Chapter 86 New Official Takes Office
Early that morning, Zhao Duan was awakened by the noise in the mansion.
The document for the promotion to Jisi was delivered two days ago. Upon learning that their eldest son had been promoted, the entire Zhao family was overjoyed and immersed in a festive atmosphere.
As the mistress, Eugene Hua believes that promotion is a big deal and must be taken seriously.
According to Dayu tradition, on the day a new official takes office, he should sweep the courtyard and wash away the dust at home to get a good start of "daily renewal".
Therefore, the Zhao family servants got up early in the morning and started cleaning.
The breakfast was very rich.
While eating, the beautiful woman said happily:
"Dalang's official robe has been ironed with a 'fire bucket'. The servants' hands are clumsy and rough, so I will put it on you myself later."
"Dalang, it's your first day at the yamen. Will you be home for lunch at noon? Auntie has made some soup and asked the servants to bring it to you, okay?"
"Dalang has just arrived at the new office, so he will probably be socializing and drinking with his colleagues. If he comes home, Auntie should make preparations early..."
Zhao Duan felt very uncomfortable when his beautiful stepmother called him "Da Lang" all the time.
After a while, he slammed his chopsticks on the table with a "pa" sound and said lightly:
"My aunt is particularly talkative today."
Eugene, who looked weak, was startled and recalled the fear of being dominated by her stepson in the past.
Immediately, he timidly forced out a flattering smile:
"Auntie talks too much, and you're tired of listening to her. I won't say any more, I won't say any more."
Next to him, Zhao Pan, who was eating quietly, didn't say a word. He was used to his mother's warm and cold attitude.
The beautiful girl refused to change her mind despite repeated advice, knowing that her mother, with her traditional character, believed in the saying "follow the son after the husband's death".
She is different and regards the empress as an idol.
…
After dinner.
Eugene Hua personally held the brand new "Jisi" official robe and helped Zhao Duan, who was standing in front of the mirror with his arms outstretched, to dress him.
The official robe is black in color, covered with brocade, and has silver edges on the cuffs. It has an elegant style and is a perfect match for Zhao Duan's appearance.
After getting dressed, Eugenie looked at her tall stepson in the mirror, lost in thought for a moment, then smiled like an aunt.
"A man as handsome as Dalang should be a high official."
The empress's father, the late emperor, was a face-chaser. During the imperial examinations, he would always change the ranking of the top scorer according to his appearance.
To the extent that the connection between appearance and official career has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Zhao Duan rationally disagrees with this strange logic.
But as the biggest beneficiary, he had no confidence to refute it and vaguely agreed with it.
…
…
After leaving home, Zhao Duan walked across two streets and got on a carriage at the corner that looked simple in appearance but luxurious and restrained in character.
As soon as he sat down, he smiled at another figure in the carriage:
"I'm sorry for being late and keeping Mo Zhaorong waiting."
Dressed as a female official, wearing a wingless black gauze on her head, with a cold temperament and a "neutral beauty", the "female prime minister" with plum blossom makeup adorning her eyebrows closed her eyes to rest.
At this moment, he opened his eyes and said in a cold tone:
"I am here to escort you to your new position today by His Majesty's order. If you have any questions, please ask directly."
It's like a ruthless machine that only wants to complete the task as quickly as possible.
As soon as he finished speaking, the wheels started turning and the carriage headed towards the imperial yamen.
How cold! She doesn't even respond to the conversation... Zhao Duan complained in his heart, knowing that the female official in front of him had a deep stereotype of him.
Even though he had made many contributions, in Mochou's eyes, Zhao Duan was just promoted from a "fool" to a "scheming villain".
In other words, what Mo Chou despised from the beginning to the end was his bad character.
It is also believed that the reason why Zhao Du'an was appreciated by the empress, Yuan Gong, and Sun Lianying was because he was hypocritical and good at flattery and disguising himself.
Zhao Duan knew very well that once prejudice was deeply rooted, it would take time to reverse it.
I simply said in a businesslike manner:
"I arrived in such a hurry, and I'm a little confused. I'd like to know about the situation at Lihua Hall and why there's no Jisi."
After learning that the empress sent Mo Chou to lead the charge, Zhao Duan realized that something was wrong.
If she was just taking up the post simply, even if some of her subordinates were dissatisfied, the empress could at most instruct Ma Yan to take care of them. There was no reason to send a female prime minister.
He suspected there was a pit here.
Mo Chou heard this, and a hint of gloating appeared in her eyes:
"Envoy Zhao, don't you know?"
Call me Lord Jisi... Oh, you haven't officially taken office yet, that's fine... Zhao Duan said seriously:
"Please tell me clearly, Mo Zhaorong."
