Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhang Sanlang. "You can decide what to do with these three. Although Liao and Wang are fellow villagers I brought with me, they have already settled in Juancheng, so I won't take them to the prefectural city."

Tao Cheng closed the open wooden box on the table, waved his hand, and said, "Tomorrow I will go through the household registration records again and fill in any omissions. I have some annotations in there. If you find them useful after you read them, keep them; if not, burn them."

Zhang Sanlang nodded, then took his leave, seemingly lost in thought.

He returned to his desk and sat down, taking out the official seal from his robes. The bronze seal, illuminated by the sunlight, gleamed with a deep, dark gold. He placed the seal on the corner of the desk, opened the booklets Tao Cheng had given him, and began reading them from the beginning…

After the clock struck three times, Zhang Sanlang walked out along the corridor. The sunlight slanted at the base of the wall, turning the blue brick floor white and still warm to the touch.

He had just reached the ceremonial gate when he heard hurried footsteps behind him, as if someone had been chasing him for a while and was deliberately catching up. "Third Master! Third Master, please wait!"

Fang Zhong'an jogged up from the corner of the corridor, his official uniform flapping up in the wind, and a layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

He stopped in front of Zhang Sanlang, took a couple of breaths, and put on a smile. The corners of his mouth turned up higher than usual, and the lines around his eyes were deeper than usual.

"Third Master, are you off duty?"

Zhang Sanlang stopped, glanced at him, and said, "Time to go off duty."

Fang Zhong'an took half a step forward, his fingers twirling on his sleeve. "What a coincidence. Have you been to that tavern in the west of the city, the one that opened last year?"

"His pickled fish is so delicious, I've been craving it for ages. I happen to have some free time today, so I'd like to invite you to come over for a chat?"

When he said this, his gaze did not fall on Zhang Sanlang's face, but on the front of his clothes, as if he was waiting for an answer, yet dared not look directly at whether that answer would come.

Zhang Sanlang stared at him for a moment, then his lips twitched. "Is this the Duan Family Tavern? I did go there once with Brother Zhou when I was first promoted to the rank of Attendant."

Fang Zhong'an visibly breathed a sigh of relief, stepped aside, and gestured "please" to those outside the ceremonial gate. "Indeed, indeed. Old Duan also worked in the county government in his early years and is very familiar with people from all walks of life."

He led the way, walking a little faster than usual, but not too fast. Every few steps, he would turn back to check if Zhang Sanlang was keeping up, as if afraid that Zhang Sanlang might turn a corner halfway.

The tavern in the west of the city wasn't far from the county government office. Fang Zhong'an lifted the curtain and went in. Manager Duan was behind the counter calculating on an abacus. When he looked up and saw it was him, a smile appeared on his face.

"Fang Qianxing is here? Same old spot?"

"Same spot as usual. Is the private room available?"

"It's empty, please come upstairs." Manager Duan gestured with his chin towards the stairwell, then glanced at Zhang Sanlang. Recognizing him, he didn't greet him immediately, but instead called out upstairs, "Two of you in a private room! Bring a pot of hot wine!"

Fang Zhong'an led Zhang Sanlang upstairs.

The private room was small, with a square table, two chairs, and a small window facing the street.

Fang Zhong'an first pulled out a chair for Zhang Sanlang to sit in, and then sat down in the chair opposite him, only touching half of the chair with his buttocks.

Manager Duan personally brought over a pot of hot wine and four plates of cold dishes, placed them on the table, nodded and smiled at Zhang Sanlang, and tactfully withdrew and closed the door behind him.

Fang Zhong'an picked up the wine pot, poured a bowl for Zhang Sanlang first, and then filled his own bowl.

He picked up the bowl and raised it to Zhang Sanlang, "Third Master, I heard you're getting promoted to Clerk, that's wonderful news. I'll offer you this bowl of wine first."

He tilted his head back and gulped it down, the wine spilling from the corner of his mouth, running down his chin and onto his clothes. He wiped it with his sleeve, and his hand trembled as he put the bowl down.

Zhang Sanlang did not pick up the bowl.

He leaned back in his chair, looking at him expressionlessly.

Fang Zhong'an poured himself another bowl, and when he looked up and saw Zhang Sanlang's frightening expression, his eyes immediately welled up with tears.

He put down his wine bowl, slid off the chair, and his knee hit the floor with a dull thud. "Third Master, please help me."

He knelt on the ground, his forehead bowed so low it was almost touching the table.

His shoulders trembled slightly, and his voice was squeezed out from his throat, dry and hoarse.

"Third Master, I can't go on living like this! For the past ten years or so, I've been tossed back and forth between the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice, and I finally managed to get to a high-ranking position. Now I've been demoted to the lowest level and I'm back to being a low-ranking official."

"The servants in the yamen are all looking at me differently now, they avoid me when they walk. My wife doesn't know yet, and I don't dare tell her. My children are waiting for my stipend at the end of the month to go back and buy rice..."

His voice grew softer and softer until it turned into a muffled sob. His shoulders trembled, and his face was covered in snot and tears.

He tried to wipe it with his sleeve, but it didn't get clean; his face became shiny from the rubbing.

Zhang Sanlang looked at him and said, "Brother Fang, please get up. There's no need for that."

Fang Zhong'an didn't move, remaining kneeling on the ground with his forehead still pressed against the chair leg. He seemed determined not to get up unless Zhang Sanlang agreed to help.

Zhang Sanlang's eyes gradually sharpened. "I told you to get up!"

Fang Zhong'an's body trembled slightly. He looked up at him, then slowly stood up, supporting himself on his arms. His legs were still a little weak, so he held onto the edge of the table to steady himself.

He sat back down in the chair, this time with his bottom barely touching the very edge of the seat, like an old tortoise ready to retreat into its shell at any moment.

Zhang Sanlang picked up his wine bowl. "Brother Fang, I have a question for you."

Fang Zhong'an nodded quickly.

"Whom do you think you should blame for being exempted from this promotion?"

Fang Zhong'an's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice trembled slightly. "It's all because of that new clerk. Why did he have to come and investigate? If he hadn't come, I would still be sitting peacefully in the interrogation room. He found fault with me and made me lose face in front of the magistrate."

Zhang Sanlang shook his head, put the wine bowl back on the table, and said, "Brother Fang, think about it again."

Fang Zhong'an was stunned for a moment.

He looked at Zhang Sanlang's face, as if he wanted to read the meaning behind it, but dared not read too deeply.

He lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the wood grain of the table. After a long pause, he spoke, his voice even lower, "Of course I also resent Magistrate Li... Magistrate Li. It was he who issued the dismissal order."

Zhang Sanlang looked at him, his gaze neither warm nor cold, and said, "Think about it again."

Fang Zhong'an shrugged again.

He lowered his head, rubbing his fingers on his knees several times. He looked up at Zhang Sanlang, his voice even softer than before, "Third Master, to be honest, I also harbor some resentment towards Xu Zheng."

"I had already told Hao Yunlai about the inspection. I told him to lock up those unclear case files in the criminal investigation department and not let anyone find them. He agreed readily, but who knew he was still careless and left two of them on the table."

"It just so happens that Hao Yun flipped through those two books as soon as he entered the torture chamber... and the content of those two books was different from usual. If he were more nimble, this wouldn't have happened... but, he is the Third Master's son..."

Zhang Sanlang looked at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched.