Chapter Seventeen: Prison Officer

  Qin Feng was startled to see Cai Yong enter, and thought to himself that he wanted to marry the other man's daughter, so he couldn't afford not to be humble. He clasped his fists in greeting and said, "What instructions do you have for me, Mr. Cai?"

  "It's not worthy of your teaching." Cai Yong was also in a bad mood, thinking that if it weren't for his daughter's face... Ah... "Qin Feng, I've come to tell you some good news. Tomorrow morning, you'll go to the Luoyang Prefecture government office. I've arranged a job for you there."

  At first, Qin Feng came to the Cai Mansion for two reasons: one was to show off his skills and be recognized by the people of Niu, and the other was to meet the talented woman Cai Wenji. If it were just about showing off, Qin Feng would have achieved his goal when Lu Zhi recruited him. However, having fallen in love with Cai Wenji and become a part of this world, Qin Feng was no longer satisfied with these goals; he had even greater ambitions.

  The old cunning, wants to keep me away from Wenji, well, I was thinking of how to leave the Cai Mansion anyway. Your achievements here are also limited, how can you become famous and come to marry Wenji! Thinking of this, Qin Feng smiled slightly and said: "Thank you, Mr. Cai, for your recommendation."

  "Alright, come back another day and take 50 taels (don't be surprised, it's just a simple matter of 1000 coins per tael). You can go now." Seeing Qin Feng agree readily, Cai Yong also let out a sigh of relief. It seems that this person also has some backbone, he was really afraid that Qin Feng would linger in the mansion and not leave, with Wenji by his side, he really had no other good solution.

  "Hmph, I won't take your money," Qin Feng said coldly.

  "Hehe, you've been at my place for almost a month now. As the accountant, and also teaching my daughter Arabic multiplication tables, this 50 taels is what you deserve." Putting aside his daughter's matter, Cai Yong had great appreciation for Qin Feng, and actually had a hint of expectation.

  The next day, Qin Feng walked to the entrance of the inner house.

  "Mr. Qin......" The tall guard blocked his way.

  "Sorry, Mr. Qin, the master has ordered that you should leave...". The short guard said. These servants of the Cai family admired Qin Feng very much, and the two guards looked embarrassed.

  Qin Feng knew that Cai Yong had temporarily refused the Wei family, and since someone like Cai Yong had spoken of a two-year agreement, he should probably keep his word. However, Qin Feng still felt that time was pressing in on him from all sides. He took one last look at the rear residence before gritting his teeth and turning to leave.

  "Mr. Qin!"

  Qin Feng heard a familiar voice and turned around to look for the shadow of the beautiful woman, but unfortunately, there was only Xiaolan, "Xiaolan, where is your young mistress?"

  "The old master sent two wicked women, it's really too hateful!" Xiaolan cautiously looked around and said: "Miss asked me to tell you that she will always be waiting for you... I hope Mr. won't disappoint my miss!"

  ……

  Ahh... Qin Feng stood on the street, looking back at the tightly closed crimson gate.

  "Wenji, Qin Feng made another vow, saying that by next year, he would return in glory to marry you. Hmph, as long as this year passes peacefully, next year will be the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and Cai Yong, that cheap old father-in-law, will probably not have the leisure to think about his daughter's marriage."

  Qin Feng tightened the bundle on his back, he knew that being disheartened was of no use, only by working hard could he achieve his wishes. He plucked up his spirits and headed towards the Luoyang government office.

  When he arrived at the provincial government office, he did not see Yang Bing, the governor of Jingzhao, nor the security officer of Luoyang, but only met Ji Rang, a subordinate official of the security officer "Luoyang Ling". (I feel that it should be equivalent to the current district head, but it should be the district head of a provincial city.)

  "Are you Qin Feng, the one who wrote 'Ode to the Goddess of Luo'?" Ji Rang said. "Ode to the Goddess of Luo" had already been widely spread in Luoyang city and was sung at many literary gatherings, so Qin Feng had gained some reputation.

  Fight on! Qin Feng shouted in his heart, adjusted his mentality and bowed: "It's me."

