Chapter 1221: So Many Rules in Officialdom

It can be seen that under the governance of Man Gu, Quyu County is peaceful and harmonious, and within moments he helped the two find their long-lost mother, which was very touching.

When Man Gu made a clear judgment and returned to the rear hall to rest, a voice called out to him.

"Junior Brother Man."

Man Gu turned his head and saw two immaculate, peerless masters standing in the rear hall, overjoyed: "Brother Lu! Brother Meng!"

Although the two had altered their appearances, their voices remained unchanged, and Man Gu easily distinguished them.

County Magistrate Man personally received the two distinguished guests, pouring tea and serving fruit platters.

"Both senior brothers have advanced to the Tribulation Transcendence stage; I have been busy with official duties and could only write letters of congratulations, so allow me to offer my congratulations here."

After Man Gu sent a letter to Meng Jingzhou seeking help, he received news from the newspaper that Meng Jingzhou had advanced to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, and only then did he send a second letter to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou did not expect that after not seeing Man Gu for several years, Man Gu spoke so refinedly, as if he were a completely different person compared to before.

"It seems Junior Brother Man is doing well as county magistrate?"

"That goes without saying———-no, that's not right, I shouldn't say it that way, how should I put it, give me a moment."

As he spoke, Man Gu flipped out a small notebook from his bosom, its edges curled, unknown how long he had used it.

Man Gu turned to the last page and, following the contents of the small notebook, recited earnestly: "Relying on the concern of both senior brothers, since I became county magistrate, I have been diligent and conscientious, exhausting my thoughts in considering the development direction of this county—"

"Wait, what are you writing?" Lu Yang couldn't help but ask.

Lu Yang also saw that the small notebook contained that congratulatory passage, word for word, not a single character altered.

Are you reading lines?

"You see, my previous way of speaking wasn't very Confucian cultivator-like, as Confucian cultivators always like to quote sages and such, essentially it's just memorizing lines, so I came up with this method: I prepare dialogue scenarios in advance, decide what to say, and memorize them in this small notebook."

"The chief clerk also advised me to do this, and he often writes speeches for me."

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou both felt that Man Gu had some misunderstanding about Confucian cultivators, but upon careful thought, what he said actually seemed quite reasonable.

Meng Jingzhou sighed: "Just say what you want to say directly, don't recite from memory."

"Actually, being a county magistrate is really not easy, there are too many rules."

"How so?"

"When I first became county magistrate and went to the prefecture for a meeting, as it was nearing its end, the prefect said we county magistrates could freely express our opinions on what we thought of Zhongshan Prefecture, or offer suggestions to him as prefect, and I originally wanted to wait until my colleagues finished speaking before I spoke, but after waiting a long time they still said nothing, so I stood up and spoke a few points."

"The prefect was still quite pleased with me, asking if I wanted to come and serve as prefect right then, and I kindly reminded him that I had just become county magistrate and could not immediately be promoted to prefect, as it would violate regulations."

"When I returned and told the chief clerk, the chief clerk wrote some precautions in my notebook, telling me I couldn't do that."

Man Gu showed Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, opening the first few pages of the small notebook, densely filled with various prohibitions, such as "When superiors say speak freely, don't speak," "When colleagues get off work and drink, don't report them," "When superiors ask if you want to stay for a meal, don't actually eat, even if you've finished eating, don't say you're not full," and so on.

"Why are there so many precautions?" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were startled; this chief clerk is also a talent, able to notice so many details.

"Oh, because every time I violate one, he writes a precaution for me."

"Then I was right to say officialdom has too many rules, lacking the freedom of the sect."

"Actually, I'm doing quite well in officialdom." Lu Yang said.

"Ah?" Man Gu was surprised, when did Senior Brother Lu enter officialdom?

"You can't tell, but my current position is that of a Pillar of State Grand Minister."

"Pillar of State Grand Minister? Does our Great Xia have such an official post?"

"Anyway, the Xia Di acknowledges it."

"Brother Lu is truly impressive."

It's no wonder Brother Lu is impressive; being a small county magistrate is this difficult, yet Brother Lu somehow became a Pillar of State Grand Minister without anyone knowing,

this is the gap between people.

He indeed still has many things to learn.

"Let's not talk about this, how is the haunting happening?" Meng Jingzhou asked, as solar lamps have completely replaced candles, every household has solar lamps, and with the solar seal fully unlocked, the power of the utmost yang has exploded in growth, can ghosts still form?

"It was on a night three months ago."

"At the time I was cultivating, when suddenly a patrolling constable came to report to me, saying there were several ghosts wandering the main street, and they tried various methods, all to no avail, as the ghosts were completely unaffected."

'When I went to look, indeed, several ghosts were illuminated by solar lamps, pierced by peachwood swords, yet had no effect; the peachwood sword even passed straight through them, as if they felt nothing, showing no reaction to our attacks, nor any intention to attack us.'

"When I went over, the ghosts had already begun to disappear."

"Later they appeared again, but at that time my realm fluctuated to a very low level, I could not act, so I invited cultivators from the prefecture, but it was still useless."

"Having no other choice, I thought of asking the two senior brothers to take action."

"That sounds a bit strange, how many times have the ghosts appeared in total?"

"Three times, the timing is not fixed, but it is always at night."

Meng Jingzhou stroked his chin: "The timing is not fixed, that's troublesome, have any nearby counties experienced this?"

Man Gu shook his head: "I've asked around, none have."

"It seems we can only temporarily stay here for a while, by the way, Junior Brother Man, our arrival must be kept secret." Lu Yang said.

If the ghosts knew that Old Meng and the righteous, chivalrous Punisher of Evil and Upholder of Justice were here, they would probably not dare to show themselves.

"Alright." Man Gu nodded, the two senior brothers have always been low-key, unwilling to draw attention.

"Then I will arrange accommodation for the two senior brothers?"

"Is your office short-staffed? Wherever there's a shortage, we two can temporarily fill in."

"Actually, there are two constables who were dismissed by me for taking bribes, leaving two vacancies, but the two senior brothers are here as my guests·

Meng Jingzhou hooked his arm around Man Gu's neck: "No problem, no problem, being idle all the time isn't good either, perfect to find something to do."

Man Gu was deeply moved, the two senior brothers came from afar to catch ghosts, and even voluntarily relieved his worries, what noble and righteous conduct.

Soon Man Gu brought constable uniforms for the two, they changed into them, wearing smug smiles, instantly becoming like bullies who oppress the weak.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Man Gu brought the two to recognize people in the office, first needing to see the chief clerk.

Chief Clerk Liu saw the county magistrate leading two unfamiliar constables, and was instantly startled.

According to reason, recruiting constables should require passing a trial, so how did the county magistrate my lord find two so quickly?

"My lord, who are these two constables?"

Man Gu remembered Lu Yang's warning not to expose his identity, so when introducing them, he couldn't say these two were his senior brothers; a brief introduction would suffice.

"These two came in through the back door."