[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful":3,"chapter-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-35":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Even a Gentleman Must Be Careful",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2268655,4429,"Chapter 35","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-35",35,"\u003Cp>Thirty-Five: Elder Brother Wang’s Way, Sister Su’s Tyranny (Seeking Follows and Votes!)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Checking accounts is not a simple task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially in this era of backward arithmetic, accountants can only rely on the abacus to assist calculations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong understands some advanced mathematics, but he is not supernatural—he cannot outperform professional accountants who make their living from bookkeeping, nor can he pick up a ledger and instantly spot flaws, then lead his men to raid homes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He merely received basic education; they earn their livelihood from this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Ouyang Rong has cultivated a team familiar and adept with his methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he first took office and decided to replace relief with public works, he requested staff from Deputy County Magistrate Diao. At the time, most officials in the government office assumed he was acting on a whim, wasting energy—few were willing to accompany him to the city outskirts, toiling for destitute refugees who offered no profit, doing hard work with no reward—perhaps the County Magistrate sought fame, but these seasoned bureaucrats did not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, Ouyang Rong was a County Magistrate; in local hierarchy, rank crushes all. Deputy Diao had no choice but to “cooperatively” assign him personnel, assigning a group of idle clerks from the six bureaus to assist him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Ouyang Rong saw this group of clerks, he knew they were all unpopular in the government office—either too green, or ancient and frail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet later, on the city outskirts, Ouyang Rong daily led them in registering refugee households and grain supplies, establishing relief camps along the way. After mutual adjustment, he unexpectedly found they performed their duties well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the green clerks may lack experience, but they are moldable and energetic; moreover, Ouyang Rong himself is a seasoned dream-weaver—he knows how to inspire and energize them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elderly clerks, long marginalized, mostly lacked not ability—in fact, their professional skills were strong and their experience rich. They were sidelined by superiors and colleagues precisely because they refused to flatter officials and were stubborn, eccentric.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How laughable—it’s unclear whether Deputy Diao did so intentionally or not, but these two types of clerks complemented each other perfectly, and both were among the most capable workers in the government office…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Cui was one such veteran clerk. Ouyang Rong first met him when preparing to build relief camps and gathering clerks for a meeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, Ouyang Rong, newly appointed and full of enthusiasm, proposed a grain-distribution plan that now, in hindsight, seemed overly idealistic. All other clerks nodded in agreement, but this thin, sharp-chinned old Cui, without regard for the new magistrate’s face, calmly pointed out that such a distribution method would create a bottomless fiscal pit—ten thousand shi of rice in Longcheng’s granary would not suffice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong was not overly angered; he immediately asked for clarification and was persuaded by the sound reasoning. Later, he directly assigned Old Cui to lead six new clerks in managing the silver and grain finances of twenty-four relief camps on the city outskirts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong later learned that the government office’s meticulously detailed annual financial ledgers were all prepared by this old Cui—though he was not the head of the Household Bureau, he alone handled “bookbinding and ledger creation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, opening the East Warehouse to audit accounts, Ouyang Rong declined the staff sent by Diao’s Household and Granary Bureaus, instead assigning this group of relief-camp clerks, led by Old Cui…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun dipped westward; the Longcheng county town, just beginning to revive from the flood, lay shrouded in darkness, as if sleeping with the setting sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From above, only scattered lantern lights glowed in the courtyards of wealthy households; poor families did not light lamps immediately at dusk, instead finishing their meals by the dim twilight near their doors and retiring early to save oil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, the Lu Ming Street government office courtyard would have extinguished its lights and closed for the night—but now, it blazed with light. Especially the East Warehouse, once deserted except for rats, now had heavy guards outside and clerks bent over their desks within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong dismissed Deputy Diao’s subordinate, who spoke evasively and kept probing. He returned to the East Warehouse with Yan Liulang, carrying full meal boxes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The East Warehouse was a warehouse-like building, with thick walls on all sides and only a small, head-sized skylight on the roof—now tightly shut. With the main door properly secured, not even a fly could enter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After delivering a meal box to Commandant Qin, the garrison soldiers pushed open the heavy door. Ouyang Rong glanced at the clerks focused on their ledgers at multiple desks, then silently stepped inside, tiptoeing around until he stopped behind Old Cui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This veteran clerk, so disliked in the government office, was not actually that old—everyone simply called him Old Cui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wore a small melon-skin cap, his streaked hair combed immaculately. His eyesight seemed poor; his thin face leaned close to the ledger pages, as if trying to bury his pointed head into the book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this old gentleman’s small regular script was elegant and lively, full of charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong felt a quiet pang of admiration. Seeing the hour was right, he personally placed the meal boxes on the table before Old Cui and the clerks, smiling:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eat first, then resume. Tonight, I rely on you all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others paused their writing and agreed. Old Cui, however, did not look up until he finished his current entry, then calmly laid down his brush and rose to eat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong joined the clerks, eating side by side, and asked curiously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Master, are you a local?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Cui shook his head. “I fled here during the famine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Never thought of returning home?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No ties, nothing worth returning for.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yan Liulang said you adopted a pair of orphans at the relief camp.