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

Lu Qiucheng hadn't said a word from beginning to end; he simply nodded at this moment.

Wu Yan picked up his wine bowl, took a big gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, "Brother Sun, according to you, that guy surnamed Zhao is even more difficult to deal with than Hao Yun?"

Sun Jizu lowered his voice: "The Imperial City Guard can arrest people without going through the prefectural government, without notifying the prefectural judge, and without waiting for the joint trial by the three judicial departments."

"He only needs to send a secret memorial to the capital, and the emperor will give his approval. He doesn't even need to enter the Dali Temple. The Ministry of Justice? The Censorate? He doesn't even go through those channels."

"Once the imperial decree is issued, you will be arrested and taken directly to the capital. Once you arrive at the Imperial City Guard's prison, you will not be judged by the investigating magistrate or the judge, but by the Imperial City Guard's personal guards. At that point, you won't even know where to submit your complaint."

"No matter how capable Hao Yun is, he's just a registrar. If he wants to deal with us, he needs a written document, a countersignature, and the prefect's approval. We can stop him at any step. The people from the Imperial City Guard are different."

The candlelight on the table flickered in the bronze cup, and all four of them suddenly fell silent.

Wu Yan held the mouthful of wine in his mouth, too shocked to swallow or spit it out.

Zhang Sanlang lowered his eyelids, his fingertips pausing on the rim of the wine glass.

Lu Qiucheng felt a tightness in his back and bent over slightly, as if he was about to climb over the wall and escape at any moment!

After a while, Zhang Sanlang picked up the wine bowl and took a sip.

The wine prepared today is better than usual; it's Qinghechun from Puyang, with a lingering taste but a strong aftertaste.

Sun Jizu raised his wine bowl to the three men, saying, "I called you here today for this very matter. That's all I have to say. As for the rest, you all know what's going on."

The four men clinked their bowls together and each drank.

Zhang Sanlang forced a smile, put down his bowl, and stood up. "Brother Sun, I'll head back now. Tomorrow I still need to report to Magistrate Li about the summer tax collection."

Sun Jizu nodded.

Wu Yan was still sitting on the bench when he picked up another piece of pickled fish and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling that he would sit for a while longer.

Lu Qiucheng stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to Sun Jizu, and followed Zhang Sanlang back through the small door.

Zhou An stood at the entrance of the main room. When he saw Zhang Sanlang return, his face was filled with undisguised joy. "Uncle Zhang! It's done! My maternal grandfather gave his approval. My parents are looking for a matchmaker, and they'll go talk to Aunt Wang in a couple of days."

Zhang Sanlang sat down, somewhat lost in thought, and said, "Hmm."

Zhou An took two steps forward. "Uncle Zhang, aren't you curious? My maternal grandfather said..."

"I heard you." Zhang Sanlang looked up at him. "Your maternal grandfather nodded, and your parents are looking for a matchmaker. By the way, you'll be living in the east room on the kang from now on, sharing with Qing-ge'er."

"The east room?" Zhou An was taken aback. "Uncle Zhang, can't I stay in the west room?"

Zhang Sanlang said irritably, "I've put up with you grinding your teeth, farting, and talking in your sleep for a long time! Your teeth grinding sounds like a mouse gnawing on a roof beam, your farts can flip the blankets off, and your sleep talking has woken me up several times."

"That's perfect. That kid Qing is a restless sleeper. He goes to bed at the head of the kang (heated brick bed), but when he wakes up, he's already at the foot of the kang. Once, in the middle of the night, he kicked me in the face with one of his feet. I thought someone was hitting me with the sole of a shoe."

"You two lads, get rolling around on the bed. One of you can grind your teeth and fart, the other can punch and kick. Neither of you will come out on top. You were a guest before, but now that you're staying, I can't let you torment me any longer."

Zhou An's face flushed red. He moved his lips as if to explain, but then awkwardly replied, "Then...then I'll go get the bedding."

