Chapter Thirty-Nine: Scheming

  Eternal Harmony, 9th year, August, 2nd day.

  Anchang County, Welcome Pavilion.

  The host of the Welcome Pavilion was a very clever person. At this time, the Welcome Pavilion retained the overall structure of Su Xia's performance last time and invited popular theater actresses to perform again.

  Relying on the reputation brought by Su Xia previously, plus the fact that Da Ju Ge Nu indeed has some real skills.

  The business of this reception hall is much more prosperous than before, and it's almost always full every day. Sometimes, if you want to entertain guests here, you have to make a reservation several days in advance.

  Of course, no matter how scarce it is, in some people's eyes, it is still nothing.

  This includes the four major families of Anchang.

  At this time, in the most luxurious private room of the reception hall, the four heads of households were all present, entertaining their distinguished guests.

  The sound of silk, bamboo and strings, as well as the soft and gentle singing of the songstress, all sorts of enchanting sounds, surrounded the entire room with a layer of intoxication, making people unknowingly sway to half-consciousness, almost drunk in it.

  Outside the room, Zhuo Ju was busy and a bit flustered.

  Ordinarily warm and gentle faces were all sweaty. And from time to time drank:

  "Where's Drunken Fish? Let Old Wang get a move on, this is our signature dish!"

  "You idiot, are you stupid?!... I don't care which table ordered this dish first, just bring it over here. Do you know who's inside? The four big families and the Magistrate of Wei County are all in there! Offend them and you can forget about staying in Anchang!"

  Fortunately, the shopkeeper had a bit of managerial talent and although he was somewhat flustered, he still handled the affairs inside the private room in an orderly manner, so as not to keep the honored guest waiting.

  Inside the compartment.

  The four masters and the county magistrate of Weizhou were all from big families, so they wouldn't be dazzled by this little show, but thought that this wine shop was quite thoughtful.

  After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhou Biqing gave a signal with her eyes, and the singing girls in the private room all bowed and retreated. This is when they were about to get down to business.

  Wei Zhun had been an official for many years and had long since become seasoned, his expression unchanged as he raised his cup to take a small sip, but with a hint of playful mockery in his eyes.

  The four family heads looked at each other, and Zhou Biqing was the first to stand up, raised a cup of wine, and said: "Since Governor Wei became our county's parent official, he has opened up good fields, reclaimed wasteland, comforted the widowed and elderly, severely punished thieves, repaired bridges and roads, and judged cases with clarity. In less than three years, it can be called a great governance, where people don't close their doors at night and don't pick up things on the road. All of this is due to your honor's efforts, we are overwhelmed with gratitude, let us toast you again!"

  Wei Zhun raised his cup and drank it all, laughing and saying: "Where, where, I still have to rely on your cooperation, Wei Mou is just loyal to the court and doing his job!" This is not false, if there was no cooperation from the four big families of An Chang, Wei Zhun's authority would basically not be able to leave the county city. Haven't many magistrates throughout history been brought down by the hands of local snakes?

  Wu Zhi Rong, the master of the Wu family, a middle-aged fat man, upon hearing this, had a few more smiles on his oily and ruddy face, saying: "Director Wei's merits are unquestionable, I'm sure this year's evaluation will definitely get top marks, and when promoted to the next level, he can directly enter the provincial government. With Director Wei's abilities, perhaps it won't take long before he becomes the governor of a province, benefiting tens of thousands of people, truly accumulating great fortune and blessings!"

  These flattering words still managed to scratch Wei Zhun's itchy spot, although he repeatedly said he didn't dare and tried his best to cover it up, the subtle joy that seeped out was still seen by the four masters who had experienced many ups and downs.

  Wu Zhi Rong gave a hint with his eyes, and Zhou Bi Qing understood, finally getting to the point.

  "We have invited you to dinner today, actually there is something we want to ask of you!"

  "What's the matter? If this official can do it, he will naturally respond to every request!" The implication is that if there is no lack of strength, one can push everything to be clean and clear.

  "Old fox!" Zhou Biqing cursed in her heart, and the smile on her face grew even brighter. "It's just a small matter," she said. "We've bought a piece of land in the north of the city and plan to build a temple..."

  "You're waiting... aren't you trying to humiliate me?" Wei Zhun's face turned cold as soon as he heard it, saying: "Still you, can compare with the esteemed families of the county?"

  This world has no gods, in a county town, there are generally three types of temples that can receive incense and offerings.

  The first is the imperial ancestral temple, which is the most orthodox as stipulated by the government.

