Chapter 26: The Intention of the Drunken Old Man

  The idiom "new official, three fires" comes from Zhuge Liang. The first fire was the fire at Bozhou Slope, which left Xiahou Dun's 100,000-strong Cao army with almost nothing; The second fire was placed in Xinye, and the water attack made Cao Ren and Cao Hong's 100,000 troops almost annihilated; The third fire was the fire at Red Cliff, where one million Cao soldiers were defeated, and only a few dozen people followed Cao Cao to escape.

  When Lu Haoshan took office, he wanted to make a big impact, but unexpectedly, he was suppressed by Chen Gui and others, and finally "fell ill". As a result, since taking office, he has not done one good thing, not reviewed one unjust case, nor removed or appointed anyone. It can be said that he is very mediocre, without any outstanding achievements, and seems to be quite dull. Perhaps in order to enhance his own brilliant image, the new county magistrate organized many competitions, such as archery, poetry contests, chess, polo, etc., even the ladies and young women from wealthy families were invited to participate in a calligraphy competition to see whose handwriting was the most beautiful and elegant. In order to set an example, he also ordered the officials' family members to actively participate.

  The new county magistrate's approach has indeed brought a lively atmosphere to Jiangyou County, and the common people are satisfied. The officials in the yamen have already burned incense with fewer miscellaneous taxes, and now there is free excitement to watch, and maybe even prizes to be won. How can they not be happy? Even those women, under their husbands' encouragement, actively participate, after all, this is also a matter of face.

  On the day of the competition, Lu Haoshan went to watch the competition venues with the county lieutenant, chief clerk and six house officials, occasionally commenting on the performances, sometimes even showing affectionate greetings to the common people, which earned him a lot of applause and increased his reputation.

  "Adult, recently this Lu County Magistrate seems to be buying people's hearts." Zhou Dàyuan, who was following behind, found an opportunity to say to Chen Gui: "This change is really fast, thinking back when he first took office, he still had a clean and high-nosed face, how long has it been? He changed into this state."

  As for Lu Haoshan's change, Chen Gui had seen it early on. From receiving that bowl of chicken soup to accepting the beautiful maid he gave him, it was clear that he was step by step walking towards degeneration. However, Chen Gui wasn't in a hurry and only calmly said: "The moon will be full, people will change, hitting the southern wall and retreating back is a very common thing. But no matter how he changes, as long as he can't leave behind the word 'greed', then he won't be able to jump out of our palms."

  Pausing for a moment, Chen Gui continued: "Besides, we've been in power for so many years, it's time to let others take the limelight and let me keep a low profile."

  Like those petty profits, Chen Gui didn't care much, especially since he had already made a fortune earlier. To make this County Magistrate Lu take the blame, he still needed to give him a taste of sweetness; if they really confiscated his property, not even a single valuable item would be left, wouldn't that arouse suspicion?

  "A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind. You are indeed a great man, this move is truly brilliant." Zhou Dayuan hastily flattered.

  Chen Gui smiled slightly and didn't respond, but Zhou Dayuan could tell that his flattery had hit the right spot.

  Zhou Dayuan glanced at Chen Gui and casually said: "Cao Hu ran back and forth, almost licking the shoes of the one with the surname Lu."

  Perhaps it was because he had caught the attention of County Magistrate Cao, but before the New Year, Cao Hu had received a windfall, so he was exceptionally enthusiastic towards Lu Haoshan, running back and forth with great diligence. And Lu Haoshan also intentionally handed over matters to him to handle, so in this way, it seemed that outsiders who were paying attention could see a slightly different flavor.

  "There's always someone who has to run ahead and behind, let him be." Chen Gui's eyes showed a hint of displeasure, but he still managed to keep his temper.

  "Yes, sir."

  Zhou Dàyuan responded with a single word, not saying much more. Some things aren't accomplished overnight; they require careful and meticulous work. As long as he doesn't let his old opponent's impression of him deteriorate in the eyes of their former superior, accumulating small gains will eventually lead to qualitative changes and success.

  Lu Haoshan walked to the place where the woman was copying the women's laws, and watched with great interest those beautiful characters. The characters were like the person who wrote them - the woman's writing lacked a bit of boldness and flair, but had an extra touch of softness and warmth. Those who dared to post their own works must have had some foundation in calligraphy. In Lu Haoshan's eyes, those beautiful characters were so pleasing to behold. Since ancient times, there has been the custom of raising boys in poverty and girls in wealth, letting boys know from a young age the hardships of life, making them work harder; while raising girls in wealth was about knowing that they wouldn't need to use their skills, yet still spending a lot of money to hire people to teach them music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, cultivating their temperament and enhancing their elegance, so as to find a suitable husband.

  A son-in-law is also half a son; if you find a good one, it's like having an extra helping hand.

  Seeing Lu Haoshan's interest in these words, Cao Hu hurriedly introduced: "Sir, these were all written by women from Jiangyou, and most of them are wives of government officials."

  "Oh, has the winner been announced?"

  Cao Hu's face turned slightly red, but he quickly smiled and replied: "The evaluation is out, each one is Chen Li Shi."

  "Miss Chen?"