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Cui paused his chopsticks. “I gave them to another family—better conditions than mine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong nodded, asking no further questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After eating with the clerks, he gathered the meal boxes and asked: “How soon can the Liu family’s accounts be completed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other young clerks all looked toward Old Cui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He replied calmly: “Stay up tonight. Finish by tomorrow morning.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. Then I rely on you all tonight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong nodded, then ceased disturbing them, helped pack the meal boxes, and left the East Warehouse with Yan Liulang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He returned to Mei Lu Garden, explained to his aunt, and, under her worried gaze, carried a quilt back to the government office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Liulang stared, stunned: “My Lord, what are you doing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the main hall, the young magistrate spread the quilt on a long desk, carefully arranging it. “Making a bed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh… I’ll stay with you, My Lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. Take men to Mei Lu Garden and protect my aunt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what about you, My Lord…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Sister and Commandant Qin are here. Nothing will happen. Besides, I am an imperial official—if any family dares to take desperate risks… then good. No need to count accounts—just knock on their doors and deliver warmth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood. My Lord, stay safe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Lu Ming Street, a modest mansion without stone lions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling, dressed in crisp male attire, pushed open the gate and walked through winding corridors and elegant gardens with ease. But as she passed a quiet pavilion in a garden, she caught sight of a familiar silhouette.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is Sister Su reading?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Guoer, her brow painted with wet red plum blossoms, sat leaning against the corridor, reading by the gentle evening breeze, while her plump-faced maid held a lantern to illuminate the page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Poems of Tao Qian.” She didn’t look up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tao Qian?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, I recall he was a famous scholar of the Eastern Jin. Oh, didn’t he once serve as County Magistrate here? How many days…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eighty-one days. Then he resigned.” She recited it effortlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Right—I think Elder Brother mentioned him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Guoer, who had been merely humoring her, suddenly closed her book and asked: “Sister Xie, you come from a scholarly aristocratic family of Jiangzuo. Longcheng is also in Jiangzuo—has the Chen Commandery Xie family ever collected any of his scattered poems?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tao Qian’s poems?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exquisite woman, reading by night under the corridor, her demeanor cold and aloof, straightened her slender waist slightly, leaning forward to gaze at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes—say, a short prose piece called… ‘Returning Home’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling thought carefully, then shook her head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I loved poetry as a child and often flipped through rare collections in my family’s Willow Down Pavilion, but I don’t recall ever seeing ‘Returning Home.’ Why are you suddenly interested in this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Guoer’s bright eyes, reflected in the lantern light, dimmed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not answer, instead asking casually: “Sister Xie seems cheerful—any good news?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This struck precisely the right note for Xie Ling’s desire to chat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xie noblewoman paid no mind to Su Guoer’s change of subject, smiling faintly as she recounted everything Elder Brother had done that day, ending with:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rest well tonight. Tomorrow, we raid homes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Su Guoer heard of the young magistrate’s planning, she glanced toward the government office, surprised, and silently reflected on certain matters…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But upon hearing Xie Ling’s excited final words, she lifted her gaze to look at this sister Xie, then gently shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Guoer lowered her eyes again and opened her book to read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling furrowed her brows slightly. “What does Sister Su’s head shake mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing much—only…” Su Guoer whispered, “Sister Xie should be cautious these days. And avoid going out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman with plum-blossom makeup spoke as gently as she could: “A strong dragon usually cannot overpower a local snake. Do you know why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because of arrogance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling’s tone turned cold: “Sister Su still dares to accuse others of arrogance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s different.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s the same.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Arrogance has distinctions. For example, I am arrogant toward the Liu family—but never slow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you are not Elder Brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling shook her head. “Elder Brother does only upright deeds, because justice can only be taken uprightly. If one seizes power and immediately raids entire families without due process, what difference is there from a bully or a wicked gentry? Merely a higher-class bully, masquerading as justice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Elder Brother’s justice is pure arrogance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He who rules by force feigns benevolence; he who rules by virtue embodies the Way.” The woman in cap and sword raised her head, hand on her blade: “This is not arrogance—Elder Brother practices Wang Dao. Sister Su, you practice Ba Dao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder Brother will crush you.” She was certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wang Dao requires the strength to be king. There is no family in this world better than ours at understanding the meaning of ‘the victor is king, the defeated is scum.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Guoer murmured, stubbornly shaking her head: “Still, Sister Xie, avoid going out these days. Spend more time with my mother…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she finished, she realized the Xie noblewoman had vanished. Looking up, following the gaze of her attendant Cai Shou, she saw:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling, who had just returned to rest, had decisively turned back and left again…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Guoer turned back and said: “Sister Xie is even more stubborn than Brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….” Cai Shou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, Miss, you are the same.\u003C\u002Fp>",1873,"2026-06-19T21:28:25.445Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8716dc04aa070cfb432ed141cecea70db051d2060ba5e858dda782d1d36f4b09","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-36","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-34",864,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Feven-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-cover.jpg"]