Chapter 9 Chapter 9 I'm knocking on my dad's door! Did you hear me, dad...?
Zheng Jing's empty desk, like a weed uprooted, stood abruptly in the corner of the government office, while the overturned stool maintained the disheveled posture of its owner when he was dragged away.
A deathly silence filled the air; the lingering aroma of food mingled with the lingering fear, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.
No one spoke.
The people in charge exchanged glances, their eyes darting around, their lips moving silently before quickly closing again.
Wang, the steward, slowly ground the ink, the ink stick in his hand already deformed from being squeezed so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
The young clerk was deathly pale, his hand holding the bowl trembling violently, oblivious to the soup spilling onto his front.
Lin Yan slowly swallowed the last mouthful of warm soup, put down the bowl, and the soft sound of the ceramic bowl hitting the wooden tray was particularly clear in the silence.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth with steady movements, without even lifting his eyelids, as if what had just happened was just an insignificant silent play.
Lin Yan got up, walked back to his mountain of official documents, sat down, spread out a new sheet of plain paper, and picked up his pen to dip in ink.
At the exact hour of Chen (7-9 AM), four imperial guards entered the office of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Sacrifices. They were fully armored and armed. The leader asked Zheng Jing's name, and before he could finish speaking, he was seized, gagged, his arms bound, and dragged out. He looked utterly disheveled. His colleagues were all horrified. A clerk dropped his chopsticks, spilling soup; Chief Clerk Wang's ink stick became deformed; the rest were filled with unease and whispered amongst themselves. Zheng Jing's documents were scattered, mixed with ordination certificates and registers, clearly indicating that he had tried to forcefully obtain a seal from the Ministry of Sacrifices the previous day. However, upon examining the items, the seal remained blurred and unclear. Doubts remained, and the atmosphere in the office was tense; everyone was silent with fear.
He wrote slowly, striving for objectivity and detail. The reactions of the crowd when Zheng Jing was dragged away, their panicked faces, fearful whispers, stiff limbs, even the overturned stools and scattered documents, were all captured on the paper.
After doing all this, Lin Yan finally felt the breath he had been holding in was completely exhaled.
He raised his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping across the government building.
Those peeping eyes, upon meeting his gaze, immediately recoiled as if electrocuted, leaving only an even more tense silence.
Lin Yan lowered his head and continued to deal with the mountain of documents on his desk. The pen tip scratched across the paper, making a soft, rhythmic sound—the only regular sound in the office.
After an unknown amount of time, the heavy doors of the government office were pushed open once more.
This time, it wasn't the fierce-looking Imperial Guards who entered, but a young man dressed in a light blue official robe.
He was tall and slender with a handsome face. He wasn't particularly outstanding, but his eyes and brows exuded a clean, scholarly air. He walked steadily to Zheng Jing's empty desk and stood there. He bowed respectfully to his colleagues, who were still in shock.
"I am Xie Mingyuan, the newly appointed Director of the Ministry of Rites, and I assume my post today." His voice was not loud, and he was a little reserved as a newcomer, but his words were clear. "I hope you will give me your guidance in the future."
The tense atmosphere in the government office seemed to loosen slightly.
No matter how long Zheng Jing had spent with them, it was all in the past. This was not the time to lament for Zheng Jing, so in an instant, everyone acted as if nothing had happened and welcomed the newcomer.
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected that Zheng Jingcai would be taken away so soon, and a new person would arrive. It seemed that His Majesty was very efficient in his work.
"Thank you, Manager Xie. Welcome." Lin Yan smiled at Xie Mingyuan in a friendly manner, but not overly warmly, fearing he was just another useless colleague.
Xie Mingyuan didn't seem to care about the cold welcome. He put down a slightly worn blue cloth bundle he was carrying and silently began to tidy up the messy table.
With swift and efficient movements, he first righted the overturned stool and then methodically gathered up the scattered files and papers, making sure to categorize and put the official documents away neatly.
