54: Chapter 54 The Tax Officials Arrive! Ravenna's Revenge?!

One day later, White Cliff Castle.

The sunlight of a late autumn afternoon filtered through the high windows.

Rowan had just finished lunch when Butler Henry walked over with hurried steps.

He bowed slightly, his face carrying a hint of gravity as he said:

"My Lord, a tax collector has arrived outside the castle, claiming to be under orders from the County Tax Office to audit the territory's taxes."

"A tax collector? An audit?" Rowan set down his teacup, a flicker of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Ever since his father died in battle, White Cliff Territory had enjoyed a ten-year tax exemption.

Now, with time still remaining, why would someone come to audit the taxes?

"How many people came? How are they dressed? Did they present official documents?" Rowan's voice was calm.

"Reporting to you, My Lord, there are three of them."

"The leader is dressed in the Tax Office uniform and wears a bronze badge of a third-class tax collector."

"Accompanying him are a young man who looks like a clerk and a guard wearing the insignia of the County Guard."

Butler Henry reported quickly, but the details were clear:

"They presented a letter stamped with the County Tax Office seal, demanding entry to audit the territory's income and expenditure accounts for the past three years and requesting a reassessment of the tax amount."

The past three years? Reassessment?

A flash of bewilderment crossed Rowan's eyes.

"Oh? It seems the bigwigs in the county city have suddenly remembered our remote corner."

He stood up, wiped his hands with a napkin, his movements unhurried, "Let's go, Butler Henry, let us go and meet them."

"Yes, My Lord." Butler Henry acknowledged the order and left, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes.

Rowan returned to his bedroom and changed into a more formal dark gray lord's casual attire.

The small reception room on the first floor of the main castle.

When Rowan pushed the door open and entered, that third-class tax collector was standing with his hands behind his back, looking up at an old oil painting hanging on the wall depicting a hunting scene of the White Cliff Family ancestors, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the tabletop, looking somewhat impatient.

The clerk sat to the side, having already spread out a thick legal code and several documents stamped with red seals.

The guard leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his eyes scanning inside and outside the room sharply, carrying the indifference of someone just doing their job.

Hearing footsteps, the tax collector turned around.

He was about forty years old, with a fair complexion, and his brown uniform was pressed crisp and straight.

Seeing Rowan, he chuckled:

"This must be Baron Flynn of White Cliff Territory, right? I am Toby Hagger, a third-class tax collector from the Gino County Tax Office, here under orders to audit the tax matters of your territory."

Tax Collector Toby bowed slightly, his etiquette impeccable.

"Tax Collector Toby, thank you for your hard work." Rowan sat in the main seat, signaling the other party to sit as well, his tone flat:

"I wonder why the Tax Office suddenly decided to audit the taxes of my White Cliff Territory? If I recall correctly, the ten-year tax exemption granted by the Imperial Ministry of Finance is still in effect."

The smile on Tax Collector Toby's face did not change, as if he had long expected this question.

He took a document from the clerk's hand and placed it gently on the desktop in front of Rowan: "Baron, the tax exemption you mentioned is naturally valid."

"However, the Tax Office recently re-audited the tax exemption and tax reduction clauses for all territories in the North."

"According to Chapter 3, Article 7 of the Empire's 'Northern Special Tax Law Amendment', as well as the 'Supplementary Provisions on Encouraging the Reclamation of Wasteland and Population Growth in the North' issued by the Will Province Governor's Office last year, and..."

"Well, these clauses are quite professional and complex."

He paused, then continued at a fluent speed: "Simply put, the current application of tax exemption clauses requires meeting certain prerequisites."

"After a preliminary... well, investigation, it seems your territory has recently carried out armed construction that exceeds the necessary scope."

"This may be deemed as using tax-exempt income for non-approved purposes, thereby affecting the continued validity of the tax exemption qualification."

"We are here precisely to verify the specific situation and reassess the tax amount that your territory should pay."

These words were high-sounding and full of citations, pinning one accusation after another on him.

As for how the so-called tax regulations were defined, he was completely vague.

Rowan listened quietly, his fingers tapping lightly on the back of the chair, his face devoid of any expression.

The other party was clearly prepared; this rhetoric had likely been prepared long ago.

The purpose was not to audit taxes at all, but to find fault!

After a brief thought, he understood what was going on.

