The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 29】

To be precise, sparks flew throughout the entire Ministry of Finance.

The Empress Dowager had granted special authority for the Special Tax Bureau to audit the interior of the Ministry of Finance.

‘If it’s the Special Tax Bureau, they’ll scrape out every speck of dust from inside the Ministry of Finance.’

The State Minister’s influence was also involved.

‘Supporting what my daughter wants to do would be the proper path for a father.’

It was thanks to Duke Vincenheim, who had decided to help with Rianel’s work even if he couldn’t receive her forgiveness, persuading the Empress Dowager.

-The Special Tax Bureau, as an independent agency established by the Former Empress, has faithfully performed its duties based on integrity and diligence since its establishment. In recognition of its expertise, temporary authority is hereby granted to inspect the work and ledgers of other departments.

Part of how things came to this was that the Inspection Bureau, which the Former Empress had favored, had been completely disbanded.

The Special Tax Bureau had somehow survived since it was originally a place that handled practical work related to taxes. But the Inspection Bureau, whose very purpose was to crack down on other departments, disappeared immediately after losing the great shield that was the Former Empress.

Since the Empire wouldn’t immediately become corrupt just because the Inspection Bureau disappeared, the Empress Dowager didn’t demand the revival of the Inspection Bureau either.

Instead, when audit work was needed like now, she would designate specific departments each time and give them power, and this time the Special Tax Bureau was assigned that role.

And the people of the Special Tax Bureau who received additional work were.

“Now, there will be an external audit.”

“Wahahahaha. Destroy everything! Destroy everything!”

“No, we can’t destroy things. We need to collect evidence.”

Showing 100% job satisfaction.

“Block them! Lie down!”

“Somehow don’t let them in!”

The Ministry of Finance people, who had been suspended anyway and were resting thinking of it as vacation, belatedly entered the palace and formed a human chain in front of the Ministry of Finance building, lying down on the ground.

“Oh my, this is obstruction of official duties, sir. Please get up.”

“I don’t know! Damn it! Cut my belly!”

“Well, you’re not someone who’s been eating government rice for just a day or two, so you know very well how to utilize the fact that obstruction of official duties is a lesser charge than having internal corruption exposed.”

However, the Special Tax Bureau people had also accumulated experience from meeting various high-amount tax delinquents.

When going to collect taxes, it was routine for the person in question to disappear or to be blocked from the entrance.

“Let’s move them one by one. I’ll take the legs, you take the upper body.”

“Right. Heave-ho, please move just a little, sir.”

“Let go, you dogs of the Empress Dowager!”

Around the time such a commotion was happening.

Another door of the Ministry of Finance opened and Rianel peeked her head out.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, what’s this.”

“There was a back door?”

The Special Tax Bureau people straightened up and put down the luggage they were carrying, while the Ministry of Finance people who were suddenly dropped from mid-air looked around with wide eyes in surprise.

Anyone from the Ministry of Finance knew there was a back door there, but even they hadn’t guarded that door.

Because even they didn’t know how to open that door…

“What, how did she open it?”

“I found it under the flowerpot. Let’s go.”

Rianel returned the key to its place as if it was nothing, and soon the Special Tax Bureau people followed behind her.

“Hey, block them! What are you doing! Block them!”

“The rear gate! The rear gate first!”

“No, shouldn’t we block the main gate first?”

The Ministry of Finance people who were in confusion didn’t know what to do, and ended up having both the main gate and rear gate breached.

“So where are the ledgers? Did you find them?”

If the Ministry of Finance people had been attending work normally instead of being suspended, they would have heard the audit news early and hidden or incinerated internal documents.

However, since they didn’t have enough time for that…

“They’re here.”

The important documents were in their proper places.

“No, you bastards!”

“Hey mister, please be quiet.”

“You little shits!”

“Oh my, if you do this, assault charges will be added to obstruction of official duties.”

“Just because you’re wearing an armband, you’re really acting up!”

Their belated resistance wouldn’t change anything.

As time passed, fewer people resisted, and the Ministry of Finance people sat down with tired faces or crouched down staring into space in despair.