Lin Yan quietly observed him for a while and concluded that this person seemed more reliable than Zheng Jing.
After Xie Mingyuan finished tidying up, he quickly got into the swing of things and took the initiative to walk to Lin Yan's desk. He said in a humble manner, "Lord Lin, I am new here and not yet familiar with the affairs of the office. I see that you have a lot of paperwork to do. If there is anything I can do, please let me know."
Lin Yan was feeling dizzy from dealing with an official document when he heard this. He looked up and saw Xie Mingyuan's serious eyes. A slight ripple stirred in his otherwise stagnant heart.
Good heavens, he finally has a colleague who knows how to take the initiative to work?
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yan pulled out a relatively unimportant dossier from deep within the archives. It was a preliminary list of auspicious items to be presented by various regions during the spring sacrifice next year. It needed to be categorized according to regulations and checked for any overstepping of the rules or duplication. This task was tedious and meticulous, but it didn't require much experience, making it a good opportunity for newcomers to practice.
"You've come at the right time, Master Xie." Lin Yan handed over the file. "This is a list of auspicious omens to be presented by various regions for next year's spring sacrifice. Please sort and file them into four categories: auspicious grains, exotic beasts, auspicious birds, and rare stones. Also, please check whether the descriptions exceed the prescribed limits. If there are any doubts, please mark them accordingly."
Xie Mingyuan accepted the file with both hands without the slightest hesitation or refusal: "This subordinate accepts the order and will handle it carefully."
Returning to his seat with the case file, Xie Mingyuan sat down and began to peruse it with focused concentration, his movements as he dipped his pen in ink were clean and efficient.
Lin Yan withdrew his gaze and continued with his work, but out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but keep an eye on Xie Mingyuan.
It's great to have a capable colleague.
Xie Mingyuan flipped through the files at a steady pace, his pen moving with remarkable deliberation. Sometimes he would furrow his brow in close examination, and other times he would quickly jot down notes on the paper. When he encountered something uncertain, he would not write it down rashly, but would first jot down his questions on scrap paper. Only after accumulating a few questions would he get up and walk to Lin Yan's desk to ask for his guidance in a low voice.
"Lord Lin, this scroll presents a pair of seven-colored golden pheasants presented by Jiangning Prefecture. It describes their tail feathers as shimmering and their calls as melodious as chimes. I have consulted the Record of Auspicious Omens, which states that golden pheasants are considered auspicious birds. However, is the description of them as seven-colored a bit of an exaggeration? Should we send a letter to Jiangning Prefecture to verify their specific appearance?"
Lin Yan was taken aback, and glanced at the question marks that Xie Mingyuan had marked.
That's a precise question. A seven-colored golden pheasant? That sounds overly exaggerated.
Lin Yan nodded: "Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, Master Xie. This point of doubt is well marked. I will deal with it later."
"Thank you for your guidance, sir." Xie Mingyuan was not smug after receiving the affirmation, and then raised another question, which was equally insightful.
Lin Yan answered each question one by one, and in just over an hour, Xie Mingyuan had organized the list in an orderly manner.
Perhaps due to excessive mental exertion lately, Lin Yan was getting hungry faster and faster. Before it was even time to leave work, her stomach was already rumbling, so she simply took out her food box, which still contained some food.
Lin Yan picked up a piece of milk pastry shaped like auspicious cloud patterns. As soon as she took a bite, the rich milky aroma melted on her tongue, instantly soothing her restless stomach.
He squinted contentedly, only then noticing Xie Mingyuan's gaze fixed on the pastry in his hand. That gaze lacked the venomous jealousy Zheng Jing possessed; it held only pure curiosity.
Lin Yan paused, looked at the few remaining delicate pastries in the box, and thought that Xie Mingyuan might be in a hurry to take up his post and perhaps also hungry. So he took a clean handkerchief, put the pastries in it, and delivered them to Xie Mingyuan's desk.
