Miao Chu

Chapter 102 Signature
The Cold Food Festival is a seven-day holiday, and today is the first day back to work. As soon as Zhang Fengzhi arrived at the yamen, he was busy as a spinning top and had no time to deal with Cai Xiu's affairs, so he was naturally unaware of the specific situation.

But having followed Zhang the legal officer for a long time, he was very good at understanding his superiors' thoughts. Upon hearing this, he immediately realized that something must have gone wrong, and hurriedly said, "Last time, he said he wanted to borrow thirty people. Because he vouched for them, I thought that since they were the four most outstanding students of the Imperial Academy, with a reputation for talent and having received much praise and appreciation from superiors, they should be clever people. So I helped them get the transfer letter through our own mouths—is there something wrong with that?"

Zhang Facao nodded and said, "I didn't think much about it before, but now that I've thought about it carefully, I realize I was a bit rash. Don't go through Cai Xiu's hands. Just step in yourself and send those students back. Be polite and don't let them cause any trouble."

He relayed what had happened at the meeting today—that the cooks had privately leaked information—and concluded by saying, "Get rid of them quickly, don't drag it out."

He added, “Once everyone leaves, we’ll find a free moment this afternoon to gather everyone together and have a meeting. Just now, Qin Jie informed me in front of Prefect Zheng that starting today, the files on the gambling case from February will be transferred over one by one. He told them to be careful in their words and actions and not to talk nonsense outside. If the news leaks out and they run into trouble, I’ll have nowhere to put my face.”

Zhang Fengzhi was startled and hurriedly agreed. He turned to leave, but was stopped again.

"What do you think of Cai Xiulai these days?" the legal officer asked after a moment's hesitation.

Regardless of his character or conduct, with Cai Xiu's qualifications, talent, and appearance, his future entry into officialdom was a certainty.

If one day news suddenly spreads that this person has won the favor of some high-ranking official and has been recruited as a son-in-law, Zhang Fengzhi would not be surprised at all.

Not wanting to offend anyone, he said, "The Imperial Academy's talented scholar certainly has literary talent. I think his regulations are much better than others', and he's also good at handling things—but perhaps a little too good at it. Our place is different from others; we have to be extremely careful in everything we do..."

Zhang Facao nodded and said, "That's what I think too. He's good with words, and he's already here. He's also a legitimate secondment from the government, so it's not good to send him back. We also don't want him to cause trouble elsewhere. We'll find some written materials for him to sort out and get by."

Fearing his subordinates might misunderstand, he added, "This time, the cases sent by the Left and Right Military Patrol Offices must not be leaked to outsiders in the slightest—as for the new recruits this year, just tell them to handle other matters and not get involved."

Seeing his superior's seriousness, Zhang Fengzhi, as a trusted confidant, immediately came up with a way to share his burden.

He said, “Many of the previous rules and regulations in our yamen were hastily drafted and used as is. Every year when new people come in or we borrow people, we have to spend a lot of time training and teaching them. Why don’t we let Cai Xiu revise them in his spare time? That way, his talents will be put to good use, and we will save trouble in the future. What do you think, Chief Justice?”

Zhang Facao naturally clapped his hands.

***
After delivering the locust flower powder, Song Miao hurriedly returned to Suanzao Lane and explained the situation to everyone. She added, "This person never speaks without certainty. Since he has agreed, there should be good news in a few days. Please be patient."

The people were skeptical and had no choice but to ask about this person's background.

Song Miao said, "Besides you, many other students have been temporarily transferred this time. If I reveal it, and others ask, will you tell or not? It's better if no one asks. As long as the final result is good, what does it matter who helped?"

"But we can't let stall owner Song owe us a favor for nothing, can we?"

"Exactly. If it really works out, and we benefit from it, shouldn't we thank them? Shouldn't we repay them?"

Xue Gang, being older and more worldly-wise than the others, interjected, "Let's not ask anymore. Right now, everyone in the government office is on temporary assignment. Who doesn't hate Cai Xiu to the core? We can manage to find out her name, but can we control others from talking about it?"

"That treacherous Cai fellow, once he finds out who stepped in to help him and ruined his plans, who knows what wicked schemes he might come up with later!"

He added, "Since we're going to express our gratitude, let's thank stall owner Song. She can help us convey our thanks in the future!"

The others thought about it carefully and realized it made a lot of sense, so they stopped asking questions.

Song Miao also smiled and said, "In the past, you all always helped me. Now that I finally have a chance, wouldn't it be great if I could lend a hand?"

"What kind of gang is that!"

"Exactly! Stall owner Song has made so many delicious meals for us! We're all helping each other out!"

It was already late, and the group didn't have time to eat. They carried the fried dough twists that Song Miao had packed for them, and dawdled back to the government office with long sighs. They wanted to secretly eat another bowl of locust flower powder, but Xiao Lian sternly refused, saying, "Sister said it's bad for your spleen and stomach, you're not allowed to eat too much!"

