Chapter 193 Troublesome Servant

Chapter 193 The Insolent Servants

With two martial arts masters accompanying him, Song Tingzhou's journey to the capital was uneventful, and he arrived smoothly at the outskirts of the capital.

Normally, local officials reporting their duties had to gather in the suburbs to take the preliminary examination before entering the capital, but due to Qin Jiao's special status, they didn't need to stay in the suburbs. Upon reaching the capital's outskirts, he was immediately taken away by waiting servants from the Zhongyi Marquis Residence.

He could come and go through the city gates with ease, so Ge Quan and Fang Jinrong went into the city with him.

Song Tingzhou brought three bailiffs with him: Tao Ba, Tao Shi, and Tao Shiyi from the Tao family. He first went to see his superior, Prefect Liu. The Western Wu Prefecture was under the Provincial Administration Commission, and then Prefect Liu introduced him to the Provincial Administration Commissioner (equivalent to a provincial governor), who held the junior second rank (cong er pin).

There were countless officials coming to the capital to resume their posts, and the Lingnan region was remote. By the time Song Tingzhou met up with his superiors, nearly all available lodging in the suburbs was taken, and they were assigned a relatively remote area to lodge.

The Provincial Administration Commissioner was quite amiable toward Song Tingzhou, likely because Prefect Liu had spoken well of him. However, Vice Prefect Luo of the Western Wu Prefecture also had good rapport with the Superior Officer. It was easy to see that Prefect Liu was hedging his bets to secure a promotion.

As a prefect, it was unprecedented for him to lower himself so much to curry favor with his subordinate. This showed how desperately he was maneuvering for his future.

There were several temples and monasteries outside the capital, which served as venues for the preliminary examinations during this imperial audience. It started with county magistrates of the lowest rank and then progressed upward, generally consisting of self-reporting and superior evaluation.

The evaluation reports were all prepared in advance. The superior officer wouldn't read them in detail but would only review the key accomplishments. Usually, the evaluation process was quick. However, because Song Tingzhou's submitted records were a few pages longer than others, his progress was slightly slower. This situation was uncommon and inevitably drew curious glances from others.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Song Tingzhou stayed in the suburbs for three more days. After all local officials completed their preliminary examinations, they could await the formal assessment by the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate on the first day of February.

After the preliminary examination, there was no need to remain in the suburbs. Everyone moved into the city to stay at inns or with relatives. The Provincial Administration Commissioner had a residence in the capital and had courteously invited several subordinates, but those with any tact would decline.

The residence Xiang Yun had left to Meng Wan was in a good location. Song Tingzhou could go directly home, and he invited Prefect Liu to join him.

Prefect Liu didn't expect that Song Tingzhou had a residence in the capital, which further convinced him that Song Tingzhou had connections. But after some thought, he declined to go with him. Instead, before Song Tingzhou left, he asked quietly, "What are you planning to do about Hu Ti? I intercepted your memorial last time for your own good. I advise you not to act rashly for now. Vice Prefect Luo has countless connections behind him, not something you or I..." He originally wanted to say "people like us with no background," but seeing Song Tingzhou's demeanor, which seemed unlike that of an ordinary seventh-rank county magistrate, he swallowed the rest of his words.

Song Tingzhou appreciated the gesture. Prefect Liu had reminded him several times, even if there was some self-interest involved, he still appreciated it. "Your Excellency, rest assured. I won't act recklessly and jeopardize my career."

"Good, good." Prefect Liu had been afraid that Song Tingzhou was the kind of reckless bull who would only stop after hitting a wall. Seeing that he had a plan, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Tingzhou brought the Tao brothers into the city. When they had left the capital three years ago, the eight menial servants at Shichun Lane had not been taken along.

Meng Wan had left a sum of money in a bank, allowing the household servants to withdraw monthly. Since it was uncertain how many years they'd be away, the money also included funds for house repairs.

Now, after three years with no masters present and no overseer above them, the eight servants had grown lax compared to their earlier proper behavior. When Song Tingzhou and his party arrived, the mansion's main gate was tightly shut.

Tao Shiyi, the youngest of the brothers, had learned some basic martial arts from Ge Quan and Qin Jiao on the road and was more nimble than his two elder brothers. He stepped forward to knock, but there was no response from inside. So he trotted back down the steps and reported, "Your Excellency, there are voices in the gatehouse—sounds like they're playing cards."

Song Tingzhou frowned slightly. "Knock again."

"Yes!" Tao Shiyi returned and pounded on the door vigorously. This time, two irritated voices came from within. "Who is it? Master's not home."

Tao Shiyi snorted. "Your master is back now."

"Who? Who's back?" the man inside asked in a fluster. Tao Shiyi could hear him whispering to his companions to quickly put things away.

