Unspoken concerns

  Min Anfeng rushed back to the county government office, reported the situation to Bi Si, and determined that this case was done by Mao Shisan and his gang of thieves who had been in and out of the outer state for many years.

  Bi Shi tapped his forehead and said: "I've heard that Mao Thirteen's gang is extremely fierce and brave. There are no strong and capable constables in our county to subdue him, what should we do?"

  Min An replied, "Your Honor can submit another petition to the county government for assistance. There are less than ten constables in our prefecture's jurisdiction, and yet we have a case involving thirteen provinces, with over a hundred households robbed. This is indeed a major case that cannot be handled by our small prefecture alone."

  Bi Zhen frowned: "Mao Thirteen is a wandering bandit, usually won't stay in small places for long, might as well wait for him to leave the county on his own..." Turning back to see Min An not responding, he immediately changed his tone and said: "Let this official write another letter to Wang Zhi County, disturbing Wang Zhi County, this official is afraid that the next term's evaluation will be lower..." Before finishing speaking, he looked at Min An with his eyes.

  After the three-year term of office is over, the superior officials will give the lower officials a written evaluation, examining four aspects: governance, politics, talent, and age. This is commonly known as the "four-grid assessment". Among them, the administrative aspect is to investigate the situation of the official's jurisdiction, including the crime rate of cases such as prostitution, homicide, robbery, and theft. Bis's term is almost over, his political performance has been mediocre, and he has also offended his superiors. Finally, it was unfortunate that he encountered Mao Shi San, who had a notorious reputation, committing a crime in Huangshi County. He looked at Min An, not because Min An didn't understand the connection inside, but because he hoped Min An would follow his intentions and get rid of the hot potato, properly handling the matter for him.

  Min An understood Bi's intention, and the official rules that were supposed to be spoken out loud were swallowed back down. He naturally knew the temperament of the East House, which was a master who would shrink his head into his shell at the sound of thunder, and all sorts of difficulties had to be shouldered by him first.

  Bi Zhe only needs to throw the burden, but Min An has to go and lead the subsequent deployment. The biggest difficulty is to persuade Fei Chu to take action and capture Mao Shi San. Min An had dealt with Mao Shi San before and knew his character and abilities.

  In the late afternoon, Min An went to the back door of the county government office and picked a handful of purple wildflowers, with mud still on the roots. He walked into Fei Yi's courtyard, where Fei Yi was standing with his hands behind him beside a wooden frame, quietly admiring the dried flowers and grasses in the fading sunlight, as if appreciating a rare painting. His body was surrounded by a layer of floral scent, covering up his original incense fragrance, and the gentle breeze carried it to Min An's nostrils, bringing a refreshing feeling.

  Min An handed over the wildflowers covered in mud and said with a flattering tone: "Take a look, can this kind of flower be used?"

  Fei Yi turned her head and looked at Min An's hand, where soft mud water was dripping down from his fingers. She frowned but didn't say anything.

  Min An said in a low voice, "You've been in the county for thirteen days, and every day is just picking flowers and grass, serving and playing with silk sachets. I haven't seen you do anything else. Now I'm dealing with a tricky case, can you help me? Seeing that Fei Yi didn't respond as usual, he continued to say, "You did promise Mr. Bi to stay here and listen to my orders."

  Fei Yi still didn't say anything, but raised his ink-black eyes to look over, making Min An's face flush with embarrassment. Min An was originally just a low-ranking official and had no right to assign Fei Yi any tasks, let alone that Fei Yi had already paid the "food and lodging fee" and could be considered a guest of Officer Bi Si.

  Min An waited for a while, seeing Fei Yi as usual not paying attention to him, and said with a straight heart: "Your temperament has always been cold, staying in our county without leaving, you must have something important to do. Don't expect me to believe what you told the adults, the more low-key you are, the more I suspect that you have other plans. Say it, what do you want to do? If you don't speak out honestly, I will report it to the adults."

  Fei Yi said faintly: "I want to ask Wu Ren to be my master."

  Min An was taken aback: "Is that it?" All his previous guesses about Fei Yi's "scheme" had been for nothing.

  "What do you want me to do?"

