Li Hou ran all the way back. With sweat and mud mixed together on his body, his cheeks and neck were stained completely black.
Upon entering the door and seeing Song Jinzhao sitting upright on the long wooden bench, his legs gave way. How did she arrive so quickly! They had not even had time to prepare.
"This lowly one, Li Hou, manager of Shiquan Manor, pays his respects to the County Princess Linghui." His knees struck the wooden floorboards with a heavy thud that sounded painful just to hear.
Song Jinzhao looked at the two men, already certain in her heart that they had not embezzled anything. There was nothing to embezzle, nor could they have done so.
It was just that there were too many questionable things about these two manors, and the truth was likely known only to these two men before her.
"I have already reviewed the account books and deeds sent over by the Internal Affairs Department. Do you not plan to say anything?" Song Jinzhao picked up the boiled water from the table and took a small sip, her tone as placid as a still pool.
Yet, such a calm voice fell upon the ears of Chen Fu and Li Hou like a death warrant. The two men exchanged a glance and simultaneously knocked their heads against the ground.
"County Princess, please forgive us. It was this lowly one's greed. We embezzled the grain that should have been handed over. We beg the County Princess to spare our lives."
Song Jinzhao remained expressionless. "Coarse tea, bland food, and tattered clothes. Where is the grain you embezzled? Why hasn't this County Princess seen any of it?"
Chen Fu's heart pounded nervously. "This lowly one sold the grain and purchased a residence in the neighboring city. Our current appearance is just a disguise, as we were afraid the people from the Internal Affairs Department would come to inspect."
Song Jinzhao's tone rose as she said lightly, "Is that so? You put on quite a convincing act. Doing all the farm work yourselves must be very exhausting, isn't it?"
The two men were panicked to the extreme. They did not utter a word, simply remaining kneeling on the ground without raising their heads, their hearts pounding so hard it felt as if they would burst bloodily from their chests.
Seeing their silence, Song Jinzhao continued, "Bring the deed of the house you bought for me to see. This County Princess will send someone to the neighboring city to verify it. Since it is stolen property, it must be confiscated."
Li Hou raised his head and slammed it against the wooden floorboards again with a thud. "County Princess, please forgive us. In recent years, the two of us became addicted to gambling and lost the residence."
Lanxi, who was standing by the pillar, could not help but roll her eyes. They truly refused to give up until the bitter end; not even a ghost would believe such words.
Song Jinzhao's expression darkened, and she said in a deep voice, "On the way here, this County Princess saw many disabled tenant farmers. They have all served in the military, haven't they?"
A chill shot from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet. The hands they had placed on the ground began to tremble, and they answered with quivering voices, "They haven't served in the military. This lowly one only manages the renting of the land and never paid attention to whether they were disabled or not. As long as they can pay the rent on time, it doesn't matter if they are disabled."
A pair of chopsticks slammed onto the table with a loud smack. A woman who was bringing in dishes was startled, dropping the plate in her hands and spilling soup and vegetable leaves all over the floor.
"Do you take this County Princess for a fool? It would be one thing if only one or two were disabled, but every single male in the more than two hundred tenant households of this entire manor is crippled. Where did you find these people? From which military camp did these soldiers collectively retire?"
"For twenty years, Daohua Manor and Shiquan Manor have not handed over a single coin, and the Internal Affairs Department has turned a blind eye. Shouldn't this County Princess ask the head of the Internal Affairs Department if there is a hole in his head, or if you bribed him with money?"
Cold saliva slid down their throats into their stomachs. Chen Fu and Li Hou's hands and feet were freezing; at this moment, they were terrified to the extreme.
Wasn't it said that this County Princess Linghui came from a humble background? How could her aura be so intimidating? How did she see that those people had served in the military?
Song Jinzhao stood up, resting one hand on the table. "If you refuse to tell the truth, I will have no choice but to handle this impartially according to the law."
"A rent of three tenths is too little; it must be raised to at least six tenths. If the current tenants cannot afford it, I will rent it to others. As for you two."
"Qingshuang, go back and find a human trafficker to sell off their entire families. This County Princess will not tolerate subordinates who deceive their superiors and steal what is entrusted to their care."
The woman frozen in place turned pale, hastily kneeling and kowtowing for mercy. "County Princess, spare our lives. I beg you not to sell us."
The cries drew a child who had been playing outside the house to run inside.
Seeing the woman's forehead bleeding and his grandfather kneeling on the ground, he immediately grabbed the woman's sleeve and cried out, "Grandma, what's wrong with you?"
He pointed at Song Jinzhao and shouted, "You are all bad people! You're bullying my grandpa and grandma! I'm going to hit you!"
A younger woman scrambled in on her knees, tightly pulling the child into her arms and kowtowing incessantly.
"County Princess, please forgive us. The child is young and speaks nonsense. Please do not take it seriously."
Unable to bear the sight, Song Shixue secretly tugged at Song Jinzhao's sleeve under the table.
A surge of frustration swelled in Song Jinzhao's chest. Even faced with being sold, they still refused to tell the truth. What exactly were they trying so hard to hide?
The more they refused to speak, the more Song Jinzhao felt that the matter behind this was massive.
She ordered Qingshuang, "Take the women and children outside, and close the doors."
As the main doors were closed, the room instantly darkened. Lanxi took out a fire starter and lit the candles.
The flickering candlelight cast shadows on everyone's faces. Song Jinzhao spoke, "This County Princess is not an unreasonable person. Once this is reported to the authorities and blown out of proportion, everyone will know. By then, whatever you are trying to hide will be exposed, and it will be too late."
Hearing that Song Jinzhao intended to report them to the authorities, the two men who had kept their heads lowered suddenly looked up, their eyes filled with sheer terror.
Their eyes met, and silence spread throughout the room. After an unknown amount of time passed, Chen Fu lowered his head as if resigning himself to his fate.
