Chapter 31 The Court's Handling
After Meng Guanqi returned to the house, he couldn't concentrate on reading a single word for a long time. All he could see was the scene of a spirited woman leaping down from the roof and standing firmly in front of him.
Ah Sheng brought in tea and was surprised to find the young master lost in thought. He placed the tea on the table and scratched his head: "Young master, what are you thinking about?"
Meng Guanqi snapped out of her reverie and put the book down: "You're here, have a seat."
Ah Sheng trotted into the inner room and soon came out with a plate of snacks: "Young master, please have some snacks."
Meng Guanqi waved his hand dismissively: "You eat."
Ah Sheng chuckled, thinking the same thing, and unceremoniously took a piece of pastry and ate it.
Meng Guanqi stared at Asheng.
Ah Sheng was still munching on his snacks, but Meng Guanqi's serious gaze made him lose his appetite: "Young Master, why are you looking at me like that?"
Meng Guanqi's eyes lit up: "Asheng, did you notice how Li Xiaoxiao jumped down from the roof?"
Ah Sheng's eyes immediately lit up: "Of course! Young master, Sister Xiaoxiao is amazing! I've never seen anyone as amazing as her. She actually dared to jump from such a high place, and her leg wasn't broken."
Meng Guanqi said with a hint of longing, "I've never seen her either, Asheng. How can she be so strong? You don't know, when Liuzhi was knocked unconscious by the flower sellers, she was the one who rescued her. She defeated three flower sellers all by herself!"
Ah Sheng was genuinely unaware, his mouth agape: "Really? Is Sister Xiaoxiao like the ones in the storybooks, a female knight-errant with superb martial arts skills?"
Meng Guanqi murmured, "But I've only heard that she used to work in a mine. If she's a female knight-errant, where did she learn her skills?"
Ah Sheng excitedly clenched his fist: "Young master, why don't we call Sister Xiaoxiao over and ask her? If she really is a female knight-errant, what do you think about me learning martial arts from her?"
Meng Guanqi's eyes lit up: "If it's true, even if you only learn half of her skills, you'll still be able to scare away anyone who dares to bully me in the future."
Ah Sheng exclaimed excitedly, "Young Master, do you think I'd be even more skilled than Sister Xiaoxiao if I really followed her to learn martial arts? After all, I'm a man!"
Meng Guanqi glanced at Asheng's thin arms and legs and sighed: "I don't know either. Back in the capital, I studied the Six Arts of a Gentleman, and my martial arts skills weren't very good either."
Ah Sheng was even thinner than him, and he felt he was even thinner than him.
Ah Sheng was a little frustrated. In his mind, Meng Guanqi, who had passed the imperial examination at the age of thirteen, was omnipotent. Even the young master's martial arts skills were not good. For some reason, he lost his confidence.
Ah Sheng sighed, "If Sister Xiaoxiao were a man, she could protect the young master with me."
Meng Guanqi's heart skipped a beat, then he fell silent. Yes, if only she were a man, he could keep her by his side as a servant, and no one would dare to bully him.
But his feelings of regret came and went quickly. After all, his most pressing concern was his studies, which were related to the provincial examination next year. If he could pass, his father's situation would not be so difficult.
He picked up the book he had just put down again.
"Young Master!" Liu Zhi's slightly anxious voice came from outside the house. A Sheng immediately stood up: "Liu Zhi, why are you here?"
After Magistrate Meng recovered from his illness, Meng Guanqi moved back to his study in the front courtyard, a very quiet place where no one usually came.
Liu Zhi said breathlessly, "Steward Zhao and Brother Jian have returned and are meeting with Master and Madam in the main room. Madam is asking Young Master to come over quickly as well."
Meng Guanqi immediately stood up and walked towards the backyard.
Steward Zhao has been in the capital for over a month now; judging by the time, it's about time he returned.
He wasn't worried about Steward Zhao's return, but he was anxious about the memorial Steward Zhao had sent to the capital and the court's decision regarding his father.
Butler Zhao has most likely already brought the results back.
Sure enough, when he arrived at the main house, the Zhao steward and his son were kneeling inside, paying their respects to Magistrate Meng and Madam Liu. Both of them were travel-worn and had just arrived home. They hadn't even had time to wash up before eagerly entering the inner courtyard to see Magistrate Meng and Madam Liu.
