Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 65: Kung Fu is beyond the topic

Cao Yong, the prefect of Lin'an and vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, met with Xu Zhixian in the second hall of the government office.

When he saw County Magistrate Xu holding a box in his hand, Prefect Cao frowned slightly.

This Xu Haisheng is no longer a fool who has just entered the officialdom. How come he doesn't know the rules?

You come to see me in such a grand manner holding a box. Are you afraid that some rumors will spread?
Cao Fu Yin suppressed his displeasure and still called Xu Haisheng by his given name, saying in a gentle voice, "Jiaofu, what are you doing here?"

Xu Haisheng held the box, took a few steps forward, placed the box on Cao Yong's desk with both hands, and gently pushed it in front of him.

Xu Haisheng took two steps back and bowed, saying, "Prefect Cao, I have found the lion cat that was lost in Prime Minister Qin's mansion."

Cao Yong was startled and his eyes immediately fell on the box.

Found it? Why... put it in a box?

He hesitated and said, "Found it? Could it be that here..."

Cao Yong had a bad feeling in his heart. He hesitated and gently reached out his hand.

Cao Yong gently opened the lid of the box, but did not see the expected cat corpse, but a bunch of neatly stacked silver ingots.

Cao Yong's face suddenly darkened, he retracted his hand, and the lid of the box was closed with a "click".

Cao Yong's eyes quickly swept over the guards standing solemnly on both sides, and then he asked Xu Zhixian solemnly: "Xu Haisheng, what do you mean?"

Xu Zhixian hurriedly bowed and said, "Please calm down, Prefect. The lion cat that escaped from Prime Minister Qin's residence went to a commoner's house and was bitten to death by the dog raised by that family.

“I think if the prefect reports the truth to the Prime Minister, Madam Tong will not let it go.

"If Madam Tong starts crying, Prime Minister Qin will be in trouble, and the prefect will be embarrassed..."

Cao Yong was so angry that he laughed. He pointed at the box and asked, "So, you just sent these things?

"Do you think Madam Tong will be moved by these things of yours?"

Magistrate Xu said respectfully, "Prefect, I am not going to give this silver to Madam Tong."

Cao Yong slammed the case and said, "So you are using it to bribe this government?
"You have also studied hard for ten years and fought your way through thousands of troops!

"You don't want to report to the court and protect the people, so you only want to do this? Don't you care about the dignity of a scholar?"

Xu Zhixian hurriedly said, "The prefect has misunderstood. This box of treasures is not intended for Prefect Cao."

Cao Yong was stunned: "Then why do you bring this box of silver to see me?"

County Magistrate Xu told Prefect Cao about the "Youqiusi" incident.

When Gao Du told him about the existence of "Youqiusi", he naturally exaggerated it.

County Magistrate Xu was a fan of the Three Kingdoms and was fascinated by listening to the book.

At this moment, when he talked about the "Youqiu Si" in Yang Yuan's version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" which existed in the late Han Dynasty, he naturally had to make some slight modifications.

After these revisions, rumors spread like wildfire. In Cao Yong's ears, the "Youqiu Si" became even more mysterious and omnipotent.

Magistrate Xu said in a tone that showed concern for his superior: "Prefect Cao, since the 'Youqiu Division' dares to boast that 'every request will be met and every response will be fruitful', perhaps we can avoid a lot of trouble by asking them to be flexible.

"This trouble was caused under my rule, so there is no reason to ask the prefect to spend money on it.

"Besides, the prefect has always been an honest official, his official purse is empty, but my family is quite wealthy, so I have the guts to raise some money to hire the 'Youqiusi'."

Only then did Cao Yong understand County Magistrate Xu's intention.

No wonder he came to see me in such a grand manner, holding a silver box. I'm afraid he wanted to make up some rumors on purpose, hoping that the matter would reach the ears of Prime Minister Qin.

Cao Yong saw through it but didn't say anything. He just looked at Xu Haisheng deeply and said with a smile: "I understand your intentions.

"Speaking of it, this matter is just a matter of an animal. Why is it worth it for you and me to make such a fuss?

"This is ridiculous. If this gets out, won't the whole world laugh at us?

"Since the cat is dead, I will just report the truth to Prime Minister Qin. It's not worth it, it's not worth it..."

"Uh~~~ cough!"

Before Cao Yong finished speaking, a cough was heard from behind the screen.

Cao Yong paused after hearing this, then changed the subject and said, "I have something urgent to do, please sit down for a while."

