Chapter 263: First Volume_Chapter 263: The Same Old Trick?

First Volume_Chapter 263: The Same Old Trick?

If Qin Feng did not hold an official rank and could no longer settle grudges as freely as before, he would have torn the roof off the Ministry of Personnel long ago.

Just now, Old Comrade Qin had Qin Xiaofu deliver a message, reminding Qin Feng that the Ministry of Personnel was up to mischief again.

Fuyun County, the tail end of the Thirty-Six Counties surrounding Jingdu, was not only a complete mess financially, but the discipline of its officials was utterly without bottom line.

If Fuyun County were located in some barren wasteland on the frontier, that would be one thing.

Yet it sat right beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, separated from Jingdu by a mere strip of water.

This Fuyun County, which boasted of being the shame of the Thirty-Six Counties of Jingdu, had endured in its state only because a certain Prince sat in residence there.

This Prince Ming was not only the Liang Emperor's full brother, but was also notoriously capricious and exceedingly difficult to deal with.

The Ministry of Personnel dressed it up prettily: Qin Feng had rendered merit in governing Beixi County, so he was specially dispatched to Fuyun County to share his governance experience and discuss policy with the County Magistrate of Fuyun.

To put it bluntly, it was once again shoving Qin Feng into a fire pit.

In all of Jingdu, who did not know that Fuyun County was forbidden ground?

Let alone the sons of officials—even the Princes, with nothing better to do, would absolutely never go near Fuyun County; if they happened to offend Prince Ming, anyone would be flayed alive.

Qin Feng already had a headache governing one Beixi County; he had barely warmed his seat back in Jingdu before being pushed toward Fuyun County again.

One could only say that this group in the Ministry of Personnel… no, rather the people behind the Ministry of Personnel, truly had boundless nerve!

Now was a critical period of war preparations, and he, Qin Feng, had just rendered great merit—yet they dared to carry out such a brazen act of revenge?

Besides, he, Qin Feng, was not some specialist in rotten counties—truly outrageous!

Qin Feng simply could not swallow this hatred; ignoring Xiao Xiangxiang's obstruction, he took Qin Xiaofu and Shu Feng and headed straight for the Ministry of Personnel.

But upon arriving at the Ministry of Personnel, he found the great doors tightly shut, with only a seventy-or-eighty-year-old Library Keeper, who had lost all his Teeth, trembling as he stood guard outside.

Qin Xiaofu pointed at the Library Keeper and roared: "Tell the Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister to come out! Give my family's Young Master an explanation!"

Hearing this, Qin Feng could not help but laugh inside.

This Qin Xiaofu was sharper than a monkey.

On the way here, he had vowed to wash the Ministry of Personnel in blood to vent Qin Feng's anger; but once he actually arrived, he immediately backed down, never mentioning the Minister of Personnel, and picked only the soft persimmon to squeeze.

The wretched old man before them was clearly a Human Shield thrown out by the Ministry of Personnel; though he only held the idle post of Library Keeper, he was after all a court-appointed Official, and on top of that was so old the yellow earth had already buried him up to the neck.

The moment Qin Feng dared to lay a finger on him, he would drop dead on the spot, and then Qin Feng would be convicted of the crime of "beating a court-appointed Official to death in the street."

Qin Feng naturally knew the Ministry of Personnel's scheming thoughts, so he kept silent and let Qin Xiaofu handle it; if a death occurred, they would simply say an Evil Servant had hurt someone, and Qin Feng would at most be guilty of failing to discipline his subordinates.

Facing Qin Xiaofu's rebuke, the Library Keeper, after a long pause, said trembling: "The Vice Minister has left the city on official business, and without the Minister's Military Order, no one may enter the Ministry of Personnel. This old man is already seventy this year, riddled with vile illness…"

Qin Xiaofu silently put away his broom and shot the Library Keeper a look: "I didn't ask how old you are—so what? Playing the doddering elder?"

The Library Keeper stood before the great Door like a Door God, striking a pose of "dare touch me and I'll die right here."

Believe it or not, Qin Feng truly had no way to deal with this old fellow.

Having no choice, Qin Feng could only wink at Qin Xiaofu.

Qin Xiaofu took the hint, and immediately, standing outside the Ministry of Personnel's great Door, shouted at the top of his lungs: "The Officials of the Ministry of Personnel are shameless—repeatedly scheming to frame my family's Young Master, perverting the law, using public office for private gain—is there any justice? Everyone come look!"