  "As expected, a talented individual." Qin Feng was tall and majestic, giving people a good first impression. Ji Ran said: "Follow me." Qin Feng was personally appointed by Yang Biao, the governor of Jingzhao, so Ji Ran, although his superior, did not dare to neglect him.

  Every dynasty has a place for breaking cases and detaining offenders. In order to facilitate the trial of offenders, the two places are generally adjacent to each other.

  Behind the government office in Luoyang is the Luoyang Prison (for convenience). From the outside, it's a circle of high and majestic bluestone walls, very impressive. But inside, it's far from that. There are only a few decent houses, the rest are small stone huts without courtyards or anything else. Later, Qin Feng found out that because it was an underground prison, dug out beneath the ground, most of what was above were just entrance stone huts. The few houses were for cooking and where the guards rested.

  "Hou Cheng, this is Qin Feng, the new prison governor of Luoyang Prison. You must assist him wholeheartedly and take good care of the prisoners," Ji Ran said.

  "It's a big deal." Hou Cheng said respectfully. (It's too much trouble to compile the dragon suit, so I'll pull out some third-rate generals here, and everyone will be familiar with them.)

  Hou Cheng, Qin Feng's heart moved slightly, this name was familiar. He couldn't help but look him up and down, and saw that he was a rough man with a strong and powerful feeling.

  "What about Cao Xing?" Ji Rang furrowed his brow and said.

  "Reporting back to you, sir, Cao Xing has temporarily left on official business and will likely return soon!" Hou Cheng said with difficulty.

  This kid is definitely going out to slack off. Cao Xing was Ji Yan's person, so he didn't ask any more questions. "Qin Feng, get familiar with things, if there's anything that happens, you can go find me at the front yamen." After giving these simple instructions, Ji Yan left.

  Wow, I didn't expect to become an official so soon. Although it's just a small official position, it's still an official one. Qin Feng, who had just become an official for the first time, was in a good mood and took great interest in sizing up his subordinates. Hou Cheng, Cao Xing, seemed to be under Lü Bu's command, now serving as the warden of the prison in Luoyang? It's also possible.

  Qin Feng, could it be that Qin Zi Jin from the Luo Shen Fu? Hou Cheng was also under this newly arrived superior, he didn't dare to slack off, and made a bow saying: "Lord Qin, Cao Xing...".

  "Uh-huh, I already know, you go down first." Qin Feng said.

  "Yes, there is something. Please go ahead and instruct me, sir." Hou Cheng bowed and left.

  Qin Feng wandered around his humble office, casually picking up a book on the desk, which was about the duties of Luoyang Prison.

  The duties of prison guards have been roughly the same since ancient times. In modern times, there is also labor reform and education. However, over a thousand years ago in the Eastern Han dynasty, these things did not exist. There were only two tasks: one was to guard the prisoners, and the other was to lead them through the hall during inspections.

  "In the Eastern Han Dynasty, prisoners had no human rights, no right to visit, and no right to parole." Qin Feng sighed and picked up the prisoner's file to take a look.

  Luoyang has a population of over a million, and this prison holds more than a thousand people. He took a closer look and found that there were very few murderers, most were arrested for minor offenses, almost all of whom were forced by the world. For example, Liu Dairen stole three sheng of rice from Zhang Dahou's house and was sentenced to three years in prison.

  "If you're going to steal, then steal gold and silver. Who steals rice and only takes three liters? It's clear they're being forced by life."

  Such things are not uncommon, and eight or nine out of ten are this type of crime. There are also some murders and robberies, where the victims are all big shots, and their mansions are being robbed, it is clear that they were forced by the world.

  Ancient prisoners had no human rights! Qin Feng sighed again, and suddenly a clever idea struck him. This one mu three fen land was his own say-so, just like Cao Cao's five-color baton, which brought fame. He could also do some humanitarian work on this one mu three fen land, do something that even the great Han dynasty hadn't done, and wouldn't he become famous then!

  Think and act, time waits for no man. Qin Feng shouted: "Come on, notify everyone to hold a meeting...to discuss matters!"