Chapter 117 [The cliched past that can enter the storybook]
"oh?"
Putting down the empty teacup in his hand, Fang Chang and Gu Shan spoke at the same time, expressing their surprise.
After Qi Zhixian finished speaking, he closed his mouth and seemed a little hesitant, as if he didn't know what to say next. The old servant beside him also froze immediately when he heard the words, poking there with a teapot, not knowing what he was thinking.
Fang Chang stepped forward to take the teapot, added tea to all three of them, and took a sip again. The tea in the county government office seemed not as good as the ones made by Xianqiya, or the ones in the restaurants outside, but it was better than the ones in Gu Shan's family. too much.
For the common people, this is a variety that only well-off families can afford.
Seeing the silence of the environment, he asked, "The real magistrate? When did he die?"
Qinan, the magistrate of the county, came back to his senses: "The one who died of illness is on the way to his post."
Then, it seemed that the language had finally been organized, and Qi Zhixian said:
"Originally the county magistrate was called Qi Nan. I was actually his entourage. I took the surname of the master and was called Qi Ping."
"The master is very talented. He won many battles in the imperial examinations. He became a Jinshi when he reached middle age. After training in the Imperial Academy, he was awarded the post of magistrate of Yongjia Prefecture, and then he left Beijing to take up the post."
"Because of his obsession with his career, the master's family has been alone for many years without parents, wife and children. When he took office, he only brought the two of us with him. It's just that the journey was exhausting, and the master's family occasionally fell ill. Unfortunately, he died halfway."
Fang Chang nodded.
You should be able to guess later that Qi Ping bears the name of Qi Nan and came here to take office.
The story is quite ordinary, but he is a practitioner, so he doesn't care about such things, and it seems that after Qi Ping changed his name to Qi Nan and became the magistrate, he did well, at least the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
After all, he remembered that someone said that being an official is the easiest thing in the world.
It just depends on the specific situation whether it is good or not.
In front of him, Qi Zhixian went on to say:
"Seeing the death of the master's family, I was at a loss for a while. The new Jinshi's family was poor and unable to go to the funeral, so I had to sell the horse, exhausted all the money, and built an ordinary coffin for the master, and found a good place in the wild. , hastily buried."
"Originally, considering the uncertain future, I was going to go up the mountain to become a bandit." The magistrate Qinan pointed to the old servant beside him, "But he advised me that maybe I could take another road at risk. With the name of the Patriarch, come to Yongjia County to take up the post."
"Fortunately, under the guidance of the master's family for many years, I can recognize a few words, and the master's family once asked me to introduce a master in the same year, and shortly after I took office, I came to the door with a letter of introduction."
"Master, he is skilled in business and experienced, and I am relieved. Since then, I have firmly secured the position of magistrate until now."
The old servant next to him felt a little depressed, and interjected:
"Originally, the master's family has been very kind to me. They have always taken care of me, which is regarded as a kindness. The old servant always remembers it. But the master's family suddenly passed away, which made me at a loss. I have been thinking about it for a few days."
"Letting Qi Ping replace the master's family to take office is indeed my old servant's suggestion. After thinking about it for a long time, I still feel that I don't want to see the master's hard work turn into water. I know Qi Ping's heart, so I let him go. replace."
Qi Zhixian and the old man Gu Shan just listened silently, with calm faces, but kept silent.
Fang Chang expressed his understanding of this, just like listening to a story, but this did solve his doubts.
Just now he saw that the magistrate of Qi didn't have a literary spirit, but he had official luck, and he was even prosperous. He was puzzled and asked directly, never expecting to hear such an interesting story.
The county magistrate next to him finally found someone to confide in, and began to chatter endlessly:
"...When I became a county magistrate, I knew that this was actually a hard job, not as prestigious as I thought it was when I saw it. After clearing up all the clues, some things really need to be done, such as taxation, such as persuading farmers and mulberry, For example, river engineering and water conservancy... I have to do the fake show and keep doing it."
"When I was young, my family was poor, and I knew the hardships of the people. When facing the people, I really couldn't let go, and I didn't want to accept the filial piety from the people below."
"So the position of magistrate is not as rich as I imagined. The only thing I did was to follow the usual practice and count the daily food and expenses in the yamen's expenses, saving all the salary."
"Because of my personality, I've been exhausted and exhausted these past few years... I even thought I was going to die during the months of exhaustion... As a result, I recently encountered Zhizhou's incident and couldn't even fall asleep."
"Fortunately, the master is very capable, and the mansion has been repairing water conservancy projects. The past few years can be called good weather. Seeing that the people are doing well, I can feel relieved..."
"well…"
Sighing deeply, with an unconcealable tiredness on his face, Zhixian Qi raised the teacup in his hand and drank it down in one gulp, as if the tea was not tea but spirits.
He wiped his mouth vigorously with the sleeve of his official robe, bowed his head again and said:
"I know that the two of you are powerful, and even Chenghuang Gong admires it. Now that you have seen through this matter, if you tie me up and go to sue for the first time, you will feel at ease, and you will be finally relieved. There will be no complaints."
Fang Chang looked at the old man Gu Shan beside him, and smiled.
Gu Shan said: "We are outsiders, we don't care much about these secular rules, and whether we take care of things or not depends on fate. It's not a big problem for us that you impersonate someone. It’s easy to meddle, but I don’t bother to meddle in this situation.”
"After all, you have done a good job in this position. At least as the people under the rule of Yongjia Mansion, you can see the people around you live and work in peace and contentment. The fundamental purpose of being an official is to benefit one side and live up to the people. It is natural for you to do this. Prove that this position is right for you."
"I hope that our exposure will not cause trouble, and I hope that after we resolve this crisis, you can continue to stay true to your original intention and continue to be an official for the sake of the people."
The county magistrate whose original name was Qi Ping and who is now called Qi Nan is Mo Mo.
After a few more breaths, he nodded his head, took a few deep breaths, and said, "Talking about the past today, I feel a lot more relaxed. Thank you both."
After finishing speaking, he got up from his seat and bowed to the ground.
Fang Chang and Gu Shan accepted his gift without moving.
Then they got up and said to the magistrate: "There is nothing to do today, Qi Zhixian, please buy lanterns as soon as possible, and we will leave now."
Qi Zhixian bowed together with the old servant next to him: "Go slowly, we will see you off."
Out of the house, Fang Chang's feet raised clouds, and he led Gu Shan towards the air.
Thank you for your reward
(end of this chapter)