"By imperial decree, Li Ru, a scholar from Liangzhou, is a man of exceptional talent and virtue, a true gem of the nation, and is hereby appointed as the magistrate of Heyang County in Zuo Fengyi."

You shall diligently perform your duties, uphold justice and guide the people, and care for the common folk, so as not to fail my expectations. This is my decree!

The eunuch's distinctive high-pitched voice, like heavenly music, echoed in Li Ru's ears.

"Your subject, Li Ru, accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude!"

Li Ru accepted the heavy scroll of imperial edict with both hands, his excitement tinged with a sense of determination and resolve.

There was no farewell, nor the anticipated all-night conversation.

After bowing deeply towards the palace, Li Ru once again embarked on his journey to Heyang alone.

This time, Li Ru chose the official road and arrived in Heyang in just five days.

Upon learning that Li Ru had passed the examination and was personally appointed by the emperor, the officials of Heyang County dared not neglect their duties and rushed to the county government office to pay their respects.

Wang Tong, the county magistrate, was a middle-aged man in his forties with a prosperous appearance.

The registrar, Zhao Qian, was tall and thin, with a goatee that gave him the characteristic rigidity and slickness of a clerk.

Zhou Kui, the clerk, had a dark complexion and a stocky build. His black official robes were washed until they were white, and he had a somewhat dull expression.

There were also a dozen or so yamen runners and clerks, each holding their breath, their postures varied, their expressions a mixture of curiosity, awe, indifference, and even a hint of barely perceptible contempt behind their lowered eyelids.

"Fellow colleagues!"

Li Ru's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "I am new to this place and still need to rely on you all for matters in Heyang. However, there is one thing I would like to say to you all first..."

He paused, his piercing gaze slowly sweeping over every face in the hall.

"His Majesty bestowed this seal upon me not so that I may sit in a high hall, nor so that I may live a life of luxury, but rather so that the region may be at peace and the people may be blessed!"

From this day forward, all under the jurisdiction of Heyang shall prioritize the people! Those who oppress the good, embezzle public funds, and exploit the people…

Li Ru's voice suddenly turned stern: "No matter who it is, no matter what their position, I will punish them severely without exception, and I will show no leniency!"

Li Ru's words were powerful and resounding, sending a chill down the spines of everyone in the hall.

The smile on County Magistrate Wang Tong's face froze for a moment, and the fingers of Registrar Zhao Qian, who was stroking his beard, also stopped.

After dismissing everyone to return to their duties, Li Ru went straight to the back office and, led by a servant, arrived at a room.

Pushing open the creaking wooden door, a musty smell that had been there for a long time hit you. The furnishings inside were extremely simple: a bed, a table, a mat, and a lamp. The window frames were broken, and you could even see cobwebs in the corners of the walls.

"Master, the room is rather simple, please bear with us!" the servant explained nervously.

"It's alright!"

Li Ru waved his hand: "I did not come here for pleasure. Although this room is humble, it can still shelter me from the wind and rain!"

"Your Excellency is truly virtuous and noble!"

The servant offered a compliment, his face visibly relieved, and his gaze towards Li Ru held a newfound respect.

Li Ru looked at the handyman: "You must be a local, right?"

"yes!"

"That's perfect. Starting tomorrow, you will accompany me to the countryside!"

In the days that followed, a weary figure could be seen traveling through the countryside of Heyang.

Li Ru took off his official robes, which symbolized his status as a county magistrate, and wore only a coarse cloth short coat that was no different from that of an ordinary farmer. He also wore straw sandals and, with his servant, plunged into the mountains, fields, villages, and paths of Heyang.

On the edge of the field, I sat side by side with an old farmer who was hunched over hoeing the land, and took a sip of the murky, cold water from the broken earthenware pot that the farmer handed me without any disgust.

In the low, dimly lit thatched hut filled with the smell of livestock, I patiently listened to the sorrowful lament of the peasant woman.

Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, let the elderly, whose wrinkles are etched with the marks of time and hardship, sit together and inquire in detail about the harvest, taxes, rent, and the exploitation by officials...

He rarely speaks; most of the time he listens silently and watches intently.

During this time, he saw the fertile fields of the local powerful Feng family, stretching as far as the eye could see, crisscrossed by paths, where tenant farmers worked like ants.

He saw a wooden sign with the character "Feng" carved on it next to the only barely usable well in the village. Those who were not tenants of the Feng family had to pay per bucket to fetch water.

He saw several emaciated orphans huddled in a dilapidated earth temple. The village head sighed and said that their parents had been forced to hang themselves because they could not afford the extra "canal repair tax" levied by the Feng family.

He saw a lame old man pointing to his empty sheepfold, his cloudy tears streaming down his face: "...Just to pay that 'livestock tax,' my family's last three lambs were taken away by the steward of the Feng family! That was my grandson's medicine money... medicine money!"

Every hardship was like a nail, piercing Li Ru's heart.

After meticulously recording everything he saw and heard, Li Ru returned to the county government office.

He unearthed long-standing case files and reviewed them day and night. He quickly detected the strong stench of bribery and favoritism in those seemingly procedurally sound but actually flawed judgments.

On this day, the yamen runners brought a ragged, battered man to the county yamen.

This man, named Liu Dazhu, sued Feng San, a member of a collateral branch of the Feng family in the same village, for forcibly seizing his only two acres of meager land and beating his elderly father to death.

"We beg the county magistrate to be a little democrat!"

Upon seeing Li Ru, Liu Dazhu immediately knelt down, his forehead pounding against the ground with loud thuds, blood staining the floor tiles in front of the hall.

"Don't do that!"

Li Ru stepped forward and helped him up, saying gently, "Tell me your grievances, and I will certainly do my best to help you!"

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