After all, a magistrate can be replaced, but if the taxes aren't delivered, the imperial court might question your loyalty.
"Can the peasants of Qingxian City still be squeezed for more money, after paying so much to the Qingxian Society every year?" Lu Xuan asked.
"Lord magistrate doesn't know the full picture," Gu Yang explained. "These peasants are adept at deceiving and evading. They always underreport their monthly income and yearly taxes, crying poverty. They all need a good disciplining."
"Compared to the family heads like yourself, aren't they all just poor folks?" Lu Xuan implied something deeper.
"Ah, Magistrate Wu, you're wrongly accusing me," Gu Yang sighed. "My large family, with its young masters and mistresses, maids and servants, consumes a great deal every day. Sometimes, we even have to borrow from outside."
