Chapter 91

Their fierce expressions were instantly replaced with shock. Their chaotic gazes followed the loud noise and finally saw Elara and the endless army and supply carts behind her.

This kind of presence was something they had never even seen with the high-ranking governor. The guards immediately shrank back in confusion and didn't dare to block the way.

Elara ignored them. She simply ordered General Qi to break open the gates of the governor's residence. With startled cries from the servants and concubines inside, she walked straight into the main hall without hiding anything.

She ordered a young servant from the residence to summon the steward in charge of finances and to bring all the accounting records from the past years. At the same time, she had General Qi surround the entire residence tightly. Then she sent Uno to bring in all the officials from every level in Marigold City.

Two incense sticks' time passed.

Elara sat on the high seat in the main hall of the residence. She set down the last account sheet she had quickly skimmed through. Outside, the sound of angry yelling and struggling grew closer.

"You! Who are you people?! How dare you kidnap me, the governor of Marigold City! This is a capital offense! I'll have you all executed for treason!"

A middle-aged man with a flushed face and the heavy smell of alcohol and perfume was thrown into the hall by Uno. His clothes were messy and disheveled.

Inside the hall, over a dozen men wearing different official hats were already kneeling. But not one of them looked like someone worthy of their rank.

Some, like the newly dragged-in man, had red, drunken faces. Some were barely dressed, wearing only their undergarments. Some still reeked of powder, looking like they had just crawled out of a brothel.

No matter their appearance, all of them trembled on their knees. Their faces showed obvious fear and panic.

When they saw the governor thrown to the ground like trash, their fear only deepened. Their eyes nervously glanced toward the calm and noble woman sitting on the high seat, trying to guess who she was.

"Elara spoke, "Governor, are you awake now?"

She set aside the bamboo scroll ledger and stood in front of the man.

The governor seemed to wake up a little after sensing the odd atmosphere around him. But he had only recovered a bit.

When he realized this unfamiliar young woman had forced him to kneel and seemed to have taken over his seat, he exploded in anger.

Since becoming governor of Marigold City, he had grown used to flattery and obedience. With the capital far away, he had acted like a king in this region for years, enjoying every form of luxury and submission. Who would dare treat him like this?

Still half-drunk, he shakily stood and tilted his chin up, yelling with his eyes closed, "Guards! Seize this woman who dares to trespass in my hall! Imprison her immediately and execute her!"

But none of the guards responded. The hall was silent, filled only with the trembling breaths of the terrified officials.

Elara looked at the arrogant man, her patience now completely gone.

She thought of the pile of fraudulent accounts she had just reviewed. All those fake numbers, embezzlement, and lies meant to deceive the court while squeezing the people dry. Then she looked again at the crowd of useless officials who held power but did nothing good with it.

Her fingers twitched slightly at her side.

She had left Plumera's capital city to find a place where she would no longer be constrained. A place to start building her future.

Marigold City was the location she had chosen after careful planning. She liked this land very much. But she had no tolerance for those who used this place for their own dirty gain.

This wasn't Plumera's capital. There were no figures like Lord Gregory to interfere. No rival powers she had to balance.

This was her fief, her starting point, her land with her name on it.

Here, she didn't need to hold back or tolerate anything.

She stared at the man still trapped in his delusions of authority. There was no reason to hold back.

She turned and walked back to the raised seat in the hall. Before the man could shout again, she waved her hand and said calmly, "Take him away. Execute him."

General Qi looked up at her, then lowered his gaze again without expression.

Uno stepped forward immediately. He dragged the yelling man toward the center of the kneeling officials. Then, with a strong grip, he pulled out the dagger Elara had given him.

Without hesitation, he slashed the man's swollen neck cleanly and swiftly.

Bright red blood sprayed out, splashing onto the faces and bodies of the officials kneeling around.

The entire hall was silent for a few seconds. Then came the delayed screams of terror. Several officials who had seen High Qiong's head fall to the ground fainted from the shock.

The rest who barely managed to keep their eyes open were trembling and completely terrified.

Elara sat in the seat of power. She had been dealing with rebels these past days and had seen corpses everywhere, so now she could calmly face scenes like this without blinking.

She glanced at the officials who were trembling all over, then picked up the bamboo ledger she had just thrown aside. She casually opened a page and said,

"Ye, last month you took fifty thousand silver taels from the city treasury under the name of disaster relief. Where did you spend the money? I just came from outside Marigold County, and whether in the city or outside, I didn't see a single relief site."