  Min An didn't respond, thinking seriously for a moment, feeling somewhat enlightened. "No wonder you stand in the courtyard every day, it turns out you're guarding Master's door, waiting to see if he comes back."

  Fei Yi calmly said: "You help me persuade Wu Ren, and I'll help you with your case."

  "Deal."

  "I'll help you this one time, but don't expect it again."

  Min An agreed without thinking: "Good." Turning back, he felt strange and asked: "What did you learn from your master?"

  Fei held up a withered flower and examined it between his fingers, saying: "My family member is suffering from a headache, and needs to be treated with Wu Ren's silver needle technique. Wu Ren has rules for treating illnesses, and does not treat officials or their relatives. I want to ask him to take action, but cannot break his rules, so I can only beg him to be my teacher and learn the skill of acupuncture."

  Min An smiled and said, "You've even investigated Master's background, it seems you have some connections. Master's past cases are sealed in the Ministry of Justice's files, only high officials and special envoys can access them. That you were able to find this place is truly astonishing, what exactly is the 'Non-Official Gentleman' all about?"

  Her face turned even paler: "Mother passed away, Father doesn't love me, what's the point of anything."

  Min Anshi stopped short, no longer following this line of conversation. He glanced at the dried flowers hanging from the eaves and said in a warm tone: "Noni is quite skilled at arranging these flowers and plants. Every time I see you drying and pressing them, you seem very proficient. Did some kind-hearted young lady teach you?"

  His eyes softened and his tone unconsciously became warmer: "For her, I can do anything."

  Min An let out a soft sigh and smiled slightly, listening to Fei Yi's evasive answer. He roughly guessed what Fei Yi meant. Following the implication, he continued: "That young lady is very fortunate. Of course, if you can get my master to nod in approval and accept you as his apprentice, it will also be a fortunate thing for you. If my master takes you on, naturally, I'll help you handle this case properly. What do you say?"

  Fei Yi glanced at Min An, didn't say anything, and pointed to the gate of the courtyard.

  Min An looked surprised: "What's wrong?" Was it meant to drive him away in person?

  Fei Yi looked at Min An's shirt with patches of rouge here and there and said, "You go wash up first."

  Min An lowered his head and took a look. After going out for a trip to the office, the corner of his shirt was stained with grass ash and wood leaves, and there were handprints from girls on the cuffs and sleeves, which still had lipstick stains. He pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe his hands and said: "Alas, I will be welcomed next time I go to the countryside. The girls all surrounded me, chasing after me to see the patterns on my clothes. After they finished looking, they wanted to touch, and after touching, they stuffed some handkerchiefs, lip balm boxes, and other things into my sleeves, filling them up. They even patted a few palm prints on my clothes. When Cuihua saw it, she scolded me for being unclean..."

  He walked out with his head down, muttering to himself, and ran into Hua Cui, who was carrying a basket of vegetables. He turned around and wanted to run back to the courtyard, but Hua Cui's eyes were sharp, and she quickly caught up to him, grabbed his ear, and shouted: "The clean clothes I just put on you this morning are already dirty like this after just one day? Take them off! Wear a hemp shirt when going out!"

  Min An was like a mud eel in Hua Cui's hands, struggling but unable to break free from her control. He hung his head and followed her as she walked away. Fei Yi saw Min An's defeated appearance from behind and couldn't help but smile.

  That evening, Min An dressed neatly in a hemp short shirt and black pants, carrying a lantern to find Fei Yi. Fei Yi changed into a cyan cloth robe, tied up her hair, and was already standing steadily there.

  Min An looked left and right: "Didn't I call a few bailiffs to assist you? Why aren't they here?"

  Fei Yi walked towards the gate of the county government office: "No need, let's go."

  Min An chased after him and asked hesitantly: "Really?"

  Fei Yi didn't respond again and pursed her lips.

  Min An led the way, holding a lantern to light the path. The mountain road was winding and dark, with only a few faint stars shining through the trees. Owls hooted loudly in the woods, and occasionally a twig or pebble would be blown by the wind onto Min An's face. He covered the lantern with a piece of animal skin to shield the flame from the wind, carefully watching his step. After walking for a while, he felt that it was too quiet at night, and Fan Yi seemed to be following closely behind him, not making a sound, as if floating along.

