Chapter 27: The Magistrate Conducts Business

  The county government office of Jiangpu was built in the previous dynasty and now looks somewhat dilapidated. Although it has undergone several minor repairs over the years, it still appears old-fashioned. The Hongwu Emperor hated corrupt officials the most. After overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty, he had been advocating for officials to be honest and frugal for many years, and forbade them from being extravagant and luxurious. Therefore, none of the successive magistrates of Jiangpu County dared to rebuild the county government office at the risk of being beheaded, so they just left it as it was, using it as long as it was usable.

  The yamen is located in the east of the city, and there is a shadow wall at the main entrance. On the wall, a Qilin beast is carved, which looks very lifelike. On both sides of the gate are eight-character walls, which is also the origin of the folk saying "the yamen opens south with eight characters, if you have reason but no money, don't come in".

  On the east side of the gate, a large drum was placed, which is commonly known as the "Drum of Complaints". On the west side stood a stone tablet, five feet high and two feet wide, with a thickness of about one foot. The tablet had two warning sentences carved on it, intended for the people who came to file lawsuits. One sentence read: "False accusations will be punished three degrees more severely." The other sentence read: "Frivolous litigation will result in fifty lashes."

  These two warnings are to tell the people that when suing, think thrice before acting, do not falsely accuse others, and cannot bypass levels to appeal, otherwise the county magistrate will be very angry, and the consequences will be severe.

  The main gate leads to the "Yi Men", which is usually not open unless a local official takes office, and then it opens only once. If the common people come to file a complaint or if the officials inside send someone out, they generally use the side door on the east side, which is also called the "Sheng Men" by the locals. The opposite of this is the west side door, which is called the "Si Men", meaning that those who exit from this gate are basically death row prisoners about to be executed.

  Going further forward is the county government's main hall, unlike on TV, in fact, ancient officials tried cases, not all cases were tried in the main hall, the main hall actually tried major criminal cases, while general civil disputes or minor cases were reviewed in the second hall, and the county magistrate mainly used persuasion and mediation.

  The newly appointed county lieutenant, Cao Yi, is now standing outside the second hall, looking at a couplet hanging high in front of the hall. A fluffy whiskered big face was expressionless, but his eyes flashed a cold light quickly.

  The couplet on the pillar reads: "The law is applied without partiality, orders are carried out without exception; rewards are given with caution, punishments are meted out with leniency."

  This couplet can be said to be a banner, and it can also be said to be a whip. Everyone who sees it has different feelings in their heart.

  What is Cao Yi's feeling? Nobody knows except himself.

  Cao Yi was a military man, and when he first took office as a civil official, he wasn't used to the swaying gait of officials when walking. He flicked his official robes and strode into the Three Halls with big steps. The Three Halls were where the county magistrate worked and lived. In the flower hall on the west side, Magistrate Huang was sitting up straight, holding a Jingdezhen porcelain cup, slowly sipping tea.

  Huang Zhixian's name was Huang Ruide, he was around 40 years old. His face looked quite dignified, with a white and handsome complexion, a strand of green whiskers under his chin, looking very upright and unyielding, occasionally flashing a few hints of cunning in his eyes.

  He was a second-class Jinshi in the 24th year of Hongwu, a true Confucian scholar by training. After struggling for five or six years and making some efforts, he finally filled the vacancy of Jiangpu County Magistrate.

  Don't look at the county magistrate as just a small seventh-rank official, but he is indeed a fat post. Many jinshi and even the top scorer in the imperial examination are eager to be the county magistrate. Huang Ruide was able to become the county magistrate entirely because he spent a lot of money and knew how to advance and retreat.

  He slowly sipped his tea, Huang Rui De's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was meditating with his eyes closed.

  The light in the hall suddenly dimmed, and Huang Rui De opened his eyes to see a burly man standing at the door, wearing an eighth-grade official robe, quietly gazing at him.

  When Huang Rui De opened his eyes, Cao Yi cupped his hands and said in a loud voice: "I am Cao Yi, at your service, Your Honor."

  Huang Rui's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily stood up, smiling: "Could this be the brave general under the command of Prince Yan, the newly appointed County Magistrate Cao of Jiangpu County?"

  "Yes, it is."

  "Haha, Governor Cao needn't be so polite. As fellow officials, we should be as close as brothers. From now on, for all matters big and small in Jiangpu County, I will have to rely on your guidance."

  Cao Yihao burst out laughing and said, "Your Honor is too polite, I'm a newly appointed civil officer and don't understand many rules. If I offend you in any way in the future, please forgive me, Your Honor."

  The two men exchanged hypocritical pleasantries, growing more and more intimate as they spoke, until it seemed as if they had really become long-lost brothers.

  After some small talk, Huang Rui De politely asked Cao Yi to take a seat. As Cao Yi sat down and turned his head for an instant, a flash of annoyance flickered across Huang Rui De's eyes.

  According to official etiquette, a newly appointed official must visit their superior at the first opportunity after taking office and listen to their instructions. This is an attitude issue, from ancient times to the present, official etiquette has always been so.

  According to what he knew, Cao Yi had arrived in Jiangpu seven days ago and was staying at the government hostel. It wasn't until today that he finally came to pay his respects to this superior of his, a seventh-rank official. What did this mean? Clearly, he didn't take this seventh-rank official seriously.

  The officials and clerks in the government office were all talking about him, what they said was right, one mountain can't hold two tigers!

  Listening to Cao Yihao's hearty laughter, Huang Ruidi smiled calmly, with a deep-seated disdain flashing in his eyes.

