The Confiscation Begins with a Dead Account

Tang Dynasty. Before confiscating a household's property, make sure the accounts add up. Shen Yan is a clerk in the confiscation office of the Ministry of Revenue. He is present during the confiscation and records the accounts afterward. A single entry can ruin a person, or save one. The Cui family’s confiscated assets amount to 246 strings of cash, but the ledger is short by 36 strings, exactly the amount of his unpaid wages over three years. He keeps a small notebook that does not appear in the official records, documenting the tricks other people have pulled. Someone advises him, “Pretend you don’t see it, and you might live.” He replies, “The accounts can kill, or they can save. It all depends on who checks them.”