Chapter 48: Taking Office

Li Yu sensed the man's contempt and forced a smile onto his face.

"...Yes, Records Officer."

We are both seventh-rank officials, what is this attitude of yours?

Besides, so what if I ranked twenty-sixth in the second tier of the metropolitan examination? Can't someone who placed twenty-sixth in the second tier come and serve as a county magistrate?

He had chosen this post himself; had it not been for Grand Secretary Wang's earnest entrustment, he would have stayed in the capital long ago.

Records Officer Chen said nothing more. With a face full of impatience, he stamped the official credentials and shoved them back across the table as if tossing aside some refuse.

"Alright, off you go."

With that, he lowered his head to read his leisure books, unwilling to utter another word.

Li Yu: "..."

Harmonious and equal workplaces did not exist, let alone the far more complex officialdom.

It didn't matter. In any case, they wouldn't have much contact in the future.

And if their paths did cross after he had risen to power, the turtle's spawn would be the first person he dealt with.

Although Li Yu had received a cold reception at the provincial-level office, he was greeted by crowds of local gentry and landlords lining the streets upon his arrival in Zhangqiu County.

Ning Zhao'an had gone ahead earlier to settle into the rear courtyard of the county yamen. Finally freed from the chubby baby being pinched by his father, he pressed against his fragrant mother and giggled away.

"Good chubby baby, time to wash your face. Let your father go strutting about and putting on airs by himself..."

Li Yu's official reporting-in day was scheduled for the next day, so he rested for a day at the prefectural post station before heading out early the following morning.

The yamen's private secretary, vice-magistrate, records clerk, jailer, and accountants were all standing anxiously at the city gates, gazing out into the distance ever since they received word of the new magistrate's impending arrival.

All the officials, clerks, and bailiffs in the yamen had been running around like spinning tops, rushed off their feet.

They had been organizing case files, compiling account ledgers, and handling long-standing backlog cases.

After all, a new official taking office brings three fires, and they were terrified of being caught by the newly arrived leader. If they ended up becoming just one of the fires fueled by the new master's hands, it would be a disaster.

On the second day of the sixth month in the second year of Xing'an, just past the third quarter of the Chen hour, the brilliant and warm sunlight still enveloped the gates of Zhangqiu City when a blue official sedan chair slowly appeared before everyone's eyes.

Upon seeing this, eight bailiffs in black garments immediately broke into a neat, synchronized trot to welcome him.

"Respectfully welcoming the Honorable Magistrate—"

Chief Constable Lu Liu caught a slight sway of the curtain on the sedan chair and was thus the first to catch sight of the young magistrate, who wore blue satin official robes embroidered with egret patches.

Inwardly, a trace of delight flickered in his heart; young leaders were always the easiest to handle.

Li Yu naturally did not miss the delight hidden in the depths of the man's eyes. While outwardly remaining calm, he quietly rolled two walnuts in his hand, secretly noting down the man's face and name.

Before Li Yu could even speak, Vice-Magistrate Xiao Yunzhou, Chief Registrar Jiang Yan, and Private Secretary Lu Qingyuan all hurried forward with beaming smiles.

"Your subordinates respectfully welcome the Honorable Magistrate. You have had a hard journey, sir."

Private Secretary Lu Qingyuan held a tray in his arms, raising it high to present it to Li Yu with both hands.

"Please accept the county seal, Your Honor."

Looking at the county seal resting squarely and properly on the tray, Li Yu smiled and accepted it without hesitation.

"Thank you all for your trouble. Let us proceed first to pay our respects at the City God Temple."

According to custom in the Dayong Dynasty, newly appointed county magistrates had to visit the City God Temple upon taking office.

Although the landlords, gentry, and wealthy elites all wished to step forward and curry favor, at a time like this they could only trail behind the official sedan chair, waiting until the magistrate felt inclined to see them before they earned the right to speak.

The moment Li Yu stepped into the City God Temple, the bronze bells hanging from the eaves rang out spontaneously without any wind.

Li Yu followed the proper rituals to pay homage to the deities of the City God Temple and offered incense before making a solemn vow before the gods, the officials, and the onlookers among the common folk.

"Your humble servant, Li Yu, newly appointed Magistrate of Zhangqiu, hereby sincerely reports to the esteemed City God.

Now bearing this county seal, I vow to ensure there are no wronged souls languishing in prisons and that fairness prevails in the marketplaces. Should I consume the fat and grease of the people, may I suffer the punishment of a thousand cuts; should I betray the grace and trust of the Emperor, I willingly plunge into the bitter torments of mountains of blades and seas of fire."

