Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Mu Tou woke up early in the morning and hurried to the pharmacy. He deliberately walked lightly, sticking close to the wall of the government office like a cat, for fear of disturbing Zhang Jingwei who was working.

"wood!"

The call made Mu Mu freeze, as if he were under a spell. He turned slowly, a blush spreading across his dark face. "Master..."

Zhang Jingwei leaned against the porch pillar, playing with a copper coin in his hand, looking at him with a half-smile: "Are you going to look for Jiuer again?"

"Hmm..." Mu Tou lowered his head and unconsciously scratched the thorns on his nails, looking like a child who had done something wrong.

"When do you plan to leave for Wuzhou?" Zhang Jingwei flicked the copper coin into the air. "Or do you not want to join the army now?"

"I'm going..." Mu Tou suddenly raised his head, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes, but then dimmed again, "It's just that the young master has just taken office and encountered a case. I want to... do my best."

The copper coin landed on the bluestone slab with a ding. Zhang Jingwei bent down to pick it up and sighed, "Recruit soldiers in the spring and stay in Gaoyang." He looked directly into Mu's eyes, "I promise I won't interfere in anything you do."

"There's rebellion in Wuzhou." Mu's voice suddenly became unusually clear, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth. "That's where I can be of use."

The morning light shone dappled between the two of them through the shadows of the trees. Zhang Jingwei stared at the wood for a long time, then suddenly waved his hand. "Go ahead." Turning around, he added, "Jiu'er, as the county medical officer, has reopened the pharmacy and has been very busy these days. You should help her out more..." He paused, a mischievous smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "It can be considered a good time to show affection before he joins the army."

Mu Tou's face instantly turned as red as a boiled shrimp, and even his ears felt hot. He saluted awkwardly, turned around, and ran towards the pharmacy, nearly tripping over himself.

Zhang Jingwei looked at his panicked back, shook his head and chuckled.

……

In the county government office, Zhang Jingwei was sitting at the desk, flipping through the files on the case.

At this time, Qian Ming walked in quickly and said with a happy face: "Master, the military has come to check the accounts. I estimate that the kiln camp will be able to resume work in a few days."

Zhang Jingwei nodded slightly upon hearing this, a satisfied smile on his face. He said, "Well, that's very good. I'll have to trouble you to take care of Junxing from now on. Being my assistant is really hard work for you."

Qian Ming quickly bowed and said, "Master, you are too kind. This is all my responsibility."

Zhang Jingwei waved his hand and then asked, "Have you arranged for your child to go to elementary school?"

Qian Ming smiled and said, "Thanks to the young master, my son has already started school."

Zhang Jingwei smiled and nodded, then stood up and said, "I have to go to Gaoyang Tower for a banquet today. Please come with me."

Qian Ming replied, "Yes."

While Zhang Jingwei was tidying up his clothes, he casually asked, "By the way, your family moved to Gaoyang, so what about the land in Yunzhou?"

Qian Ming replied, "I've already sold it. I plan to rent a shop in Gaoyang to start a business."

Zhang Jingwei thought for a moment and said, "Oh? So what are your plans? What kind of business do you want to start?"

Qian Ming hesitated for a moment, then said, "Master, I'm planning to sell you some chili peppers."

Zhang Jingwei's eyes flashed with surprise when he heard this, then he smiled and said, "Well! You have a good eye. How about this, you go to Yunzhou to get the goods, and I'll give you another 20% discount."

Qian Ming was overjoyed and quickly bowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you, young master!"

At this moment, Zhao Peixin walked in and said with difficulty, "Sir, after just one day's tax refund, there's already very little grain left in the warehouse."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingwei frowned slightly and said sternly, "Then what are you still standing there for? Go to the county treasury and get some money! Don't tell me there's no money. I've checked the accounts myself!"

Zhao Peixin hurriedly explained, "Sir, I'm afraid the treasury isn't enough. This is only for one day. If we really follow the previously agreed-upon month-long tax refund policy, it will definitely not be enough."

Zhang Jingwei's face darkened upon hearing this. He roared in anger, "The people should get back as much tax as they paid! Could it be that Xiao Kewei pocketed all this money?"