  The second is the Taoist temple, which is the power of the Taoist school. If a new Taoist temple is to be built in Wu Prefecture, it must have the endorsement of the White Cloud Temple; otherwise, it will be considered an illicit cult and subject to royal law.

  The third is the county and gate family, which allows ancestors to receive sacrifices from outsiders, collect incense and fire fortune, and increase their own foundation. This move naturally leads to jealousy, and the big families join hands, openly and secretly fighting for a long time before finally getting it in hand.

  Now that Wei Zhun heard that the four major families want to build a temple, he thought it was to let his own ancestors receive incense from outsiders. Although the four major families are very powerful, even if they join forces, they can't be considered as a prominent family in the county. Doing such a thing, Wei Zhun's heart had some cold laughter, this is self-destructing. He also had some doubts, the masters of the four major families shouldn't be so unwise.

  Zhou Biqing smiled wryly and said, "County Magistrate must have misunderstood! We are not so foolish as to compare ourselves with the county's prestige. The temple we built is not for worshiping our own ancestors, but for a local deity!"

  "This spirit is very efficacious and can protect the entire county, including the people in the city. We just have a bit of reputation and were entrusted to handle this matter." The master of the Wang family added.

  "Village mourning?" Wei Zhun was shocked and speechless.

  Things in the countryside are quite complicated, and in this world, rural areas also have evil spirits at work, with news being blocked.

  The village's ancestral worship is also diverse and varied, with many unknown origins. Among them are ancestors who have generated themselves, refugees who were attracted during the escape, and even evil spirits disguised as ancestral spirits to harm people. It's a mixed bag, making it difficult to distinguish.

  Besides, in the countryside, who among the wealthy families of the county seat has had their ancestors' spirits verified after several hundred years of worship? Wei Zhun suspected that the master of the Four Houses was playing a joke on him.

  For Wei Zhun, as long as the rural spirit worship can ensure peace and stability in one place, and there is no harm to human blood sacrifice, he will let it develop on its own.

  But in the city set temple sacrifice?

  This is truly an unprecedented event, after all, a spirit tablet cannot be moved, has there ever been such a situation before?

  From a legal perspective, the county magistrate is a "hundred-mile candidate", and although the Ghostly Court has a special status, it still belongs to the jurisdiction of the yamen. In this matter, Wei Zhun can indeed take charge, but this is just a borderline case. Usually, it's not a big deal, but if someone reports it, it may cause trouble.

  It depends on what the four masters bring out and trade with Wei Zhun, letting him take this risk.

  "What is the name of this spirit?"

  "This spirit is the God of Earth!" said Zhou Biqing.

  "Land god......" Wei Zhun muttered these few words, his heart relaxed a bit. Without a specific name, even if it was the ancestors of everyone, they couldn't collect the aura to make up for their own family, which eliminated some trouble and suspicion.

  Wu Zirong added fuel to the fire, saying: "If Lord Rong can successfully complete this matter, we will be eternally grateful. This year's taxes will definitely be paid in full and on time. We can also provide three thousand taels of silver to help Lord Rong repair the road!"

  Wei Zhun was shocked, this condition is extremely generous.

  The annual tax collection of Da Qian is always a big problem, especially when encountering landlords secretly resisting taxes. Every year, when it comes to the tax collection season, there are those who evade taxes, bribe officials, flee, sell land, and engage in other complicated and confusing activities, making it a messy account. Furthermore, corrupt officials take advantage of the situation to embezzle funds. If seven or eight tenths of the taxes can be collected, it is already a blessing from heaven.

  Now that the four big families of An Chang have promised to pay their taxes on time, they are the largest landowners in this area. Without any troublemakers, this year's tax collection will be very smooth. When the time comes for the government to evaluate, it is natural that not a single "excellent" evaluation can be missed, which will be very beneficial for future official career advancement.

  As for repairing the road, it was a major concern in Wei Zhun's heart. The original master had praised him for building bridges and paving roads, although it was true, but only within the county seat, slightly benefiting the city residents.

  Anchang County is located in a remote area, and the main passage to the outside world has only one mountain road, which has been out of repair for many years. The traffic is very inconvenient, and Wei Zhun originally wanted to repair this road.

  The county treasury was almost depleted, and after grinding out some more from the prefecture, there was still a shortage of 2,000 taels of silver. Normally, they would have to rely on the wealthy households in the county for assistance, but now they were all like iron roosters that wouldn't give up anything. Suddenly, they had to come up with 3,000 taels of silver, which was a huge loss. As for the remaining 1,000 taels after deducting the road repair expenses, it's natural not to mention where it would be used.

  Only by giving can one receive, the four families' conditions were so generous that Wei Zhun was somewhat surprised and uncertain.

