"Is your second brother back?"
Jiang Yushu's eyes lit up, and she was instantly overjoyed. She couldn't help but stand up, but then she noticed her subordinates staring at her. She felt a little embarrassed for a moment, cleared her throat, and said in a normal tone, "You guys discuss it first. I'll be back soon."
The clerks smiled knowingly and nodded in agreement.
After a while, outside the hall
Guo Hongxuan was apprehensive. "Sister-in-law, what should I do?"
"Why are you panicking? He's your biological brother, calm down!" Jiang Yushu was both angry and amused. "Where is he?"
"My second brother just came back, dusty and sweaty, and is washing and changing his clothes."
"So you took the opportunity to slip away?"
Guo Hongxuan scratched his head awkwardly and pleaded with a bitter face: "Sister-in-law, you promised to help me. Please help me plead for mercy later."
"Don't worry, I mean what I say. If I say I'll help you, I'll definitely help you! Well, family matters are best resolved through discussion." Jiang Yushu warned: "I still have some official business on hand. I'll be back in the back office in half an hour at most. You go back first-"
"No, no! It's only half an hour. I can wait." Guo Hongxuan made up his mind and decided to get some reinforcements to face his brother. "I'll wait in the pavilion. Sister-in-law, just go and get busy."
If I had known this would happen, why would I have done it in the first place? Jiang Yushu sighed, "Okay, whatever you say."
Then she returned to the hall, sat down, drank some tea, and continued to discuss official business.
"Yang Han is indeed good." Jiang Yushu looked at the clerk in the clerk's office. "He is down-to-earth and diligent, steady and careful, and he is very capable."
The middle-aged man named Yang Han immediately stood up, bowed, and said respectfully, "Your Excellency is too kind. I am ashamed to say that I am of little talent and am only doing my duty."
Jiang Yushu said sternly, "It's rare to be able to fulfill one's duties. Fulfilling one's duties means fulfilling one's responsibilities and being competent."
Huang Yichun praised sincerely, "Your Excellency is absolutely right."
Talented individuals are rare; ninety-nine percent of the population is ordinary. Besides luck and diligence, what else can ordinary people rely on to stand out? God rewards hard work.
She always admired people of integrity and diligence. She sized up her middle-aged subordinate and said gently, "You've served the government for seven or eight years, including three in the clerk's office. You're considered quite senior, and you've never made any major mistakes. That's why I'm handing you over to sort out this mess of accounts left by Wen Xi."
"I am currently sorting out the work and will do my best to hand it in as soon as possible. I will never dare to let you down!" Yang Han was touched, grateful and happy to be appreciated. He was full of energy and looked forward to taking the opportunity to get promoted.
"Well, very good." Jiang Yushu smiled and nodded in satisfaction. Then, she changed the subject and gave a serious instruction: "Also, regarding the Wanshou Festival gift, I've carefully considered it and think 'safety' is the most important. Let's just stick to the old rules and give ginseng!"
As an official, who doesn't like to be safe? Most officials don't seek to achieve merit, but only to avoid mistakes.
All the subordinates said in unison: "Great, great idea!"
"Then give us ginseng. The most valuable gifts we have in Tuning are medicinal herbs like ginseng and antlers."
"In previous years, we usually found nine roots of top-grade old ginseng, wrapped them in red silk and placed them in a gift box, and that was all."
"Giving ginseng as a gift will never go wrong."
…
Tu Ning was not yet wealthy, and Jiang Yushu was not good at flattery. In order to avoid accidentally hitting the horse's hoof while trying to flatter him, they simply played it safe and decided to give ginseng as the emperor's birthday gift.
At the same time, Hou Ya
It was hot in early July.
After washing and changing his clothes, Guo Honglei walked into the small study with a cup of tea. He found the room empty and immediately frowned. He turned around and asked, "Where is the fourth brother?"
The servant hurried forward and replied, "The Fourth Master has gone to the front hall to tell Madam that you have returned."
"Oh? He went there himself to deliver the message?"
The servant rubbed his hands awkwardly and said vaguely, "That should have been a servant's job, but, but the Fourth Master decided to go himself."
