135 Old acquaintance~
◎What? Is it my fault?◎
Ye Yunzhao hadn't heard of the change in prefectural governor. She wondered if she had issued the order herself while in the capital. Logically, County Magistrate Han should have known about such a major event, but he hadn't mentioned it. Had he forgotten about it these past few days?
The more Ye Yunzhao thought about it, the more confused he became. He lowered his head and glanced at his clothes. He made up his mind: Now that things have come to this, I have to go! I don't care if he's the old or new prefect, I have to get the money today!
She adjusted her hat and walked quickly towards the government office. Due to the drizzle, there were not many pedestrians on the street, but most of them looked surprised when they saw Ye Yunzhao. She also knew that her outfit was not very appropriate, so she walked faster with this in mind.
A quarter of an hour later, a man in tattered clothes came to the government office.
The yamen runner guarding the door immediately stopped him and said, "Who are you? Do you have a letter? How dare you trespass into the government office! Back off!"
Ye Yunzhao was startled by the sudden noise and hurriedly explained, "I am the magistrate of Lingnan County. I came here today to collect my salary."
"You?" The yamen runner glanced suspiciously at him, then scanned him up and down again, half-doubtingly asking, "You? Are you the magistrate of Lingnan County? Do you have a post to prove it?"
"Yes, yes." Ye Yunzhao didn't know how many mud spots were on her face, she just felt that her outfit was very effective. Even though she had met this yamen runner twice before, he didn't recognize her. She was secretly satisfied in her heart.
He raised his hand and took it out from his pocket. To receive his salary, he had to bring a small note with him, and it had the official seal of the government office printed on it!
But she just took it out twice...
No……
I searched my purse desperately...
Nor...
Ye Yunzhao's eyes went dark, and he remembered that he had forgotten the post at the county government office because he was in a hurry to get his hat when he went out!
She laughed and said defensively, "I forgot the post at the county government office. I wonder if you can be lenient with me. I really am the magistrate of Lingnan County. If you don't believe me, you can go in and exchange someone who has seen me."
The bailiff glared at her in bewilderment. "Nonsense! Do I have to go in and waste your time just because someone like you shows up? Go back."
As he spoke, he actually started to chase people away. Ye Yunzhao was forced to retreat by the spear in his hand. She held her forehead helplessly: If the bailiffs at the county government gate were so responsible, she would not see the food boxes from Ruyi Tower every day.
"Okay, okay." She quickly stepped back, and when she saw the bailiff put away his gun and returned to his original position, she murmured, "I'll wait here for them to come out, okay..."
The bailiffs felt that she was not a good person, so they kept watching her all the time. After a while, someone really walked out from inside.
Ye Yunzhao had some impression of this person. He was the county magistrate of the neighboring county, Lin. They had chatted for a while when they were paying their respects to the former prefect.
She hurried forward and took the initiative to say, "Lin County Magistrate!"
Lin Ping looked in the direction of the sound and saw this clay-like figure with a slightly frown on his face, looking at a loss.
Seeing this reaction, Ye Yunzhao guessed that he didn't recognize him, and hurriedly took off his hat: "Linzhong, it's me, Ye Yunzhao from Lingnan County."
After hearing this, Lin Ping finally realized that she looked familiar. He smiled embarrassedly and said, "Yes, yes, it's been a long time since we last met, so I didn't recognize you. Please excuse me, County Magistrate Ye. I don't know why you called me just now..."
She couldn't wait to say, "I came here in a hurry today and forgot the post at home. The yamen runners don't recognize me yet, so I'd like to ask Brother Lin to help me verify something."
Seeing her like this, even I, who had seen her before, almost didn't recognize her, let alone the yamen runners. Lin Ping smiled and said, "Okay, okay."
He turned back and whispered a few words to the angry-eyed yamen runner, then waved at Ye Yunzhao, motioning her to come in.
Ye Yunzhao's eyes lit up, he bowed hurriedly, and ran in hastily.
Lin Ping hurriedly stopped her and told her to "find a well to wash your face before going in", and then the two parted ways.
She was confused by his words, but she had a good chat with Lin Ping before. After entering the government office, she turned directly to the restaurant on the west side of the gate and asked the cook for a bucket of water.
She looked down and saw that her once clean and beautiful face now had two huge "birthmarks". Ye Yunzhao was stunned. She didn't even know when she got them. After a silly smile, she hurriedly washed her face with water. She looked carefully again and saw that her reflection in the water had returned to its previous appearance. Ye Yunzhao then remembered the important matter.
She said she wanted to collect her salary, but she couldn't collect it without a post. She pretended to wander around the government office for a while, and when she saw that no bailiffs stopped her, Ye Yunzhao mustered up the courage to enter the backyard.
The prefect's office was in the backyard of the government office, with the wooden door slightly ajar. She tiptoed over and knocked cautiously a few times.
Then a strange yet familiar voice called "Come in" was heard from inside. Ye Yunzhao was very nervous at the moment and did not delve into the familiar feeling in his heart.