  Min An started looking for something to say, casually asking about the situation at Fei Yi's house. Fei Yi naturally didn't respond as usual. A night owl flew over with a hooting sound, startling Min An. He stood still for a moment, turned his head back and saw that Fei Yi was still standing under the tree, calm and composed, maintaining some distance from him.

  "Let's go." Min An called out and continued to climb the mountain in the dark. When he was sweating profusely, a voice came from behind: "Where are you taking me?"

  Min An wiped her sweat with her sleeve: "Thank goodness, you finally spoke up."

  "I wanted to remind you that you just passed by this pine tree."

  "Is it?" Min An pulled out a sheepskin map and took a look, smiling wryly, "No wonder I felt like I'd walked this road before."

  Fei Yi took the lantern from Min An's hand and walked ahead to lead the way. Min An quickly followed him. Fei Yi's footsteps were neither fast nor slow, and the lantern in his hand was steady, without casting any scattered light. Min An walked alongside him for a while, and sweat beads appeared again. As he wiped away the sweat, he glanced at Fei Yi's face, where the soft glow of the lantern illuminated his sharp features, subtly reducing his cold demeanor by a few degrees. However, his lips remained tightly pursed, hinting at his impatience.

  Min An thought to himself, it's not that he was afraid of doing these trivial things before, but rather that someone who might be a rich and noble young master would agree to being dragged into the mountains in the middle of the night to hurry along, and yet that person actually agreed. It can be seen that the conditions for becoming his apprentice must have been very attractive. Otherwise, he wouldn't have put aside his impatience and followed him tonight.

  The mountain path was eerily quiet, and Min An fell behind Fei Ying. After walking for a while with his head down, he suddenly spoke up: "You know, our county is situated on top of a mound of chaotic graves. When we travel outside, we often step on the bones of the dead. Master Bi thinks it's unlucky, so he specially invited my master to invite the gods to calm the evil spirits. My master is skilled in miscellaneous studies and has some tricks up his sleeve. He can also examine minor illnesses, so news of this spread, and outsiders would invite him to perform rituals, which is why you haven't seen my master for half a month."

  "Uh-huh."

  Fei Yi dropped a word and didn't continue the conversation, Min An heard the sound of night beasts rustling in the wind, leaned against Fei Yi's back, and continued to say: "I told Mr. Bi to set up a fierce altar to calm the ghosts, but he wouldn't listen. Instead, he built a temple for the black-faced red-clad official, treating him as a true god, and every first and fifteenth day of the month, he would go to burn incense, talking to the clay statue of the official...

  Min An said up to here, deliberately cut off the tail of the words, and looked at Fei Yi. Fei Yi seemed not to understand the meaning of these words, and his expression was still light. Min An bit her lip, and simply clarified: "You probably don't know that the Soap God in the government is 'Dragon Yang's Matchmaker', and those who worship him speak into the ears of the god image, hoping that the god image will show spirit, and send the beautiful men in their minds to them."

  Fei Yi walked steadily forward, holding the lantern, her profile calm and serene. After a long while, she replied, "I understand what you mean. Looking at the world, no one dares to touch me, so Bisu can't become a threat, don't worry."

  Min An fell behind, letting out a long sigh. After all, he also had to rely on Bi Shi's favor for half a bowl of rice, knowing his fondness for male charm, and couldn't completely destroy his stage presence, so he could only subtly remind him in private.

  It was probably because Min An had sold Fei Yi a favor that they strolled along the winding mountain path, chatting leisurely.

  Fei Yi said: "The affairs of the government office, I see you know a lot."

  Min An straightened his waist and said with some self-satisfaction: "The various irregularities and conventions in the government offices can't escape my eyes."

  "How did you know so many bright and dark things?"

  "When I was three years old, my father took me to the government office and let me play under the table in his warm chamber. From a young age, I heard and saw many things about being an official, so I naturally knew some things. Later, when our family fell on hard times, I went to work as a clerk in three different government offices, where I encountered many strange events. After seeing and hearing many things, I wrote them down, and they became the secret to my success in eating at public expense."

  Fei Yi didn't say anything else, but just kept these words in her heart.

  Thank you for closing the pig's ears with two landmines, Ben San's landmine, and Little Sun's landmine O(∩_∩)O

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