Mo Chou said calmly:
"There are nine halls in the imperial court, and they are both colleagues and competitors.
After Ma Dugong took charge of the Zhaoya, he made many adjustments to the officials in the halls in the past two years. The Lihua Hall you are about to take over is ranked ninth.
The previous director of the law enforcement department was dishonest and committed a crime, so he was dismissed and his original team was disbanded... For a time, it became an empty shell.
Later, when Ma Yan was preparing to rebuild the Lihua Hall, he drew some 'elites' from the other eight halls to fill it..."
Zhao Duan felt something was wrong: "Elite?"
Mo Chou said "yes" and gave an example:
"Or they are capable but troublemakers who are not sociable and are ostracized.
Or they are old men in the imperial yamen who are incompetent, lazy and idle, but difficult to kick out.
Or newcomers with no qualifications or background... Of course, the majority are powerful and influential people with connections, but who are unruly and unruly.
Zhao Duan's expression gradually became stiff:
"Official children? As far as I know, most of the officials in the imperial court are soldiers selected from the garrisons in various places."
The Zhao Yamen was responsible for monitoring and arresting officials, and had a unique selection mechanism to ensure the integrity of the team.
This is to reduce the personal connections between him and the officialdom - this is the impression of the original owner and most people.
Mo Chou snorted, looking as if to say, "It seems you really don't know."
"It was indeed the case at the beginning, but Dayu has been established for 600 years. Even with repeated changes of leadership, it is inevitable that problems will accumulate over time.
Even now, although there are still quite a few officials selected from the guards, there are also many who inherited the title of Jinyi Xiaowei. Moreover, over the long years, many children of various gods have been inserted...
In short, the complexity of its ingredients is far beyond what ordinary people imagine.”
Systemic problem...Zhao Duan sighed.
Any organization will always remain pure at the beginning, but will gradually decay.
It seems that the imperial court is no exception. After Ma Yan came to power, he frequently changed personnel and made transfers. I think this was also done at the instruction of the empress to eliminate malpractices.
Grind off the rust on Zhaoya's knife and restore its sharpness to its original state.
However, because the problems have accumulated for too long, they cannot be completely solved.
Therefore, Ma Yan simply used the name of "filling" to throw all the "black sheep" in the other eight halls who were difficult to "fire" but would cause burdens and obstacles to the yamen into the "Lihua Hall" in one breath.
Zhao Duan's face looked unhappy:
"So, this is also the reason why Lihuatang hasn't appointed a chief inspector?"
"I guess so," Mo Chou said calmly:
"No one in the imperial court was willing to take over this mess, and those who were willing to take it over had ulterior motives, so they simply put it aside."
After a pause, she seemed to smile:
"This time, I believe that Lord Yuan values your ability and has appointed you to take on this important task."
gloat!
It's definitely gloating!
Zhao Duan felt like an alpaca was running wildly in his heart. He thought to himself that no wonder he was promoted as an exception. That old guy Yuan Li must have been holding back.
He said he was giving himself a big gift, but it turned out to be a trap.
No wonder the empress sent her confidants to support the situation. It was probably because the troublemaker in Lihua Hall had an extraordinary background, and even Ma Yan was unwilling to provoke him.
However, on the other hand, everything has its pros and cons.
The higher the difficulty, the greater the reward.
Lihuatang is indeed a difficult place, but if he can really gain a foothold, he can bring those troublemakers with strong backgrounds and abilities under his command.
The power that Zhao Duan, the chief of police, can wield will far exceed that of the other eight branches, and he might even become the number one person under the governor.
Zhao Duan was in a trance, and Xu Zhenguan's smiling face seemed to appear before his eyes. The empress seemed to say to him:
"Do you dare to accept this challenge?"
Inside the car.
Mo Chou gloated as she watched the handsome "Lihua Jisi" in front of her with a changing expression. Thinking of the Empress's instructions, she said:
"His Majesty is worried that you won't be able to find your footing, so he ordered me to come with you. I will personally escort you in later. With His Majesty's face, I can always..."
"No!"
Zhao Duan suddenly spoke, his eyes clear and bright, with a smile on his lips:
"Just wait outside the government office for now, Mo Zhaorong. I want to go to this dangerous place by myself. If necessary, I can ask Zhaorong to show up and calm the situation. How do you think?"
…
ps: Tomorrow is Tuesday, and this will be my last attempt to get recommended. Although the chances are slim, I still beg everyone to click on tomorrow's update.
Thanks to: lemonJelly for the 500-point reward and Momoo for the 100-point reward!
(End of this chapter)
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