tu Brothersheld everyone in awe .

Gu Tingye raised his eyebrows and said nothing with a smile, thinking, She has a clear head and great insight, but still lacksexperience .

He pulled Minglan over and pressed her onto the bed . While he gave a kiss on her little red lips, he felt her smooth and tender skin though her thin clothes, whichlefthis heart throbbing a bit . Then he said in a raucous voice, Have you recovered?Whensaying this, heputhis hands into her clothes .

Minglan felt her body becoming limpfrom therubbing . She then said with her super red face, . . . I, I . . . I still . . .

However, the mans large hand only became more and more aggressive . She got flustered and said in a hurry, You, you, you . . . You have to change three horses a day . Tomorrow is also a busy day for you . Wedbetter not . . . do that . You should have a good rest .

Little stammer, why are you so panicky? Gu Tingye couldnt help but chuckle . Then he rolled over and layon the bed . As he held Minglan in his arms, he asked with a smile, Iamjustaskingyou . Doyougetme wrong? With a teasing look in his black eyes, he still pretended to be serious .

Minglan, . . .

--She really wanted to scratch him!

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