Pei Zi Yun set off.
When he reached the pier, he abandoned his carriage and boarded a boat. He then followed the river to the county where Free Cloud Sect was located. This took quite some time. When he disembarked from the boat, it was almost dusk. He could see that the streets were filled with people as they hurriedly ate their meals and called for a carriage. When he arrived at the magistrate's office, there were fewer people around.
The streets were lit up, and the sounds of music could be heard from the restaurants. The cool breeze was refreshing. Before him was a huge door with a lantern hanging on it. He had arrived at the magistrate's office.
He picked up the brass ring on the door and knocked on it. After some time, a bailiff opened the door and asked impatiently, "Who is it? It's so late."
He glanced at the bailiff, and his expression changed. He then smiled, "So it's master Top Scorer. Do you have something urgent to see the magistrate?"
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he nodded his head and handed a letter over, "I have something important to see the magistrate."
The bailiff received the letter and noticed that it was rather intricate. There were silver inscriptions on it, and it was very formal. He then said, "Please wait a moment master Top Scorer."
In the magistrate's office, the magistrate looked at the letter and pushed it aside, "Free Cloud Sect's response was swift. Burial, compensation, reconstruction, everything was done in an orderly manner."
When the advisor heard the magistrate speak, he swallowed his saliva, "Magistrate, are we not going to do anything about the rice business? How many people have died? "
"They said it was a plague. What can you do? If you really want to investigate, that's fine. But Free Cloud Sect has just been conferred a title by the Imperial Court. Shouldn't we investigate who attacked them? Shouldn't we also investigate the people responsible for the poor security of the county?" The magistrate rolled his eyes.
The advisor couldn't help but wipe his sweat. The magistrate felt that the lights were too dim, and ordered two candles to be lit behind him. At this point, a bailiff ran forward, "Old master, Top Scorer Pei requests an audience. He has an invitation."
"Give me the invitation." The magistrate said. The moment he finished speaking, the bailiff presented the invitation to the magistrate with both hands.
Looking at the invitation, the magistrate hesitated, "Do you wish to see him?"
The advisor who was beside the County Magistrate saw the look on the County Magistrate's face and hurriedly spoke out, "Old master, although this Top Scorer Pei is famous and is a Top Scorer, once he joins a Dao sect, he would have no future. What use is he to you? Furthermore, King Lu's men have already greeted us. The stakes in this matter are too high. Old Master, please reconsider. "
Hearing the advisor's words, the county magistrate was silent for a moment. "You're right."
"Men, tell Master Top Scorer that I'm not feeling well today, and it's not appropriate for me to receive any guests. Send the invitation back." The magistrate shouted towards the door. The bailiff obeyed the order and walked out. He then smiled apologetically at Pei Zi Yun, "Master Top Scorer, my superior has caught a cold today, and is unable to receive any guests. Please forgive me."
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he noticed that the bailiff's eyes were avoiding him. He then laughed, "I'm afraid he heard that I'm here, and caught this cold."
When the bailiff heard Pei Zi Yun's words, he laughed, "Master Top Scorer, what are you saying? The county magistrate is really sick. Please don't make things difficult for me."
Pei Zi Yun waved his hands, "I won't make things difficult for you. It's just that I have something here. Hand it over to the magistrate, and let him take a look at it before he decides if he wants to see me."
Pei Zi Yun retrieved a wooden box, which the bailiff received. He then thought to himself, "Could it be that this is some sort of treasure?"
"County magistrate, master Top Scorer didn't leave. When he heard what I said, he asked this servant to hand over another box. He said that once his master sees this box, he will change his mind."
The advisor was around fifty years old, and was tanned and skinny. He looked even more withered, and his eyes were sagging. When he heard this, he laughed coldly, "Trying to act mysterious."
When the magistrate heard this, he glanced at him and said, "You!"