Despite her young age, she was stubborn and wouldn't budge even if you promised to bring her two strings of candied hawthorns as a bribe next time.

***
While Wang Chang and the others expressed their gratitude, they didn't actually have much hope for the unknown person Song Miao had entrusted to them.

On their way back to the Kyoto government office, the group discussed and deliberated repeatedly, but couldn't come up with a good solution.

In the end, even though he had cursed Cai Xiu's ancestors for eighteen generations and his resentment was almost enough to break the sky, when he arrived at the government office and entered the legal treasury, he was stopped by Cai Xiu, who was sitting at the door drinking tea. Cai Xiu asked him unhappily, "Why are you so late?" He still only dared to swallow his anger and say, "The journey is long, so it was inevitable that I was delayed," to brush it off.

The saying goes, "The more fiercely someone criticizes you behind your back, the worse they respond to you in person." This is just human nature.

Cai Xiu was just there to make sure everyone was there. Once he saw that everyone had arrived, he asked about the progress and then left.

Once he left, the remaining people inevitably erupted in angry curses and complaints.

Some asked about Wang Chang and the others' situation, some inquired whether they had found a way to escape, and others asked if anyone had approached the teacher or the academy head to inquire if they could truly resign.

Wang Chang and the others were able to get leave smoothly because many people in the room spoke up for them. Otherwise, they might not have been able to get Cai Xiu's approval. Now that someone asked them, they felt very embarrassed and had no choice but to explain that they did not dare to go into the Imperial Academy to find their teacher and did not know how to find their teacher, for fear of being discovered.

Finally, someone added, "But we contacted the owner of Song's stall, and she specifically asked someone for help. She said the person readily agreed, and it should be ready in the next couple of days..."

As he spoke, he was met with suspicious stares from everyone in the room, especially since they didn't really believe him at all, and he found himself unable to continue.

"What Song Ji, the lady from the mung bean paste and glutinous rice shop?"

"Whom did she ask for help? Was it some kind of teacher?"

"Stadium owner Song is kind-hearted, but she can't really help! If it were a small matter, she would probably ask anyone at the Imperial Academy, whether they were teachers or students who had eaten her breakfast, to lend a hand. But this time it involves both the academy and the government, which is very delicate. Asking any teacher probably won't be of any use."

"Fine, I'll just have to endure it for another half a month at most!"

Some people offered words of self-consolation.

But no one listened to this comforting advice.

A student nearby immediately retorted, "Easy for you to say! I can't stand this awful life for even a day longer! I never realized it before, but now I understand how precious it is to go to school and study—I'm full of energy now. If you let me go back, I could study for ten days straight without even sleeping at night!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard faint voices at the door, so he stopped talking and turned to look.

First Cai Xiu entered the room, followed by an official dressed in ordinary clothes.

Cai Xiu first introduced the official who came in after him, saying that the man's surname was Zhang and that he held a certain position in the legal department. The crowd sparsely called out, "Official Zhang."

Unlike Cai Xiu, who had a stern face and a stiff voice, Lord Zhang was all smiles and extremely friendly.

He first asked everyone how many days they had been there and whether they were settling in. Then he asked if the work they were doing was tiring and if they were worried about their studies.

Finally, he said, "This was my oversight. I originally thought that there would be many benefits in borrowing you here, but when my superior found out today, he was furious and said it was nonsense. You have just been promoted to the academy and your studies are in full swing. Organizing files takes a lot of time and effort. It is not appropriate to use people like this. If you delay your studies, you will never be able to start over!"

He comforted them gently for a long time, admitted his mistake, praised everyone for doing a good job, and finally said that they could pack up and prepare to return to the Imperial Academy now—if they walked fast on the way, they could still catch up with the school's dining hall!

“I also wrote a letter to your Meng Xuezheng to explain this matter.” Zhang Fengzhi handed the letter to the nearest person. “Once you are promoted to the upper dormitory and your studies are not so demanding, when the legal officers are seconded to other positions in the future, they will definitely be given priority!”

After listening to what this Mr. Zhang said, I found that every word he spoke was reasonable and very considerate.

However, despite the room being full of people, there were only scattered responses. It wasn't until he finished speaking, made an excuse to leave, and even called Cai Xiu away, that the others belatedly began to thank him in a disorganized manner.

As soon as the outsiders left, almost everyone's eyes turned to Wang Chang.

"Wang Chang, did stall owner Song find you a way?"

"That was too fast! Who did Miss Song contact?"

"Finally, I can walk! What incredible luck today!"

"I prayed to the moon last night, and it was indeed a wise prayer! Thank goodness, we received help from Miss Song—Old Wang, who exactly helped us? We must go and express our gratitude!"

Seeing that one or two people were staring at him, waiting for a reply, Wang Chang panicked and hurriedly said, "How would I know!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the people to his left and right and said, "We went to the Song family together, why are you all looking at me?"

