Chapter 281

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Han Li had already reached the doorway, originally pausing and turning his head, but upon hearing those words, he spun back around in one motion, subconsciously stepping forward, and asked, "What courtyard?"

Seeing his reaction, Xin Feng thought to himself, "As expected," and hurriedly explained how Song Ji's dried meat and dried cuttlefish had been selling very well lately, and how the back courtyard lacked sufficient space for drying.

"……My Haoniang went looking several times with me, but everywhere we looked, either the courtyards were too far away, or they had this or that flaw; after looking all around, the one opposite actually compared most favorably……"

Han Li immediately reacted, saying, "Is it that courtyard from the opposite-door gambling case?"

"Exactly!" Xin Feng hurriedly nodded and said, "That residence was previously seized by us; although the location isn't particularly good, it wins on sheer size, so the appraised price is high. I went to inquire — after the case concludes, it must first go to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, then be transferred to the Building Administration Bureau."

"The Criminal Investigation Bureau is a superior yamen, so one can still find connections to say a few words and urge them along, but the Building Administration Bureau currently falls under the Ministry of Revenue — even if Master Qin personally visits, the Ministry of Revenue may not pay much heed, let alone a lowly runner like me!"

The Ministry of Revenue is the great moneybags that manages the accounts; the Building Administration Bureau administers the capital's land, residences, and other properties — it wields both power and money, a single pulled hair is thicker than a waist; why would it regard a legwork yamen like the Military Patrol Academy as anything?

To speak bluntly: when the Capital Prefecture Office's expenses for next year will be disbursed, and how much, even Prefect Zhao still has to negotiate carefully with the Ministry of Revenue.

Upon hearing this, Han Li didn't hesitate in the slightest and said, "I thought it was something major — you just rest easy and recuperate; leave the handling to me."

Hearing this sentence, Xin Feng's heart first settled, then leapt; he hurriedly asked, "Zhengyan, how do you intend to handle it?"

He added: "Because I said the matter wouldn't be easy to manage and wanted to enlist your help, Song Xiaoniangzi heard and immediately stopped me, fearing the Ministry of Revenue and Building Administration Bureau hold fat, weighty powers, and who knows when you might end up cursing them."

"She worries that once you intervene this time, you'll owe favors to the Building Administration Bureau and Ministry of Revenue people, making it hard to repay later, and even cursing them would be awkward — she told me not to mention it to you!"

He repeated Song Miao's words from that day verbatim in a couple of sentences.

One couldn't tell if it was an illusion, but he kept feeling that as he spoke, he could see with his own eyes the expression on the face of the person opposite growing increasingly gentle, even the corners of his mouth faintly curving into a smile.

After years of handling cases, Xin Feng blinked hard twice, fearing he had seen wrong.

No mistake!

He's smiling!

Though the smile isn't very obvious, how could it escape my pair of case-examining sharp eyes!

But before he could puzzle out anything, he heard the Han Li opposite ask, "What else did she say?"

It had been several days, and it wasn't a case, nor a suspect's confession — how could Xin Feng remember that much?

But though his temperament was rough, he inexplicably possessed a kind of intuition, understanding that right now he absolutely could not be perfunctory; he racked his brains and produced a few more lines of that day's "Song speech," though many were his own embellishments — he had already done his utmost!

Fearing the other man would ask further, he hurriedly said, "If you step forward, it's certain to succeed, only you mustn't do it behind Song Xiaoniangzi's back, otherwise when she finds out it was my big mouth that told you, she'll report it to your sister-in-law, and I'll get an earful again!"

Han Li said, "Rest assured, I will discuss it clearly with her face to face before acting."

He then asked what progress the gambling case was at now.

After hearing Xin Feng's answer, the smile on his face slowly faded, he frowned and asked, "It's been this long already, and it's still at the Capital Prefecture Office, hasn't been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Bureau?"

Xin Feng had been holding a bellyful of anger, but couldn't vent it to his subordinates, and just now was too embarrassed to bring it up himself; now he finally caught the chance and hurriedly complained.

"Master Qin replaced the handler with Cao Lingkun for those two cases; the moment this Cao took over, he swapped out the few who were originally on the case — all my capable veterans; can't blame him, he uses his own people!"

"But you know the gambling den and trafficking cases — the circumstances are tangled seven ways to Sunday; back then Master Kong organized it all into a thick stack of papers; his new people can't possibly pick up that fast! The tail naturally drags, three months closing the case and still not finished……"

"Because you told me not to make a fuss when you left, I forcibly endured; right now they're a leaderless bunch, still listless!"

His words had just fallen when Du Haoniang happened to walk out carrying a basket, and she immediately spat, cursing, "Your own temper is stubborn, why drag others down? In past years you've jumped out plenty of times, which time did you get a good result? Now it's fortunate you're only listless; if you really stirred things up, you can't win, and carrying a bellyful of anger while going listless — that's truly miserable!"

