Miao Chu

Chapter 280 Nightfall
Han Li had already reached the door, and had paused and turned around, but upon hearing this, he immediately turned back, subconsciously took a step forward, and asked, "What courtyard?"

Seeing his reaction, Xin Feng thought to himself, "As expected," and quickly explained that Song Ji's dried meat and dried cuttlefish had been selling very well recently, and there wasn't enough space in the backyard to dry them.

"...My dear mother went to look for a suitable courtyard several times, but she couldn't find one anywhere. Either they were too far away, or they had this or that problem. In the end, none of them were as good as the one across the street..."

Han Li immediately realized what he meant and asked, "The courtyard across the street where the gambling case occurred?"

“Yes!” Xin Feng nodded hurriedly and said, “We sealed that house first. Although the location is not very good, it is really advantageous because it is large, so the price was estimated to be high. I went to inquire and found out that after the case is closed, it will be handed over to the Criminal Division first, and then transferred to the Housing Affairs Division.”

"Although the Judicial Commissioner's Office is a higher-level government agency, one can still find acquaintances to say a few words and urge them on. However, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Affairs is currently under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. Even if Lord Qin comes to the door, the Ministry of Revenue may not be willing to pay much attention to him, let alone a nobody like me!"

The Ministry of Revenue was a wealthy and powerful institution that managed accounts, and the Department of Building Affairs managed land, residences, and other properties in the capital. They were all powerful and wealthy, and their wealth was immense. They would never take a mere messenger like the Military Patrol Bureau seriously.

To put it bluntly, even Prefect Zhao would have to negotiate with the Ministry of Revenue about when and how much the expenses for the Kyoto Prefectural Government would be allocated next year.

Upon hearing this, Han Li did not hesitate at all and said, "I thought it was something serious—just rest and recover, and leave it to me to handle."

Upon hearing this, Xin Feng felt a sense of relief followed by a sudden jolt, and hurriedly asked, "Zhengyan, what are your plans to do?"

He continued, "Because I said things were not going well and I wanted to ask you for help, when Miss Song heard this, she immediately stopped me, afraid that the Ministry of Revenue and the Department of Household Affairs were not free and powerful, and that you might scold them in the future."

"She's worried that if you stand out this time, you'll owe favors to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Revenue, which will be difficult to repay later, and it will be hard to scold them. So she told me not to mention it to you!"

He blurted out a few sentences of what Song Miao had said that day.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that as he spoke, he could see the expression on the other person's face becoming softer and softer, and even a slight smile appeared on their lips.

Having handled cases for many years, Xin Feng blinked hard twice, as if afraid he had misread the situation.

That’s right!

He's laughing!

Although the smile wasn't very obvious, how could it escape the sharp eyes of a judge!

But before he could figure anything out, he heard Han Li on the other end ask, "What else did she say?"

It happened several days ago, it wasn't a case, and it wasn't a suspect's confession, so how could Xin Feng remember so much?

Although he was rough around the edges, he had a strange intuition that he couldn't get away with this, so he racked his brains and learned a few more phrases from the "Song language" of that time, although he had embellished many of them himself—he had done his best!

Fearing further questions from the other party, he quickly said, "If you were to intervene, you could definitely get it done. However, you can't do it behind Miss Song's back. Otherwise, if she finds out that I'm a gossip, she'll tell your sister-in-law, and she'll scold me again!"

Han Li said, "Don't worry, I will discuss it with her face to face before taking any action."

He then asked about the current progress of the gambling case.

Upon hearing Xin Feng's reply, the smile on his face slowly faded, and he frowned as he asked, "So much time has passed, and you're still at the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office? Haven't you been transferred to the Judicial Commissioner's Office?"

Xin Fengzao was furious, but he couldn't tell his subordinates. He was too embarrassed to bring it up earlier, but now he finally had a chance to complain.

"Official Qin replaced the two cases with Cao Lingkun. As soon as Cao came in, he replaced the original team members who were with the cases—they were all my capable veterans. I can't blame him; he's using his own people!"

"But you know about the gambling den and human trafficking case. The case is very complicated. Xiao Kong wrote a thick stack of papers summarizing it back then. How could his newly appointed people handle it so quickly! Naturally, the follow-up was slow to be completed. It took three months to close the case..."

"I held back because you told me not to make any noise when you left. Now they're all leaderless and listless!"

Just as he finished speaking, Du Haoniang came out carrying a basket and spat at him, scolding, "You have a stubborn temper, why drag others into it? You've jumped out to cause trouble many times in the past, when have you ever gotten away with it? It's lucky you're just keeping quiet now. If you really started arguing, you wouldn't win, and you'd be all fuming and listless, that would be truly miserable!"