"Hmph." Guo Honglei's face was stern. He knew his brother very well and said calmly, "How can he report the news? He's clearly going to call for reinforcements."
The trusted servant wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, so he quickly lowered his head to hide it.
"Call him back immediately!"
"Yes!" The servant turned and ran a few steps, but was stopped. Guo Honglei handed the teacup to the attendant and said with a headache: "Forget it, you go and find him, but he will probably ignore you. I have to go now."
Several servants agreed deeply, almost laughing, and hurried to lead the way.
Soon, the front hall
Guo Hongxuan was upset and depressed, sitting alone in the pavilion, leaning against a pillar in a daze. At first, a familiar yamen runner approached him, but he had no interest in chatting and dismissed him with a few words, staring blankly at the meeting room across the street.
He was lost in thought and didn't know how long it had been when someone suddenly patted him on the back of his shoulder.
"ah!"
Guo Hongxuan was caught off guard and jumped up in fright, turning his head away unhappily: "Who—Second Brother?"
Guo Honglei stood, looking down from above, and asked calmly, "Why are you here?"
"Hehe." Guo Hongxuan, feeling guilty and remorseful, hastily explained, "It's rare for Second Brother to get a few more days of rest. My sister-in-law is worried about your injury and will definitely be very happy to hear the news, so I thought I should tell her in time."
"Have you told her?"
Guo Hongxuan leaned against the pillar and nodded, "My sister-in-law is still busy, but she will be done soon. She asked me to wait in this pavilion for a while."
"Is there anything she needs your help with?"
My brother shook his head subconsciously, "No."
The elder brother said slowly, "Okay, let's go and talk."
"Ah? This, this..." Guo Hongxuan took a breath of cold air despite the hot weather. He declined, "No, my second sister-in-law asked me to stay here and wait for her for a while."
"She'll come find us when she's done. I have a few words I'm anxious to ask you."
"A man should not go back on his word. Or wait a moment? Sit down! Brother, you sit down." Guo Hongxuan hesitated, turned his head frequently, and looked anxiously at the conference room.
Guo Honglei raised an eyebrow. "It's not convenient to talk here with so many people coming and going. It's been a while since we last met. You don't seem happy to see me?"
"No, no! My second brother has returned safely, and the whole family is so happy. How could I not be happy?"
Guo Honglei said calmly, "Then hurry up and go. Don't worry, I won't deal with family affairs in the government office."
"Really?"
"When have I ever lied to you?" Guo Honglei turned around and took the lead. "This is the county government office, not our home. It's not a suitable place."
Guo Hongxuan was as if granted amnesty. "Yes, yes, it's inappropriate!" He thought to himself: I don't mind being scolded, as long as I don't get beaten. He couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he had to bite the bullet and follow his brother out.
Guo Honglei put his hands behind his back, said nothing, strode with his head held high and led the way, heading straight for the nearby corner gate.
As they walked, Guo Hongxuan noticed something was wrong and asked cautiously, "Second brother, where are you going? Aren't you going back to the back court?"
Guo Honglei looked straight ahead and said, "Well, I won't go back to the back office."
The younger brother suddenly felt something was wrong, "Then where are we going?"
At this time, the corner gate was already in sight.
Guo Honglei stopped, turned around and said, "A few years ago, when your sister-in-law was not yet the county magistrate, she brought Ye'er to Tuning for medical treatment. In order to make her stay comfortable, I bought a small house in the north of the city, which can be regarded as our family's annex. Let's go to the annex to talk, it will be more convenient."
"What's convenient?" Is it convenient to beat me?
Guo Honglei didn't answer, but strode closer and easily grabbed his brother who was trying to retreat. Without saying anything, he dragged him out of the corner gate and pushed him into the carriage that had been prepared in advance.
"Brother, hey? Wait—"
"Can we not go to the other courtyard?" Guo Hongxuan came to his senses too late. Feeling timid, he grabbed the door and shouted, "I don't want to go to the other courtyard!"
Guo Honglei laughed angrily, "I want to go. And you have to go too."
At the order from the elder brother, several followers immediately drove their carriages and hurriedly left the county government office.