In truth, Li Yu could not fathom why there were so many county magistrates in the mortal world.

Before taking office, they would all swear various dire oaths before the deities.

Some had their oaths fulfilled as they were beheaded and their estates confiscated, while others smoothly rose to even higher offices.

Therefore... did deities truly exist in this world?

If you said they did, where were the gods when the people were struggling to survive?

If you said they didn't, how on earth did he travel from modern times to antiquity?

After paying his respects at the City God Temple, he still needed to visit the Confucian Temple, the Guandi Temple, the Wenchang Dijun Temple—in short, he had to visit every renowned temple in the city.

He had to repeat his oaths before all these deities before finally riding in his sedan chair toward the county yamen.

Upon reaching the yamen gates, he could not simply enter; he had to circle the perimeter in the sedan chair once before going inside.

Of course, this was not out of reverence for any deities; it was purely a theatrical display of official prestige.

Since everyone else put on such airs of authority, Li Yu naturally defaulted to displaying this official prestige as well.

As the bailiffs struck the drums to signal the new magistrate's grand assumption of office, the heavy gates of the county yamen slowly swung open one by one.

All one hundred and seventy-odd personnel of the yamen stood lined up on both sides according to rank and seniority, waiting to listen to the new magistrate's inaugural address.

Stepping over the three-foot threshold of the county yamen, Li Yu caught sight of the golden plaque hanging in the main hall bearing the inscription: "Your Salary and Rations..."

Surprisingly, it was not the usual "A Mirror High Suspended"...

The phrase "Your Salary and Rations" meant: Your official salary is paid with the sweat and blood of the common people.

This served as a warning to officials to empathize with the hardships of the populace, govern diligently for the people, and remain utterly incorruptible in their official duties. Did you think Li Yu could simply take his seat after seeing this?

No, there was still the three-drum ceremony to complete before he could sit.

Li Yu had to kneel toward the imperial capital, listen to the rhythmic beating of the yamen gongs, and wait until all three drumbeats had finished before walking up to take his seat in the main hall.

"Ascend—the—hall—majestic and mighty—"

The rhythmic stamping of the three squads of bailiffs shook the hall thunderously. Li Yu reached out to stroke the gavel before him for a long moment before picking it up and slamming it down fiercely.

"Clack!"

This sound served as an official proclamation to all the common folk of the county and every official within the yamen.

The master of this office has arrived.

Following the falling blow of the gavel, the previously noisy and bustling county yamen instantly fell dead silent.

Curious, expectant, fearful, or merely looking on for amusement, the people gazed up at the young magistrate beneath the golden plaque, wondering what words he would speak—would he bring them light or darkness?

"This magistrate has received the imperial seal and sits before you today. I have only three things to say to all of you."

Li Yu's gaze, both gentle yet laced with authority, swept across everyone present before he slowly raised the "Tax and Corvée Yellow Registers" in his hand.

"This first point: I care not how things were handled here before, nor what private rules you followed, but from this day forward, everything must be conducted in accordance with the laws of the court.

Anyone who fails to abide by the imperial laws, or commits any transgressions regarding state funds, grain collection, or criminal sentencing, will find that the boardes of this magistrate's court show no mercy."

Hearing this, Vice-Magistrate Xiao Yunzhou lowered his eyelids, not taking the words to heart at all.

After all, officials newly taking office always loved saying things the common folk liked to hear; one could simply pretend not to have heard them.

Li Yu had spent his past life fighting his way up in corporate finance departments; with a single glance, he knew better.

This vice-magistrate, who had exercised the absolute power of an emperor over the past five years during the previous magistrate's tenure, was likely far from honest.

"As for this second point: Tomorrow at the Mao hour, this magistrate shall inspect the old archives of the household department.

From the retirement of the previous magistrate in the twenty-fourth year of Qianyuan up to the present day, I want every single ledger checked and reconciled down to the very last copper coin."

Xiao Yunzhou furrowed his brow upon hearing this, though his expression relaxed a moment later.

However, the sixty-year-old chief accountant was not made of stern enough stuff to withstand such a scare; beads of cold sweat densely covered his forehead.

Why did this young magistrate suddenly seem rather more difficult to hoodwink than anticipated?

Li Yu abruptly stepped down from the official desk, the chill radiating from his entire body causing those with guilty consciences to shiver uncontrollably.

"As for this third point..."