I think it might actually be true.
Master Jin regretted following Magistrate Lu more and more. He now felt that this man was narrow-minded and not fit to be a ruler.
They fawn over superiors and bully inferiors, praising the powerful and belittling the weak.
Working with someone like that, you never know when you'll be betrayed.
I've made up my mind to speak less unless absolutely necessary in the future.
Pretend to be a wooden figure.
You cannot reveal your true thoughts.
Danger.
The advisor lowered his voice, which was hoarse.
"Your Excellency, my mother is nearly seventy years old. She recently sent a message through someone saying that she is not feeling well and misses me, and would like me to go home to visit her. I wonder if Your Excellency could grant me a few days' leave?"
County Magistrate Lu gave him a suspicious look.
"Master, have you been seeing me at a disadvantage lately and are you planning to leave me prematurely? How come you've never mentioned your mother's condition before? You're actually a family-oriented person?"
"Huh? Absolutely not."
The advisor quickly pledged his loyalty, "What a joke!"
He was just laying the groundwork in advance so that his escape later wouldn't be too abrupt.
It was just a heads-up.
Outside, there was a group of people, all dressed in the uniforms of the Imperial Guards, and a soft, feminine voice came from outside.
"We've finally arrived home. This road was really difficult to travel."
"Father-in-law, you've had a long journey. We've arrived at the county government office."
The yamen runners hurriedly began to notify the county magistrate, the county assistant magistrate, and various other officials.
Su Yong was taken aback. "A real imperial edict has arrived?"
County Magistrate Lu's eyes widened, and he abruptly stood up. "An imperial edict?"
A short while later, a sharp voice rang out.
"Where is the magistrate of Lushang County? Receive the imperial decree."
"Your subject, Su Yong, receives the imperial decree."
"Yingzhou Prefecture suffered from drought and a locust plague. Fortunately, Minister Su noticed it in advance and sent a message to the prefectural government, enabling the people to harvest wheat and preventing thousands of acres of fertile land from being devoured by locusts. This saved tens of thousands of bushels of grain. I am very pleased and hereby grant the Su family the position of a ninth-rank official."
"Farmer Chen Xian, who offered a strategy for harvesting wheat quickly, was initially appointed as a junior officer, rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, ten bolts of silk from the Suzhou Weaving Bureau, and a set of official robes."
"The head of Qingxia Village is officially appointed to the county government, with a monthly salary of one hundred cash, a bonus of one hundred taels of silver, and five bolts of silk from Suzhou. This is the imperial decree."
All the officials kneeling on the ground were stunned.
His breathing was heavy. Had the county magistrate been granted the privilege of becoming a ninth-rank official?
Furthermore, the farmer Chen Xian obtained a ninth-rank official position. Although it was a nominal position without real power, he was still a legitimate official with a grade, and his name was officially recorded in the emperor's records.
At that moment, County Magistrate Lu suddenly realized how foolish he had been.
He became dazed and confused. How could a farmer have an official position?
Su Yong's good-for-nothing son has become an official?
He heard that his two sons were both good-for-nothings; one liked to play with swords and spears, and the other liked to read novels, eat delicious food, and visit beautiful scenery, but he didn't like to study.
Now that person's son has become an official?
Or was he a proper ninth-rank official?
My own mentally challenged son is still diligently studying at the county school. Heaven is so unfair!
His body swayed, and then he fell to the ground with a thud.
The eunuch was puzzled: "Could you be Magistrate Su? Your mental fortitude is really too weak!"
Originally, County Magistrate Lu could still hold on, but after hearing this hurtful remark, he immediately shut up on the spot.
The officials watching kept calling out to him.
"Wake up, Magistrate Lu."
But there was no response at all.
He kept his eyes tightly closed, and no matter how much people around him called out to him, he remained motionless like a dead man.
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