Actually, he understood that he, as the advisor, didn't receive any money from King Lu. Furthermore, he was representing King Lu, and wouldn't give any money to a lowly official. However, this was the rule of the government. The advisor had been with him for a long time, and even if there weren't any benefits, he would still stand by King Lu's side.
Even the advisor was an Elementary Scholar. He did not pass the High Scholar examinations, and could only be an advisor for the rest of his life. On the other hand, Pei Zi Yun had passed the Top Scorer examinations. Not only was he young, he had also become a Daoist. This was why the advisor did not like Pei Zi Yun at all. In fact, he even gritted his teeth. This was the hidden emotion of a person.
The magistrate didn't intend to expose him. He looked at the wooden box and smiled at the advisor, "Say, what do you think this Top Scorer Pei has prepared for me?"
He then waved his hands, "Hand the box over."
The bailiff handed the box over, and the magistrate opened it up. When he opened it, he exclaimed, "Eh?" There was an order token within the box, and it seemed to be made out of gold.
He picked it up, and took a look at it. His eyelids twitched, and the order token fell onto the table. His body trembled as he looked at the bailiff, "Go out and wait at the door. I have something to discuss with the advisor."
The bailiff left the room and closed the door behind him. The advisor was astonished, "County magistrate?"
The county magistrate calmed himself down, "Trouble, big trouble. I didn't expect this person to be on the Crown Prince's side, and have the Crown Prince's order token."
"What? Pei Zi Yun has the Crown Prince's order token? " The advisor leaned forward to take a look, and saw the cold golden order token. There were dragon inscriptions on it, as well as the words' Crown Prince's Palace '. At this point, his face turned pale.
The both of them stood rooted to the ground. After sometime, the advisor slapped his thigh and said, "Ai, what do we do now? King Lu has spoken to the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince has the order token."
When the magistrate heard this, he sighed, "Let him in. We can't afford to offend the Crown Prince."
The advisor was a little unwilling, "But King Lu has spoken to the Crown Prince. If we don't listen, we might incur King Lu's wrath."
"King Lu did send someone to speak to the Crown Prince. But this is the Crown Prince's order token. How can we compare? We have to choose the lesser of two evils. " The magistrate's face flickered under the light of the candles, and he didn't move an inch. After some time, he stood up, "Invite master Top Scorer to the side hall to discuss this matter."
The bailiff sprinted all the way to the door and smiled, "Master Top Scorer, please enter. My master has taken some medicine, and is feeling much better. He can see master Top Scorer now."
The bailiff led Pei Zi Yun into the hall, where the magistrate welcomed him, "Master Top Scorer, I was busy with work yesterday, and caught a cold. I hope master Top Scorer will forgive me. Please take a seat and serve tea."
Pei Zi Yun sat down and took a sip of tea. He then looked at the magistrate and smiled, "Looking at the dark circles around your eyes, you must have been busy with work and must be tired. Since it's late at night, I shall not disturb you any further."
"I'm sure you understand why I'm here. I'll just say a few things."
"Firstly, Free Cloud Sect is a Daoist sect. You don't care if they're in trouble. If I were to impeach them, you might not be able to keep your position."
When the magistrate heard these words, he sucked in a breath of cold air, "Master Top Scorer, it's not that I don't want to help. It's just that I have to report this matter to my superiors."
"Your excellency, may I know where you're going to report this matter to?" Before he could finish his sentence, Pei Zi Yun interrupted him.
When the magistrate heard this, he paused for sometime, "Ai, master Top Scorer, why do you have to make things difficult for me? Lu …"
The magistrate paused and took a sip of his tea. Pei Zi Yun heard him clearly and nodded his head, "King Lu is involved in this as well, right?"
"This is the Emperor's family matter. It's understandable that you're afraid of getting involved." Pei Zi Yun replied coldly, "You have your own difficulties. When Free Cloud Sect was attacked, you didn't send any reinforcements. I didn't care about that. But now that I've won, if you don't say anything, that's not right!"