  Yes, I despise them. He, who has spent ten years studying diligently and graduated from a prestigious academy, looks down on those martial artists who wield swords and guns from the bottom of his heart. No matter how many people you kill, no matter how many soldiers you lead, you are still just a martial artist, a coarse, unrefined, and uncouth martial artist!

  A warm and harmonious atmosphere of polite conversation filled the air, but a chill ran through the hall, spreading quietly.

  "What did Jinyulou ever do to offend our Zui Xian Lou?" Xiao Fan was very curious, their ancestors had been at odds for eight generations, what a deep-seated hatred.

  Lao Cai's eyes reddened, and something shiny rolled in his eye sockets.

  "Boss, our Drunken Immortal Building was once a renowned signboard in Jiangpu County. All the officials and gentry, big or small, would choose us as their first option when they wanted to entertain guests. It was truly a grand scene, with every seat filled..."

  Xiao Fan patted Lao Cai's shoulder and comforted him, saying: "You can't just lie on your past achievements and reap the benefits. Get to the point, what happened later?"

  Lao Cai sniffled and said, "Later on, the Golden Jade Building opened for business, but it was doing poorly. The customers were used to the taste of our Drunken Immortal Pavilion, so they weren't too willing to try a new flavor. Moreover, the chef at Golden Jade Building wasn't as skilled as ours, so their dishes didn't taste as good. The owner of Golden Jade Building got anxious and resorted to despicable means to sabotage us..."

  "What a despicable and shameless method?"

  "The Golden Jade Building secretly invited some street rascals, who came to our Drunken Immortal Pavilion every day, occupying a table each, ordering only a pot of tea for five cents, and sitting there all day. At that time, I was the manager, and seeing this situation couldn't continue, so I went to talk to their leader. But that rascal must have received great benefits from Golden Jade Building, completely ignoring me. Later, they became even more outrageous, throwing dead mice into our main hall, splashing feces, releasing snakes, and beating customers. Manager, you tell me, how can Drunken Immortal Pavilion still do business like this?"

  Xiao Fan's eyebrows furrowed: "Doesn't Old Man Chen know about these things?"

  Old Cai said with a bitter face: "How could I not know? On the day of the disturbance, I went to report it to the old master."

  "Why didn't he go report to the authorities?"

  Lao Cai shook his head and said, "Can't report it, can't report... Jin Yulou has a background."

  "What's going on?"

  Lao Cai's voice was much softer, and he said in a low tone: "Actually, it is Huang Zhixian's wine house."

  Xiao Fan's eyes widened in shock: "How is this possible? Government officials are not allowed to engage in business..."

  Xiao Fan still had this common sense, Zhu Yuanzhang particularly hated merchants and had long since issued an edict that any official or family member of an official who engaged in trade would be dismissed and investigated for punishment. How dare Huang Zhixian have the audacity to go against the wind and commit a crime?

  "Of course, officials cannot engage in business, but Huang Zhi County's superficial work is well done. The shopkeeper of Jinyulou surnamed Zhou seems to have nothing to do with Huang Zhi County, and no one can find any problems. However, this Zhou shopkeeper is actually the nephew of an old servant from Huang Zhi County's hometown, who is a distant relative of Huang Zhi County's family that has been out of office for five years and has returned home to enjoy his old age. Even if the Jin Yiwei were still around today, they wouldn't be able to find any connection between Jinyulou and Huang Zhi County..."

  Xiao Fan's face was a bit bitter: "This relationship is indeed quite complicated..."

  "There's no wall that doesn't leak wind, this thing is actually known by the officials and servants in the county government office, as well as the local gentry, but nobody dares to say it out loud. Once the news gets out, for the sake of the county magistrate's face, who wouldn't go to Golden Jade Tower to eat and flatter him? Those rascals come to cause trouble, would Old Master dare to report them to the authorities? Wouldn't that be inviting disaster for his family? Old Master has suffered a silent loss, and can only grit his teeth and watch as Golden Jade Tower squeezes our Drunken Immortal Tower out of business, day by day..."

  Xiao Fan was outraged by what he heard, he was so angry that he wanted to pull his hair out...

  Lao Cai saw Xiao Fan's furious face, his facial features were distorted, and he hastily comforted him: "As the saying goes, ordinary people don't fight with officials. The shopkeeper has already done so, you shouldn't be angry anymore. Bad people will eventually get their retribution, heaven will punish him..."

  This curse is really negative...

  "Will I get angry over this?"

  "What's wrong with you?"

  Xiao Fan's eyes almost spat out fire.

  I thought being the shopkeeper was a reward, but now I realize it's a punishment. Chen Si Liu, that old scoundrel, is too despicable! Just because I didn't marry his daughter? Is it necessary to hit back at me like this? Making me fight against Jin Yu Lou with her powerful background, isn't this just putting me on the fire to roast?

  When he's a duck, he doesn't mind, but he doesn't like being roasted! A dish flashed through Xiao Fan's mind.

  Peking roast duck, choose a white and tender fat duck, 100g sweet noodle sauce, 6 tablespoons of maltose, 3 tablespoons of cooking wine, evenly brush on the surface of the duck, roast over medium heat for 20 minutes on each side, roast and roast...

  Hot! So hot! Hot enough to sizzle...

  Chen Si Liu's face was filled with a sly smile as he spread sweet bean paste on his pancake, roasting it...

  "Shopkeeper Xiao, isn't it hot? You'll get heatstroke soon! Don't worry, you're almost done..."