59: He's not a turtle; he won't stay hidden in his shell forever.

"Good heavens... what exactly did you do back then, kid?"

After leaving the Minister of Rites' residence, Fang Wenbo looked at Mo Yingqi, his mind filled with three words: debt collector.

The Minister of Rites was currently kneeling halfway in front of his door, his face pale. Honestly, if you claimed he was extremely corrupt, that wouldn't be true. Compared to Lord Wang, this man was practically pure and refined.

However, Mo Yingqi grabbed his collar directly: "Taking one coin is still corruption. The Emperor isn't throwing you into the Imperial Prison, isn't demoting you, and hasn't had you tortured. Shouldn't you be mindful of The Emperor's grace? I want one-third of your assets, giving you a chance to repay The Emperor. Shouldn't you be thanking me?"

"I, my dynasty has never had such a law. You, you are abusing your power for personal gain!" The Minister of Rites was trembling but still fighting back. "Although I embezzled a sum, I..."

"What 'you'? Did I not say that taking one coin is still corruption? Law! Did you ever think about the law when you were embezzling silver, sir? Did you ever think about the law when you were using ill-gotten gains for personal benefit?" Mo Yingqi was not bothered; instead, his tone became even more threatening. "Now you want to lecture me about the law? What? Is the law merely a fig leaf used by people like you to cover up your crimes?"

"The Emperor, The Emperor, this is, this is taking the opportunity to retaliate against his subject!"

In his desperation, the Minister of Rites blurted out that sentence. Then... Tang Jingzhong cooperated fully, pulling out the wuchang register and quickly recording it with a brush, saying as he wrote, "Minister, your statement will be truthfully recorded by this subordinate..."

Consequently, the Pacification Bureau left his residence in a grand procession, carrying half of the Minister of Rites' assets. Of course, afterward, the Minister of Rites was seriously ill for a full month, and his position was eventually filled by someone else due to this illness—but that is a story for later.

"Oh, didn't my maternal grandfather's family run a business?" Hearing Fang Wenbo's words, Mo Yingqi pulled on the reins. "He was benevolent and charitable. When familiar merchants needed to borrow silver for turnover, he was happy to help. Some people borrowed and repaid promptly, and were extremely grateful to my grandfather. Even now, many still remember my grandfather's assistance."

"But there were also people who played dumb after borrowing money. Some had already earned several times, even dozens of times, the amount, yet they consistently refused to repay the debt. My grandfather didn't care; although he held promissory notes, he never actually forced them to repay."

Speaking of this, Mo Yingqi shrugged, his tone becoming lighter: "Originally, I didn't lack money in the Northern Territory. Furthermore, my grandfather had planned ahead, investing significant effort and assets in the Northern Territory, plus I had my two older sisters looking after me. But once, I happened to hear someone mention my grandfather..."

Mo Yingqi never lacked money, and for his Mo Family, those were truly small sums. While his grandfather was alive, he said more than once: "The Mo Family has been in business for generations. Our ancestors once said, if you see someone down on their luck, help them. Our ancestors were helped in the same way, which is why the Mo Family has its current wealth."

"When one is caught in the rain and someone hands them an umbrella, they naturally hope they can be the one to hold an umbrella for others."

Therefore, Old Master Mo was never stingy about helping others. The Mo Family didn't lack that money, usually no more than ten thousand taels. Those who were grateful repaid the principal plus interest immediately after earning money.

If someone was still struggling, Old Master Mo never pressured them, even offering further assistance. After achieving success, these people were immensely grateful to the Mo Family. There are such people in the Northern Territory who took great care of Mo Yingqi, afraid of wronging the last bloodline of the Mo Family.

Yet others relied on Old Master Mo's help to overcome difficulties, or used the loan as capital, but after becoming wealthy, never mentioned repaying the money. Old Master Mo was unwilling to fuss over it, merely saying, "Harmony brings wealth," and ignored them.

Mo Yingqi once asked his grandfather why he didn't go collect the debts. Old Master Mo smiled and then said, "It's just a little bit of money. Even if people like that succeed, they will be like frogs in a well their entire lives. Besides... I don't have the energy to fuss with people like that right now."

For him, the most important thing was how to settle Mo Yingqi after his death; he truly couldn't be bothered with those people.

But Mo Yingqi heard that person say: "It's hilarious. The head of the Mo Family is nothing but an idiot. Only a fool would lend out his money. What can he do to me if I don't pay him back? Pretending to be a philanthropist, sucking up to official families, and in the end, losing his daughter and his reputation. I despise people like that—utterly hypocritical!"

In the Northern Territory, there were at least seven or eight families who owed the Mo Family money and refused to repay it. Without exception, all of them held this attitude. Even when tragedy struck the Mo Family, and Mo Yingqi's mother and grandfather passed away from illness, they gloated.

Afterward, Mo Yingqi took the promissory notes, borrowed assistants from those who remembered Old Master Mo's kindness, and coupled with Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning pleading with their maternal grandmother, people from Partridge Sky disguised themselves and went with Mo Yingqi to collect the debts.

As for why he was so ruthless in collecting debts yet nothing happened... you'd have to ask the Luo sisters. Although the Former Emperor always told The Emperor to keep a low profile, handling such minor matters was still easy for him.

"From that day on, I understood: some people are just base," Mo Yingqi smiled. "Treat them well, and they think you're an idiot and that they've taken advantage of you. When you finally turn against them, their first thought is, 'Why?' Weren't you easy to talk to? Weren't you supposed to let it go?"

"So, to deal with people like this, you have to scare them, and not just casually. Hit a snake at its seven inches; if you kill, use a knife. Although I didn't take their lives, I had to fiercely tear a large chunk of flesh from them—the kind that shows bone."

Speaking of this, Mo Yingqi looked at Commander Qianhu: "Also, Commander Qianhu, think about why The Emperor handled these matters with varying degrees of severity this time? Why were some people thrown directly into the Imperial Prison without a word, their whole family implicated, while others... were only punished individually after their property was confiscated, and some, like the Minister of Rites, were only asked for money, with no further accountability for the person themselves?"

"This... I really hadn't thought about it," Fang Wenbo shook his head. "I was originally confused about this matter myself. Given The Emperor's temperament, especially concerning official corruption, my uncle only told me to focus on my duties... Little Mo, have you figured it out?"

"The Emperor is beating Grand Chancellor Zhou, or more accurately, beating his faction," Mo Yingqi lowered his voice. "It's not poverty but inequality that worries people. When The Emperor's thunderous rage descends, some are sent to the Imperial Prison, while others are lifted up high and let down gently. And look at them—including Lord Wang—they all had close ties with Grand Chancellor Zhou... What do you think the remaining people will think?"

"But this was ordered by The Emperor..."

"Exactly. The question is, why would The Emperor show such favoritism?" Mo Yingqi blinked. "Several of those thrown into the Imperial Prison held higher positions than Lord Wang. The idea that The Emperor held back due to rank doesn't hold water. So, if you were them, would you think Grand Chancellor Zhou didn't try to mediate? Or even... would you suspect this was a play orchestrated by Grand Chancellor Zhou and The Emperor?"

After a moment of shock, Fang Wenbo's eyebrows relaxed, but soon he frowned again: "But with all this commotion, the Grand Chancellor probably won't just sit and wait for death, will he?"

"Of course not. He's not really a turtle; how could he stay curled up in his shell forever?" Mo Yingqi gently pulled the reins. "Right now, I'm just worried about whether my marriage will proceed smoothly..."