Chapter 277: Big and Little Foxes Pair Off

The lingering sun warmed heaven and earth, while the front hall was thick with a chilling air.

Du Shanü's several stern interrogations laid bare, word by word, Ruansizong's true face of occupying a post without merit and avoiding disaster when affairs arose.

Ruansizong stood there, head lowered, his heart shocked beyond measure, never expecting that his carefully plotted defection would end up in such a predicament.

His earlier reason for standing idle, not stopping the prefect's misdeeds, was actually that he had his own ulterior motive——

One might ask, in a prefecture, is a clear-sighted prefect useful, or a confused one useful?

If it were an age of peace and prosperity, the answer would naturally be the former.

The former not only can govern a region's land and water, but also has a direct relation to whether the people's lives are better or not.

If the prefect is good, the prefecture is good.

If the prefect is capable, the prefecture will be peaceful, healthy, and prosperous.

However, however.

Yet heaven and earth present a scene of corpses feeding on vacant positions.

Even if you randomly grab a three-year-old child on the street, everyone knows that Emperor Yuan Lang won't last long, and surely some hero under heaven will overthrow the Southern Dynasty and retake the Northern Border......

In that case, what use is one person's clarity and ability?

Even, the worse the prefect is, the more likely power will be devolved.

In the people's mouths, the reputations of other officials willing to work only grow better.

Whether he later plans to remove the prefect himself, overstep for promotion, or someone else seizes the prefecture and prepares to appoint someone to govern this place......

He, Ruansizong, is an obstacle that cannot be bypassed.

Before Ruansizong arrived, he had thought that with the new lord just having secured the city, it was a time to employ people; being familiar with prefecture affairs and controlling his old network, he would proactively submit and serve, and even without great merit, he certainly would not be publicly questioned and rebuked.

In his decades of official experience, dynastic turnover emphasizes stability and inclusiveness, always tolerating what can be tolerated and using what can be used; past oversights can be written off, so where does this merciless blame and reprimand come from?

He had already set aside his face to come and defect, using precious gentle words, yet the new lord insists on the 'new official's three blazing fires,' so what more is there to say?

The Ruans clan truly lives up to being a great aristocratic family; if it were an ordinary petty official, he would now be panicking, making excuses, kneeling to beg for mercy, and doing everything to whitewash his guilt.

Yet Ruansizong, having drifted through officialdom for decades and weathered countless ups and downs, is an old hand who knows how to read the times and master the art of advancing and retreating.

His mind and spirit quickly settled, in an instant suppressing his inner panic, and he saw clearly the situation before him——

The posture of his earlier defection has already been displayed; now any feeble explanation will only seem petty and ridiculous, instead giving him a handle of guilty quibbling, making people look down on him all the more.

With his mind set, Ruansizong no longer tried to argue even a word, slowly straightening his stooped back.

Just now his respectful, humble demeanor completely faded; his face became solemn, and between his brows and eyes rose the unique arrogance of an elderly minister of a great clan:

"If heaven and earth cannot last long, how much less all things?"

"Although I manage prefectural affairs, previously the prefect was above me; I was merely a minor deputy, how could I attend to everything?"

"Since you, sir, regard the old minister this way, deeming him derelict, misleading the people, unfit for use, and intentionally faulting him, the old minister has nothing more to say."

He slightly raised his eyes, gazing straight ahead, still addressing himself as 'minister' in speech, yet his bearing and expression hinted at an irresistible momentum.

"I have served as an official for half my life, with no guilt to my conscience, no guilt to my former duties."

"Now that the new lord holds office, with new laws and regulations, the old minister is out of step and should naturally step aside. Later I will go home, pack my belongings, and immediately take my whole family away from Yongzhou Zhoufu, henceforth staying clear of the prefecture's official circles, never to linger here, to avoid catching your eye or disturbing the new order's stability."

This is his confidence and calculation.

He firmly believed that Yongzhou had just been pacified, with a hundred affairs awaiting revival; the prefecture's livelihood, administration, grain, household registers, and personal connections were all firmly gripped by the old officials, and he himself had deep roots there for decades, unmatched by anyone.

Even though Du Shanü is decisive in killing and adept at warfare, she is ultimately an outsider new lord with shallow roots, and would certainly not dare to truly drive out such a native veteran official as him.