Xie Mingyuan paused for a moment, then quickly stood up and thanked him, "Thank you, Lord Lin."
Lin Yan waved his hand: "No need to be so polite, we are all colleagues in the same government office."
Upon hearing this, the others, led by Manager Wang, all cast surprised glances at Lin Yan.
We're all colleagues, so why do you only share food with Xie Mingyuan and not with us?
Lin Yan ignored the stares from all directions; he wasn't going to share the imperial kitchen's food with these people.
snort.
"Master Lin—oh my, busy already?"
Wu Haimin, with his protruding belly and a face full of "amiable and approachable" smile, strolled in.
His gaze swept over Xie Mingyuan with a scrutinizing look before landing precisely on Lin Yan, as if the mountain of documents on Lin Yan's desk were a magnet.
Lin Yan put down the half-eaten Ruyi Cloud Pattern Milk Pastry in his hand; the sweet taste instantly turned into a block of wax in his mouth.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his churning agitation, and forced out a respectful expression. He stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord Wu."
Wu Haimin nodded in satisfaction, seemingly oblivious to the barely suppressed spark in Lin Yan's eyes.
He walked to Lin Yan's desk, stretched out his finger, and casually fiddled with the top few files, as if admiring the flowers and plants in his own garden.
"Oh dear, I've always trusted Lin Yuanwailang with his work." Wu Haimin smiled broadly, his tone as warm as if they were old friends. "It's almost Double Ninth Festival, isn't it? Climbing mountains, wearing dogwood, drinking chrysanthemum wine—everything, inside and outside the palace, among the imperial relatives and nobles, is something our Ministry of Rites is concerned about. Especially His Majesty's plan to climb mountains to pray for blessings and to host a banquet for his officials—that's of utmost importance, and we can't afford to be careless in the slightest."
Lin Yan's heart sank. Here it comes again!
Sure enough, Wu Haimin changed the subject, his face showing just the right amount of "difficulty": "Alas, these past few days, I've been so overwhelmed by those thorny accounts from the autumn sacrifice that I haven't even had time to drink water. As for the details of the Double Ninth Festival, I'm simply too busy to handle them all."
Wu Haimin drew out his words, his gaze "eagerly" landing on Lin Yan's face, the meaning in his eyes all too clear: you know.
Lin Yan felt a surge of evil fire rush straight to the top of his head, burning his vision until it went black.
He could almost hear the faint sound of his back molars rubbing together.
It's always like this! It's always the same!
Wu Haimin is a senior official in the Ministry of Rites! Preparing for the Double Ninth Festival is his duty! But this guy always manages to find countless high-sounding reasons to dump the most tedious, thankless, and thankless core work on him, a mere junior official, like throwing away garbage!
What do you mean by "being unable to be in two places at once"? It's clearly "being adept at shirking responsibility"!
"So, Assistant Minister Lin, all the specific arrangements for the Double Ninth Festival's mountain climbing and prayer ceremony, the banquet for the officials, the drafting of procedures, the coordination among various government departments, the approval of material lists, and the drafting of memorials to the Ministry of Rites, the Grand Secretariat, and even the Emperor... I'll have to trouble you with all that! You're reliable and meticulous, I have complete confidence in you! If there's anything you're unsure about later, just come and ask me." With this meaningless remark, as if a huge burden had been lifted, Wu Haimin felt a sense of relief.
Looking at Wu Haimin's face, which was full of "respect" and "trust", Lin Yan felt a surge of cursing in his heart, like boiling magma, almost breaking through the dam of reason.
"Your humble servant... obeys, and will do his utmost to live up to your expectations." Every word was forced out by Lin Yan through gritted teeth.
Wu Haimin! So what if your father is the Minister of Personnel?!
I'm knocking on my dad's door! Can't you hear me, knocking on my dad's door?!
A note from the author:
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irritable Xiaolin
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