Although they had exploited Qi Lu under the pretext of a work-related injury, it was not a particularly serious injury after all, so the two of them took a day or two to return to the government office obediently. Coincidentally, an eunuch came to the palace, and Magistrate Zhang immediately sent someone to inform them to return quickly.
It turned out that the case of Ningzhou East County privately minting coins had already been submitted to the court for verification. The emperor naturally gave Magistrate Zhang a warning to carefully manage his own region as a magistrate. Actually, according to the law, Magistrate Zhang could not escape punishment for this incident and should have been punished. However, considering that he had done a good job in solving the case, he did not pursue the matter.
However, he still sent a eunuch over to warn them.
This eunuch was surnamed Liu and was the Emperor's favorite person, regardless of whether it was in the previous dynasty or the harem, or whether his official position was high or low. They all had some respect for this Eunuch Liu because he was someone who stood beside the Emperor. A few words could make a person important to the Emperor, and it could also cause a person to be in great trouble.
Therefore, on the surface, no one was willing to offend Eunuch Liu.
When Ye Meng and Qi Lu rushed over, a luxurious sedan chair stopped at the entrance of the government office. The body of this sedan chair was made of expensive incense. It was slightly purple in color and carried a faint fragrance. The stripes were clear and slender. The roof of the palanquin was purplish red in color, surrounded by curtains made of dark red satin. At a glance, it was obvious that it was the sedan chair of a high-ranking official.
Magistrate Zhang saw Ye Meng and Qi Lu and quickly waved at them, signaling them to come over.
Only then did the two of them carefully move along the edge and mix in with the queue to welcome the palanquin.
At this moment, the palanquin tilted slightly, and a fair and clean hand reached out from inside. The young eunuch who was waiting at the side saw this and quickly moved forward to pull open the cloth curtain that was covering it. He stretched out a hand to catch Eunuch Liu's hand and helped him out.
Ye Meng stood at the back of the group and secretly looked up curiously at Eunuch Liu who was coming out of the palanquin. A fair and clean face emerged from the sedan chair. Ye Meng looked at his fair and clean face and found that it was exactly the same as the one on TV. It was fair and clean without a stubble, but there were deep wrinkles at the corners of the eyes. The hair under the eunuch's hat also had a lot of white hair. However, he did not look like an old man at all.
"Which one of you is Lord Zhang?" Eunuch Liu was dressed in a navy blue official robe. He received a horsetail whisk from a young eunuch beside him and casually placed it on his hand. He raised his orchid fingers and swept his gaze across the crowd as he asked.
"Ningzhou Prefecture Magistrate Zhang Yi greets Eunuch Liu.”Hearing his question, Magistrate Zhang, who was standing at the side, quickly took two steps forward and said respectfully. He was dressed in a red official robe with a jade belt tightly tied around his waist. The hem and cuffs of his clothes were embroidered with large auspicious clouds. He wore a black gauze hat on his head. The two sides of the hat were short and wide, and the black official boots on his feet were spotless.
"Haha, Lord Zhang is too polite.”Eunuch Liu looked at him and was immediately satisfied with his attitude. Although he appeared humble and courteous on the surface, he kept saying that he did not dare to admit it.
Ye Meng saw this scene and exclaimed that every official was an artist with superb acting skills. At the same time, she also exclaimed that it was good to be the emperor's favorite.
Even though Magistrate Zhang was the governor of a prefecture, he was a fourth-grade official. In modern times, he could be considered the chief of an independent city. He was the highest administrative officer in a region, but now he had to lower his head and be respectful to this popular person in front of him.
"Eunuch Liu must be tired from the journey. Why don't you go in and have a cup of tea first?”Magistrate Zhang then gestured for him to go ahead. The people waiting at the side also hurriedly made way for him.
"We are all sharing the burden for His Majesty, so I don't feel tired.”Eunuch Liu said as he stepped into the government office. There was an inexplicable meaning in his tone. He stopped in his tracks and stretched out his hand to gently blow on Magistrate Zhang's shoulder." Don't you agree, Lord Zhang?" he patted.”
"Yes, yes, yes." Although he did not know what Eunuch Liu was trying to say, Magistrate Zhang could only nod his head in flattery. "Eunuch, you are the one who shares His Majesty's worries the most.”
"Yes." Eunuch Liu seemed to be very pleased as he replied," To share His Majesty's worries, Lord Zhang naturally thinks the same.”
"The ruler is above, and the subject is below. As long as I can share your worries, I'm naturally willing to go through fire and water.”When Magistrate Zhang heard this, he immediately knelt down and expressed his loyalty. The people behind him also knelt down.
"Yo. You see, I only asked a question, why is Daren so nervous?”Eunuch Liu pretended to be surprised and quickly helped Magistrate Zhang up. He said in a low voice," Don't worry, Your Excellency. I will report your loyalty to His Majesty."”
"Thank you, Eunuch Liu." Magistrate Zhang stood up and quickly took out a bag of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into Eunuch Liu's hands." Sorry for troubling you, Eunuch Liu. This is just a small token of my respect."”
"Aiyo, look at you." Eunuch Liu put the silver taels into the compartment inside his sleeve with an embarrassed expression and said softly,"Your Excellency is really too polite."”
As he spoke, a servant had already brewed some tea. Eunuch Liu took two sips and rinsed his mouth before spitting it back out. Only then did he clear his throat and begin to talk about serious matters." Lord Zhang, I still have to rush back to serve His Majesty. It's better to announce the imperial edict first."”As he spoke, he gestured to the young eunuch beside him to take out the imperial edict from the box and lay it in his hand.
