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墨書 Inktalez
There were over a dozen corpses scattered haphazardly in the wild grass, and not far ahead lay a dense forest. Crows occasionally flew by, cawing loudly.
This time, however, it was not a murder scene.
These were refugees who had died of hunger. Their skeletal bodies, tattered clothing, and the way family members clung to each other in death spoke volumes.
A wave of genuine bitterness surged within my heart. I had seen scenes like this before in documentary films, but after being exposed to so much death during my studies, I had become numb to it. I never expected that standing in such a place would still hit me with such profound emotional impact.
It turned out that Yichuan County was a place of such poverty and despair.
As our group rode into the town of Yichuan County, what we saw further confirmed our thoughts. We had just come from Feng County, and compared to Feng County, Yichuan County seemed to be on an entirely different level of destitution.
The buildings in the county town were generally dilapidated and lacked any grandeur; even the cobblestone roads in the center were pockmarked and clearly in disrepair. There were few shops, none of them impressive, and the people walking on the streets wore old, shabby clothes with lifeless expressions on their faces.
Having recognized someone as a sworn brother only to send him to such a place—what was the emperor thinking?
After bidding farewell to our escorts from Feng County, we did not head directly to the Yichuan County Office because Nie Qiuyuan had called for a meeting.
He pulled out a piece of yellow paper from his pocket and showed it to us.
"This matter is known only to the four of us. I have obtained a Secret Edict from the emperor; our next plan needs to change."
We did not understand what he meant. The gist of the Secret Edict written in classical Chinese was simply "I agree with your matters."
"My identity has been uncovered by Ren Pingsheng, so I have become a dangerous person. I can no longer be bound by official duties; I need to ensure flexibility. From now on, I will exchange identities with Da Chun for official matters. Da Chun will handle the governance of Yichuan County under my name as Nie Qiuyuan. This way, it will be safer on one hand, and I will also have more freedom to act."
Luo Dachun was stunned for a moment; he could hardly believe that such an important responsibility had suddenly fallen upon him. However, after observing him for some time, I noticed something strange: no matter how difficult or dangerous Nie Qiuyuan's requests were—whether facing mountains of knives or seas of fire—Luo Dachun had never refused.
“...Alright!” Luo Dachun gritted his teeth. “But we need to find a way to explain things to the people coming from Wanzi Mountain.”
“Don’t worry, our time in Yichuan County shouldn’t be too long. You handle the administrative matters; that’s your forte. I’ll lend you a hand from the shadows.”
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like a rather irresponsible approach. However, I believed there must be some unavoidable considerations behind his actions. Moreover, this whole situation felt extremely strange to me; I suddenly sensed that something was off, but at that moment, I couldn’t quite recall what exactly was wrong.
Yichuan County appeared quite old, while the county office was relatively new, standing out against the backdrop of dusty earth, so we spotted it from quite a distance.
Luo Dachun clarified his identity to the gatekeeper and handed over the official seal and documents that Nie Qiuyuan had already prepared for him to the doorman, who then went inside to report. Before long, a man in a green round-collared robe hurried toward us. Even before he arrived, his voice preceded him:
“Yichuan County Vice Magistrate Wang Jinzhi welcomes the County Magistrate!”
Wang Jinzhi was not tall and had a slender build, probably in his thirties, with bright eyes full of energy. He bowed his head and knelt with an expression of submission, yet his dark eyes discreetly scanned and analyzed the four of us.
He stepped forward accurately and addressed Luo Dachun: “Everything has been arranged; we are just waiting for your arrival!”
In fact, Melan and I had dressed as men for convenience during our journey, but this man clearly saw through our disguise and immediately excluded us from consideration. I didn’t think it was particularly difficult to identify who the County Magistrate was since both men were quite adept at acting. Nie Qiuyuan was carrying a package and was also holding onto the reins of two horses; under normal circumstances, the County Magistrate wouldn’t be doing such tasks.
The County Vice Magistrate held the second-highest position after the County Magistrate. Regardless, Wang Jinzhi appeared to be an intelligent man—at least he was very perceptive.
However, beneath Wang's smile, a hint of surprise could still be discerned. It was natural for him to be surprised; we had boldly ridden in on horseback like this, and the newly appointed magistrate was a young handsome man accompanied by an even more striking beauty—such occurrences were rarer than winning the lottery.
Wang Jinzhi walked alongside Luo Dachun as we led our horses into the county office.
The county office consisted of three main courtyards. We first bypassed the main hall—the one most commonly seen on television during court scenes. Moving forward was the second hall, which served as a meeting and reception area. Finally, there was the third hall, which housed the County Magistrate and his family—this was where we would be settling in.
Along the way, Luo Dachun and Wang Jinzhi chatted easily. Luo Dachun was naturally talkative, and before long, he had gathered a rough understanding of the situation at the county office.
The former magistrate of Yichuan County, Liu Jin, had recently retired after reaching the appropriate age six months ago, and Wang Jinzhi had been acting in his stead for county affairs. The personnel at the Yichuan County Office were few, and those in charge were even more lacking. With the magistrate retired, both the County Vice Magistrate and the Registrar positions were held by Wang Jinzhi alone. To make matters worse, not long ago, the County Constable had drunkenly fallen into a ditch and drowned in the middle of the night.
The County Constable was equivalent to today's County Chief of Police, responsible for criminal and judicial matters such as theft and public safety. Below him were Captain Hu and around thirty constables. Including the servants, there were just over fifty people in total at the county office. Now, with just Wang Jinzhi managing everything as the sole County Vice Magistrate, there was no head above him, and with the County Constable missing, he couldn't take charge either. Overall, it was quite a frustrating situation.
"Since that's the case, Mr. Luo Dachun here has some credentials; I will report this and propose that he be appointed as the Constable of Yichuan County," Jia Nie Qiuyuan said, pointing at Zhen Nie Qiuyuan.
"Understood. I will draft the document right away," came Wang Jinzhi's reply.
The position of County Constable was quite suitable; it was low-profile yet involved in case investigations. This would spell trouble for the criminals in Yichuan County.
"Wang Jinzhi, bring me the county records and major documents from within the county; I need to take a good look at them." Luo Dachun now seemed somewhat unfamiliar for some reason—perhaps it was because he appeared serious?
A flicker of light flashed in Wang Jinzhi's eyes as he lowered his head and replied, "Yes."
Up until now, everything laid out before them proved that they had taken over an undeniable mess. Yichuan County still held countless mysteries waiting to be uncovered and much dirt that needed to be cleaned up by their own hands.
Suddenly, a thought struck me. Could it be that Yichuan County was a grand test specially prepared by the emperor for Nie Qiuyuan?
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