The one named Ye was an official who had just climbed out of some pleasure house. He was dressed only in undergarments and reeked of strong perfume.

"I... I..." Ye was already scared to death by the sudden beheading of High Qiong. After being called out, he was so frightened his teeth nearly bit his tongue. He stammered for a long time but couldn't get a full word out, and his face showed even more panic.

Of course he couldn't answer. The money he had taken for disaster relief had already been completely stolen for his own use.

Elara had no patience to listen to his stammering. She turned her head slightly and nodded at Uno.

"This one too. Drag him out and execute him. Then have Guard Ten take some people to search his home and bring back all the hidden money and anything valuable enough to repay debts. Anyone in his household who enjoyed stolen funds will be punished by the law. Execution for those who deserve it, exile if necessary, or branded into slavery if it comes to that."

"Yes."

Ye started crying loudly when he heard his fate. He slammed his head to the ground again and again, begging Elara to spare him.

But Elara had no reason to show mercy. If he wanted to live, he should've thought about that earlier. As a government official, he knowingly broke the law and committed corruption. When the time came to face consequences, he shouldn't expect pity.

Ye was dragged away. A few seconds later, another head fell to the ground. The fresh blood made the remaining officials even more terrified.

Elara turned to the next ledger. "Yuan, last month you also took nearly all the stored grain from the city treasury under the excuse of disaster relief. So where are your relief stations? I didn't see even one."

The moment Yuan heard his name, his whole body collapsed.

He lay shaking on the ground, soiling himself, his eyes rolling back, and foam spilling from his mouth. He looked like he had gone mad and was about to have a seizure.

Elara looked at him in disgust.

She didn't need his answer. Everything was already clearly recorded in the ledger. The grain he took had been secretly sold to rich merchants in the east side of the city. Most of the money was kept for himself, except a portion given to High Qiong.

"Drag him out. Execute him."

Yuan's head hit the ground with a loud thud. More officials in the hall fainted from the fear.

Some couldn't take it anymore. Before Elara turned to the next page, they began loudly confessing all their corruption in hopes of mercy.

Elara smiled. The ledgers already held all the proof. Did they think she wouldn't find out if they didn't confess?

And did they think confessing would cover up the fact that they were drinking people's blood and eating people's flesh?

Elara treated all scum equally. So next, whether they confessed or not, she named them one by one for their crimes.

And each one she named, she executed and confiscated their homes.

The hall echoed with screams and begging mixed with the chilling sound of heads falling to the floor.

On her first morning in Marigold City, Elara sat in this grand hall and dealt with ninety percent of the officials in the entire county.

After executing the last corrupt official, Elara finally set the bamboo slips aside. She told Uno to have people collect all the heads and hang them at the tallest crossing point in the center of the city between the four districts. Everyone in every district had to see them clearly.

At the same time, she ordered General Qi to send the Qi family army to seal off all city gates in Marigold County. No one attempting to escape was allowed to slip away.

The corruption in the government was almost cleaned up. But the cleanup of the rest of Marigold County wasn't over yet.

In the eastern district, there were many rich merchants who had worked closely with the corrupt officials. They controlled a lot of resources in the county.

Elara wasn't going to let them go. She wouldn't give them any chance to flee. After confirming that General Qi had sealed the entire city tightly, Elara ordered Uno to take the ledgers himself.

He was to arrest and confiscate the homes of every single merchant who had bribed or made dirty deals with the officials listed in the ledgers.

But before Uno left, Elara gave one last instruction.

"When you go arrest these merchants, before you act, announce their crimes in public. Let everyone nearby hear clearly why they're being taken."

"I will also have someone list out the crimes of all those who were executed today. But before that, you must make sure everyone knows this is not a random purge. These people are being punished because they deserve it."

Merchants were necessary for a city to grow. Elara wasn't going to let the corrupt ones go, but she needed to calm the decent ones.

If Marigold County was to prosper, she would have to do business with them. The economy needed their support.

So if a merchant hadn't been too involved in corrupt dealings with the officials, Elara would not touch them. In fact, she would try to keep them at ease. She didn't want to scare them all away, or rebuilding the economy would be very difficult.

"Yes."

Uno took the order and left. With that, the two most corrupt areas of Marigold County, the government and the business circle, had been handled for now.

But after removing so many officials and merchants at once, the city couldn't function without replacements.

Elara picked up the list of government staff found in High Qiong's study.