  "Chen County Magistrate's third concubine, surnamed Li, originally named Yunniang." Cao Hu explained carefully: "This time we won the championship, it is entirely deserved, Chen County Magistrate did not privately ask for favor or request special treatment."

  Cao Hu did not say, Chen Gui did not ask for private attention, but he secretly paid attention to it, letting the judges choose his first love Li Yunniang among several level-playing calligraphy works. This is a subconscious behavior, of course, Jiangyou County is just that small, and Li Yunniang is also Chen Gui's third wife, everyone knows nothing about it, and no one has any doubts.

  Lu Haoshan looked at the female lyrics written by Li Yunniang in beautiful handwriting, and a faint smile appeared on his lips, nodding his head and saying: "Hmm, not bad, this writing has some flair."

  "Yes, yes." Cao Hu hurriedly replied.

  Cao Hu's heart was secretly delighted, it seemed that he had pinned his hopes on being first place, and it seemed that the new county magistrate's evaluation of it was not bad. At least when looking at other characters, he would only take a casual glance, but when looking at Yunniang's character, he looked with great interest.

  After staying for about a quarter of an hour, Lu Xian, the organizer of this event, continued to inspect with his subordinates and bailiffs.

  .......

  It was night, Lu Haoshan was reading in the study, shaking his head and swaying, Liu Jinchu was waiting outside the door, while Chen Zi was helping to grind ink and paper on the side, occasionally serving tea and snacks. The study had two large bookshelves, filled with books, and at the four corners of the room, charcoal stoves and sandalwood were burning, a small window was half-closed, allowing fresh air to come in without being poisoned by carbon monoxide. The room was filled with the fragrance of books, making it a good place for studying.

  "Not bad, this chapter is written too well."

  "It's indeed worthy of Master, this batch of notes is really incisive."

  "It's truly breathtaking, every time I read it, I have a different experience, learning is endless, learning is endless."

  ......

  In the study, Lu Haoshan sometimes read articles and sometimes evaluated phrases. Although he was the only reader in the entire study, he was self-entertaining and happy as if he were enjoying a gentle breeze. However, to Chen Zi who was sitting beside him, it seemed like chewing wax - those profound things were incomprehensible no matter how hard she looked or listened. At first, she could still hold on, but by midnight, Lu Haoshan became more and more spirited, while she was getting sleepy.

  "Ah..." Chen Zi couldn't help but let out a long yawn.

  "Zi er, what's wrong?" This sudden movement startled Lu Haoshan who was reading nearby and asked with concern.

  Chen Zhi felt a bit out of place and hastily made a bow, saying: "Master, it was this servant's carelessness that caused her to yawn, startling you. Please punish me."

  "What time is it now?" Lu Haoshan asked casually, looking out of the window.

  "In response to your question, sir, the night watchman has just struck two o'clock."

  "It's so late!" Lu Haoshan said in surprise.

  Chen Zili hastily said: "Yes, sir, it's already late at night, why don't you let me serve you and help you rest?"

  I've been wanting to sleep for a long time. Chen Zi didn't understand these scholarly things at all. She was just a small maid who hadn't received much education on ordinary days, and Lu Haoshan was the master while she was the slave, not daring to overstep her bounds.

  "Zi'er, you go to sleep first, I'm still sharp and my thoughts are flowing like a spring now. I reckon it'll be some time before I sleep, so you don't need to wait on me here, just let Jinzhu stay." Lu Haoshan said with concern.

  "Sir, isn't this a bit...?"

  "It's settled then. No need for so many people to attend to you, go to bed early. Women who don't sleep well have dull skin and lack luster overall, off you go."

  Seeing Lu Haoshan's expression, Chen Ziru nodded with a sigh of relief and said before leaving: "Master, I'll be staying in the west wing. If there's anything, just call me."

  "Alright, go."

  "Yes, sir, you should get some rest too."

  After Chen Zhi left, Liu Jinzhu finally walked in, smiling and saying: "Great, Shan Ge, we've finally gotten rid of that leech."

  Lu Haoshan slammed the book on the table, shook his head and said: "Doing anything has to avoid her, sneaking around, I don't know if she is the county magistrate or I am the county magistrate. It's really frustrating that I can't drive her away. To be honest, if she doesn't leave, I won't be able to hold on."

  Shaking head and swaying brain while reading a poorly understood programming book, pretending to be diligent, actually waiting for the chess piece next to me to leave, and after teasing her spirit, finally got rid of her.

  "Shan Ge, don't worry, I saw that woman go back to the west wing to sleep. Just now, I saw her yawning repeatedly and almost fell asleep while walking."

  Lu Haoshan nodded, putting away the books, fruit, and pastries, and Liu Jinchu hastily spread out a sheet of letter paper. Lu Haoshan picked up a small wolf-hair brush, lightly dipped it in ink, closed his eyes, and after a good while, suddenly opened them again, beginning to write gently on the letter paper. The characters on the paper were unlike his usual bold and free style, but instead had a softness and elegance reminiscent of a woman's handwriting. If Li Yunmang were present, she would have been shocked: the writing looked just like her own.

  (Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, but I'm having bad luck, got food poisoning, spent half a day in the hospital on IV fluids, so...)