66 Chapter 66

◎Farewell◎

Outside the long pavilion, friends are seeing you off, it must be a farewell, with a lot of sorrow.

Su Yuheng stood there, looking reluctant: "We agreed that the three of us would work together and strive to climb up, why did you sneak away?"

Jiang Jingyun smiled: "I have my reasons."

"An excuse," Su Yuheng muttered in dissatisfaction, "I think you are just tired of life in the capital and want to take this opportunity to escape from here."

Jiang Jingyun felt guilty after being hit in the heart. He smiled awkwardly and said, "No, as long as the officials who are sent abroad do a good job, they will have the opportunity to be promoted. I will come back then."

He keeps talking nonsense, there is no way Su Yuheng would believe him.

"If you leave, there will only be Zhengbai and I left in the capital. It will be so boring staying here. Otherwise, I will apply to be sent to another place." He was a seventh-rank scholar. If he was sent to another place, he would either be a county magistrate in a wealthy area or a county magistrate in a poor area.

If I'm lucky, maybe I can be colleagues with Jiang Jingyun again.

"Don't say such angry words," Jiang Jingyun advised, "You are doing well in the Imperial Academy and have a good chance of promotion. Why are you running away so quickly?"

The president of the Hanlin Academy is old and has long stopped taking care of affairs. The person who actually holds power now is Scholar Zhao.

Jiang Jingyun knew very well about his teacher's character and would never be jealous of talented people or suppress the younger generation. Therefore, as long as they work hard, they will have no problem climbing up step by step. "Besides, if you work hard in Beijing and get promoted, you can promote me when you have power, right?"

"No matter what you say, you are right." Su Yuheng was still unhappy. They had known each other for many years and were reluctant to part suddenly.

"Okay, don't be sad," Zhang Zhengbai stepped forward and comforted him, "Jingyun will definitely come back in two or three years at the shortest, or four or five years at the longest." Regardless of his friend's outstanding abilities, Jiang Jingyun's Hanlin teacher would not let him wander around outside all the time.

Jiang Jingyun raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "Brother Zhengbai, do you have confidence in yourself or in me?"

"We have both," Zhang Zhengbai smiled. "We'll be here, waiting for you to come back."

"No problem." Jiang Jingyun agreed readily.

In the past, the winners of the imperial examinations gathered together, but now it is an appointment in the court. We are close friends and neighbors even though we are far apart. However, if so.

Jiang Jingyun waved goodbye to the two and climbed onto the carriage. "You guys can go back. I'll send you some local specialties after I settle down in Fu County."

"Remember to write to me often. You haven't even set off yet, but you're already thinking about the local specialties!" Su Yuheng sniffed and said dissatisfiedly.

"Okay, I'll just write to you. But don't be greedy for Zhengbai's share and ask for half." Jiang Jingyun retorted.

"If you don't want it, then don't want it. Who cares!" Su Yuheng retorted unconvinced.

Seeing the two people bickering before parting, the sadness in his heart faded a little. Zhang Zhengbai smiled and bowed: "The mountains are high and the rivers are long. I hope you are well and we will see each other again in the future."

"Goodbye." Jiang Jingyun also bowed.

"Bon voyage." Su Yuheng waved.

"good."

As the carriage drove away and Jiang Jingyun looked at the gradually blurred city walls, he was filled with emotion: he had studied hard and put in a lot of effort just to one day be able to step into the center of power, but now that he had really touched it, he didn't want to get stuck in it and just wanted to escape.

The human heart is really complex and changeable.

"If you're reluctant to leave, we can come back later." Xiao Muyan hugged him gently from behind and whispered to comfort him.

"Yeah." Jiang Jingyun nodded and held Xiao Muyan's hand tightly.

Fortunately, the person in your hand will never change.

After figuring it out, he smiled and said, "Fu County is actually not far from our hometown, so it will be convenient for me to go back to visit my relatives in the future." It's a pity that Qing County is not on the route, otherwise he could take the opportunity to rest and stay at home for a few days.

After receiving the letter of appointment, officials must promptly go to the designated location to take up their posts within the specified time. They are not allowed to stay without permission and are not allowed to take detours on the way. They must go directly to the destination. 【1】

"If it's not far, we can send someone to bring uncle and his family to live here permanently." Xiao Muyan suggested.

"We have to travel so far, and I don't know if the old man is willing to go there," Jiang Jingyun laughed. "Let's wait until we are settled down. We don't know what the situation is like there yet, so it's useless to speculate."

"Okay, I'll follow your arrangements." As long as the couple are one, Xiao Muyan can adapt to wherever they go.

But Jiang Jingyun is the same.

He was halfway through the journey to his new post and had already lost a lot of weight.

It was fine at first. The road near Beijing was flat and wide, and even though the carriage was occasionally bumpy, Jiang Jingyun could still barely endure it.

The further south you go, the worse the road conditions become.

In the end, he even wanted to get out of the car and walk to his post.

Unfortunately, reality does not allow it. Not to mention that Jiang Jingyun does not have the strength to do so, even if he did, the biting cold wind blowing in his face would be enough to make him drink several pots of wine.

Seeing Jiang Jingyun sitting on the cushion that had been thickened several times, with a stove in his hands, wearing a fur coat, and his face pale from the cold, Xiao Muyan felt heartbroken.

After putting another layer of quilt on him, Xiao Muyan sat down next to him and put Jiang Jingyun's cold hands in his arms. "When we passed by the village just now, I sent Qingzhu to inquire. In two days, we will be able to reach Guangfu."

"Ah, we just got to Guangzhou!" Jiang Jingyun wailed in grief, throwing himself into Xiao Muyan's arms and rubbing against him, "That means it will take several more days to get to Fu County."