When they saw the imperial edict, everyone immediately knelt down with Magistrate Zhang and shouted,"Long live the Emperor!"”Although Ye Meng wasn't used to this, she followed the example of the people beside her and knelt down.
Eunuch Liu held the imperial edict in his hand. He swept a cold and arrogant glance at everyone before unfolding the imperial edict and reading it out.
After reading the opening sentence, there was a short paragraph of the main text, concise and comprehensive. Ye Meng did not study much about ancient classical Chinese when she was still a student, but she could understand a general idea of it.
The short few words were nothing more than a criticism of Magistrate Zhang's inaction as an official, allowing the deviant to run rampant and almost threaten the country. He should have been punished for a serious crime, but his merits and demerits offset each other. In the end, he was only deducted half a year's salary as a punishment. He also removed the East County government office and placed it under the direct jurisdiction of Magistrate Zhang.
"I accept your decree." After reading the imperial edict, Eunuch Liu placed the imperial edict in Magistrate Zhang's hands that were raised above his head.
After receiving the decree, the group of people stood up.
"Alright, I have to go back and serve His Majesty.”Eunuch Liu tidied up his clothes and said in a low voice.
" Eunuch Zhang is tired from the long journey today. If you don't mind..." Magistrate Zhang stepped forward and suggested.
"Did Lord Zhang not hear clearly just now? His Majesty is still waiting for me to go back and serve him. Lord Zhang has invited me so warmly that I am naturally not willing to decline. However, I wonder if His Majesty can wait?”Eunuch Liu turned around and suddenly raised his voice as he spoke in a strange tone.
" This..." Magistrate Zhang did not know how to respond for a moment. He could only lower his head and respectfully say," It's my fault."”
"Alright, Lord Zhang, you don't have to send me off.”Eunuch Liu said with a fake smile as he raised his orchid fingers. Finally, he entered the sedan chair with the help of the young eunuch. However, the moment the curtain was lowered, Ye Meng looked up and saw Eunuch Liu looking at her with a strange smile on his face.
"Rise." The young eunuch at the side shrieked. The group of people carried the palanquin and left the government office. They saw the shadow of the palanquin getting further and further away until it could no longer be seen clearly. Only then did the group of people's hearts finally calm down.
"This Eunuch Liu is quite arrogant.”Ye Meng sighed as she looked in the direction where the sedan chair disappeared.
"Be careful with your words and actions." Magistrate Zhang said in a deep voice. If Ye Meng's words were heard by someone with ulterior motives, who knows what kind of trouble she would cause.
"Yes." Ye Meng pursed her lips and didn't say anything else.
Magistrate Zhang glanced at her and sighed heavily in his heart, calming his emotions slightly.
"Oh, right." Magistrate Zhang was planning to go back to his room first, but he saw the wound on Ye Meng's neck from the corner of his eye. He lowered his head and thought for a while." You've worked hard on this case. You're even injured." How about this, I'll give you a break for the time being. You can work again when you've recovered.”
"Thank you, sir." Ye Meng quickly thanked him. Although the injury on her neck wasn't serious to begin with, and she was basically fine after being treated by He Tang, since Magistrate Zhang had offered to give her a break, she naturally wouldn't refuse. Moreover, there was nothing much to do now, and there was not much work in the archives. She could also take this opportunity to learn some medicine from He Tang.
Because from this case, Ye Meng had deeply realized how important it was to carry a self-defense powder with her. Moreover, she had studied forensic science before, so she had some similarities with pharmacology.
Magistrate Zhang looked at her excited face and did not know what she was thinking. He retracted his gaze and turned around to return to the study, ignoring her.
"What? Why are you faking it and I'm not faking it?”Qi Lu complained unhappily. At this moment, the people who had gathered just now all dispersed and went to do their own things.
"I'm an injured person, okay?”Ye Meng knocked him on the head and said disdainfully.
"Ye Meng, be careful." " I'm not sure." Qi Lu held his head and reminded," If you move too much, you'll hurt your wound."”
"Oh, right." Ye Meng reacted and quickly covered her neck with her hands. She was relieved when she saw that nothing was wrong. She patted his shoulder and smiled." I didn't expect you to be so loyal."”He kept the wound on her neck in mind.
"Of course. Alright, I'm going to patrol. Ye Meng, do you want to come with me?”Qi Lu tidied his clothes and asked.
"I'm not going." Ye Meng shook her head. She was not stupid enough to spend her hard-earned vacation with him on patrol. She might as well go back and shovel the soil for her plants.
"Alright then." Qi Lu scratched his head. He did not expect to be rejected so easily. Disappointed, he turned around and walked toward the patrolling street.
Seeing that the sun was shining brightly today, Ye Meng decided to go back to the yard and help her plant the soil. After making up her mind, she turned around and hummed a cheerful tune as she walked towards the courtyard.
" You're my little apple. I can't love you too much..." In the yard, Ye Meng held a shovel in one hand and a chrysanthemum that hadn't bloomed yet in the other. Unconsciously, she started humming a modern song.
What she didn't notice was that a pair of pink pointed shoes appeared in her courtyard behind her. She was wearing a thin pink dress, like a pink butterfly that had accidentally entered.
Zhang Xin walked into the courtyard with a curious look and found that this place seemed to be a little different from the outside. There was a pot of tea and a few teacups on the round table in the pavilion.
As soon as she entered, she saw Ye Meng squatting on the ground and shoveling the soil with a shovel. Looking at her clean face, Zhang Xin felt that she was probably the person she was looking for. She walked over to greet her, but before she could say anything, she heard a strange tone coming from her mouth.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。