At this moment, Jiang Yushu was still discussing matters in the hall. Since no one informed her, she had no idea that her husband and brother-in-law had gone to the villa.
Gradually, it was noon.
Jiang Yushu rubbed her lower back, turned her head to look out the window, took a look at the sky, and said with a smile: "It's noon, let's disperse and have lunch first. Let's do what we just discussed."
"yes."
Several minor officials stood up and chatted on the spot. According to custom, they waited for the magistrate to go first before following respectfully.
Jiang Yushu was surrounded by the crowd. She walked down the stairs briskly without looking around.
Now, she understood the main situations of the yamen, towns and villages in Tuning, and gradually took control of the overall situation. People like Wen Xi and Li Qigong were either eliminated or expelled. Even if the other clerks had greedy and lazy thoughts, they dared not show any of them. They were all honest and dutiful, for fear of being punished by the county magistrate.
Although she was considered the county magistrate as soon as she took office, in fact, it was only after her painstaking efforts that she truly became the county magistrate respected by everyone.
After a while, the officials said goodbye to each other and had their dinner.
Jiang Yushu stood outside the pavilion, looking around, wondering, "Where's Hongxuan? Didn't he say he would wait for me in the pavilion?"
The guard knew about this, and Zou Gui whispered, "He followed the Second Master to the other courtyard."
"What?"
"Why did you go to the other courtyard—" she sighed, "How long have you been there?"
Zou Gui thought for a moment and said, "It's been about two quarters of an hour since we set off."
"What are they doing back at the Villa?"
"I don't know. Second Master didn't tell me." As he spoke, Zou Gui presented two letters. "Madam, there's a letter from Elder Jiang."
"Oh?" Jiang Yushu took the letter from her father and saw that one was addressed to her and the other to her husband. She was very worried and ordered, "Prepare the car. I have to go to the other courtyard to check."
"yes!"
She walked slowly towards the corner gate and opened the letter while waiting for the carriage, reading ten lines at a glance. After finishing reading, she remained silent with a serious expression.
Seeing her frown, the confidant asked with concern, "Madam, is Mr. Jiang okay?"
Jiang Yushu came back to her senses and smiled, "He was sick last winter, but fortunately he recovered at the beginning of this year."
“That’s really cause for celebration!”
"Also, he said that my brother Mingcheng is on his way to visit me."
When the trusted guards heard this, they praised him: "Oh, this is so rare, so rare!"
"It's a long journey, so far away, Master Jiang, it's hard for you."
"Sisters and brothers love each other deeply. No matter how far the distance is, we must come to visit."
Brotherly love? Jiang Yushu sighed inwardly, feeling a mixture of emotions, not knowing what to think. She put the letter away, lowered her head, and said, "It'll probably arrive in the middle of next month. We haven't seen each other for several years. I... cough, I miss him so much."
"Congratulations, ma'am. You'll be reunited with your brother soon!"
Congratulations? Jiang Yushu sighed inwardly again, thinking: If we lived in the capital, I'd have no reason not to return to my parents' home if my parents got sick, my brother got married, my niece was born, and so on. Fortunately, we live far away; otherwise, we wouldn't actually have any blood relationship at all. And considering Miss Jiang's fate, how would I face my so-called family?
After a moment's contemplation, the carriage was ready.
"lady?"
"I'm coming." Jiang Yushu calmed herself down, got on the carriage, and rushed to the villa without stopping. She got off and walked straight inside.
"Where are they?"
The servant who arrived first hurriedly led the way, raised his hand and pointed to the side hall, and said carefully: "There."
Just as he finished speaking, loud crying suddenly came from inside the half-open door!
Judging from the voice, it obviously belongs to Guo Hongxuan.
Several people looked at each other, and Jiang Yushu immediately became worried, "What, what's going on? Oh. Don't follow me, I'll go check it out first."
"yes."
Oh my god, what a fight! Jiang Yushu was frightened by her brother-in-law's crying. She walked quickly and approached, pushing the door open while persuading him:
"Honglei! Let's talk it over. Don't move—Huh?"
The author has something to say: The temperature has dropped sharply, it’s 9 degrees, my fingers are frozen, and typing is becoming less and less flexible (╥╯＾╰╥)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