"Well, but we can stay in Guangzhou for two days and take a short rest before setting off again." Xiao Muyan hugged him tightly and comforted him.

Before taking office, officials had to first go to the provincial capital to pay a visit to their superiors, exchange relevant documents there, and then go to the county town to take up their posts. However, due to Jiang Jingyun's remonstration, the prefect who was supposed to retire this year has been dismissed and investigated, and his accomplices have also been taken to the capital for trial. The next prefect has not been decided yet, so he was received by the Tongzhi of Guangfu, who was Su Yuheng's third uncle.

Looking at the high-spirited young man in front of him, Su Tongzhi also felt a little emotional.

Who would have thought that a poor boy from a farming family who was once despised could rise so fast and become successful. Although he is now exiled and is only a seventh-rank county magistrate, he has the support of a big tree. Who dares to really look down on him?

Jiang Jingyun bowed and spoke first, "Sir Su, I am Jiang Jingyun, and I have come to see you specially."

"No need to be polite," Su Tongzhi asked him to sit down and poured him a cup of tea. "Come, have a sip of hot tea first."

Jiang Jingyun took the cup with both hands, took a sip and praised, "Good tea."

"This is our local green tea. If you like it, you can take some back later." Su Tongzhi said with a smile.

"Then I will be very sorry to refuse," Jiang Jingyun said with a smile, and then took out two letters from his arms, "Yuheng asked me to say hello to you, and also brought gifts from the capital for you and Uncle Su. I will have someone deliver them to your house later."

"Thank you for your concern," Su Tongzhi said politely, "I wonder how Yuheng is doing in the capital now?"

"My career is going smoothly, my family is harmonious, and after the New Year, I will soon become a father."

"Really?" Su Tongzhi stood up in surprise when he heard that.

Jiang Jingyun nodded.

The most promising young man in the Su family's branch is Su Yuheng. Now that he heard the good news that the family has grown and expanded, Su Tongzhi was overjoyed and said excitedly, "Good, good, good, it's great!" He paced back and forth in the room happily. After a while, he realized that Jiang Jingyun was still waiting there. He said with a little embarrassment, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."

Jiang Jingyun smiled and expressed his understanding.

When there is happy event in the family, the magpie that brought the message will also be a little happy.

Su Tongzhi's attitude towards Jiang Jingyun was much closer than when they first met, and he warmly invited him, "My nephew has been traveling a long way, why don't you come to my house for a simple meal tonight, let me show my hospitality and welcome you."

"Uncle has given the order, so I will respectfully obey." Jiang Jingyun bowed in return.

After dinner at the Su Mansion, both the host and the guests were happy.

Jiang Jingyun, who successfully obtained the appointment documents, said goodbye the next day and headed directly to his final destination.

If they don't leave now, they will miss the New Year. He doesn't want to be outside in the icy rain and cold wind, traveling miserably on New Year's Day.

It was said that they could arrive in five days, but in fact, it took them seven full days to finally reach Fu County.

Along the way, we crossed mountains and hills, and the mountain roads were rugged. It also rained for several days in a row, causing the road to be full of potholes and mud.

Several times, the carriage was stuck deep in the mud and could not move. It took several people to lift it up, and this process repeated itself over and over again.

By the time they arrived in Fu County, Jiang Jingyun's buttocks had been broken into eight pieces, and his legs were shaking even when he got off the carriage.

Suppressing the nausea in his stomach, he thought bitterly: "When there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will be king." In Fu County, the magistrate is the highest official and he has the final say on what to do.

Although rubber is not from the original place of origin and tires may not be produced, Jiang Jingyun is determined to produce cement. He really can't stand this bumpy real "cement road"!

Outside the city gate, someone had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing the carriage stop, the man from the opposite side immediately came forward and said, "Huang Anmin, the magistrate of Fu County, greets you, sir."

Seeing the old man with gray hair on his temples about to kneel down to salute, Jiang Jingyun was so shocked that he hurried forward and held him up with his hand, saying, "No, no, please stand up quickly, old man."

"Thank you, sir." County Magistrate Huang stood up tremblingly, took two steps forward, and led the way for Jiang Jingyun. "Please come this way."

Jiang Jingyun nodded, followed closely, and observed the surrounding environment.

The roads in the city were slightly smoother, but they were also muddy. After just a few steps, the soles of my shoes were already covered with a thick layer of mud. Every time I lifted my feet, they felt like half a pound, making it difficult to walk.

Looking around, he saw dilapidated yellow mud and thatched houses on both sides of the road, without a single blue brick and tile house. Moreover, he just noticed that the city wall here was also made of yellow mud.

You can imagine how poor this place is without even asking.

Jiang Jingyun sighed helplessly. It seemed that it would not be easy to be the future king of the mountain.

County Magistrate Huang saw Jiang Jingyun frowning and silent, fearing that he would feel displeased by being neglected, he quickly explained: "Originally, County Magistrate Liu planned to personally welcome you, Your Excellency, but the weather has been cold recently, and his old illness has recurred, and he is in so much pain that he can't get out of bed. He didn't come this time, not intentionally neglecting you, I hope Your Excellency will forgive me."

"It's okay." Jiang Jingyun didn't care about these scenes.

Moreover, before coming, he had inquired about the general situation of Fu County.

The county magistrate and county magistrate here are all local people. They started taking office in the early days of the founding of the court and have been working for decades. Although they are not capable ministers, they are diligent in their work, love the people, are fair and honest, and are deeply loved by the local people.

Just a little poorer.

well.

【Author’s words】

【1】Refer to Baidu's information about the ancient process of external release