She also said to Han Li, "Brother Han, don't mind him, this temper of his can't be changed — I'm just worried that once back at the yamen, now that he's received the Empress Dowager's and Emperor's golden words, this fool thinks he's got a golden body, acts and speaks on impulse, getting himself into a mess is bad enough, but he'll drag you into trouble too!"

Xin Feng spat back at Du Haoniang, saying, "You woman, talking nonsense!"

But exactly where it was nonsense, and what nonsense it was, he couldn't articulate.

After a long while, he could only sigh and say, "Zhengyan, I know my own nature; once my head gets hot, nine times out of ten I can't control it; although I've received the Imperial Household's praise, to put it crudely, a current official post doesn't compare to a current manager."

"Last time Master Qin came to visit me, his words were beautiful, he was considerate, all about lifting me up, but afterwards when he returned to the yamen and was asked whether he could still let me handle cases, he just used promotion and advancement to placate me……"

"I've been in the yamen all these years; though I may not eat pork, I've seen pigs running plenty — how could I not know this is called 'promote in name, demote in reality'!"

Du Haoniang hurriedly called, "Lao Xin!"

The moment Xin Feng's words left his mouth, he knew they were inappropriate; stopped by his wife, he hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "Not saying this, not saying this!"

He forced his spirits up again and said, "Right now I'm getting promoted too, and received praise from the Emperor and Empress Dowager, plus reward money and a bestowed residence — truly don't know how my ancestors exerted themselves underground to let me gain your help; it's already unbelievably good!"

He saw Han Li out the door, then continued seeing him off for half a street, asking about matters great and small in Hua Prefecture, and asking whether since Han Li returned to the capital there was anything he could help with.

"Though I know there's little you need me for, and more I need you for, but if there's even the slightest use, just open your mouth!"

He was quite moved at this moment, couldn't help adding, "Speaking from the bottom of my heart, everyone says you're destined for the imperial court as a Censor, imposing and dignified; only I've always had a selfish wish — if you get an external post, be it a Tongpan or a County Magistrate, I'll follow you and manage order and security under your jurisdiction, wouldn't that be good?"

Han Li didn't agree, instead shaking his head and saying, "Everyone says people climb upward; others are busy entering the capital, yet you, having gained the Imperial Household's favor, after all these years of accumulation in the capital, at the first sign of trouble you want to run outward — if your sister-in-law and two children knew……"

"Your sister-in-law knew long ago! She's not that kind of ignorant person!"

"I'm not at the old vegetable stalk stage yet; if you don't let me work on the front lines and just sit in the yamen all day, you might as well kill me! And following you, would I still fear a lack of merit-making opportunities!?"

"Fight for ten or twenty years, and in the future when you become a minister or prime minister — who knows, maybe you'll return to the Capital Prefecture Office and let me sit in Master Qin's current post of Junxun Yuan Shi!"

After comforting Xin Feng a few sentences, Han Li took his leave.

By now it was past the Hai hour; the Taixue dormitory hadn't been packed at all, even the Hua Prefecture luggage was still halfway — he had only brought two changes of clothes and those many local tributes, left the group, and returned to the capital early on his own.

This trip was truly rushed, and late; he didn't plan to return to the dormitory to rest, thought a bit, and prepared to find an inn to make do for one night.

Junyi Bridge Street was truly bustling; in just a few days, not a trace could be seen of the supposed street flooding from days prior, it had early recovered its former shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.

Han Li walked on the road, incessantly hearing the cries of street vendors, hawkers' shouts, clamor, and greetings from both sides.

Seeing the crowds too dense everywhere, he simply dismounted, leading the horse by the reins as he walked forward.

As he walked, he couldn't help recalling Xin Feng's words from just now.

After all, he was a veteran Censor of the Capital Prefecture Office; his concerns were not superfluous.

Ordinary people might think that receiving praise from the Emperor and Empress Dowager means a smooth path and rapid rise thereafter — but in reality, how could it possibly be that simple?

If the Superior wanted to deal with you, there were countless ways to make you wear small shoes, yet you had given them not a single fault to pick.

For example, this time Qin Jie had given Xin Feng a promotion and arranged a desk duty for him, but simply did not let him touch any cases.

Compared to that, who could say he wasn't doing well?

But Xin Feng was born to be a Censor; he hated evil like an enemy, excelled at solving cases, and had a streak of diligence. Forcing him to sit at the yamen every day was no different from throwing him in prison.

Though in Qin Jie's view, there were plenty of people who could handle cases, and without Xin Feng, his own subordinates Ma Feng and Lv Feng were a bit less capable, they were ultimately his confidants, which outweighed everything.

