"This Prefecture Governor has really proved himself to be a lecher!" Wan Lu spat, sowhat perplexed, "How can such a man ascend to the position of Chang’an’s Vice Prefect?"
Liu Qingsong replied with a sly grin that didn’t reach his eyes, "The Wangs, the Xies, the Yuans, and the Xiaos, he cos from the Yuan family of Chen County. Although the Yuan family is not as powerful as it once was in the Tang Dynasty, a lean cal is still larger than a horse. rely by virtue of his birth and lineage, there are thousands of scholars who can’t catch up to him. Don’t be fooled by his conduct, the official post in the Chang’an Governnt Office isn’t sothing just anyone can occupy!"
The Governnt Office of Chang’an can be said to be an organ as useless as chicken ribs. Chang’an is the imperial capital, and setting aside the Secretariat, Ministry of Supervision, and Ministry of Personnel, just the Nine Ministries and Five Surveillance Offices cover all duties. For major matters, the Governnt Office can’t do anything, and for minor affairs, there are subordinates to handle things. But as an official in the Imperial City, one cannot simply do nothing. An average person really wouldn’t know how to handle this balance. Moreover, as Prefecture Governor and Vice Governor responsible for resolving all sorts of disputes, in a city where a stick can knock over a row of nobles, more often than not, you have sons of dukedoms brawling, a Prince Consort cheating caught by a Princess, adultery...
So although Yuan, the Vice Prefect, may not have the great wisdom of those Elders at court, he is just as shrewd in smaller matters.
At noon, Wan Lu wanted to go out to the restaurant to have so food sent over, but she was stopped by two governnt soldiers. After a short while, Prefecture Governor Yuan ca upstairs with a smile and asked Ran Yan what she’d like to have.
"Serve one entire table from the ’Banquet al nu for Tail-end of Feast’, with a well-matched assortnt of at and vegetarian dishes, including dessert. Leave out the milk-fried fish; I dislike fish. Have the restaurant’s chefs kill the quail from ’Zhu’s Spring Delights’ with a quick roast; it’s too cruel to cook them alive, I can’t stomach that. However, make sure it tastes the sa as if it were cooked live. Deer jerky, bear’s paw, and crane at are essentials. The layers in the single cage of golden custard must be visible, and each layer must not be thicker than raw rice paper, otherwise, our Lady won’t eat it. Have a bit of every variety of fish, shrimp, and seafood. Hmm... I’ll just barely manage with this," Liu Qingsong rattled off a long list without pause, then took a sip of water from his cup and, seeing Yuan’s face turn slightly green, added fuel to the fire, "Eh? Prefecture Governor Yuan, you should hurry on. Oh dear, to eat from the Banquet al nu for Tail-end of Feast, our Jiulang himself would feel it’s unfair to the Lady. If he knew his Lady was being starved, who knows how distressed he’d be. Prefecture Governor Yuan, you really should be considerate here! With Jiulang absent, I can only offer humble accommodations to our distinguished Lady."
"Doctor Liu speaks true; I shall get to it imdiately," Prefecture Governor Yuan said, wiping sweat with his sleeve as he descended the stairs.
Seeing this, Wan Lu whispered to Liu Qingsong, "That table of food will cost a lot, won’t it?"
Liu Qingsong, grasping his fan like a dandy, fanned himself in a very undignified manner, and replied with a grin, "Not much, not much; the whole table will co to about a thousand guan."
Let’s not even ntion the deer jerky and bear’s paw. Chang’an is located inland, so even ordinary live fish and shellfish are precious when transported here, not to ntion the seafood that is as valuable as bear’s paw.
Although Yuan, the Vice Prefect, cos from the noble Yuan family of the Chen County, the family has fallen from its forr glory, and the branch he hails from is even more decrepit. Thus, he’s got nothing more valuable than his blood lineage. Birth and lineage are of great help on the official career path and are highly regarded by the public, but after all, they can’t be spent as money.
Ran Yan’s status is quite high, and her cri has not been determined; he had no choice but to put the Lady under house arrest. If the Lady wants to eat a al, would he dare not to pay up?
"I don’t see Prefecture Governor Yuan as a magnanimous person. Could making things difficult for him cause him to hold a grudge?" Ge Lan, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up.
Liu Qingsong couldn’t help but be impressed by Ge Lan and earnestly explained, "He is indeed petty, but... perhaps because he has been Chang’an’s Vice Prefect for so long, his actions all boil down to a three-word tactic: ’evade’, ’delay’, and ’feign’—he’s very afraid of getting into trouble."
"Petty people are hard to guard against," Ran Yan said, but inwardly, she felt quite satisfied about Liu Qingsong severely fleecing Prefecture Governor Yuan.
Liu Qingsong felt even happier because he knew better than Ran Yan that Chang’an restaurants capable of serving the ’Banquet al nu for Tail-end of Feast’ had powerful backers and wouldn’t fear Prefecture Governor Yuan; he would have to pay them every penny they were due.
When the restaurants on the main street received Prefecture Governor Yuan’s order, they did give him so face, specially assigning several chefs who were experts in preparing the banquet nu. As each dish was completed, in order to keep the flavor fresh and delicious, it was imdiately rushed to Qingzhu dical Hall.
