As the head of a department, there was one thing that had to be said—he could enjoy a soft, comfortable leather chair all to himself.
Some also called it the “Minister's Chair.”
Li An leaned back in his chair, leisurely flipping through the documents in his hand today as usual.
Most of the affairs had already been mostly handled by his subordinates, leaving nothing more than a final stamp.
Thus, as long as there were no special circumstances, the work of the Evaluation Department's Minister could basically be wrapped up in the morning.
After all, those in high positions bore responsibility, not the burden of doing the actual physical work themselves.
‘Now I finally understand.’
‘Why those high-ranking officials have nothing to do all day, yet always love to meddle in their subordinates' work.’
Li An finally thoroughly understood his past department heads now.
Recently, Li An had three worries.
His first worry was that his work was simply too easy.
It was so easy that his original desire to flee the empire was slowly wavering.
He was like a pet fox that had become too comfortable.
‘Wake up, Li An Adolf.’
Li An reminded himself in his heart once again.
He absolutely could not forget his original goal just because his days were comfortable.
With this thought, his eyes grew firm once more.
As for his second worry...
“Minister, do you have some time now? There is something I would like to discuss with you.”
“My apologies, I am currently busy with work.”
“...”
Recently, Isha was always trying to talk to him in private.
Ever since attending the banquet at the Duke's estate that day, she had seemed restless, as if there was something she desperately wanted to tell Li An.
But how could Li An possibly let her speak of such things?
‘It is already troublesome enough that Her Highness the Princess's identity has been exposed.’
‘If she lets anything else slip... that would truly be the death of me.’
And so, Li An stared intently at the documents in his hands, putting on an appearance of being utterly swamped with work.
Isha opened her mouth, but ultimately bit her lip and silently returned to her seat.
Li An quietly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
‘Save me.’
‘Father, Mother, quickly come save him.’
Probably due to the tension, even his neck had grown somewhat stiff.
At times like this, Li An deeply missed the catkin massage.
Thus, he decisively stood up and walked toward the break area.
As for the resentful gaze behind him...
He simply pretended not to see it.
“Welcome, Li An.”
The moment he stepped into the break area, his third worry appeared.
The imperial Crown Prince, Kane.
Kane was wearing a loose robe, exposing his upper body. Supporting his chin with both hands, he greeted Li An with a smile.
He cut a seemingly polite and refined figure.
By his side, the catkin massage therapist was drenched in sweat, carefully massaging his body, utterly terrified of accidentally hurting the future Emperor of the empire.
Li An completely gave up resistance and simply lay down on the massage bed next to him.
Soon, a pair of soft hands rested on his back.
“Is it truly alright for Your Highness to visit the government office building so often recently? Are you not busy with official affairs?”
“What is the harm in taking an occasional rest? Besides, taking care of one's body is also part of official business, isn't it? Hahaha!”
As the massage slowly loosened the back and glute muscles tightened from horse riding, Kane's expression gradually relaxed.
“Actually, I came here today because I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Let's get this straight first—if you want to see my horse, forget about it. I don't have a horse at home anymore. That horse was sent to a large pasture to be raised long ago.”
“It is not about that.”
Kane paused.
“Though... the matter of the horse does have a slight connection to it.”
Fortunately, when that incident occurred at the Duke's estate, not many people had actually seen the Pegasus.
Kane had been downstairs at the time, so he naturally hadn't seen the flying horse.
Otherwise, with his obsession with that horse, it would probably not be as simple as just letting people take a look.
“Do you know Count Deval?”
“I do.”
Li An paused.
“I heard he is someone who is very fond of spreading news.”
“Haha, saying he is fond of talking is still far too polite. He has probably spread half of the rumors in the entire empire.”
Count Deval.
Although they had only met once at the banquet, Li An had a very deep impression of this Count.
People who loved to chime in and spread gossip could be found anywhere.
And Count Deval was clearly a prime example among them.
“Recently, however, there are rumors that Count Deval has not been paying his taxes honestly.”
Kane said meaningfully:
“Everyone across the empire is working hard every day to feed the people. Yet, if someone is secretly stuffing the money that should be given to the empire into their own pockets...”
“That is indeed rather inappropriate.”