"Your master, Lord Song. Open the door immediately!"

The gate creaked open, and a man poked his head out, looking around. When he met Song Tingzhou's cold face, he hurried forward.

He clearly recognized Song Tingzhou. "Your Excellency, why didn't you send word ahead so we could have gone to the outskirts to welcome you?"

Song Tingzhou ignored him. After days of travel and examinations, he was tired. He strode briskly into the mansion.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency!" the gatekeeper fawned, following behind.

The front yard was cluttered, with withered grass growing in corners and gardens. Several servants were struggling to carry a table into a side room, all of them overweight and panting.

Seeing Song Tingzhou enter, they held their breath, afraid of being scolded. But he only glanced at them and headed straight for the inner residence.

The inner residence was quieter. None of those servants dared to be bold here; they just slacked off playing cards in the front yard gatehouse. After three years, the garden had become overgrown. A servant was turning over soil in the garden, and outside a side room, a drying rack was set up where a maidservant was hanging clothes.

When the two saw Song Tingzhou, they were terrified and knelt before him. "M-master."

Song Tingzhou noticed them kneeling close together, and although he said nothing, their closeness was obvious. "Did you two marry in secret?"

"M-master, we... we..." The two were horrified, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for forgiveness.

Song Tingzhou walked around the inner residence and saw that the couple only occupied a small side room in the corner, which had likely been the maidservant's quarters during their previous stay. The other rooms were dust-free, indicating they had been cleaned regularly.

Servants marrying without permission was a serious offense, but that was only a concern to the master. He and Meng Wan were not harsh people and didn't want to pursue it too strictly.

"Prepare two rooms in the front yard, and also lay out bedding in the inner bedchamber."

The two understood that their master was letting them off. Overjoyed and surprised, they quickly acknowledged the order and went to work.

Tao Ba and the others led the horses to the stable. A servant from the front yard came over eagerly to help tie the horses, calling him "big brother" and even trying to slip him silver to put in a good word so the master wouldn't punish them.

Tao Ba, a straightforward country fellow, had never encountered such schemes in the capital. He coldly pushed the man aside and reported everything to Song Tingzhou in detail.

Song Tingzhou hadn't brought much luggage this time. He and the Tao brothers each carried two bundles. From one bundle, he took out a box, pulled out six indenture contracts, and handed them to Tao Ba. "Go north out of the lane. There's a brokerage on the west side of the street. Give them these contracts and have them come take away the six from the front yard."

If that couple proved to be honest, they could be kept temporarily to do odd jobs and look after the house. Two people were enough for the task.

Tao Ba was reliable. Not long after, cries came from the front yard. Apparently, the servants hadn't expected that the master would neither punish nor fine them but simply sell them off without warning, moving so quickly that they had no time to react.

After selling those six, the residence became even quieter. The secret couple worked nervously, fearing they might be sold off too.

"Sister Yue Mei," Tao Shiyi called to the maidservant Yue Mei.

Hearing her name, Yue Mei hurried out of the kitchen. "Does Your Excellency have any orders?"

Tao Shiyi, more lively than his elder brothers, smiled and said, "Nothing urgent. His Excellency says that since you two are already married, you don't need to live alone in the side room anymore. You and Brother Liu can pick a room in the front yard to live in."

Yue Mei blushed but was deeply grateful to Song Tingzhou. "Thank you, Your Excellency, for your kindness."

There had never been many maidservants in the residence. When Meng Wan left, two bold ones had their families redeem them so they could marry. Only Yue Mei, who had nowhere else to go, stayed behind.

Among the servants, some had made advances toward Yue Mei when the Song family was away for so long, but Brother Liu always shielded her. Over time, the two grew close.

When the master suddenly returned and discovered their affair, in stricter households, they would have been beaten to death. Instead, Lord Song formally recognized their marriage.

"How come you only have two servants in your household? Where are the others?" Zhu Zening, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe with a grey squirrel fur cloak, exuded the air of a wealthy young master. After three years, his face was slightly rounder than before, less naive, and more worldly. It seemed that being a low-ranking official in the capital was indeed a grind.

"I prefer peace and quiet," Wu Zhaoyuan said slowly. "Maybe I found them too noisy and sent them away."

Compared to the sickly and lonely figure when he left Changping, Wu Zhaoyuan now appeared gentle and peaceful, his rough edges seemingly smoothed over or hidden.

Since Meng Wan wasn't around, they hadn't brought their wives and children. However, their families had prepared a cartload of goods each for them to give to Song Tingzhou.

The three were like brothers, so their families were also close.

Song Tingzhou hadn't seen them for a long time. He looked them over, confirming they were in good health, and gave a carefree smile. "A hundred servants couldn't match Zening's witty words."