  "This matter is of great importance, I must take a few more days to think it over carefully!"

  The four masters looked at each other, as long as they didn't explicitly refuse, there was hope for this matter, and nothing more needed to be said.

  Afterwards, everyone just talked about poetry and literature, and it was a pleasant gathering for both host and guests.

  After the banquet.

  Wei Zhun returned to the county government office, where his maid, Duan, had prepared a hangover remedy. After drinking a few mouthfuls of the soup, Wei Zhun's intoxication dissipated, and he said, "Go and invite Zhao Zhu Bo to come here!"

  The maid retreated after receiving orders, and soon Zhao Shu came in, bowing and saying: "Sir!"

  This chief scribe is named Zhao Kongming, the chief scribe's position, in charge of the six departments' documents, coordinating up and down, managing yin and yang, equivalent to a prime minister, naturally only a trusted person can do it. This Zhao Kongming is an old man from Wei Zhun's family, after moving many relationships, he was transferred over, as an arm assistant, which is different.

  Wei Zhun rubbed his eyebrows and said, "Today, the four families invited me to a banquet and brought up something that made me hesitant!" He then recounted what had happened earlier and asked, "What do you think?"

  Zhao Kongming, around thirty years old, with a scholarly air about him, furrowed his brow at this time, thought for a moment, and said: "This name of the land god, I seem to have heard it before, in the previous documents, it seemed to have been reported, and was sent by He Dianshi to be archived in the Forbidden Ghost Court."

  Wei Zhun furrowed his brow and said, "Summon He Song!"

  As soon as He Song entered, he felt that the atmosphere was a bit off. He knelt down and paid his respects, saying: "Greetings to the great master!"

  Wei Zhun usually called out to He Song early, but this time, he only heard a cold voice from above: "He Song, do you know about the Land God's affair?" He Song was shocked in his heart, as if falling into an icy pit.

  However, at this time, he calmed down and said: "Not long ago, there was a document, but the Lingzhu Daochang was not around, so it was archived for now!"

  "Get out of here! Go and fetch it!" He Song at this time, was like rolling out, Wei Zhun usually appreciated He Song's talent, but when it came to official business, he naturally handled it in an official manner, without any personal feelings.

  Before long, the document was brought over, and Wei Zhun examined it carefully. His face grew increasingly somber.

  "Haha...... You're really bold, spreading it out several months ago. What a great family! What a great land god!"

  Even Zhao Kuangming was sweating slightly now.

  He Song's heart skipped a beat, and he knelt down, kowtowing heavily, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed: "I'm just a lowly person who was promoted by Your Honor, I wouldn't dare hide anything from you... previously, I thought this matter belonged to the Forbidden Ghost Cao's jurisdiction, I was afraid of getting involved and for a moment my mind was muddled... please forgive me, Your Honor..." His kowtowing was like pounding garlic, and red marks appeared on the ground. In his heart, he was still relieved that he had kept an ace up his sleeve by archiving it first, otherwise, he would have been completely indefensible.

  "Hmph!" Wei Zhun sneered, and the fire in his heart dissipated a lot. After all, being afraid of ghosts was only human nature.

  "But these past few days, there's been news that has made me tremble with fear. Even if the master doesn't summon me, I must still come to report!" He Song continued saying.

  "The worship of the land god has been prevalent in various villages, and even in the county, more than half of the 5,000 to 6,000 people believe in it, which makes my subordinates tremble with fear..." He Song revealed everything, showing his loyalty while also helping the land god spread its influence, which can be considered sly, neither being guilty.

  "What...!" Wei Zhun's shock was truly no small matter. He suddenly stood up, knocking over the documents and writing instruments on the desk to the ground.

  Since the rumor has already spread throughout the county, if Wei Zhun were to order the destruction of the temple, it would likely spark a riot among the people. Moreover, with four powerful families secretly watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike, a great disaster could be brewing. Although seeking help from the prefecture might still be able to suppress the situation, as the county magistrate, Wei Zhun's position would be at stake, and if things went wrong, he might even face punishment. His face had already turned somewhat pale.

  Fang Ming also underestimated the influence of the land god, which is a true god, and its power is closely related to the lives of the people. As long as one sincerely believes, there will be a response to every request, and no one will be deceived, young or old. Moreover, with the help of the four big families, it spread rapidly throughout the county in just a few months, and more than half of the county town believed in it. Therefore, Fang Ming had the confidence to ask the four big families to seek the county's sacrifice for him.

  Thank you for the rewards from Gaoyaoer, Shufriend 110710..., Wang Fengzi Hai, and also thanks to other book friends for their recommendations and collections!