She gritted her teeth and twisted her thigh hard. The pain quickly spread throughout her body. She tried her best to endure the pain and did not make a sound, but her eyes still turned red all of a sudden.
The person inside was a little confused and said again: "Come in."
Ye Yunzhao finally came to his senses, pushed the door open and walked in. As soon as he entered, he knelt down in front of the desk.
"Your Excellency, the Prefect, I really..."
She hadn't finished her carefully prepared "crying poor" line when she heard the new prefect in front of her exclaim in surprise: "Ye Yunzhao??"
Lying on the ground, she secretly raised her eyes and met the eyes of a young and handsome man.
Seeing that she was still silent, the man immediately took a few steps forward, trying to let her see clearly, with a smile on his face: "It's me! Xu Yuan! When you were studying in the official school, the books you used were all mine. Do you remember?!"
When he said this, Ye Yunzhao's mind suddenly recalled her original self's memories. She was sweeping the government school and would eavesdrop on the teacher's lectures outside the window from time to time. She and the man named Xu Yuan in front of her could barely be considered classmates.
As he had just said, Xu Yuan was kind and enthusiastic. He never looked down on her because of her status. Instead, he gave her many notebooks and books to help her study. Honestly, besides the teacher who had taken her in, this man could be considered her second benefactor.
However, Ye Yunzhao looked at his face and then looked at the memories of his original body in his mind. When he was still in the official school, Xu Yuan was dressed like an ordinary person. Compared with many children from aristocratic families, he seemed particularly embarrassed and simple.
Now that he was wearing a formal official uniform, he looked even more handsome.
"Xu Yuan! Why is it you?" Ye Yunzhao was worried and happy, and his expression changed quite dramatically.
I'm worried about Xu Yuan's character. If he's a cruel and ruthless person, I'm afraid he'll hate the whole house because I saw him in his downfall...
What made her happy was that she saw that his reaction just now seemed to be more of surprise. If she could reminisce about the past and have a good relationship with the new magistrate, wouldn't she be able to come and "cry poor" often in the future?
Seeing that she was still kneeling on the ground, Xu Yuan suddenly sat cross-legged in front of her. Their eyes met, and he curved his eyes: "Why, is it my fault? I've been transferred to Yuezhou City as the prefect, and I'm afraid I won't be moving for three to five years."
"How can it be bad?" Ye Yunzhao couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so he just agreed with him.
Xu Yuan looked at the person before him and recalled how she spoke little, rarely smiled, and always seemed cold and distant. Even when he later offered to lend her books, they could only chat occasionally, and their conversations always revolved around the principles taught by the Master.
He had, without a trace of shame, long since assumed they had become close friends. But then… thinking of this, Xu Yuan's smile faltered. After the imperial examination, he'd searched for her, but couldn't find her. It wasn't until he was on his way to take up his new post that he heard she'd become the county magistrate of Yuezhou. Xu Yuan had written her dozens of letters, but received no reply. Perhaps his claim of close friends was a case of wishful thinking on his part.
This call back to Yuezhou City was made by Xu Yuan secretly. Even though he said that she was being self-indulgent, he still wanted to ask her in person: Do you really not consider yourself a friend?
It was not until he arrived in Yuezhou that he discovered that there were seven or eight counties, large and small, under it. He didn't even know which county Ye Yunzhao was on duty.
But Xu Yuan never expected that on the seventh day after his arrival, the friend he had been thinking about for a long time would show up at his doorstep.
"Are we going to stay like this forever?" Seeing that he seemed to be lost in memories, Ye Yunzhao gently reminded him, and then pointed at the postures of the two. One county magistrate was kneeling on the ground of the government office, and the other prefect was sitting cross-legged on the ground. If someone suddenly came in at this moment, they would probably be startled.
Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly came back to his senses and smiled again: "Hurry up, hurry up, sit down, I brought the official school's special purple buds, let you taste the old taste."
As he spoke, he quite naturally helped Ye Yunzhao up. As soon as his hand touched her arm, he suddenly felt it was wet. Xu Yuan looked closely and found that her clothes had long been soaked by the rain. Her shoes and the corners of her clothes were almost submerged in mud. He couldn't help but exclaimed:
"What are you doing?! What's going on??"
Logically speaking, the steps should have been there by now, and it was the right time for Ye Yunzhao to show off how bumpy her journey had been and how muddy the roads in Lingnan County were, but she hesitated.
She had just taken a closer look. The new prefect seemed quite familiar with her. If he deliberately cried poor, he might reveal something. Ye Yunzhao thought about it and decided that a conciliatory policy would be better. He was so surprised. He must have never served in a remote area before. The more accustomed he was, the more surprised he would be. This made the funding issue easier to handle.
After thinking through the twists and turns inside, Ye Yunzhao first mourned for the piece of flesh he had just twisted hard for two seconds, then lowered his eyes to look at his clothes and said with a smile: "This? Well, every time it rains, the roads in the county are always muddy. I'm used to it."
"Habit?" Xu Yuan said in disbelief. "Aren't there any stone paved roads on the official roads in your county? How could this be?"
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