Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 576 A Busy Day

When Bafang left the study, he was carrying a basket, his head drooping to his chest, as if a demon had sucked away his yang energy.

Cheng Guang, who was guarding the door, was startled by his appearance and asked him in confusion, "Do you hate studying that much?"

Ba Fang looked at him pitifully, "I hate exams."

Cheng Guang was unable to help.

"Do you need to see the young master?" Bafang asked.

Seeing Cheng Guang nod, Ba Fang mustered his spirits and called into the room, "Young Master, Registrar Cheng wants to see you."

In the study, Meng Changqing was about to blow out the candles and go back to sleep when he heard this sentence.

She roughly guessed what Cheng Guang was going to say, "Come in."

"Why didn't you go home?" Meng Changqing asked a pointless question first.

"My lord, I have some concerns," Cheng Guang said frankly. "These officials from the capital seem to be quite hostile towards us. They want to punish us for anything they find."

Meng Changqing said, "It's normal. This is part of their job. It's normal for them to be hostile towards us."

“But I feel something is not right.” Cheng Guang thought for a moment and then said, “Perhaps Lord Xu is fair and impartial, but Lord Feng, who is in charge, clearly has a personal grudge against us.”

Having said that, Meng Changqing stopped beating around the bush. "Feng Zhong'an is good at maneuvering and maintaining relationships. His current official position is largely due to the influence of his network of connections."

Judging from his attitude towards me, he and his network of connections are mostly on my side.

Cheng Guang tried to understand Meng Changqing's words. He couldn't think of the future struggle for the throne yet, and only regarded it as a common power struggle in officialdom.

"How can they be satisfied when they haven't found anything?" Cheng Guang couldn't help but assume the worst about the other party. "They might leave something in the county government office." "It's good to be cautious," Meng Changqing said. "No one can guarantee that they won't do that."

“It seems that it is extremely risky to let them go up the city wall,” Cheng Guang suggested. “Why don’t we find an excuse to let them leave Beishan County directly? Anyway, they only came here to check taxes. Now that we have found out everything, they should leave.”

Meng Changqing said, “When Lord Feng mentioned this matter, I had the same thought as you. But he also said that our county’s biggest expenditure is to repair the city wall. If we stop him from going, he can turn around and say that there must be some shoddy workmanship on the city wall.”

Cheng Guang frowned deeply. "Then we can only let them make their moves?"

"There's no need to be so pessimistic," Meng Changqing said. "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. You have to trust your family. I've learned the Thirty-Six Stratagems pretty well too."

Cheng Guang breathed a slight sigh of relief, but was still worried.

Judging from Cheng Guang's expression, it's clear that he wouldn't be able to rest easy until Feng Zhong'an and the others left Beishan County.

Meng Changqing simply stated his guess.

The current situation in the court is stable. Although there is a struggle between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, the Emperor is in his prime, and the struggle for succession cannot be made public.

Meng Changqing was not only a former companion to the Crown Prince, but her position as county magistrate was also bestowed upon her by the Emperor himself.

It would be unwise to frame her now.

"The reason Lord Feng made this suggestion is probably to get rid of me so that his men can find Magistrate Sun," Meng Changqing said. "If Lord Feng takes the initiative to send some people away tomorrow morning, then my guess will be confirmed."

"How could Lord Feng be so sure that Magistrate Sun is here with us?" Cheng Guang was even more puzzled. "Knowing the feud between Magistrate Sun and Prefect Liu, why would a high-ranking official like him side with Prefect Liu? Doesn't he have any sense of justice or fairness?"

Meng Changqing did not answer Cheng Guang's questions; it was getting late, and she needed to go to sleep.