After Cao Yong finished speaking, he stood up and walked behind the screen without waiting for Xu Haisheng to answer.

Behind the screen stood a man, short and stocky, with narrow eyes and a big mouth. He wore a round-necked shirt, a cloud-covered scarf, and held a palm-leaf fan, dressed like a quack.

This man's name was Song Ding, and he was Cao Yong's aide.

In his early years, Cao Yong worked as a retainer in a wealthy family and sponsored Qin Hui's travel expenses to take the imperial examination.

Later he joined the army and served as the supervisor of liquor taxes in Huangyan.

After Qin Hui came to power, he accidentally saw his name on an official document. After checking, he found out that he was indeed his benefactor.

Qin Hui was grateful and wanted to repay his kindness, so he promoted him. Cao Yong was promoted all the way until he became the prefect of Lin'an and the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

A cough sounded from behind the screen. The person who stopped Cao Yong from continuing was his colleague when he was a retainer.

Compared to Cao Fuyin, Song Ding actually has some real abilities.

Cao Yong also knew that his abilities were limited, so after he was promoted, he invited this old friend to be his aide.

When Cao Yong saw Song Ding, he asked, "Old Song, why are you interrupting me?"

Song Ding bowed and said, "Dong Weng, you can't say that.

"Officials from top to bottom are all working hard for the Qin family's cat. Why don't you agree?"

Cao Yong smiled proudly and said, "Others are working hard because they don't want to miss this good opportunity to curry favor with Prime Minister Qin. Does this government need it?

"I am Prime Minister Qin's confidant and we are related by marriage. Do I need to get involved in these messy things?

"You asked us to offer a reward for finding the cat and set up a cat inspection office in the front yamen. We have already complied with your request. Isn't that enough?"

Song Ding shook his head repeatedly: "Dong Weng is wrong. After the "Lock Hall Test" at the beginning of the year, Prime Minister Qin has rarely appeared in public.

"This is not the usual style of Prime Minister Qin. It is obvious that Prime Minister Qin's health is not good."

Cao Yong said: "Prime Minister Qin is already over sixty years old, so what's so strange about him being a little weak?"

Song Ding said: "Dong Weng, you are confused! Think about it, Prime Minister Qin is old and has not appeared in the court for a long time. The court and the public have been discussing this for a long time.

"At this time, Prime Minister Qin used the excuse of looking for a cat to let all parties run around. What does Prime Minister Qin want to do?
"Isn't it just to see if anyone has lost their reverence for him?
"If Dong Weng disagrees with this, what will Prime Minister Qin think of you?"

Cao Yong said disapprovingly: "Hey, the relationship between this government and Prime Minister Qin is extraordinary."

Seeing that he was being stubborn again, Song Ding patiently analyzed, "Dong Weng thinks he has a close relationship with Prime Minister Qin, so he doesn't need to act so hypocritically.

“But Mr. Dong, please think about this: if it were you, when you were getting old and wanted to leave the center, something happened in your house.

"People who are not close to you are working hard for you, but the people you promoted don't take it seriously.
"Dong Weng...what do you think?"

Although Cao Yong is not smart enough, he is a person who listens to advice.

He put himself in the situation and thought about it for a moment, and his face changed drastically.

If it were him, what would he think?
What are you thinking about? This bastard will be dealt with immediately!

A betrayer is always more hateful than an enemy.

The closer a person is to losing his honor and power in the near future, the more sensitive he will be to the attitudes of others.

If you show any disrespect to him at this time, he will beat you to death.

This is not about revenge, but about making an example of someone and taking precautions against any misdeed.

At the same time, it is also because of his fear of the future.

So, even if you did it unintentionally, he will over-interpret it.

Cao Yong said with lingering fear: "Old Song, it's a good thing you reminded me. It was my carelessness. What do you think I should do now?"

Song Ding gently waved his small fan and said with a smile: "Lin'an County is a sensible person. He has already sent the solution to Dong Weng."

Cao Yong frowned: "Are you talking about that 'Youqiusi'? It doesn't sound reliable, right?"

Song Ding smiled and said, "Does it matter whether it is reliable or not? What matters is that you spent money for Prime Minister Qin, Dong Weng!

"Dong Weng wants to let Prime Minister Qin know that even a speck of dust in his house is heavier than a mountain in Dong Weng's eyes!"

Cao Yong gave Song Ding a thumbs up, turned around and left without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)