Chapter 20 Suppression

Chapter 20: Getting Put in His Place

Normally, a Hanlin Bachelor would come study every day, and the Ministry of Personnel guys usually wouldn't even notice.

But the second Cheng Ge walked in, all eyes turned to him, then they shot each other a look, like they knew something.

Cheng Ge didn't think much of it, since he'd never been to the Ministry of Personnel before, and gave everyone a respectful bow.

"Alright, cut the crap—we're not into that. Get over here and move these books." An older official pointed to a mountain of ledgers in the corner.

Cheng Ge grunted in acknowledgment and went over to grab a stack.

As he picked them up, he heard some low whispers behind him.

Cheng Ge frowned a little but kept his mouth shut, carrying the ledgers to the room they pointed to.

Once inside, he set them down and saw a guy in his thirties walk in, looking all high and mighty.

"You've got two hours to compile these officials' past records, bereavement leaves, and sick leaves into a register. You're not leaving until it's done."

Cheng Ge glanced at the ledgers, grabbed one, and flipped through it. The info on the officials was a total mess, no organization whatsoever.

He looked up at the guy, like he was checking if he was joking.

But the guy's face was dead serious, no joke at all, so he meant it.

Cheng Ge took a deep breath. It was his first day, so he couldn't go too far. He nodded. "Oh, okay."

The official snorted and turned to leave.

Watching the guy walk away, Cheng Ge ducked his head and sneakily pulled a small bag of candied fruit from his sleeve, setting it on the table.

Lin Nanshu had brought him these last time. He ate a little every day, and this bag was his last stash.

But he had some cash on him now, and he wondered if he could get Qiao Fangxu to bring him more—these things were his lifeline at work.

After eating a bit, he lazily got ready to work. If he had to flip through every single page, it wouldn't take two hours—it'd probably take two days.

Cheng Ge's eyes darted around as he flipped through the stuff, noticing each ledger had a year marked on it. Now he knew what to do.

Right on the dot two hours later, Cheng Ge popped the last piece of candied fruit in his mouth, patted his butt, and got ready to leave.

Hanlin Bachelors usually only spent about two hours in the afternoon studying at the Six Ministries; the rest of the time they were at the Hanlin Academy.

When he came out, the other officials saw him and looked surprised.

"Where do you think you're going?" the older official asked sternly.

Cheng Ge stopped and turned to look at the official, speaking calmly. "I'm heading back to the Hanlin Academy to get some food."

The official's face darkened, and his tone got nasty. "Who said you could leave? It's barely been two hours, and you're trying to bail? Didn't I tell you those ledgers aren't done until you're done?"

Cheng Ge frowned, feeling like this guy had it out for him, and he was sure this was his first time dealing with him—no history.

"They're done, right there on the table."

Just then, the official who'd given him the task walked over, picked up a ledger, and flipped through it. His face instantly went pale.

The other officials crowded around to look too, totally shocked.

"How is this possible?" The records were super detailed, no gaps—it was really well done.

One of them pulled out an original ledger from the pile and slowly opened it, like it held some huge secret.

As the pages turned, some weird markings appeared in front of everyone.

Next to each official's name, there were weird symbols like A, G, F, C, and so on, and by the different entries, there were numbers like ①, ②, ③...

Everyone looked at each other, confused. What the hell was all this?

Cheng Ge had finished so fast, no doubt using these special marks.

Even though the higher-ups had told them to give Cheng Ge a hard time, they couldn't help but feel a little impressed seeing these marks.

But then, a sour voice cut in: "Hah, using tricks and shortcuts—typical of someone from a low-class family, nothing but cheap moves."

Cheng Ge looked over at the speaker, an official named Liu Zheng.

He served as a Clerk in the Ministry of Personnel, a lowly rank of 9b, with duties not much different from a handyman.

To put it in perspective, even if Cheng Ge couldn't stay in the capital and was posted to a local position, he'd be a county magistrate, a solid 7a official—not someone a minor clerk like this could lord over.

Getting impatient—was he not going to get off work? His temper flared. "What are you barking about?"

Liu Zheng hadn't expected Cheng Ge to be so arrogant, and his face flushed red.

"You... you dare insult an Imperial Official! How vulgar! And you call yourself a scholar..." He pointed a finger at Cheng Ge, clearly furious.

Cheng Ge, unflinching, directly slapped away the hand thrust in his face, without a moment's hesitation.

He stepped closer, his face cold. "Let me ask you now: are there any errors or omissions in the ledgers I compiled?

Did I complete the task within the two-hour deadline? If it were you, how would you have done?"

Liu Zheng, hit by Cheng Ge's questioning, was choked speechless. His face turned an ugly shade, alternating between green and white, as if he'd swallowed a pile of excrement.

After a long pause, Liu Zheng finally managed to stammer, "I... I won't discuss this with you today..."

But before he could finish, Cheng Ge cut him off sharply, his voice stern: "You serve in the Ministry of Personnel, eating the imperial grain, appointed by His Majesty.

You should be utterly devoted, working for the people's welfare below and solving the Emperor's troubles above! In your position, you should attend to your duties; in your office, you should fulfill your responsibilities!

Now you say you won't discuss this—what do you want to talk about? Are you looking to talk about love instead?"

After saying this, Cheng Ge's tone softened slightly, but then his words took a sharp turn, his gaze piercing as he swept his eyes over the few people before him.

"Or do you spend your days only thinking about how to eliminate dissenters, how to flatter superiors and bully subordinates? Or could it be... that you are enemy spies, trying to undermine the fortunes of the Great Zhou?"