Li An nodded.
Kane usually behaved so brainlessly that Li An occasionally forgot—
This guy was the Crown Prince of the empire.
The Crown Prince's words made his intentions crystal clear.
‘I am going to make a move on Count Deval.’
‘And you can also make a move on him while you're at it.’
Li An pondered briefly.
Between the Crown Prince and Count Deval, whose side should he stand on?
This question did not require any consideration at all.
The Crown Prince, of course.
No matter how careless or even untrustworthy Kane seemed on a regular basis, that was merely a facade.
There would always be a time in the future when he would need the other's help.
And right now was clearly an excellent opportunity to accumulate favors.
“If someone truly dares to conceal illegal gains, there should be no problem even if we force them to hand the money over to the national treasury, correct?”
“I knew you would say that!”
Kane instantly grinned from ear to ear.
“As expected, Li An understands me best!”
Li An, however, sighed silently in his heart.
Still, he could not help but feel somewhat puzzled.
“But... how exactly did Count Deval offend Your Highness?”
The smile on Kane's face froze instantly.
“I am absolutely not harboring a grudge against him because I heard that after he was injured from horse riding, he ran to the government office building for a massage.”
“...”
Li An fell silent.
Kane added in all seriousness:
“All of this is for the empire.”
“...”
Li An could only nod as if nothing were amiss.
“Three letters.”
“Are they for Her Highness Serena again?”
Isha looked at the letters on the desk, her expression calm.
“Should I continue reading them?”
“No need.”
“Do they require replies?”
“Please, if you would.”
Isha sat down and began writing rejection letters on Serena's behalf.
The wording was polite, yet properly expressed apologies in just the right measure.
Anyone reading it would feel that the recipient indeed wished to attend but was unfortunately too swamped with official business to spare any time.
It was a flawless rejection letter.
The only problem was—
The person writing the letter was not the recipient's subordinate at all.
But her younger sister.
The other Princess.
Meanwhile, Li An had already prepared everything needed for this business trip.
The empire likewise levied taxes on nobles.
Of course, almost no noble would honestly hand over every single coin of tax without missing a penny.
They would always hide a bit, more or less.
The empire would normally turn a blind eye to this.
But once they offended someone who truly carried weight, the situation would naturally be different.
When that happened, the empire's experienced tax officers would personally make a move.
And then...
They would unearth every single valuable object that could be found in the noble's house, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
“Kane, Devon, is everything ready?”
“All ready.”
“Rest assured, I will evaluate every single item, even every strand of hair in Count Deval's house, with absolute clarity.”
Chief of Section One, Kane.
Chief of Section Three, Devon.
Both were outstanding talents in the Evaluation Department who had gained Li An's recognition.
With just a word from Li An, they could absolutely unearth even the ham that Count Deval had hidden away.
Count Deval's territory was about a two-hour carriage ride from the imperial capital.
Though it was not within the capital, transport was highly convenient, making it very easy to travel in and out of the capital normally.
Tax collection was broadly divided into two types.
The first was a peaceful, amicable taxation.
Providing advance notice of the date, paying a leisurely visit, eating some food, exchanging a few pleasantries, and finally taking a symbolic amount of money.
Everyone understood the unwritten rules.
As for the second type...
That was completely different.
Arriving suddenly at the territory like today, directly auditing the accounts and confiscating the estate.
This was taxation in its truest sense.
“You must all be exhausted from your journey.”
The moment Count Deval saw Li An arrive in his territory, his face froze instantly.
But in the next instant, he flashed an amicable smile once more and led everyone toward the parlor.
He was indeed a well-informed man.
He had already guessed the general situation.
“Since you have traveled all this way, why not rest a bit first? Have a cup of hot tea to warm yourselves. When the body grows cold, one can easily fall ill.”
“No need.”
Kane interrupted him expressionlessly.
“We are here on official business this time.”
With that, he handed over the search warrant.
“Please confirm this, Count. Furthermore, since a moment ago, I seem to have seen the servants in your manor secretly moving some items.”
“Kindly have them stop.”
The smile on Count Deval's face immediately stiffened.
As expected.
They were still far too sharp.
He had originally thought to buy time, allowing his servants to hide as many valuables as possible.