Zhao Peixin was so frightened when he heard this that he trembled all over and quickly bowed and said, "I dare not jump to conclusions!"

Zhang Jingwei was furious upon seeing this. He slammed the table, stood up, pointed at Zhao Peixin's nose and shouted, "You don't dare to jump to conclusions? Then go ahead and draw your own conclusion! Check it out immediately! Verify it!"

Zhao Peixin was frightened by Zhang Jingwei's aura. He responded tremblingly, "Yes... I obey your command." After that, he wiped the sweat from his head and ran out crawling.

Qian Ming walked into the duty room carrying freshly brewed flower tea. Seeing Zhang Jingwei flipping through the case files impatiently, he gently placed the teacup on the desk and said, "Master, calm down. Just let them get used to it."

Zhang Jingwei slammed the document shut, causing a few drops of tea to spill out. "I'm used to eating dry rice, but now even a drop of soup burns my mouth." He glanced at the empty registrar's office. "Where's Huang Liang? Why didn't he come to the government office today?"

Qian Ming wiped the spilled tea with his sleeve: "Dianshi Huang is in the mortuary."

"Mortuary...Mortuary?" Zhang Jingwei tapped his fingertips on the table in a rapid rhythm.

"Yes." Qian Ming lowered his voice. "Huang Dianshi's father was originally an old coroner in the county. Now his eyesight is blurry, and I wanted him to follow in his footsteps..." He glanced at Zhang Jingwei's face and spoke faster. "But Huang Dianshi has already entered the official career. According to the law, he is not allowed to take the imperial examination, so..."

"That's enough." Zhang Jingwei suddenly stood up, the jade pendant on his waist jingling against the corner of the desk. "We can talk about these old things another day. Now tell him to come see me immediately."

"Yes!" Qian Ming slowly walked out of the government office and breathed a sigh of relief in the corridor.

I have been nervous ever since I came to Gaoyang. The young master is already a county magistrate, but he has not been awarded any official position yet, but he is being scolded like a grandson.

Perhaps the young master needed an opportunity to intimidate the clerks and local gentry, but the first of his three big moves as a new official burned out nearly half of the clerks and yamen runners.

In other words, all the officials in the government office had twice the workload as before. Their haste to achieve results only served to reduce the effort. Zhang Jingwei certainly understood this. However, the mess had to be cleaned up; he couldn't let people think that he, the county magistrate, was no different from the corrupt officials of the past.

------

A short while later, Huang Liang slowly walked into the official duty room, carrying a tray. The hem of his official robe was still stained with a trace of blood from the corpse in the mortuary, and his fingertips were slightly pale from washing.

"Sir." Huang Liang bowed, his voice sounding a bit tired.

Zhang Jingwei looked up at him and sneered, "Is there no coroner in Gaoyang? Does the Dianshi have to do the operation himself?"

Huang Liang gently placed the tray on the table, where autopsy tools and several documents were neatly arranged. "My father is old and frail, and the current coroner resigned yesterday. The newly arrived body has been lying in the mortuary for a long time. If we don't identify the body, I'm afraid all clues will be lost. I have no choice but to conduct the inspection myself."

Zhang Jingwei snorted coldly and flipped open the inspection book: "Any clues?"

"Here is the verification book, please take a look, sir." Huang Liang handed over a blue-covered booklet with some water stains on the cover.

Zhang Jingwei quickly scanned the booklet and suddenly slammed his fist, shouting angrily, "Civil War wine? Are you kidding me?" He pointed at the entry in the booklet and chuckled, "Civil War is short on grain and water, and its wine supply is largely dependent on trade with our dynasty. You're blaming the victims' deaths on something banned by another country. Do you think I'm a fool?"

Huang Liang's expression remained unchanged. He pulled a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve, stepped forward, and gently placed it on the table. He said, "Your Excellency, the mortuary has samples of the deceased's excrement from before his death. If you have any questions, you can examine them yourself."

The duty room was silent for a moment, with only the chirping of cicadas outside the window. Zhang Jingwei stared at the porcelain vase, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.