But what Qin Jie and the others didn't value, Han Li did.

He both admired and trusted a talent like Xin Feng, and at the same time was confident that given an opportunity, he could certainly make good use of a person's abilities—at least definitely better than Qin Jie and the others.

Apart from Xin Feng, there was also Lu Wenming, a capable man.

Leaving him under his former master's door—what a waste?

And among this trip to Hua Prefecture, four or five students could be picked out who, though not skilled in reading and the imperial examinations, were very diligent in their work.

If he were given a prefecture, or even a county...

Though in Hua Prefecture it had only been a few months, it made him realize how great the difference was between truly being in charge and previously following others in doing things.

Without personally being in charge and personally experiencing it, what one knew and gained was merely scratching an itch through boots; even if one cursed, it only made a sound, feeling merely grating to the ear, and could not truly sink into the bone by three tenths.

Previously, someone had said he had only a brush and a mouth; if he could serve outside a few times and accomplish things in office, then when he returned to the Capital in a future transfer, who could still say he had only a mouth for cursing, was ignorant of miscellaneous affairs, and spouted nonsense?

The self of that time, cursing once, would surpass the present self cursing a hundred times!

Besides, serving outside not only allowed one to experience matters and broaden one's knowledge, but also to see more of the local customs and ingredients of various places...

If...

As he thought, he looked up and found they had already passed Zhou Bridge; seeing fewer pedestrians on either side, he vaulted onto his horse and galloped along Yu Jie all the way. At this moment, there were actually no other thoughts in his mind, only some heat in his blood, wanting to vent that vigor in his heart.

By the time he reacted, he had unknowingly already arrived at Zhuque Gate.

At such a late hour, Song Ji naturally could not be visited.

But he still couldn't help urging his horse to the entrance of Suanzao Alley and looking up into it.

This place was not a busy market; only a few wine shops and teahouses along the street outside were still open, with several lanterns hung at each doorway.

The outside of the alley was bright, the inside dark; looking from the bright place into the dark, one actually could not see anything clearly.

He sat on his horse and looked for a long while, not knowing himself what he was looking at; actually, he didn't want to see anything, and even what was in his mind was still the matters to be handled tomorrow—

According to the schedule, the Hua Prefecture group would enter the Capital in three batches. Since he had returned early, some miscellaneous affairs naturally had to be done a step earlier.

The first batch was naturally Wu Gong and others who had rushed back, fast or slow, to hand over duties. Although the great flood in Hua Prefecture had passed and everything had been arranged properly, Wang Jinghe along the river might not be taken seriously by the prefectures and counties along the way, so people had to be sent out as soon as possible to continue repeatedly urging all places to follow up seriously.

The second batch to return were the few students who had stayed behind. Among all the students, they had contributed the most and were the most unafraid of hardship. When the river was truly opened this time, some had not slept a full night for ten or more days, and almost every one of them had stood by the riverbank calculating, surveying, and recording.

The previous batch that returned, he had asked Wu Gong to send a letter back to the Capital, asking the officials of the Du Shui Jian to help send them back to their respective academies. But this batch, having worked so hard and done so much, should be made known to Xuezhong.

Although leave had been requested, it was still unknown how the Court would rule. What he could do was to give them enough face.

When Wu Gong returned, he would discuss with him inviting an official from the Du Shui Jian, and also ask Li Canzheng to arrange someone to come out, dividing the time, to send the students back to their academies one by one with "gongs and drums"...

By then, it would be necessary to find Shan Chang, praise his students as capable and hardworking, and commend the many things that student had done, then present a letter of thanks stamped with the great seal of the Hua Prefecture Government Office.

The third batch was naturally the few "children" he had taken in for his senior brother in Hua Prefecture...

Although it was only a promise of study travel, not discipleship, he should still ask You Xuelu to teach them well, and say more to his senior brother that during the time in Hua Prefecture, it was thanks to the help of several children's families that everything went so smoothly.

He would first go to his senior brother's house; it was too late now, the old man had probably already slept. He would put a few good things in the study, and the rest could wait until tomorrow...

Looking at that pitch-black expanse, he arranged all sorts of matters in his mind, calculating the time, feeling that at the latest by the end of the You hour tomorrow he could be done.

Finally, he should be able to come from Taixue; it was very close, no need to ride a horse, just walking would do. That way, he could save the time of feeding and brushing the horse, sit longer in the front hall, talk more, and discuss the matter of the opposite courtyard in detail...

By then, there should be no more idlers in the food shop, only himself left.

Just thinking of this, he inexplicably felt very comfortable in his heart, and also had some anticipation.

When would the sky brighten, and when would it darken again...

The end of the You hour this time really came a bit slowly...