Steward Zhao was very excited. He held Magistrate Meng's hand and tears streamed down his face. When he left, Magistrate Meng was seriously ill and thought that this parting was forever. However, he was entrusted with the mission of pleading for his master and had to go to the capital to deliver the memorial in person. It took him more than a month to return. After receiving the court's decision, he was eager to go home. However, when he was about to reach Biyang County, he was afraid of hearing bad news.
To everyone's surprise, the master was blessed with good fortune. Not only did he recover from his serious illness, but he also looked better than when he was in the capital. How could Steward Zhao not be excited?
The master and servant exchanged pleasantries, and just then Meng Guanqi arrived. After greeting Steward Zhao, Steward Zhao eagerly handed the memorial in his arms to Magistrate Meng.
This was the Ministry of Personnel's handling of Magistrate Meng's case. The result was neither good nor bad, but it was much better than Magistrate Meng had imagined.
Magistrate Meng was reprimanded for his unauthorized opening of granaries and illegal resettlement of displaced people. He was fined six months' salary and given a demerit in his performance evaluation. However, considering that his actions were considered benevolent and caring towards the people, he was not punished for settling the displaced people in the local area. Instead, he was urged to properly handle the follow-up work. The cost of the grain in the county granary, as well as the houses, farm tools, and seeds provided for the displaced people, was to be allocated from the imperial disaster relief funds. The Prefect of Lin'an was ordered to assist in handling this matter.
After reading the memorial from the Ministry of Personnel, Magistrate Meng got up, left the house, knelt down facing north in the courtyard, and kowtowed several times: "Your subject kowtows to express his gratitude for Your Majesty's grace."
In Magistrate Meng's view, this outcome already showed that His Majesty had been extremely lenient with him.
Steward Zhao said, "Master, it's fortunate that you wrote this letter of apology and went to the capital. Prefect Song's memorial impeaching you had already arrived in the capital beforehand. Thanks to Lord Min for arguing on your behalf and for waiting for your letter of apology, we were able to persuade the cabinet to stand on your side."
The fine and poor performance review were the best outcome Zhao the steward had envisioned. Magistrate Meng's act of taking in refugees was not supported by law, but the emperor still had a benevolent heart. Although he punished the master, he would not pursue the matter of the refugees settling down, and would also make up for the treasury grain deficit of Magistrate Meng and the cost of resettling the refugees.
Overall, the Emperor still sided with the Master.
This incident has completely severed the relationship between the master and Prefect Song. Unfortunately, Prefect Song is the master's superior, and it's anyone's guess how he will make things difficult for the master in the future.
Steward Zhao said worriedly, "Master, when I left the capital, Lord Min sent his staff to see me off, warning me to be wary of Prefect Song. Even the Emperor, after considering the situation, sided with you. But Prefect Song is your direct superior. Not only did he refuse to help plead his case, but he also turned the tables, downplaying the seriousness of the matter and clearing himself of any wrongdoing. He even pinned all sorts of accusations on you. Your performance evaluation this year has already been set at 'poor' and cannot be changed, but from now on..." From now on, Prefect Song will be in charge of all your performance evaluations.
Magistrate Meng smiled calmly: "I've already offended him even if I didn't want to. After this incident, the conflict between me and Prefect Song is beyond repair. Let's just take it one step at a time."
Butler Zhao sighed. When will the master change his carefree attitude?
Magistrate Meng already knew the outcome of the court's decision, and he was no longer concerned about other matters: "You and Zhao Jian have been traveling thousands of miles for more than a month. You must be tired. Go back, wash up, and get some rest. You can come back to work in three days."
Steward Zhao and Zhao Jian bowed in agreement and withdrew.
News of the imperial court's punishment of Magistrate Meng quickly spread throughout the inner courtyard. Li Xiaoxiao was surprised: "He was fined half a year's salary and received a bad review?"
Are you kidding me? Magistrate Meng saved so many people, and not only did he not receive any credit, he was also punished? Isn't this clearly telling all officials not to save people in the future?
Biyang County is so poor that Magistrate Meng himself has spent a fortune buying grain and distributing porridge, yet he's being fined half a year's salary? Outrageous!
