The Chen Family Courtyard is located in the county seat of Yi Xin County, covering an area of more than 3,000 square meters, facing the street on three sides, with blue bricks and large tiles, and the courtyard wall can be ten meters high. It is one of the few gentry in Yixin.In addition, the family has several thousand acres of land and no fewer than a hundred servants.

It is no exaggeration to say that nearly half of the people in Yixin County work for the Chen family or their shops and farmland.

The salaries of officials in the Qi Dynasty can be said to be very generous, but even so, as the county magistrate of the seventh rank, Wen Yu's monthly salary may not be enough for the Chen family's daily expenses.

In the second year of Taixing, the first day of junior high school.Mao time has passed, but the days are still short and the nights are long in January, and the sky is still black.

Chen Xiangkun didn't sleep deeply, especially last night, he was always a little restless, and he woke up completely just after halfway through Yin's hour.Wearing an embroidered cloak, he came to the study alone in the dark.

He is used to getting up early, and has been doing so for more than twenty years. He likes to be quiet and not to be noisy.

Looking at the rising sun with a little red light in the distance, he narrowed his eyes.

Chen Xiangkun was lying on the rocking chair, playing with the walnut with the unicorn pattern in his hand, holding the silver water pipe and putting it to his mouth to inhale, squinting his eyes and exhaling slowly, puffing out clouds and smoke.

As the largest squire in Yixin County, Chen Xiangkun is only 32 years old this year, but he has actually controlled the secret gold and silver circulation of the huge Chen family for decades.His voice in Yixin County is no less than that of officials at all levels in the county government.

The Chen family has taken root in Panyan, Yixin County for nearly 50 years. In Chen Xiangkun's generation, the power and wealth in their hands is even more astonishing.

The history of this family is not long, and it can be traced back decades at most. It was Chen Xiangkun's grandfather who first made a fortune. He was a scholar who passed the imperial examination. He was educated and rich.Help those young and studious students.

After being famous for being kind and charitable, his reputation spread more and more widely, and he gradually became a prominent figure in Yixin County.

The Chen family is deeply rooted in Yi Xin and has already become a big family here.It is similar to the official but different from the official, similar to the people and above the people.

What's more, Chen Xiangkun, as the person in charge of this generation of Chen family, is not only proficient in business and business, he even learned how to deal with the government without a teacher.Coercion by power and wealth, threat of life, if you talk about the dirty things behind the scenes in detail, you won't be able to tell the whole story for a few days and nights.

The local people only know that the Chen family is the dominant family here, agriculture, industry and commerce, and the permission of the Chen family is required for any major undertakings.But in the dark, only a few people have a peep.

The wooden carved gate looked thick and gorgeous, but it was knocked from the outside at this moment, which was particularly harsh in the silent courtyard where there was only the sound of breathing.

"Master, there are people coming from the gate of the county government office!"

Chen Xiangkun put the cigarette pouch on the table, his brows furrowed at the loud shout.

"Come in."

A servant in black came in from the outside with his head bowed, and there was a hint of asking for credit in his voice: "Master, you let me live opposite the county office to see if there is any sign of the new county magistrate. Today I saw someone. LookIt’s different from our people here, they look weak and gentle, and their clothes are not the same as ours. I see that old fellow Ma Hongchang panting to apologize to that person.”

Chen Xiangkun raised his eyebrows, and said meaningfully: "The new county magistrate!"

"Notify Chen Maosheng, you go and receive the reward yourself."

As soon as these words came out, the servant immediately withdrew, with a happy expression on his face.

The Wenwan walnuts in Chen Xiangkun's hand had already been rolled up to show their luster, and he lay back on the rocking chair again, picked up the cigarette pouch and took a puff, squinting his eyes and exhaling.

The new county magistrate came quite early, and the young people are all a little bit energetic, but how long will this person last?

The smile in the corner of Chen Xiangkun's eyes did not catch his eyes.

In front of the Yamen in Yi Xin County, standing in front of Wen Yu was a fat old man with black and white mixed hair and messy hair.

He was wearing a plain black padded jacket, the workmanship was not very good, and some of the stuffed hair came out.He casually pulled off the protruding duck feather and stuffed it on his chest, not caring about it at all.

Ma Hongchang was panting, he was a little shorter than Wen Yu, matched with his chubby figure, he was charmingly naive.

Fifteen hours ago, he was still eating breakfast at home, who would have thought that the county magistrate would come so early, he ran to the county government office after a few random bites.

Wen Yu is no longer dressed in a deliberate mess a few days ago. She is wearing two custom-made winter clothes from the Capital City tailor shop. Although there is not much difference from the winter clothes in Yixin County, the style in the details is completely different.

Let people know at a glance that this person is not from this county.

Ma Hongchang raised his eyes slightly, bowed to Wen Yu, and asked tentatively, "Are you the magistrate of Yi Xin?"

Wen Yu returned the salute with her hands clasped, her tone flat, and she looked like that kind of red-tape and meticulous type, completely fledgling.

She looked at this person without any trace, and said slowly: "Exactly."

He turned his mind around a few times, but still looked respectful and lowered his eyebrows.

"My lord, you came really fast. It's the Spring Festival, and the other officials of our county government are still at home."

Nama Hongchang became enthusiastic all of a sudden, and embraced Wen Yu to enter the gate of the county government office and enter the inner hall.

"Ma County Prime Minister, I'm tired."

Wen Yu took out the appointment documents and files, and Ma Hongchang took them respectfully with both hands, and carefully opened them for comparison.

