Today was the first day that County Magistrate Li took office, so County Magistrate Liu naturally introduced the important officials in the county government to him. Li Yi greeted County Magistrate Wang and Secretary Zheng politely, so that they could be considered acquaintances.
As for the other low-ranking officials, they had to take the initiative to greet him.
After a solemn introduction, County Magistrate Liu took Li Yi to the office and the inner house.
The inner house was located in the back hall of the county government, which was divided into several separate courtyards for the officials' family members to live in. However, in the entire county government, only four people, including Li Yi, had this privilege.
Before Li Yi came, County Magistrate Liu had already ordered people to clean it spotless.
According to the regulations, officials could not live in the county government with their family members until they had been in office for three years. However, even without this regulation, Ruyi would not come here. Li Yi did not like the atmosphere in the county government, so he would rather go back to Ruyi Square than live here.
Three groups of yamen runners had already lined up neatly. The County Magistrate was in charge of the public security of the county, and also the direct superior of these yamen runners.
Among them, when the County Magistrate tried a case, the officers who stood on both sides of the court to maintain discipline knew Li Yi. Thinking of the scene when County Magistrate Li tried a case in the court that day, they looked at him with admiration in their eyes.
And among those constables, some of them had seen him before. No one had expected that this weak scholar, whom they had seen several times, would become their immediate superior in the blink of an eye.
Although they did not witness it with their own eyes, they had heard from some people what happened when County Magistrate Li tried a case that day. At this time, there were more doubts and curiosity in their eyes. However, in front of the County Magistrate Liu, they still had to show respect on their faces.
As the head of a county, County Magistrate Liu was quite busy in daily affairs, so it was impossible for him to accompany Li Yi all the time. Therefore, he roughly showed him the county government, and as for the more detailed things, he gave them to a clever yamen runner.
"Sir, do you want me to show you around the county office?" The bailiff looked at Li Yi with a hint of fanaticism in his eyes as he asked with a face full of smiles.
Since he saw the means of County Magistrate Li that day, a door of a new world opened for him, and he seemed to be enlightened. When he assisted the county magistrate in handling cases, he made great contributions again and again. Not only did he get several commendations from County Magistrate Liu, but he was also promoted to a small leader of the yamen runners. So far, the little yamen runner who was muddle-headed all day in the yamen had completely disappeared, replaced by a... little yamen runner with feelings and ideals.
"What's your name?" Li Yi asked casually. The bailiff seemed to be quite quick-witted.
"Sir, this subordinate is Liu Yiyi," the bailiff hastily replied.
"Liu Yiyi?" Li Yi stared blankly for a moment. He thought that Liu Yiyi's father really knew how to name his son. He waved his hand and said, "There's no need to look around. Take me to the County Lieutenant's office."
"Milord, please."
Liu Yiyi responded and led Li Yi through the ceremonial door to the side of the corridor.
On both sides of the ceremonial door, there were small rooms, which were the offices of the officials other than the County Magistrate.
Liu Yiyi led Li Yi into one of the duty rooms. After walking through the door, he saw a pretty woman sitting on the main seat. The woman raised her head to look at Li Yi, put down the teacup in her hand, and said, "I thought you wouldn't come."
"I'm just a commoner. How dare I defy the imperial edict?" Li Yi sat next to her, poured himself a cup of tea, and said indifferently.
If it weren't for the princess constable, he would still be sunbathing in the courtyard of Willow Leaf Village or Ruyi Square. He got angry when he saw her, but he couldn't do anything, so he felt a little depressed.
Seeing this scene, Liu Yiyi sensibly retreated.
When the immortals fought, the mortals suffered. He couldn't get involved in the affairs of these two important people.
MIngzhu took a sip of tea and said lightly, "No matter how lazy you were before you took office, now that you're a County Magistrate, you can't be like before. Otherwise …"
"Otherwise what? Are you going to dismiss me?" Li Yi turned to look at her and asked expectantly.
"The position of County Magistrate is very important. If you neglect your duties and cause public order to be unstable, and there are unjust and false cases, you'll be dismissed and investigated. If you're serious …" MIngzhu looked at him and waved her hand in the air.
Damn it, do you have to go so far?
Li Yi's eyelid twitched, but thinking about it, what she said made sense. A County Magistrate was responsible for public order, arresting bandits, and investigating cases. None of these were small matters. If you neglect your duties and cause public order to be unstable, bandits run amok, or randomly judge a case and cause someone to die unjustly, it wouldn't just be a case of neglecting your duties. Disregarding human life, just dismissing your duties might not be enough. The prison of Qing An Government welcomes you …
Raising his head to look at MIngzhu, his eyes were extremely complicated.
He had thought that he had found a powerful backer, but who knew that this powerful backer dug a big hole for him to jump into. This kind of suffocating and depressing feeling, he couldn't understand it unless he experienced it himself.
Speaking of which, this Princess was really weird. She didn't want to stay in the Imperial Palace, nor did she want to be a noble, but came here to be a constable and suffer. She made life difficult for him. More importantly, the Emperor actually agreed — Li Yi doubted whether this Princess was his biological daughter.
"Oh, in the month when you didn't take office, there were a lot of cases that need to be investigated as soon as possible." MIngzhu put down the teacup and said.
"Damn it …"
Li Yi already felt wronged. He had only been in the county government for a short while, and he hadn't even sat down for a long time, but there were already a lot of trivial matters to deal with. He couldn't help but complain.
Halfway through his words, he remembered that the person sitting opposite him was the Princess. Wasn't scolding her mother equal to scolding the Empress? Insulting the Empress was a crime of great disrespect, and it was punishable by death …
Seeing that MIngzhu's face became cold, Li Yi immediately put on a smile. "Your Highness, how is your body? Is His Majesty's asthma better …"
"According to what you said, I cleaned the palace several times a day and removed all the flowers and plants in the palace. The number of times my father's asthma has indeed decreased." A trace of softness appeared on MIngzhu's face as she said.
Then, she turned to look at Li Yi and said, "I know you don't want to be an official. How about this, as long as you fulfill your duties as a County Lieutenant within half a year, I can write to my father and allow you to resign after half a year."
"Is that true?"
Li Yi was stunned for a moment. Then, he looked at her and his tone became more serious.
Half a year's time was not short, but it was not long either. But there was still something to look forward to. Her words just now were like a ray of light in the darkness, guiding Li Yi in the right direction.
"Really." MIngzhu nodded. Half a year's time was the deadline that she and her father had agreed on. Half a year's time was enough to train him a little.
"Slap hands as a vow!"
Who knew if she was just saying it casually. If she went back on her word, there was no evidence. Who could he find to reason with?
The ancient people believed in this. Slapping hands meant that the vow was made. If he went back on his word, he would suffer the wrath of the heavens.
MIngzhu glanced at him, but in the end, she still reached out her hand to touch his.
Pa!
Li Yi took two steps back from her slap. His palm was slightly numb. He was extremely suspicious that she had used qi just now.
"Alright, the vow has been made. Can we go and work on the case?" MIngzhu stood up, looked at him, and walked out of the door.
"Wait a minute."
Before she walked out of the door, Li Yi's voice came from behind.
"Is there anything else?" She turned to look at him.
"Why don't you write a written pledge?"
Li Yi looked at her with a hesitant expression. If she didn't believe in ghosts and gods, it would be the same whether she made a vow or not. It was better to write a written pledge. With a written pledge, there would be material evidence, and he wouldn't have to worry about her going back on her word …
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