Li Xiaoxiao felt indignant on behalf of Magistrate Meng.
But Madam Mao seemed unimpressed: "A fine of salary is a very light punishment. How many officials in the capital haven't had their salaries fined? Even the Grand Secretary Yang has been fined several times." As long as he wasn't stripped of his official rank, flogged, or exiled, this small amount of money was enough to avert disaster; it was nothing serious.
Not long after Steward Zhao brought back the documents from the Ministry of Personnel, the imperial relief supplies that Head Constable Shi and his yamen runners had never seen before finally appeared in the backward little county of Biyang.
The supplies were escorted by the advisors of the imperial envoy Lord Lu, who was in charge of disaster relief. Accompanied by the money clerk under Prefect Song, they politely settled accounts with Magistrate Meng, inventoried the goods, and signed the documents. Cart after cart of grain, tools, and seeds were locked into the empty warehouse. The warehouse clerk hadn't seen the warehouse full of grain in a long time and was overjoyed. Even the yamen runners were delighted. This money and grain were related to their future welfare. Now that Magistrate Meng had money, could he make up for the grain and wages he owed them in previous years?
For a time, the entire Biyang County government office was even more bustling than during the Spring Festival.
The staff member politely declined Magistrate Meng's kind invitation, and after having a meal at the largest restaurant in the county, he had to take his leave: "The flood in Jizhou is very serious, and the Imperial Envoy is still working hard at the front. We dare not slack off. We will come to bother Magistrate Meng again when we have free time in the future."
The prefect's finance clerk smiled enigmatically and said, "My duties are finished, and I will now take my leave with Zhuang's staff."
Magistrate Meng said, "Thank you for your hard work, Master Luo, and Steward Zhao."
Butler Zhao immediately presented the two prepared gifts.
The attendant of Zhuang's advisor accepted the local specialties prepared by Magistrate Meng, but Luo, the clerk, refused them with a smile: "Before I came here, Prefect Song specifically instructed me that Magistrate Meng has been spending money and effort on disaster relief these days, and was also fined half a year's salary by the Emperor. I imagine he is not in a good financial situation. He asked me to be considerate of Magistrate Meng and not to accept any more gifts from him. Magistrate Meng, I dare not disobey the Prefect's orders. Please take these gifts back."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Master Luo bluntly pointed out that Magistrate Meng had been punished, and openly refused Magistrate Meng's gift. Prefect Song was not showing consideration for his subordinate, but rather openly slapping him in the face.
Moreover, after Master Luo spoke, even Zhuang's advisor, who had already accepted the gift, could no longer accept it.
Zhuang, the advisor, had seen it all while serving the imperial envoy. Not wanting to get involved in the conflict between the two superiors, he quickly instructed his attendant to return the gifts: "It was indeed my fault for being ignorant. Lord Meng, please take them back."
Generally speaking, these local specialties are not valuable, and it doesn't matter whether you buy them or not. However, since Master Luo publicly used Prefect Song's name to slap Magistrate Meng in the face, the rift between the two is quite deep.
Zhuang's advisor certainly didn't want to get involved in such trouble. He was only there to deliver supplies, and once he left, he would have nothing to do with Magistrate Meng.
Magistrate Meng's smile froze, while Meng Guanqi, standing behind him, paled drastically, his hands clenching involuntarily at his sides. This was utterly outrageous!
Steward Zhao quickly realized what was happening and bowed humbly, saying, "Lord Zhuang, Lord Luo, these are just some pastries and local specialties from Biyang County. They're nothing of great value. Biyang County has received a great deal of disaster relief supplies from the Emperor, and the entire county is deeply grateful. Our lords are also grateful for your hard work—"
Master Luo interrupted Steward Zhao without any politeness: "Lord Meng, you are too kind. Our Lord Song has already prepared the travel expenses for Advisor Zhuang. Lord Meng need not trouble himself with this. Farewell! Advisor Zhuang, this way please."
Zhuang's advisor was surprised that Master Luo would repeatedly humiliate Magistrate Meng without showing any mercy, and a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
Master Luo smiled and said, "Advisor Zhuang, please get in the car."
Zhuang's advisor had no choice but to hastily bow to Magistrate Meng and get into the carriage.
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