"Hey now!" Zhu Zening objected. "Are you calling me noisy? I don't talk that much when I'm at work."

Wu Zhaoyuan smiled and added jokingly, "I've never been to your yamen, so who knows what you're like in private?"

Song Tingzhou received them at the gate, and the three of them walked to the main hall, laughing and chatting the whole way.

At the end of the first lunar month, Shengjing was still bitterly cold. Tao Shiyi carried in two basins of glowing charcoal into the hall.

The three took off their cloaks and tossed them casually onto the soft couch, then pulled up stools to sit around the fire, warming up and chatting.

Song Tingzhou gazed at the bright red embers and said regretfully, "Too bad I was in such a rush I couldn't bring much this time. Otherwise, I would have hauled a couple of carts of tangerines over for you. The tangerines from the county next to ours, harvested in October, are sweet and tasty—Wan'er loves them to bits."

Zhu Zening and Wu Zhaoyuan exchanged a look and couldn't help grinning. Zhu Zening said, "You haven't changed a bit—can't get through three sentences without bringing up your beloved."

Wu Zhaoyuan sighed with emotion, "Jingxing is a truly devoted soul; he deserves to spend his whole life with such a person."

At the mention of Meng Wan, Song Tingzhou's eyes involuntarily softened, the sharp angles of his brows and eyes melting into warmth. "You have no idea about Wan'er... Ah, never mind me. Zening, are you also going to the Ministry of Personnel on the first day of next month?"

When it came to official matters, Zhu Zening turned serious. "Yes, capital officials all go to the Ministry of Personnel for assessment on the first day, while local officials go to the Censorate. You better be careful—the Censorate folks can't stand even the tiniest flaw. Those censors and remonstrance officials are masters at finding fault where there is none—they'd practically impeach you for buying an extra sack of rice, claiming it shows a trend of waste that defies the emperor's frugality decree."

Wu Zhaoyuan echoed, "Zening's words may be exaggerated, but the Censorate is indeed meticulous in its work."

"In my opinion, being meticulous is better than being indulgent. I hope the Censorate lives up to its reputation." Song Tingzhou knew that both brothers were concerned about him, since on the surface, he was the only one not doing so well.

Wu Zhaoyuan was more thoughtful than Zhu Zening. "What do you mean by that? Has someone meddled in the officialdom of Xiwu?"

Song Tingzhou had some suspicions but was not yet sure. "Meddling is unlikely, but there should be someone involved with the nobles in Shengjing."

Wu Zhaoyuan looked around, saw the area was empty and no one could eavesdrop, then lowered his voice and said to the other two, "The emperor's reign is waning, and both the court and the palace are in turmoil. The Crown Prince and Prince Lian are locked in an open power struggle, and quite a few people in the court have already been unable to hold back and have secretly offered their services."

Zhu Zening's father-in-law's family only had the title of earl; he knew less about court affairs than Wu Zhaoyuan, and could be considered someone far from political struggles. Song Tingzhou was also sent to a remote area and could not easily return to the capital. Only Wu Zhaoyuan faced some risks in the Hanlin Academy.

"Zhaoyuan, don't do anything stupid. The three of us don't even have enough wealth to catch the eye of middle-ranking noble families in Shengjing, let alone compete in the succession struggles among the princes." Zhu Zening urged anxiously.

Wu Zhaoyuan gave a bitter smile. "Do you think those high officials, who have been immersed in officialdom for decades, are fools? They know they can't escape, so they want to secure a place for themselves while they still have a say." The bold ones will compete; the fearful and cowardly will retire and go home now. Unless they have true ability, once a new emperor ascends the throne, they will never have a chance to rise again.

Choosing the right side in one dynasty means several generations of family prosperity. For these ancients who see the rise and fall of their family as their very foundation, it is an immense temptation. Those with ambition all want to assist the new emperor in ascending the throne and become powerful ministers of the generation.

Song Tingzhou sensed something off in his tone. He looked up at his scholarly profile and narrowed his eyes. "Has someone already approached you?"

Wu Zhaoyuan's lips pressed white. For the first time, he revealed to others, "Yes, it's our chancellor."

Zhu Zening asked in confusion, "Wei Qing, the chancellor of the Hanlin Academy? Whose man is he?"

Wu Zhaoyuan slowly uttered one word, "Xu."

Song Tingzhou caught on immediately. "Prince Lian Wenxu? What does he want with a minor seventh-rank compiler like you?"

Wu Zhaoyuan shook his head. He had been in the Hanlin Academy for less than a year, and many things he only saw on the surface, not very clearly or thoroughly. Such a situation was the last thing everyone wanted to see—being forced to take sides.