Only for Kane to have seen through his intentions long ago.
“Hmm?”
Kane picked up a simple, primitive clay pot.
“This is a clay pot in the traditional style of the Kingdom of Subada.”
He inspected it carefully.
“It is exceptionally well-preserved. Based on its current condition, it is valued at approximately five gold coins.”
“This... this is an imitation!”
Count Deval said hurriedly:
“It is absolutely not authentic!”
“Is that so?”
Kane picked up an evaluation magic tool and lightly scanned the interior of the clay pot.
“Interesting.”
“The markings here completely match the manufacturing techniques from the corresponding years in the Kingdom of Subada.”
“If the Count has any objections to the evaluation results, you may fill out an appeal document and submit it to the Evaluation Department afterward.”
“...”
Count Deval was left speechless.
At the same time, Devon had already led his men to turn the entire mansion upside down.
The valuables hidden by Count Deval were uncovered one after another.
Kane was responsible for the evaluations.
Devon was responsible for the searches.
Li An sat to the side, not saying a single word, yet his sheer presence maintained an oppressive pressure over the scene.
In the end, they only needed to write all the evaluation results into the documents.
The division of labor was clear.
The efficiency was astonishing.
It was practically perfect teamwork.
“Hmm?”
Kane suddenly noticed something.
“Is this... a Jewel Frog?”
Count Deval's face instantly turned deathly pale.
“Well...”
“To think the Count would raise such a thing.”
Kane picked up the container holding the Jewel Frog.
“This kind of pet is quite popular among collectors.”
“However, if they are raised for breeding, imperial law requires advance registration.”
“Therefore, this frog must be temporarily confiscated.”
“Ribbit...”
The frog inside the glass container let out a sorrowful croak.
Its body was covered with brilliant patterns, glittering under the light like an actual gemstone.
“Evaluated value...”
Kane glanced at it.
“One silver coin.”
“Ugh... Ceris, I am sorry.”
Count Deval looked at his beloved pet in absolute despair.
However, just as Li An was about to write “one silver coin” into the document—
“Croak!”
The Jewel Frog seemed to sense its fate and suddenly lunged out of the container.
“What?”
“Catch it!”
The scene instantly turned into absolute chaos.
Fortunately, the Jewel Frog was quickly caught again.
However, this commotion also caused the pen in Li An's hand to slip.
The “one silver coin” he had originally written somehow received an extra stroke.
And became—four silver coins.
Li An looked down at it.
He was silent for a moment.
Then, he went back to sorting the documents as if nothing had happened.
“The items requiring evaluation should be mostly completed.”
“We will send the tax bill over as soon as possible after this.”
“Well then, Count, we shall take our leave.”
The group left as quickly as they had arrived.
Leaving only Count Deval standing in place, looking at his ransacked mansion, appearing as though he had aged ten years.
This tax collection operation could be said to have ended perfectly.
Except for a minor mishap.
◆ Imperial Magazine — Jewel Frog Prices Skyrocket!
Has the true value of the Jewel Frog always been severely underestimated?
Recently, a Jewel Frog personally evaluated by Li An, the Minister of the Evaluation Department, has triggered heated market discussions.
Originally evaluated at only one silver coin, what exactly is the true value of the Jewel Frog?
Li An closed the newspaper.
This was merely a small mistake.
Moreover, Kane seemed quite satisfied with the results of this operation.
As for a tiny frog...
It shouldn't cause any real impact.
In fact, in a certain sense, such a harmless little blunder might actually cast a slight shadow over his reputation.
That was good.
It actually aligned better with Li An's goal of keeping a low profile.
However—the next day.
◆ Imperial Magazine — Prices Soaring Wildly!
The Jewel Frog, originally worth only one silver coin, has now seen its market price surge to ten silver coins!
This news quickly ignited the market.
And matters did not end there.
Merely one day later.
The price of the Jewel Frog skyrocketed once again.
Twenty silver coins!
Li An put down the newspaper, the expression on his face gradually stiffening.
As someone who had experienced the skyrocketing and subsequent collapse of Labubu prices in his previous life, he had already faintly sensed where this matter was heading.
This thing...
It was probably about to spin out of control.
Rate on N.U.
