Chapter 22 "The Hypocrite"
"Miss, Miss, look quickly! There are so many people outside! It's the newly arrived magistrate judging cases on the street!"
"Miss, that Miss Xie is also here."
"Miss, the new magistrate seems to be interrogating that third young master of the Liu family. Yay! I want to see his ass get a beating..."
"Alright, stop probing." A cool, clear voice finally replied, its tone casual.
"Be careful not to fall off the wall again, or your own backside will get a bloody nose."
"But, Miss, the new magistrate has already given the third young master of the Liu family a good spanking. Wow, Miss Xie is so fierce."
"Keep your voice down."
"Oh... but Miss, this new magistrate is indeed quite handsome. Last time I was too far away to see him clearly and he fell into the water. No wonder he was the third-ranked scholar at the Apricot Garden Banquet."
"Just a pretty vase among the refined people of Shilin."
"But the vase is pleasing to the eye, and it looks nice sitting there."
"A vase is used by scholars to display their status, by emperors to embellish their reputation, by historians to decorate their annals of history, and by common people to comfort themselves. Now even you, a little maid, use it to please the eye. It seems quite nice, the only drawback being that it breaks easily when dropped, and it is of no use to anything truly important."
"I don't understand... but Miss is very well-read. I guess that's a compliment."
"Calculate."
“Oh, Miss, this magistrate said he came to Longcheng to do only one thing: disaster relief, flood control, and fairness. Isn’t that three things? Hmm, did I miscount?”
You didn't miscount.
"I knew it! I counted on my fingers, how could I be wrong?"
"You're just not smart enough."
"...
"Miss, you seem completely uninterested. Didn't you take me to watch the new magistrate take office last time?"
"Why waste time looking at something whose quality is obvious at a glance?"
"Then... what quality did you discern, Miss?"
Under the eaves, a young woman in red robes lowered her eyes and turned the pages of a book, seemingly recalling the impeachment of her relative. A cold smile crept across her pink lips and white teeth.
"hypocrite."
...
"Madam, our Longcheng is an ancient county."
"It is one of the ancient counties established when the First Emperor implemented the prefecture-county system."
"Three hundred years ago, Tao Qian, a famous scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, served as the magistrate of this county for eighty-one days, so Tao Qian was also known as Tao Longcheng."
"How come it's only eighty-one days?"
"Eighty-one days is already giving us face. I heard that other official positions last even shorter. Moreover, our Longcheng Magistrate was also the last one, which is quite memorable."
"I really don't understand these famous scholars. Why would they resign from their official posts for no reason?"
"According to the county annals, it seems that he refused to bow down for five pecks of rice and resigned from his post to return to his hometown. However, he left behind many poems and anecdotes. Madam, please look at this plum grove behind the residence. I heard that when Tao Qian was the county magistrate, he released a pair of sika deer here. They later became a loving couple and their offspring have multiplied to this day. There are now many sika deer living in the mountains and forests of Longcheng."
"Two deer at the beginning, how could they have so many offspring?" Zhen asked suspiciously.
"Ahem, who knows? Maybe it will attract some deer from outside the area. It's all possible. Just take it as a nice story, Madam. Don't take it too seriously."
Yan Wuxu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Bringing women to tour the mansion was not something he was good at, especially a feisty and beautiful woman like Aunt Mingfu. He guessed that only the Mingfu family could keep her in check.
Not long ago, the court session at the county government gate was successfully concluded. Afterwards, Prefect Ming and Magistrate Diao went to check on the disaster relief efforts and asked him to pick up Madam Zhen and take her to the new residence prepared for Prefect Ming's family by the county officials.
Because of the last major flood, many buildings of the already dilapidated county government office were destroyed, and the water source was also polluted. At present, the county government office can only be used for simple office work and meetings. The main hall and flower hall of the county government office are no longer habitable.
So, Magistrate Diao and his men found a new residence for the magistrate on Luming Street near the county government office. It was said that a wealthy family from the neighborhood had offered it up when they heard that the county government office was in trouble.
Although the courtyard was not large, it was elegant and quiet. The magistrate brought very few people with him when he took office, except for his advisor Xie Lingjiang, so the place was not crowded.
"Madam, please take a look. This four-courtyard house, which has been arranged, is elegantly named Meilu Garden. It is located on Luming Street and is very close to the county government office, making it very convenient for you to work and eat every day."
Yan Wuxu thought for a moment, then smiled and made conversation: "Speaking of which, the names of the streets and houses in our Longcheng are quite elegant, and they are all related to famous people and their elegant deeds. For example, there is Yuanming Tower and Yuanming Street in the West Market, Di Gong Street in my hometown, and Di Gong Gate which blocks the water. Perhaps when you are promoted, the people of Longcheng will also leave your names in commemoration."
