Han official!

Chapter 96 Lingshe
The thief catcher and the prison officer's eyes were red.

In the spacious county court, there were pots of mutton, the best meat that only the nobles and powerful could eat, bubbling with steam.

There was also a lot of millet wine, which I could only drink in small sips in the past few months, but today I could drink it to my heart's content.

Drink the wine in big gulps.

"Husband, Captain Guo said there was something good. What is it?"

"Dad, Uncle Guo said there's meat to eat, and I want to eat meat."

"Son, you must not forget the kindness of Chief Guo."

Next to the Hanque at the gate of the county court, open carriages drove by again, and the wives, children and parents of the thief catcher Gan and the prison clerk were taken to the official temple in Chang'an by the guards.

After beating the widower and widow, the thief catcher and the prison officer were inevitably trembling with fear, and they became even more frightened when the prisoners and the other prisoners became more and more powerful.

When they saw the mountains of mutton and millet wine that were specially sent by their wives, children and parents.

The thief catcher and the prison clerk touched the gold on the cuffs of their black robes. Guo Jie threw out three or five pieces of gold. A tael of gold cake was divided into more than ten pieces of gold, and each of them got a piece of gold.

The money and silk that the petty officials had never seen before.

Gold.

The thief catcher and the prison officer slapped themselves hard in the face.

Don't be afraid!
This is not about fear, but about feeling guilty towards Mr. Guo, thinking he was a good-for-nothing, and thinking that he didn't swing the iron bar fast enough when he hit someone.

The thief catcher and the prison officer looked at the iron bars in their hands and decided to bring three more wooden sticks.

Next time this happens again.

I won’t stop until I break the three sticks!

The thief catcher and the prison clerk secretly made up their minds and immediately went to the county court gate to meet him, bringing their wives, children and parents to the county court for a feast of mutton.

The cauldron and bell were placed in the county court.

This caused dissatisfaction among some Cao officials and assistant clerks.

But I dare not say more.

After all, the person who delivered the cauldron and the bell was Guo Jie, the head of the Gaojie Duting.

Although he was only a mere captain of a city pavilion, the clerks and assistants dared not complain.

Guo Jie was Zhang Tang's legitimate official, as legitimate as a relative.

At the same time, he was highly regarded by Zhao Yu.

Not everyone can bring carts of corn to assist Zhao Yu, who is not good at governance but only at criminal justice.

The best plan.

The prisoners stood under the corridor in front of the entrance, looking at the lively banquet in the middle of the spacious county court.

Or maybe you may not be able to eat mutton once in your lifetime.

The slaves were even more envious and jealous.

Many prisoners were even secretly annoyed as to why they followed Chang'an Wei Zhu Anshi instead of Chang'an Wei Zhang Tang.

Otherwise, the slaves could also eat mutton to their heart's content.

The next day, during the meal (9:45-10:30), the chef went to the official temple in Chang'an again, brought back the pots, bells and other utensils, and placed them in the kitchen of the Gaojie Duting for future use.

Guo Jie, accompanied by guards, escorted covered wagons to the official temple in Chang'an. They stopped at the gate of Hanque, waiting to be transported to the official temple's granary.

Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang had already returned from the forest garden they had built.

Today happens to be the day when we go to the granary, as we have to attend to official duties once every three days and visit the granary once every ten days.

The residence of the Chang'an magistrate was a L-shaped courtyard. Compared with the ordinary one-hall-and-two-lined houses, it had more corridors and verandas. The small double-eaved house was covered with tubular tiles and flat tiles, not a thatched roof.

The hall with two inner rooms is the guest room, usually used for meeting or entertaining guests.

The second inner chamber is the principal room, where the husband and wife live. The room is the side room east of the inner chamber, and is smaller than the inner chamber, with a south-facing door and a door.

Lingshe's L-shaped courtyard has a small hall behind the side room, and on both sides of the house there are corridors, small gardens, vegetable plots, toilets, chicken coops and other buildings.

The house faces south and the entire building is L-shaped.

"Master Guo, please come this way."

Guo Jie had just entered the boudoir when he heard someone calling him at the bell, and walked along the corridor to the guest room.

The flowers and plants outside the corridors were pulled out and turned into vegetable plots, where gourds, mustards, sunflowers, leeks, green onions, knotweed and other vegetables were planted. A woman in a cloth skirt was watering the vegetables with a boy of seven or eight years old with pigtails, holding a spatula.

The little boy with drooping hair and wearing a linen jacket looked towards Guo Jie in the corridor. It was the first time he saw him, and his little face was full of curiosity.

The woman and the boy with pigtails living in Lingshe could be none other than Zhao Yu's wife and son.

Guo Jie winked at the boy with pigtails.

The boy with drooping hair smiled back.

Bent at the waist, Lingxia whispered, "Women are female monarchs, and boys are gentlemen."

Junzi is an everyday honorific, and is also used to address the lord's son.

Guo Jie understood, and even though he had guessed the identities of the woman and the boy, he still nodded towards Ling Xia to show that he accepted his kind reminder.

"Cuckoo-"

The woman in the cloth skirt used a spatula to water the sunflowers, chives, green onions, knotweed and other vegetables, then went to get a winnowing basket, called out "cuckoo" and walked towards the chicken coop with her son.

The chicken coop is in the shape of a round warehouse and has no bunks. It houses more than ten chickens, a few ducks, and a goose.

Guo Jie fell in love with the goose at first sight and thought that it was a fat goose and it would be delicious if stewed in a pot.

The woman in the cloth skirt put some rice bran in her winnowing basket and scattered it in the chicken coop to feed the poultry and livestock. When she saw the chickens, ducks and geese pecking at the rice bran, her face showed a heartfelt joy.

Especially when a few yellow fluffy chicks came out of the chicken coop, the woman in the cloth skirt was even happier, as they would grow into adult chickens in a few months.

Guo Jie was surprised, "Lord Zhao is the Magistrate of Chang'an, a high-ranking official. He handles countless treasuries. I wouldn't say he lives a life of luxury, but he certainly has plenty of food and clothing. But now that I've actually stepped inside the Magistrate's residence, I have the impression that the life of a Chang'an Magistrate is worse than that of a mere Dutingzhang."

Chang'an Ling is the mayor of the capital city. He has incredible power, but he lives like a small township official.

No one would believe it.

Lingxia sighed and said, "Although Lord Zhao handles a lot of money, he never embezzles it. His salary is enough to support his family. As an official, there are always some poor relatives who ask for money. It's impossible to refuse. Lord Zhao uses part of his salary to support his relatives. Life is hard, and your wife can only raise some livestock to support the family."

Guo Jie shook his head.

I know that it is difficult for a judge to judge family affairs.

If it were him, a group of lazy relatives would dare to come and ask for money.

Just hit it with a stick.

Why should I give the money I earn to you, a bunch of relatives who didn't interact with me when I was poor, but come to ask for money now that I'm rich?

Guo Jie sighed and said, "I am incapable of being an honest official."

"You want to be an honest official, but I don't agree. It's much better to be a capable official. Why do you want to be an honest official for the sake of fame?"

Sang Hongyang's voice came from the guest room.

Guo Jie was stunned. He didn't expect that Sang Hongyang had also returned from Linyuan and was waiting for him in the guest room of Lingshe.

Zhao Yu knelt on the table, letters spread out on the desk before him. Seeing Guo Jie standing in the corridor at the entrance to the guest room, he said cheerfully, "You are the third person to enter my guest room. Yin Qi and Wang Wenshu were not allowed in."

Guo Jie couldn't help but feel a little excited.

He strode into the living room.

Entered the house.

(End of this chapter)