Chapter 1112

Pan Yun flashed him a bright smile, scooped up Zhu Jianji, and leapt down from the rooftop.

Xue Shao hurriedly bowed respectfully to Zhu Jianji: "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Jianji hurriedly returned the courtesy: "Lord Xue, my teacher and I have come here to travel. If there is anything inconvenient, please speak plainly."

Pan Yun: "If we speak plainly, will you leave?"

Zhu Jianji's face grew solemn: "I shall learn of their difficulties, but I will not leave."

Pan Yun smiled and looked at Xue Shao.

Xue Shao wore a helpless expression, stepped aside, and invited them to go ahead: "That the National Preceptor and Your Highness have come to Heilongjiang is truly Heilongjiang's good fortune."

He wished they could stay a while longer, help him uncover more problems, and think of more ways to govern this place.

Only Xue Shao would have such a thought; officials elsewhere certainly lacked this breadth of mind and boldness. Just as Zhu Jianji was about to smile, he turned his head and saw his teacher casually hand him a handkerchief, and Xue Shao naturally took it and wiped his face.

Zhu Jianji stared blankly. Seeing Xue Shao suddenly turn his head to look at him, he spoke without thinking: "I thought Lord Xue had already swallowed the spit in silence..."

Zhu Jianji's face changed slightly; he wished he could cover his own mouth. What kind of thing was that to say?

As the Crown Prince, how could he say such a thing to a senior official of the imperial court?

But Xue Shao did not seem to take it to heart. He smiled at him and said: "Wiping it once with a handkerchief lets one work faster."

Xue Shao invited the two to sit in the Provincial Administration Commission: "Where are you staying? Shall I arrange lodging for you?"

"That would be lovely," Pan Yun agreed at once. "I see your city is built quite well, and the population is fairly large—perfect for him to learn a thing or two."

Zhu Jianji looked curiously left and right. This counts as being built well, with a large population?

Wuzhe Guard was dusty and drab. Though it was the seat of the Provincial Administration Commission, the city was only as large as two wards of Jingcheng, the houses were mostly low, and so far he had not seen a building of more than two stories.

The population was even smaller; he feared that everyone in the whole city combined did not equal the people on a single Chang'an main street.

Both Pan Yun and Xue Shao could read the little Crown Prince's thoughts—after all, the child was still not very good at hiding what he thought; everything in his heart was written on his face.

The two exchanged a glance and both smiled faintly. Soon, this child would understand what it meant for one place to differ from another.

Zhu Jianji took up residence in the rear courtyard of the Wuzhe Guard Provincial Administration Commission. Every day, besides wandering about with his teacher to observe the people's conditions, he followed Xue Shao in handling government affairs.

Zhu Jianji had originally assumed that, as Provincial Administration Commissioner, Xue Shao dealt with great matters. But after seeing Xue Shao surrounded yesterday, he had thought there were only some trivial, petty affairs here. Yet after following Xue Shao in and out for ten days, and after his teacher had taken him all over Wuzhe Guard inside and out, he realized he had been far too presumptuous.

Heilongjiang was vast and sparsely populated; though Wuzhe Guard was the seat of government, it too had few people.

Few people, but outside the city lay great stretches of forest, as well as large tracts of flat land that had been cleared and cultivated. A glance revealed nothing but desolation and silence.

Every day Xue Shao had to receive different Hundred-Household captains of the guards and officials of the prefectures and counties, listen to their laments of every difficulty, and then find supplies for them, or think of some way to help.

From time to time, common folk would bypass their own county magistrate and kneel directly outside the Provincial Administration Commission to lodge complaints.

Some as grave as land seizure and murder, some as petty as brawling and theft.

The most outrageous case Zhu Jianji had seen was an old man kneeling outside the Provincial Administration Commission, weeping. The reason: every time his neighbor passed his house, the neighbor would cast a contemptuous glance and curse him in his heart. The old man was indignant and brought the matter to the county office. But the magistrate was in league with the neighbor; instead of punishing the neighbor severely, he fined the old man and sentenced him to sweep the streets for three days. Unappeased, the old man had walked five days and five nights from his county to Wuzhe Guard to file his complaint.