"I've heard of Tao Qian, Tao Yuanming, but which one is this Di Gong referring to?"
Yan Wuxu looked somewhat proud. "That's the Master Di from the court. Years ago, when he was prime minister, the empress demoted him from Luoyang to our Longcheng as a county magistrate. He was the one who controlled the great flood at that time, and he was also the first to build the Di Gong Sluice. When he left, the people of Longcheng were reluctant to let him go. They sent a shrine to him from ten miles away, and later they built a shrine for him."
The lady in the silk skirt, who was directing the servants and cooks to move things, turned around and said with her hands clasped, "It seems that no one who comes to this Longcheng as a county magistrate has a good experience. My husband was also promoted in name only but demoted in reality, eh."
"..." This left Yan Wuxu speechless. He could only say, "Don't worry, Madam. Look at Master Di. Didn't he return to the court with flying colors? As long as 'Jian is in the Empress's heart', that's enough."
"That's true."
Madam Zhen nodded, then pointed to the depths of the Plum Deer Garden, "Someone, go and tidy up the innermost room. From now on, this room will be Tanlang's study. It's right next to the plum grove in the back garden, quiet and secluded, perfect for reading."
Yan Wuxu glanced at it and casually reminded her, "This plum blossom grove seems to connect to the wealthy family next door who donated their house. Madam should keep a close eye on the servants below, as it would be bad if they accidentally wandered in."
"knew."
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Melu Garden, Ouyang Rong, who had met with Magistrate Diao to hand over his work, took a break and returned with Xie Lingjiang to familiarize themselves with their new residence.
"Brother Jiang, are you sure you don't want to come and stay with us? I'll have my aunt tidy up a courtyard."
"No, I won't trouble you, Aunt." Xie Lingjiang hesitated slightly, looked around, and said, "There's an uncle's house nearby where I can stay."
Ouyang Rong didn't mind, nodded, said goodbye, and prepared to go inside.
Xie Lingjiang suddenly said from behind, "Brother Lianghan."
"uh-huh?"
"This case today... was handled beautifully."
"Just parroting what others have said."
“No, you have that ‘spirit’. Father once said that words are just appearances, the ‘spirit’ in a Confucian scholar is the essence.”
"gas?"
"I stayed because I was looking for a certain kind of 'qi' (vital energy)."
"Is it the 'qi' of righteousness?" Ouyang Rong tried to understand.
"Yes and no." It was the Qi of a Qi cultivator. Xie Lingjiang was a little disappointed. "It's even more difficult than that. It was the Qi that Brother Lianghan shouted from a high place in front of everyone just now. It was fleeting, but I still saw it. However, I don't understand it."
No wonder when he loudly proclaimed "I will only do one thing" in public, his usually aloof and reserved junior sister suddenly turned around and stared straight at him... Ouyang Rong was now somewhat relieved.
"is that so."
Ouyang Rong really wanted to ask if it was because of his handsome looks, but after thinking about it, he thought it was probably not that simple. His junior sister was just "muscular," not brainless.
"I'll take it as a compliment from Brother Jiang. There's plenty of time in the future. If you see it again next time, please let me know. I'm also curious about this aura." He smiled.
Xie Lingjiang nodded.
Another question:
"On my way down the mountain today, I've seen refugees, local bullies, and rampant crime... the disaster in Longcheng... I just saw you arguing with Magistrate Diao inside the house?"
"It's just that the disaster relief concepts are slightly different."
"Brother Lianghan, do you have a good plan?"
"It's not exactly a good solution, just a mediocre one, but it's better than the current worst option."
What is the middle strategy?
Under the bright sunlight shining in front of the gate, the young county magistrate's shadow on the ground paused for a moment, as if hesitating. He left four words behind and went inside without looking back.
"Work relief instead of work relief".
"Work...instead of relief?" Xie Lingjiang paused for a while, still unable to understand. After standing there in the sun for a while, she turned and left.
Ouyang Rong, who was having dinner at the Melu Garden, was unaware that his junior sister had not gone far after leaving the Melu Garden gate. She had only walked about ten steps south along the long street before casually turning into the huge mansion next door with the "Su Mansion" plaque.
Xie Lingjiang, dressed in men's clothing, wearing a crown and carrying a sword, with a longbow slung across her shoulder, walked into a private garden where plum blossoms were in full bloom, and directly asked the woman in red robes reclining under the eaves:
"Sister Su, what is the deeper meaning behind the work-for-relief program?"
...
(End of this chapter)
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