This move of advancing by retreating, appearing as a request to resign, is actually a probing and pressuring maneuver gauging the right measure, waiting for the other side to step down gracefully, then warmly urge him to stay, at which point he could both save face and securely keep his original post.

But he gravely misjudged people's hearts, and further underestimated Du Shanü's decisiveness in killing.

Du Shanü, seated in the chief position, upon hearing this, not only showed no hesitation to retain him, but instead curled her lips into a faint, clear sneer, her eyes devoid of any ripple, leaving only utter indifference and resolve.

She lifted her eyes, glanced lightly at Ruansizong, her tone relaxed and casual, her words crisp and clean, with no intention of retaining him at all.

"Since Minister Ruans volunteers to resign, that is naturally best."

A simple sentence, lightly spoken, fell like a thunderbolt striking Ruansizong's heart.

All of Ruansizong's calculations in his chest shattered to pieces, and the innate arrogance on his face froze.

He had intended to advance by retreating, putting on an act, waiting for the other side to lower their head and retain him; how could he have ever expected such an outcome?

In his astonishment, he suddenly lifted his head, his white eyebrows knitting tightly, his aged eyes fixed dead upon Du Shanü seated in the chief position, his heart filled with disbelief and shock.

He had been proud and self-assured, relying on his clan's integrity and his official career, never having placed himself in such a humiliating, passive state, and never believing he could be so easily discarded.

A stalemate lasted several breaths, with no one speaking to break the silence.

His full intention to gauge the situation and preserve face came to naught; Ruansizong felt both anger and vexation, yet had no room for maneuver left.

He clenched his cuffs till his knuckles whitened, his chest surging with repressed fury, ultimately only letting out a cold, heavy snort.

That snort held within it all his unwillingness, humiliation, and embarrassment.

Having come to this point, there is no room for maneuver; lingering another moment only adds another measure of embarrassment.

Ruansizong spoke no more, did not glance upward, turned, flicked his sleeve, and strode out of the front hall with heavy, firm steps.

The front hall returned to silence, the wind passing through the courtyard, leaving only an empty, lonely room.

Moments later, the rear hall's screen stirred slightly, and a slender, gaunt figure walked out slowly.

It was Chinu, having just changed his medicine and shed the bloodstained clothes he had worn before.

Chinu gazed from afar at the direction Ruansizong had gone, and let out a faint sigh in his heart:

"Wife Master, this person Ruansizong is like you: he takes the soft, not the hard."

"He has cultivated this place for decades, his disciples and old followers, his personal connections spread throughout the prefecture. If you are unwilling to delegate power to him or not employ him, that would be one thing, but today you have outright forced him away, which is truly improper......"

"This man is arrogant and vengeful, his inner resentment hard to appease; I fear he will harbor hatred in his heart, secretly ally with his old followers and gentry, seize the chance to rebel, and bring great turmoil to our newly established situation."

Du Shanü also did not expect Ruansizong to be so arrogant as to just say he's leaving and go, but she likewise did not really take it to heart.

She curled her finger, and Chinu obediently knelt at her feet, resting his cheek upon her knee......

His brows, eyes, and bearing were consistently submissive, humble.

He showed no arrogance over Du Shanü's unborn child; instead, he grew all the more endearing.

Du Shanü's fingertip paused, and she finally sighed:

"It won't happen."

He can't stir up any great storm; don't forget Ruan Jintian is still in our hands.

"You caused that scene earlier, which actually gave me a reminder; the Ruan clan earlier sent Ruan Jintian over, intending to carry out the 【Tian clan replaces Qi】【dove occupies the magpie's nest】 scheme... and now, if we give him hope?"

Chinu, his brows, eyes, nose bridge, and lips brushed by the Wife Master's fingertip, remained lost in thought; hearing the final words, he instinctively lifted his gaze:

"What does the Wife Master mean......?"

Du Shanü kissed the corner of her own obedient slave's lips, smiling:

"You write a letter back to tell Afang to definitely keep an eye on Ruan Jintian, then forge another letter informing Ruansizong that my unborn child might be of the Ruan clan......"

"This time, I want to see how Ruansizong will resolve it."

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