Thus, the streets were filled with tantalizing aromas. The people’s enthusiasm for spectating and gossiping is always so high that within an hour, Qingzhu dical Hall beca the sensation of the entire East Market.
Since Ran Yan’s cri of harming Dou Si Niang had not been determined, and her status was not ordinary, Prefecture Governor Yuan naturally did not dare to make a big fuss about it and promptly ordered the governnt soldiers to retreat into the dical Hall.
Liu Qingsong knew how to behave; he realized the dishes were more than enough and truly could not be finished, so he first portioned out so for Ran Yan, then set them out on the ground floor to share with the governnt soldiers.
The governnt soldiers had just begun to feel constrained by the presence of Magistrate Yuan, each of them daring not to make a move. Magistrate Yuan, after being teased by Liu Qingsong, also had to nod in agreent. But the poor old man felt sorrowful, thinking that mingling with the governnt soldiers would be beneath his dignity, yet as he observed each and every gluttonous guest before him and considered that it was all funded by his hard-earned money... Even ill-gotten gains count as hard-earned money! One must know the great risks involved in embezzling under the emperor’s watchful eye in the Tang Dynasty!
Watching these "evil spirits" who were feasting on his flesh, Magistrate Yuan finally couldn’t resist any longer. With a sweep of his sleeves, he decisively sat down and joined the eating, as if by doing so he was fitting back a piece of his own flesh that had fallen off. Even though it still hurt, at least it had returned to his own body...
Thus, when the officials from the Ministry of Justice walked in, they were greeted by this disordered scene and couldn’t help but gape in shock.
It took a mont for Magistrate Yuan to co to his senses, and as he looked down at the half-eaten bear’s paw in his hand, feeling the greasiness around his mouth... his wall-like thick skin finally crumbled, he flushed red, and pretending to be composed, he took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, exchanging pleasantries with the Ministry of Justice officials, "Junior Minister Sun arrives at just the right ti... haha."
Even with Yuan’s adept social skills, he didn’t know what to say at this mont and could only force a laugh.
Junior Minister Sun Zhen from the Ministry of Justice also composed himself, his upright face stern as he glanced at the scene and said indifferently, "Magistrate Yuan sure knows how to spend lavishly."
It turned out that the people had already known about the fleecing. Magistrate Yuan imdiately followed the line of conversation, smiling and saying, "Well, I can’t let Lady Hou suffer, can I? She says that even at ho she barely manages to eat such dishes, and I am accustod to simple als... When faced with delicious food, I too lost my restraint, causing Junior Minister Sun and all colleagues here to laugh at ."
Magistrate Yuan’s words were not light; taken more seriously, this implied that Xiao Song led a life of luxury, no different from rchants.
Liu Qingsong wouldn’t let him sully the reputation carelessly and imdiately walked over, putting a hand on Junior Minister Sun’s shoulder, "Brother Sun mustn’t believe in Yuan’s cries of poverty. I was only joking at the ti, and without a frown, Yuan ordered it to be done right away. Even now, I’m feeling a bit embarrassed about it, as you know, I’ve always been fond of making jokes."
Sun Zhen looked at him with contempt, and through clenched teeth said, "Liu Buqu, remove your paw, or I will charge you with the cri of dishonoring the official uniform."
***
This Chapter is a bit short; I will make up for it tomorrow. Xiu Zhi went to the hospital today, almost crossing Suzhou City—four hours of round-trip by bus, queuing for dical checks from eleven in the morning until three in the afternoon (damn, even on a Wednesday it’s so crowded!)... But luckily, the doctor said that Xiu Zhi’s tumor isn’t very dangerous, no imdiate surgery needed, just an ultrasound observation for a few months.
So I’ll start to update more diligently from tomorrow.
Xiu Zhi will start a new story on June 1st. This really has been a labor of tears. At such an awkward ti, there are many big-na authors starting new stories, and they say it’s a genre that female readers don’t like, which does not bode well for launching a new book.
However, it’s said breaking the sequence is not good. Nowadays, with so many writers, readers have a wide range of choices. It’s not as though lacking any particular author would diminish the pleasure of reading. As a newcor, Xiu Zhi has no confidence that people will rember in three months, so I’ve grit my teeth and decided to go for it. Snail party, please give your support when the ti cos!!!
Many people have advised Xiu Zhi not to push so hard and not to joke with my health, money can be earned anyti.
Hearing this, I feel like I’m an inspirational emperor...
But frankly, I’m not really pushing myself. It feels addictive, like I can’t stop, and I am genuinely happy to receive everyone’s recognition. I also frequently check out a previous book "Beautiful and Leisurely" not for the content, but just looking at its million words makes feel like a blooming rapeseed flower, haha.
Thank you for everyone’s concern during this ti. Xiu Zhi may not be able to update ten thousand words daily, but I will certainly persist. Xiu Zhi understands the hardship of waiting for updates, so I will try to update more when I have the ti. Thank you. (To be continued. If you like this book, you are welco to go to Qidian (qidian) to cast recomndation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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