Ravenna Farrell.

He hadn't expected this guy's revenge to come so quickly, so directly, and so basely.

Having figured out the reason, Rowan couldn't be bothered to continue engaging in hypocritical pleasantries and pointless verbal disputes with the other party.

He looked directly at Tax Collector Toby and asked:

"Then, according to the Tax Office's reassessment, how much tax does my White Cliff Territory need to pay in arrears?"

Toby seemed not to have expected Rowan to be so direct.

He was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered that formulaic smile, held up two fingers, and said in a light, airy tone:

"Considering the potential non-compliant expenditures in your territory, as well as possible tax omissions over the past few years, after preliminary calculations, the tax to be paid in arrears, including corresponding late fees and audit costs, totals two hundred Imperial gold coins."

"Of course, this is just a preliminary estimate; the final amount can only be determined after a detailed audit of the accounts."

"However, if you, Baron, are willing to cooperate actively and show a good willingness to pay taxes, this amount... could also serve as the final result."

Two hundred gold coins!

Hearing this number, Rowan's expression did not change, but inwardly he was so angry he laughed.

This was almost equivalent to more than a year's total income for White Cliff Territory in a normal year!

This wasn't collecting taxes at all; this was daylight robbery!

What would happen if he didn't pay?

This thought flashed through Rowan's mind instantly.

Refuse to pay taxes and have a direct confrontation with the tax collector?

That might play right into their hands.

Resisting taxes, attacking a tax collector—these charges would be enough to give Ravenna more sufficient reasons to use official power to take direct coercive measures against White Cliff Territory.

By then, the nature of the conflict would change.

Ravenna was perhaps just waiting for him to be young and impulsive, unable to swallow this insult, and retaliate.

But this didn't seem like a scheme that fool could come up with.

In a flash, Rowan had weighed the pros and cons.

He lowered his head in thought, as if he were truly seriously considering this "reasonable" amount.

A moment later, he turned to the old steward, who was standing to the side with a slightly pale face, and said:

"Butler Henry. Go to my study and take two hundred gold coins from the box in the third drawer on the left."

Butler Henry looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief and heartache.

Two hundred gold coins!

This was the family fortune that his Lord had worked so hard to save by managing the territory!

But looking at Rowan's calm, waveless eyes, all his words were stuck in his throat.

Butler Henry lowered his head and took a deep breath:

"Yes, My Lord."

Seeing this, Tax Collector Toby revealed a satisfied smile; things were going a bit more smoothly than he had imagined.

The clerk was quickly recording something in the ledger.

The guard remained expressionless, but his tense shoulders seemed to relax slightly.

Before long, Butler Henry returned with a leather money bag, which made a crisp clinking sound when placed on the table.

Tax Collector Toby gave a look, and the clerk immediately stepped forward, opened the money bag, and carefully counted the contents.

A moment later, the count was correct.

The clerk repacked the gold coins, sealed them with the Tax Office's special seal, and then handed over a pre-prepared temporary receipt, requesting Rowan to sign it.

Rowan picked up a quill pen and fluently signed his name in the designated spot.

He didn't need to make things difficult for this clerk who was just a working man.

Tax Collector Toby finally collected the receipt and the money bag.

He walked up to Rowan, this time his smile carrying a hint of admonition:

"Baron Rowan, you are indeed a man of wisdom who knows the times."

"Young people, sometimes they are inevitably hot-headed, but they must also know how to assess the situation."

"The sky of this Gino County is neither big nor small. Some people, some places, are not things you can covet, and certainly not things you can provoke."

He paused pointedly, "This time, just consider it a small reminder."

"In the future, it's best to just stay quietly in your own territory, farm a little, hunt a little."

"Don't always think about climbing those high branches you can't reach, or coveting things that don't belong to you."

"Otherwise, next time it won't be just a matter of losing money to avert a disaster."

After speaking, he stopped looking at Rowan and gestured with his chin to the clerk and the guard: "Let's go!"

Watching the three of them leave.

Rowan remained sitting in the chair, without getting up to see them off.

Butler Henry walked to his side, his lips moving as if wanting to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a heavy sigh:

"My Lord... this..."

Rowan waved his hand, signaling that he didn't need to say more, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he muttered to himself in his heart:

"My money is not so easy to take..."

"Ravenna Farrell!"

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