"Don't forget, King Lu isn't the Crown Prince yet. The Crown Prince is the Crown Prince."
"Yes yes yes!" The magistrate wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Master Top Scorer understands my difficulties, and I'm grateful for that. What do you propose?"
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "I don't ask for much. Send a hundred soldiers to Free Cloud Sect. I only need a month. You can say that they're here to investigate the case."
"In fact, they don't even need to be stationed at the mountain gate. Isn't there a town right below the mountain gate?"
"In order to apprehend the bandits, I'll send a patrol officer to patrol the town. Nobody can say that this is a good excuse!" Pei Zi Yun knew that in the bureaucracy, without status and rules, money wouldn't do. With status and rules, it was a matter of money. He then retrieved a stack of banknotes and placed it on the table, "I will not be short of money."
The magistrate looked at the stack of banknotes and noticed that the first one was worth a hundred taels of silver. This stack of banknotes was worth at least a thousand taels of silver.
The magistrate then pushed the wooden box, "Master Top Scorer, please keep this well."
He then placed the banknotes into his pocket and smiled, "Master Top Scorer, you're really considerate. Apprehending bandits is the responsibility of the government. Now that there are bandits attacking the town and harming the people under my jurisdiction, as the parent of the people in the county, I shall send a patrol officer to apprehend them."
When Pei Zi Yun heard these words, he stood up and bowed, "Many thanks to your excellency."
The magistrate stood up as well, "Master Top Scorer, you don't have to be so courteous. I just hope that you can put in a good word for me in front of the Crown Prince."
As soon as the magistrate finished speaking, he shouted out, "Men, call Inspector Li over."
After some time, Inspector Li came over and looked at Pei Zi Yun curiously. He then bowed, "Greetings to the magistrate."
The magistrate was visibly angry, "Inspector Li, look at what you've done."
Hearing the magistrate reprimanding him, Inspector Li scratched his head and hurriedly replied, "I'm not sure, please enlighten me your excellency."
The magistrate then said, "Today, Top Scorer Pei came to complain. He said that a few days ago, there were bandits who set Free Cloud Sect on fire. You didn't notice anything at all. You've failed in your duties."
Inspector Li was startled. Daoists lived in the mountains, and whenever they encountered bandits, they would deal with them on their own. The yamen had never asked about it before. Why would the magistrate suddenly bring it up today?
Although he was a public servant, catching bandits was the responsibility of the Chief Patrol Officer. It was just that he didn't dare to argue with the magistrate. He hurriedly replied, "It's my fault, please forgive me your excellency."
The magistrate was very satisfied with his attitude and said, "Tomorrow, you shall meet up with the Chief Patrol Officer and go to the town below Free Cloud Sect to catch the bandits. Within a month, you must catch the bandits."
Hearing these words, Inspector Li understood and hurriedly replied, "I shall do so immediately."
Pei Zi Yun then spoke to a Daoist, "You don't have to follow them. Follow this inspector and the Chief Patrol Officer back. Ask Elder Zhao to give the inspector fifty taels of silver and the Chief Patrol Officer a hundred taels of silver. As for the living expenses, we shall not interfere. The county has its own funds."
"As long as the banquet is held on the first day and the last day, that will do."
Pei Zi Yun understood the rules. Those who didn't know would say, "The living expenses for a hundred people would be more than this amount."
But that wasn't the case. Wherever the Chief Patrol Officer went, he would have to pay for the county's expenses. This would not be counted as Free Cloud Sect's expenses. Hence, they would only pay the officials.
Pei Zi Yun spoke to the Daoist, and the Daoist nodded in agreement. When the Daoist retreated, Yu Yun Jun understood what was going on and was filled with admiration. She then asked, "Has the matter been settled? Where shall we go next? "
Pei Zi Yun sighed, "To the Governor's Mansion. It's time to see the Governor."
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