He then said to Han Li, “Brother Han, don’t pay any attention to him. He can’t change his temper. I’m worried that once he goes to the yamen, he’ll think he’s invincible because he got the Empress Dowager and the Emperor’s approval. He’ll just talk and do whatever he wants and get himself into trouble, and he’ll cause you trouble too!”

Xin Feng spat at Du Haoniang, saying, "You old woman, you're just talking nonsense!"

But he couldn't pinpoint exactly where he was talking nonsense or what he was saying.

After a long pause, he could only sigh and say, "Zhengyan, I know my own temper. Once I get carried away, I'm unlikely to be able to control myself. Although I've received praise from the Emperor, to put it bluntly, how can a current official compare to a current manager!"

"The last time Lord Qin came to visit me, he spoke very kindly and was very considerate, praising me to the skies. But when I asked him later if I could still handle cases after returning to the yamen, he just tried to fool me with talk of promotion and advancement..."

"I've been working in the government for so many years. Although I haven't eaten pork, I've seen pigs running around all the time. Don't you know this is called 'promotion in name only'?"

Du Haoniang hurriedly called out, "Old Xin!"

As soon as Xin Feng spoke, he knew it was inappropriate. His wife stopped him, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "Let's not talk about this, let's not talk about this!"

He then tried to cheer himself up and said, "I'm about to be promoted, and I've received praise from the Emperor and Empress Dowager. I'm also being rewarded with money and a house. I really don't know how my ancestors worked in the afterlife to give me your help. It's already incredibly good!"

He saw Han Li to the door, then walked him half a street further out, asking about all the big and small matters in Huazhou, and then asking if there was anything he could do to help Han Li after he returned to the capital.

"Although I know you'll use little of my help but can do much more for me, just ask if you need anything!"

He was already quite excited at this point, and couldn't help but say, "To be honest, everyone says that you will be a censor in the imperial court in the future, and that you are both impressive and prestigious. But I have my own selfish motives—if you get a post outside the capital, whether it's a prefectural governor or a county magistrate, I will go with you and help you manage order and security. Wouldn't that be great?"

Han Li refused, instead shaking his head and saying, "Everyone says people strive for higher positions. Others are busy going to the capital, but you, having gained the emperor's favor, have accumulated so much in the capital over the years, yet you run away at the slightest provocation. If your sister-in-law and the two children find out..."

"Your sister-in-law knew all along! She's not that ignorant!"

"I'm not old enough to be a 'veteran' yet. If you don't let me work at the front and keep me sitting in the yamen all day, you might as well kill me! Besides, following you, do you think I'll lack opportunities to make merit?!"

"If you work hard for ten or twenty years, you might become a prime minister in the future—who knows, when you return to the capital's government office, you might even let me sit in the position that Master Qin is currently holding as the Right Army Inspector!"

***
After offering Xin Feng a few words of comfort, Han Li took his leave.

It was well past midnight, and nothing had been packed in the Imperial Academy dormitory. Even his luggage from Huazhou was still en route—he had only taken two changes of clothes and, along with many other gifts, had left the group and returned to the capital ahead of schedule. The trip had been too rushed and late, so he didn't plan to go back to his dormitory to rest. After thinking for a while, he decided to find an inn to spend the night.

Junyiqiao Street is truly bustling. In just a few days, there is no trace of the flooding that was said to have happened a few days ago. It has long since returned to its former bustling state.

As Han Li walked along the road, he kept hearing the sounds of vendors hawking their wares, shouting, arguing, and greetings from both sides.

Seeing that the area was too crowded, he simply dismounted and walked forward by the reins.

As he walked, he couldn't help but think of what Xin Feng had just said.

After all, he was a veteran inspector in the Kyoto Prefectural Government, so his concerns were not unfounded.

Ordinary people might think that if they receive praise from the emperor or empress dowager, they will rise to prominence and have a smooth career—but in reality, how could it be that simple?
If your superiors want to punish you, they will naturally have countless ways to make things difficult for you, and you just can't find any fault with them.

For example, this time, Qin Jie promoted Xin Feng and assigned him to work in the yamen, but he didn't let him handle any cases.

When compared to other products, who can say that this is poorly made?

Xin Feng was born to be a patrol inspector. He hated evil and was good at solving cases. He had a strong desire to learn. Forcing him to sit in the yamen every day was no different from putting him in jail.