Royhum didn’t even show up, perhaps thinking it was hopeless.

Or maybe he thought he could just blame internal corruption on his subordinates.

In any case, it was a good time to thoroughly shake down the interior.

Til picked up a ledger.

“What is this? Who told you to lump together supply costs like this?”

He immediately caught a suspicious part.

There were no detailed breakdowns at all, just massive expenditure records listed under the item ‘supply costs.’

“If anyone in our department recorded things like this, they’d be dead that very day. Where the hell did the detailed items go?”

“What department records such trivial expenses one by one…!”

“We do?”

“….”

“Even if you bought supplies, the amount is too large, right? Do I have a lot of time? I’m going to the supply warehouse to count all the quantities and check if they match the amounts.”

“Of course they won’t match! They’re supplies! We already used them!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“There’s a way to verify.”

Rianel said.

“The merchants who supply goods to the Imperial Palace also keep ledgers, so we can cross-reference the items and amounts there.”

The merchants’ ledgers would look better than the Ministry of Finance’s ledgers.

Because merchants had to properly record delivery quantities and item values for transaction records to be recognized and to receive payment.

‘The merchants might have colluded with the Ministry of Finance guys to manipulate the ledgers, but…’

Even in this case, there was a way to find out.

‘Then we can look at the tax filing records.’

While there are people in the world who want to pay less tax, there’s no one who wants to pay more. They would have filed their taxes according to their actual income.

“As expected, you’re smart, our newcomer.”

“Damn it!”

He spat out a crude curse and then sprawled out like someone who had lost all fighting spirit.

Meanwhile, Rianel was looking at something else.

“What is this? Why is a family trip listed as overseas training?”

“A trip? I went to a training institution that properly issues certificates! This really is training!”

“Hmm, there is a certificate, but…”

When a commotion arose, Wilbrin approached.

“The actual training period was only two days though, sir?”

“But the hotel expenses recorded in the ledger are for two weeks.”

“Oh my, that’s true. You even chose only the finest hotels to stay at? Was the lecture venue perhaps a hotel?”

The man whose embezzlement was discovered couldn’t argue further and his face turned red.

Meanwhile, other Special Tax Bureau people also found suspicious parts one by one.

“What’s this salary statement? Why were you processing salaries for employees who already quit? What, severance pay? Was being a civil servant such a good job? Sending severance pay for 2 years after quitting?”

“I expected it, but you really took business trip allowances to the absolute limit.”

“But not a single person submitted a business trip report.”

“While it’s customary not to touch dinner expenses… submitting the same receipt with the same balance three times is too careless, isn’t it?”

And so the Ministry of Finance people, whose dirty laundry had all been exposed, were.

“You despicable and filthy bastards!”

“They think they’re so clean! Living off nothing but grade 1 purified water!”

“Uh, but we are clean?”

They had been able to come audit other departments precisely because there was nothing to find fault with in their records.

The silence was brief.

Realizing that staying quiet would only lead to their downfall, someone opened their mouth to attack.

“How long do you think you’ll stay on top? The Former Empress also acted all noble like she was the cleanest person in the world, but in the end she died buried in mud! So you people too-,”

Smack!

“Be quiet.”

Rianel slammed the document file down on the desk.

When someone who always maintained a businesslike attitude did this, the Special Tax Bureau people widened their eyes in surprise, while the Ministry of Finance people fell silent under the oppressive atmosphere.

“What’s wrong?”

Only then did Rianel realize she had reacted oversensitively.

“Insulting the Former Empress is the same as insulting me.”

“Wow, our newcomer’s loyalty is amazing.”

Wilbrin, who interpreted anything Rianel said in a positive light, gave her a thumbs up.

No one noticed Rianel’s true feelings that had inadvertently slipped out.

* * *

Except for one person.

“You knew the exact origins of the Special Tax Bureau.”

Usually people came in knowing nothing at all, then learned the truth while working at the Tax Bureau.

So.

“Then you must also know that I became the Bureau Director of the Special Tax Bureau for Master’s sake.”

Rianel’s feelings about this were:

‘No, I had no idea.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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