This is understandable – with Cheng Zijian absent, everyone knows that Wang Chang is quite familiar with Song Miao, so who else would they look at?
At this moment, Xue Gang finally realized what had happened and explained his previous statement again, finally saying, "Hurry up and pack your things. We can talk about other things later. Be careful, if we drag this out, things might get complicated!"

Then the whole room erupted in chaos again, with everyone stuffing the documents back into their chests and shelves, clutching their valuables as if they were being chased by wild dogs.

A few people didn't even have time to put on their shoes properly before they hurriedly slipped on their shoes and rushed out of the government office.

Everyone guessed at the same thing along the way—the teacher, the school administrator, and even the Chancellor Deng—though they immediately refuted these guesses themselves. But no matter how much they guessed, no one got it right.

Not to mention that Wang Chang and the others were overjoyed and wished they could sing their way back to the Imperial Academy, on the other hand, Cai Xiu, facing a pile of regulations and rules in front of him, was cursing Zhang Fengzhi and Zhang Facao's entire families in his heart.

He was intelligent by nature and could naturally tell that Zhang Fengzhi's anxiety must have some other reason.

But no matter what, the person I painstakingly found and the arrangements I made were all done with great effort. I was just waiting for the results to come, and now they've all been overturned by a few casual words. How can I tolerate that?

Zhang Fengzhi didn't even bother to discuss it with me; it was almost like he was giving a notification.

It's still because they lack power!
How dare this person treat his superior like this?!

And now they're even throwing a bunch of useless, trivial tasks at us as if it were perfectly normal.

He skips countless literary gatherings and opportunities to make a name for himself, but instead comes here to write guidelines, rules, and regulations for a few seconded officials and newly appointed officers.
Are they just bored and have nothing better to do?

Cai Xiu casually tossed the pen onto the table, stood up, and walked straight out of the Kyoto government office.

He's here to stand out, not to be someone else's stepping stone.

Trees move to death, people move to live.

If this place won't work, the Zhang family doesn't know how to use people, and the Zhang family only knows how to ostracize. Can't they just go somewhere else?

***
Cai Xiu threw down his pen. In the back office, Han Li saw Kong Fuyang enter and also placed his pen on the pen rack beside him.

"Zhengyan, you called for me?" Kong Fuyang yawned as soon as he entered the door, quickly wiping away tears mixed with eye boogers. "I'm so sleepy. How many more days until we get through this?"

"Sit down first." Han Li pointed to the chair next to him. "Pack up what you're doing. Someone will come to pick you up in a bit."

Kong Fuyang was startled, as if he had been slapped twice. In his shock and anger, he was only stunned and hurriedly said, "Where did the work I was doing go wrong? I only complained once, but I never said I didn't want to do it!"

Han Li chuckled and said, "Even a mule isn't as self-aware as you—it's not a mistake, but since you came, there have been very few errors. You keep up with things well and do your job well, saving me a lot of trouble."

Upon hearing this, Kong Fuyang couldn't help but puff out his chest, his face flushing red. Realizing his reaction was rather pathetic, he quickly said, "Don't say that, it makes me feel really embarrassed!"

Then he asked, "Then why did you ask someone else to take over my work?"

Han Li did not explain first, but said: "The gambling den case is almost over. Although we still have to wait for Inspector Xin to return from the search and for the whereabouts of the victim regarding Yuanxiao's disappearance, the case has come to a close. You have followed both cases from beginning to end, so you can be considered familiar with them, right?"

Kong Fuyang nodded honestly.

Han Li then pushed a thick stack of documents on the table over and said, "These are the materials I compiled earlier. Take them back and take a close look. Don't worry about anything else these next few days. Just do one thing: summarize these two cases."

Kong Fuyang flipped through the pile of materials, still looking completely bewildered.

Han Li said, "Be serious and write it well. In a few days, Judge Qin will accompany Prefect Zheng to the palace to report on the case. I have already spoken with Mr. Qin. Although this memorial is submitted in the name of the capital prefectural government, your signature will be added later."

"This! How can this be?? You've done so much, and you've made such a great contribution, what am I compared to you?? This should be written by you, and your name should be on it!" Although Kong Fuyang's subconscious intention was to refuse, as soon as the words of refusal came out, his heart started pounding and his eyes widened involuntarily.

His name was known to the Emperor!
Unlike ordinary articles, this is writing about real work, which best showcases talent.

Who wouldn’t be moved?

Many officials would love to have such an opportunity but can't, let alone him who is just a student!
"It's just a signature, it might not be useful, but the better you write, the greater the chance of being seen," Han Li said. "I have a bit of a bad reputation in the capital, but you are different. You have been studying abroad for too long, and you will inevitably suffer when you are appointed to a higher position. Now that you have been given the opportunity, don't ramble on, just write it."

(End of this chapter)