A rich family does not need to buy good land, as there are thousands of bushels of grain in books.
You don’t need to build a tall building to live in a comfortable life, there is a golden house in books.
Don’t be sad about not having a good matchmaker when getting married, there are beautiful women in books.
Don’t be sad that no one accompanies you when you go out, for there are countless carriages and horses in the book.
If a man wants to fulfill his life ambition, he should study the Five Classics diligently in front of the window.
Reading is good, it's wonderful, but this life of reading, practicing calligraphy, and writing essays gets boring after a while. Even with a little maid like Taochun to accompany him, it still doesn't keep him interested. It was July, and the house was extremely hot and humid. Xu Yan had been studying hard behind closed doors for a month, and he was almost breaking out in a rash.
That day, he was about to go out for a stroll on the street when the little servant Shuangxi came running over in a hurry.
"Master, you must not go out now!"
Seeing Shuangxi's panicked look, Xu Yan coughed lightly and asked, "What on earth happened?"
"The government, the government has come. I'm afraid... I'm afraid they're going to bring you to court."
Even though Xu Yan was very calm, he was still surprised.
He had voluntarily donated grain to the county government more than a month ago, which was considered a big favor to County Magistrate Zhao. Why would the county government come to Xu's house to arrest people at this time?
Besides, he didn't do anything harmful. It's strange, really strange.
Xu Yan took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
"Do you know who is coming to the county government office?"
The little servant said with a bitter face, "Captain Cui is an old man from the county yamen. He has come here personally. Young master, you better be careful. He seems to be coming with bad intentions."
Xu Yan smiled faintly: "A man of integrity has nothing to fear. I haven't done anything harmful, so what am I afraid of?"
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and walked away.
But Xu Yan walked through the hall and courtyard and came to the flower hall. He calmed himself down and took a deep breath. Then he straightened his robe and walked into the hall.
Constable Cui, who worked in the yamen for years, was naturally not a refined man. He sat in an official hat chair with a stern and unfathomable expression.
The maids serving in the hall didn't even dare to breathe when they saw him like this.
Xu Yan walked closer and bowed to Captain Cui, saying, "My dear Xu Yan, nice to meet Captain Cui."
Captain Cui nodded when he saw Xu Yan coming. "Young Master Xu, you are honored. I am here on the orders of the county magistrate to invite you to the yamen."
This Captain Cui has a good attitude, Xu Yan thought to himself.
"Excuse me, Captain Cui, why did you come all this way?"
"Well... I don't know the details. The county magistrate only ordered me to bring the young master here."
Captain Cui said with an embarrassed look on his face.
Xu Yan was very good at observing people's expressions and naturally noticed the subtle change in Captain Cui's expression.
"Can I see the ticket, boy?"
The so-called ticket refers to a document issued by the yamen official, which is used by the yamen runners to arrest the people involved.
The card ticket is the certificate for yamen runners to handle cases. Seeing the card ticket is like seeing an official.
"The county magistrate did not issue the ticket."
Who knew that Captain Cui would give an answer that surprised Xu Yan very much.
If there is no card ticket, how can you have the fun?
"Captain Cui, you're joking, aren't you? Since the county magistrate wants to bring me to court, he should have a ticket as proof."
"Young Master Xu, you misunderstood. I didn't say the county magistrate wanted to bring you to justice."
Captain Cui waved his hands repeatedly, looking embarrassed and said, "Did you see I'm wearing chains and ropes? If I really wanted to bring you to court, would I still be sitting here drinking tea?"
"Then what the county lord means is..."
Xu Yan felt a little confused. What on earth was going on?
Captain Cui waved his hand and said, "Young Master Xu, please don't ask any more questions. Anyway, this is an order from the county lord himself. Please follow me."
Xu Yan pondered this for a moment and decided it was unlikely that Captain Cui was lying. After all, the matter involved Magistrate Zhao, so even if Captain Cui had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare use the tiger's skin as a banner.
Since the government office did not issue a warrant, it means that Xu Yan is not involved in the case, which is always a good thing.
But it was either official business or personal matters. It seemed that the county magistrate wanted to see him for personal matters.
"In that case, I will follow Captain Cui."
If it is a blessing, there will be no disaster; if it is a disaster, there will be no escape.
At this point, Xu Yan really wanted to go to the Dinghai County Government Office to see what the magistrate was up to.
Dinghai County is not very big, and it only takes a moment to get from Xu Mansion to the county government office.
Xu Yan had come here once before to donate grain, so it was not a new experience. He followed Captain Cui around the screen wall and entered the gate one after another.
The two of them walked through the halls and courtyards. When they reached the third hall, Captain Cui stopped, turned around, and said softly, "Young Master Xu, please wait here for a moment."
Xu Yan nodded slightly and smiled in return.
Captain Cui walked quickly to an old locust tree, talked to the elegant man in his forties under the tree for a few words, and then walked back.
"The county lord wants to see you in the backyard. His family is there, so it's not convenient for us to go there. You can follow Mr. He in later."
Xu Yan hummed softly and thought to himself: It seems that Master He is trusted by County Magistrate Zhao, otherwise he would not be able to enter and leave the backyard at will.
Seeing Master He waiting there, Xu Yan quickly walked up to him, bowed deeply and said, "My boy Xu Yan greets Master He."
Master He stroked his beard lightly, nodded approvingly and said, "Come with me."
Xu Yan didn't dare to be arrogant. He answered yes and followed Master He forward.
They walked along a cobblestone path, passed through a moon gate, and arrived at the backyard.
Xu Yan was just thinking about how to respond when Master He stopped and said, twirling his beard, "Young Master Xu, the county magistrate is in the hall. Please come in."
Xu Yan looked up and saw a spacious and bright house in front of him. The door was open, and there was a couplet carved on both sides.
"Gaining an official position is not an honor, losing it is not a disgrace. Don't say an official is useless, the whole place depends on him. Eat the people's food, wear the people's clothes, don't think the people can be bullied, you are also a people."
Xu Yan thought to himself that this should be the third hall.
Completely different from the second hall where Magistrate Zhao had last met him, the third hall he was in this time was actually the area where Magistrate Zhao lived his daily life. It seemed Xu Yan's guess was correct; Magistrate Zhao had probably asked him out for a private matter.
Xu Yan bowed to Master He to express his gratitude, then straightened his robe and stepped into the hall.
The young man walked around a screen with flowers and birds, and saw County Magistrate Zhao leaning over a desk, writing something.
Xu Yan didn't dare to disturb them and waited quietly by the side.
It was not until County Magistrate Zhao lowered his wolf-hair brush that the young man bowed and said, "Disciple Xu Yan pays his respects to the Magistrate."
County Magistrate Zhao was clearly in a good mood. Seeing Xu Yan coming, he waved his hand and said, "Sir, there is no need to be restrained. Come to me."
Although Xu Yan felt somewhat nervous, he calmed himself down and strode towards County Magistrate Zhao.
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