When he saw that Wen Yu was this year's Tanhua, his hands trembled suddenly, and he carefully raised his eyes to take a look at Wen Yu.

Grandma has such a leg, he thought that this person was a third-class junior Jinshi, but he didn't expect to be a first-class candidate.Old lady, he has lived most of his life, and he has never seen one.

"Master Wen, the officer has ordered someone to invite other people from our county government. How about I introduce you to our place first."

Wen Yu: "Alright."

After the two of them walked around the county government back and forth, they finally came to the lobby.Almost all important and murder cases in the county will be tried here.Therefore, this lobby is not only the most magnificent building in the county government office, but also the most important building.

Wen Yu raised her eyes and saw that the signboard at the entrance read "Qinmin Hall". She lowered her eyelids slowly, thinking of the old farmer she saw when she came here years ago and was thrown to the ground, she twitched her lips.

Being close to the people, close to the people, might as well be called hating the people.

Ma Hongchang introduced it in a passionate voice.

The hall of the county government faces south, bright and bright, towering and majestic. There are five halls, and the three halls in the middle are the prosecution hall.

There is a couplet hanging on the couplet pillar of the public hall saying:

If you win an official, you will not be honored; if you lose an official, you will not be humiliated. Don’t say that an official is useless;

Eat the food of the common people and wear the clothes of the common people, but the common people can deceive themselves to be the common people[1]

Daqi has a vast territory, and the head of a county, although he is a seventh-rank official, is not a big official, but he is indeed a parental official that the people of the area rely on.

The quality of the county magistrate directly affects the survival of the people of Li, and is also related to the prosperity and decline of the country. As a county close to the border, Yixin County should have a more sense of crisis, set an example, and serve the people.

It can be heard that looking at the four big characters of Gaotang Mingjing hanging high in the lobby, a slightly mocking smile appeared on her face, which was fleeting.

Ma Hongchang introduced the situation of the Yi Xin County Government in a passionate tone, with a sense of pride, he talked eloquently for nearly a quarter of an hour, but he didn't say anything about Wen Yu's discovery in Yi Xin County in recent days.On the contrary, the question was vague. If Wen Yu hadn't probed into it before, he might have been deceived by this rather cunning county magistrate.

Ma Hongchang saw that she had a young face, and she looked like a fledgling, even if she was the third in the first class.

As an old fritter who has worked in the Yixin county government for half his life, he has seen more county magistrates than can be counted on one hand, and Yijia was assigned to such a remote county, so he naturally had a little contempt for Wen Yu.

However, he didn't expect Wen Yu to ask a question suddenly.

"Maxian Cheng, why did I see a mountain of corpses outside the gate when I entered the county seat?"

Wen Yu's voice was flat, seemingly emotionless, but the smile on Ma Hongchang's face was instantly shattered when he heard these words.

These piles of corpses belonged to his grandma, how could he have forgotten that this county came early, before sending people to burn all these corpses on fire.

It was freezing cold early in the morning, but Ma Hongchang was so anxious that big cold sweat broke out on his head.

He opened his mouth, ah a few times, his throat kept moving, but he didn't say anything.

Wen Yu just looked at him like that, her pupils staring at him.

Just when Ma Hongchang could hardly hold on anymore, Chen Maosheng's voice came from outside, and he walked into the county office almost for a moment.

"My lord, come and report!" The rough and hoarse voice shot straight into Wen Yu's ear like a sharp arrow.

Ma Hongchang controlled his breathing and took a breath, a little thankful, couldn't help swallowing the saliva in his mouth to calm down.

Hear his voice before seeing him.Wen Zhen glanced at the silent Ma Hongchang, caressing something casually with her fingers.

After Chen Maosheng came in, he kowtowed and knelt down: "Chen Maosheng, my lower official, came late because of something, I hope my lord will not punish you."

After Chen Maosheng arrived, all the officials of this series of county yamen, large and small, with or without rank, gathered in the lobby.

Of course, it also includes the two yamen servants who taunted and cursed Wen Yu back then.

It's a pity that there is a huge difference between Wen Yu's appearance and equipment at this time, and the discomfited appearance that she had after traveling for more than 20 days. Neither of them recognized that she was the messy person that day.

But there was something vaguely wrong.They all lowered their faces, and none of them looked directly at Wen Yu, so they couldn't observe their expressions.

Wen Yu slapped the cracked inkstone on the table to the ground, there was undoubtedly a loud noise in the lobby where even the needle could be heard falling.

"What's the matter with the piles of bones outside the city gate?!"

Wen Yu's voice was still clear and calm, and she spoke every word, but it was not difficult to see the anger in it.

"Guys, someone explain to me."

Almost everyone thinks this way when a new official takes office. Maybe they have seen too much of this scene, or maybe they are numb. They all silently hope that this necessary process will pass quickly.

Chen Maosheng even glanced at her casually, as if he had nothing to do with him.

The atmosphere in the county office began to become anxious.

At this time, Yin Junfu also left Changfeng Mountain, and rushed here with a cold face.

He made an appointment with Wen Yu to go to the county government office today.

Yin Junfu's eyes were gloomy. If he hadn't come to this cottage to lurk, no one would have thought that this bandit from Changfeng Mountain would have a deep connection with the most famous gentry in Yixin County.

He thought to himself, if something goes wrong accidentally, it will be bad.The pace is getting faster and faster.

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[1] Quoted from the couplet in the lobby of the Neixiang County Government Office.