In the east room, Qing-ge'er was squatting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) flipping through a calligraphy practice book. Hearing the door open, he looked up and saw Zhou An carrying a rolled-up bedding. His eyebrows furrowed. "Brother Zhou, what are you doing?"

Zhou An threw his bedding roll at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed). "Your dad told me to sleep here from now on, sharing with you, you brat. It's a deal, okay? No more bedwetting. How old are you now?"

Hearing this, Qingge'er blushed and immediately became unhappy. The little guy closed his calligraphy practice book, crossed his short legs, and stared at him warily. "This is my kang (heated brick bed)."

"Your dad said it's spacious enough. Five people can sleep in it."

"That's my kang (heated brick bed) all to myself too." Qing-ge'er reached out and patted the kang mat next to him. "I roll around three times every night. If you sleep here, where am I supposed to roll around?"

Zhou An was momentarily speechless at his question. "You can go ahead and get lost. I'll sleep at the end of the kang (heated brick bed). I won't bother you."

"What should I do if you snore?"

I don't snore.

Qingge tilted his head and looked at him. "You grind your teeth. You live in the west room, but I can hear it from the east room. It's creaking and groaning, like a mouse gnawing on a cabinet."

Zhou An's face turned red again. "I was just... teasing her occasionally. I didn't tease her every day."

"My sister said that people who grind their teeth in their sleep also fart at night," Qing-ge said seriously. "Do you fart?"

Zhou An stood by the kang (a heated brick bed), looked at Qing Ge'er's serious little face, took a deep breath, and said, "I... won't let loose."

"Not letting go is the same as letting go." Qingge stuffed the calligraphy practice book under his pillow, tilted his head and thought for a moment, then suddenly stretched out a finger, "Brother Zhou, this kang is so warm in winter, I finally got it from Dad."

"Look, I was sleeping just fine by myself, but now that you're here, I can't just roll around like that anymore. If you want to sleep here, that's fine too, one penny a day, consider it rent."

Zhou An's hand, which was spreading the quilt, froze in mid-air. He turned to look at him. "One coin? You're charging rent for this place at the end of the kang?"

"Of course." Qingge sat cross-legged on the kang, arms crossed, his little face serious. "The head of the kang is mine, and the foot of the kang is yours to rent. It's perfectly fair. If you think it's too expensive, you can go sleep with Mr. Huangfu."

"But I heard from Uncle Lu that once he got up to use the outhouse in the middle of the night and bumped into Mr. Huangfu walking in the dark in the yard, carrying a wood-chopping knife. Guess what he was going to do?"

Seeing the curiosity on Zhou An's face, he blinked his round eyes and said, "Mr. Huangfu knocked on each melon under the corner of the wall, asking if they were ripe. Uncle Lu was so scared he squatted in the outhouse, too afraid to come out!"

He paused, then said with a hint of sly concern, "Brother Zhou, I'm doing this for your own good!"

Zhou An stared at him for a long time, then shook his head helplessly. He took out a coin from his sleeve and placed it on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "Here. Today's rent. You're so young, yet you already know how to make up stories to scare people. You really are like me..."

Qingge quickly reached out and picked up the one coin, stuffed it under his pillow, and gently patted it twice through the pillow, as if to make sure the coin was properly secured.

He patted the kang (a heated brick bed) beside him, straightened his face again, and resumed his landlord demeanor. He drew a line in the middle of the kang with his finger, "Then half of this kang is mine, and half is yours. You sleep on that side, and there will be an extra charge for crossing the boundary."

Zhou An followed his finger and looked over. There was no boundary in the middle of the kang (a heated brick bed); Qing Ge'er had simply drawn a dotted line with his finger.

He grinned and sighed as he unrolled his bedding at the foot of the kang (a heated brick bed), then undressed and lay down there. "Fine. I'll sleep here, I won't cross the line."