This shout lasted for a full One Cup of Tea Time.

The Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister sat inside the DaTang, listening to the cursing outside while leisurely sipping tea, with quite the composure of one unmoved even if Taishan crumbled before him.

The Ministry of Personnel's several Bureau Directors, however, could no longer sit still.

"Sir, Qin Feng indulges his Evil Servant in cursing and slandering the Ministry of Personnel—does this not ruin our reputation?"

"How can the dignified Ministry of Personnel tolerate such insult?"

The Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister pressed his hand down, signaling the Bureau Directors to calm themselves: "Qin Feng has many sinister tricks up his sleeve; we must avoid acting on impulse and falling into that fellow's trap. If he likes to curse, let him curse to his heart's content—we won't lose a scrap of flesh for it. The Minister said that our Ministry of Personnel is caught in the middle and in a very difficult position; to protect ourselves, we only need to follow Grand Commandant Gao's instructions. Even if there's a reckoning in autumn, we bear only secondary blame."

Hearing this, the several Bureau Directors sighed, thinking it could only be so.

Just as Qin Xiaofu was loudly cursing the Officials of the Ministry of Personnel as nothing but shrinking turtles, the Library Keeper looked at Qin Feng and said with earnest weight: "Young Master Qin, let me offer you one piece of advice—save your breath. The matter is already set in stone; there is absolutely no room to maneuver. Moreover, for such a trivial matter, the Ministry of Personnel has full authority to decide; even a sage would not disregard the law to change the outcome."

"If you still have the energy, better go back and pack your things and head to Fuyun County—the County Magistrate of Fuyun is waiting for you."

"Waiting for me? Heh, good—I very much want to see exactly how they're waiting for me!"

Qin Feng took a deep breath, waved his hand to signal Qin Xiaofu to stop, forced a faint profound smile, and said softly to the Library Keeper: "Please relay this to all the lords of the Ministry of Personnel—every bit of the Ministry of Personnel's 'kindness' toward me, I have engraved upon my heart, and in the future I shall properly 'thank' every one of them!"

Hearing these words laden with threat, a chill ran down the Library Keeper's back, but he said nothing.

Seeing Qin Feng turn to leave, Qin Xiaofu was full of unwillingness: "The Ministry of Personnel pulling the same old trick—truly outrageous! The reason Fuyun County has fallen to its current state is entirely because Prince Ming's household has been running amok; even if the County Magistrate of Fuyun wanted to govern, he wouldn't dare. Yet now the Ministry of Personnel sends you to clean up this mess—isn't this plainly shoving you into a fire pit?"

Shu Feng at the side was also seething: "Young Master, are we really going to Fuyun County?"

Qin Feng, hands clasped behind his back, did not slow his pace; after a while he grinned and said: "Go my ass! No matter how stupid This Young Master is, would I fall into the same pit twice?"

"They want to play games with me? Then I'll play a good game with that group in the Ministry of Personnel!"

Hearing this, Shu Feng and Qin Xiaofu exchanged a glance and simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

Since the Ministry of Personnel had shut its doors and refused to see anyone, the only option left was to enter the palace for an Imperial Audience!

It was not yet noon; by the hour, the "Second Court Session" should still not be over.

Moreover, with Zhong Ling's death, the situation between Shedynasty and the Northern Di had undergone Weimo changes; the pace of war preparations had greatly accelerated, and Officials from all directions had flocked to the capital to submit reports, making official business extremely busy during this period. Otherwise, given Old Comrade Qin's temper, he would have long since gone to confront the Ministry of Personnel directly—why would he merely send a letter to remind Qin Feng?

But Qin Feng now held an official rank, so before entering the palace he needed to change into his official robes.

Before long, Qin Feng was fully prepared and headed straight for the Imperial Palace.

At this moment, in the Grand Hall of the Imperial Palace, the court business was drawing to a close.

The Liang Emperor finally spared some attention, glanced at the Secret Letter just delivered by Black Guard, learned that the Ministry of Personnel intended to send Qin Feng to Fuyun County, and could not help but sneer inwardly.

This Ministry of Personnel—not a single new trick!

But this matter was, after all, Secret Information, and the Liang Emperor could not directly raise the question, so he glanced at Qin Tianhu.