In his previous life, he was disfigured and his eyes were gouged out, and he was reborn to kill ever

In fact, Governor Zhou also understood this, if the prince had not shown mercy.

He also wanted to use his surrender to persuade all officials in Yunzhou who had committed corruption to come forward and confess their crimes.

There was no chance for him to even use the fine to save his life this time.

During his nearly twenty years in office, he embezzled nearly 300,000 taels of silver, as well as some shops and farms.

He estimated that if he surrendered himself, all the embezzled silver, shops and other properties would be handed over to the court.

Then the fine is probably about the same, and all of his wife's dowry must be used to compensate for it.

Thinking of this, he felt very conflicted.

From the moment he started embezzling money, he knew there was no turning back.

Moreover, the later it gets, the bolder and more greedy you become, and you feel like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water.

He was lucky that his crime of corruption would never be exposed.

He was also afraid that his actions would be exposed, and in the end, he lost his life because of money.

Now that Prince Jing knew of his corruption, he was still willing to give him a way out.

This was something he didn't expect.

However, by doing so, he would implicate his wife and daughter.

Deep down, he also wanted to live.

But I really can’t bear to leave my wife and daughter penniless.

He was silent for a long time, and finally said:

“Since Prince Jing already knows that I am corrupt.

Then it would be impossible for me to escape the crime.

I can either surrender myself or hand over the property I have coveted to the court.

As for the fine, madam, you don't have to raise it for me.

I will accept any punishment the court imposes on me.

Anyway, we can’t leave you penniless and without a place to stay.”

After hearing what he said, Qian burst into tears:

“Master, if you don’t pay the fine, even if you are not sentenced to death, you may have to spend your whole life in prison.

How could I bear to let you live in darkness forever?

My daughter and I will not be without a place to stay. I can take my daughter back to my parents' home.

As for money, we have hands and feet, so we can support ourselves, right?"

Zhou Ruolan also nodded repeatedly.

"I can embroider, and I am pretty good at it. With this skill alone, I can support myself and my mother.

Father, we are a family, we should shoulder the burden together, right? "

Governor Zhou was deeply moved.

But what I feel more is regret.

Why is he greedy?

Why implicate your family?

Seeing that Governor Zhou was still hesitating, Qian quickly wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief, then stood up with a determined look on her face.

"Master, if you don't agree, then I...I will crash into a wall and die in front of you.

It also saves me from having to live with guilt later."

When Governor Zhou heard this, he immediately stood up in panic and grabbed Qian.

"lady…"

His voice was choked with sobs.

“You’ve never had a good relationship with your mother’s family.

If I go back penniless, how will I survive?"

“Don’t be afraid. After all, I am the married daughter of the Qian family. Even if we consider our blood relationship, I won’t be treated harshly.

Master...just obey me.

This is a rare opportunity.

Without further ado, we will go to the yamen tomorrow and confess our crimes.

This will show our sincerity and will result in a lighter sentence."

"No, father, mother, let's go to the government office and turn ourselves in now.

There is no time to lose. ”

Zhou Ruolan said while blinking her tearful eyes.

"Yes, let's go now."

After saying this, the mother and daughter pulled Governor Zhou out.

"Wait, you can't go now."

Governor Zhou suddenly stopped and looked serious.

"Master, what are you worried about?"

"I need to change my clothes so that I can look presentable even if I'm going to confess my crime."

After Governor Zhou finished speaking, Qian was stunned for a moment, then she came to her senses and couldn't stop crying.

She wiped her tears.

"Okay, I'll go change your clothes before we go out."

Zhou Ruolan also knew that her father was very concerned about his reputation and was particular about his dress.

After going to jail, I definitely can’t be as particular as I am at home.

But there is no way around it. Having committed a sin, it is only right to atone for it now.

Qian changed Governor Zhou into a more respectable outfit, and then the family of three got on a carriage and went to the prefectural government office.

On the second day, people in the streets of Yunyang County were discussing the fact that Governor Zhou confessed to his crime of corruption and that Zhao Xueqing was sent to the yamen to await trial for murdering the prince and princess.

"Did you hear that?"

An old man with a white beard in the teahouse was sipping tea and stroking his beard and said,

"Prefect Zhou, I went to the prefectural government office yesterday to confess my crime.

Tsk tsk tsk…

During his nearly twenty years in office, he embezzled more than 300,000 taels of silver.

There are also countless shops, mansions, antiques, calligraphy and paintings.”

“Of course I’ve heard about such a big thing.

I never thought that such a poor place like Yunzhou could produce so much silver to embezzle.

Poor people in our Yunzhou, there are still so many people who don’t have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear.

It would be great if we could use this money to help those suffering people."

Someone sighed.

The old man stroked his beard, ate a fried peanut, and continued with a smile,

"Governor Zhou took the initiative to confess his crime and handed over the stolen money. It must not be that he suddenly felt guilty and did so."

"What's the reason for that?"

The people around were confused and asked questions immediately.

“Isn’t it obvious?

It must be His Royal Highness Prince Jing who facilitated this behind the scenes.

Prince Jing must have found evidence that Governor Zhou was corrupt, and so he forced him to confess his guilt at the government office."

The old man spoke leisurely, and the smile on his face became more and more intense.

Without waiting for the people around him to ask more questions, he continued,

“In fact, since Prince Jing had evidence that Governor Zhou was corrupt, he could have just sent people to raid the Governor’s mansion and bring him to justice.

Doing so is also very gratifying.

However, Prince Jing chose to let him surrender himself.

According to the laws of Daliang, Governor Zhou could be exempted from the death penalty if he voluntarily confessed his guilt.

In this way, it served as a role model and deterrent to officials in Yunzhou who were engaged in corrupt practices.

Prince Jing could find evidence of corruption by the governor of Zhou, so finding evidence of other officials' crimes was even easier for him.

But if we were to check all the officials in Yunzhou, it would be both time-consuming and laborious.

It will also force many officials to take desperate measures, and who knows how much trouble will be caused in the end.”

Having said this, the old man began to drink his tea leisurely again.

"That's wonderful. It's really wonderful."

Someone suddenly realized and said,

"In this way, not only can we save a lot of effort, but we can also make most of the corrupt officials in Yunzhou confess their crimes.

They will voluntarily hand over the stolen money to reduce their guilt.

In this way, all the government offices in Yunzhou will have sufficient silver.

With this money, we can greatly improve the lives of the people in Yunzhou.

That's great. "

Everyone applauded and cheered, and a happy smile appeared on everyone's face.