Although Qin Jie and his men believed that there were plenty of people in the world who could solve cases, and that even without Xin Feng, they still had Ma Feng and Lv Feng under their command, who were less capable, but were still trusted confidants, which was better than anything else.

But Qin Jie and others didn't care for it, but Han Li did.

He admired and trusted Xin Feng's talent, and was also confident that given the opportunity, he could make good use of people's abilities—at least better than Qin Jie and the others.

Besides Xin Feng, Lu Wenming was also a capable man.

What a waste it would be to leave them under the patronage of their former master.
Among the people who went to Huazhou this time, we can also pick out four or five students who, although not good at studying and pursuing academic success, are very hardworking.

What if I could have a whole state, or even just a county...?

Although he only spent a few months in Huazhou, he learned how to be in charge, and the difference was huge compared to when he worked for others.

Without personally taking charge and experiencing things firsthand, what one knows and gains is merely scratching the surface. Even when one criticizes someone, the criticism is only loud and grating, failing to truly penetrate to the core.

People used to say that he only had a pen and a mouth. If he could take a few posts outside the capital and accomplish something, and then return to the capital, who could say that he only had a mouth to curse people, was ignorant of administrative affairs, and just spouted nonsense?
Back then, one curse from me was worth more than a hundred curses from me now!

Moreover, besides gaining experience and broadening one's knowledge through serving in other places, one can also see more local customs and ingredients...

if……

As he pondered, he looked up and saw that he had already crossed the state bridge. Seeing that there were fewer pedestrians on both sides, he mounted his horse and rode along the Imperial Street. At this moment, he didn't have any other thoughts in his mind, but he felt a bit hot-blooded and wanted to clear his mind.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate.

It's so late, so going to Song's is obviously out of the question.

But he couldn't resist riding his horse to the entrance of Suanzao Alley and looking up inside.

This is not a bustling area; only a few taverns and teahouses are still open along the street, each with a few lanterns hanging outside.

It's bright outside the alley, but dark inside. Looking from the bright side into the dark side, you can't really see anything.

He sat on horseback for a long time, not knowing what he was looking at, nor actually wanting to see anything; his mind was still preoccupied with the things he needed to do tomorrow.

According to the itinerary, the group from Huazhou would travel to Beijing in three batches. Since I had returned early, there were some miscellaneous matters that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

The first group was naturally Wu Gongshi and others who rushed back to hand over the duties. Although the flood in Huazhou had passed and everything was arranged properly, the local government offices along the Wangjing River might not take it seriously. They still needed to send people out as soon as possible to continue to urge the local governments to follow up seriously.

The second group to return consisted of a few students who had stayed behind. Among all the students, they had put in the most effort and were the least afraid of hardship. When the river was finally dredged, they didn't get a full night's sleep for more than ten days. Almost everyone stayed by the riverbank to calculate, survey, and record.

The previous group that returned had Wu Gongshi send a letter back to the capital, asking the officials of the Water Conservancy Bureau to help send them back to their respective academies. This time, the group has gone to such lengths and done such a good job; it should be known throughout the academy.

Although I have already claimed credit, I don't know how the court will respond. All I can do is give them face.

When Wu Gongshi returned, he would discuss with the other party the possibility of inviting a senior official from the Water Conservancy Bureau, and also ask Li Canzheng to arrange for someone to escort the students back to the academy one by one, "beating drums and gongs" at different times...

When the time comes, one will inevitably have to seek out the headmaster, praise his students for their competence and hard work, commend the student for all the things he has done, and present him with a letter of thanks bearing the official seal of the Huazhou government.

The third batch was naturally the few "kids" I had taken in for my senior brother in Huazhou...

Although I only agreed to study abroad and am not his apprentice, I should still ask You Xuelu to teach him well. I should also tell my senior brother that when we were in Huazhou, everything went so smoothly thanks to the help of the children's families.

I'll go to my senior's house first; it's too late now, the old man is probably already asleep. I'll put a few good things in the study, and we'll talk about the rest tomorrow...

Looking at the pitch blackness, he was making arrangements for all sorts of things in his mind, calculating the time, and he felt that he could finish by the end of the 5-7 PM tomorrow at the latest.

Finally, we should be able to come from the Imperial Academy. It's very close; we don't need to ride a horse, we can just walk. This way, we can save time feeding and grooming the horses, sit in the front hall a little longer, chat more, and discuss the matters in the courtyard across the street in detail...

By then, there should be no other people in the restaurant, only myself.

Thinking of this, he felt inexplicably at ease and somewhat expectant.

When will it get light, and when will it get dark again...?

This time, the hour of You (5-7 PM) came a little late...

(End of this chapter)