Uncouth and Overbearing

After receiving the official documents, Sun Shaozong naturally had to report to his direct superior, the Administrator Liu Chongshan.

Unlike the open and hidden attacks from Clerk Chen, Liu Chongshan's side was very by-the-book. He simply threw a large pile of old cases and files that hadn't been reviewed before the new year at Sun Shaozong, and then sent him off to the small courtyard exclusive to the Judicial Assistant Magistrate.

This was normal, after all, Liu Chongshan had just suffered a setback before the new year, and was forced by the situation to promote Sun Shaozong's reputation against his will. His words of praise for Sun Shaozong were still ringing in people's ears, so he couldn't very well turn his back on him immediately, could he?

Besides, although Liu Chongshan was Sun Shaozong's superior, Sun Shaozong, as the Judicial Assistant Magistrate and second-in-command, had the power to check and balance the Administrator. If Liu Chongshan went too far, Sun Shaozong could even directly impeach him to the imperial court.

Therefore, at least on the surface, Liu Chongshan didn't dare to be too coercive.

Speaking of which, it seems necessary to explain the general division of labor in Shuntian Prefecture:

When Sun Shaozong watched historical dramas in the past, it seemed that everything was handled by the Prefect [only the Shuntian Prefecture has a third-rank Prefect, others are fourth-rank magistrates], but if that were really the case, the Prefect would have died of exhaustion eight hundred times over!

In fact, the third-rank Prefect in Shuntian Prefecture is equivalent to a high-ranking municipal official. Although he nominally oversees the overall situation and can intervene in everything, he rarely handles specific details.

The fourth-rank Prefectural Assistant is equivalent to the mayor, who also focuses on the big picture but manages slightly more details than the Prefect.

The fifth-rank Administrator can be compared to a high-ranking political and legal official and the president of the court, with the right to hold court sessions, pronounce judgments, and investigate cases.

These three are also known as the 'Hall Officials' in the Prefecture, that is, officials who are qualified to hold court sessions and interrogate cases. No matter how much power the remaining officials have, they are not qualified to hold court alone.

There are three sixth-rank Assistant Magistrates, in charge of money and grain taxes, salt and iron household registration, and criminal cases.

Sun Shaozong, as the Judicial Assistant Magistrate, is equivalent to the chief of police in terms of authority. He does not have the right to hold court sessions and trials, but can only independently or assist his superiors in investigating cases and providing investigation results and various inferences.

Although not as prestigious as the 'Hall Officials', the Judicial Assistant Magistrate has a privilege that the Hall Officials do not have, which is the right to review cases.

That is to say, whether it is a major case tried by the Prefect, the Prefectural Assistant, or the Administrator, it must be reviewed and approved by him before it can be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for closure.

If Sun Shaozong disagrees with the judgment result, he can request a retrial [usually changing from the Administrator to the Prefect or Prefectural Assistant]. If he is still not satisfied with the result of the retrial, he can submit it to the Ministry of Justice for a ruling.

If the Ministry of Justice finally rules that the case was judged unfairly, the Administrator will be in big trouble.

It is precisely for this reason that Liu Chongshan has some reservations about Sun Shaozong.

Below them, there are also Clerks, Reviewers, Clerks, Instructors, Inspectors, etc., officials from the seventh rank to those not in the official flow, who either manage specific details or assist the three Assistant Magistrates in presiding over routine work.

In short, although Sun Shaozong cannot be said to be in a high position in Shuntian Prefecture, he undoubtedly holds considerable power.

Enough of the digression.

Sun Shaozong arrived at the small courtyard belonging to the Judicial Assistant Magistrate, located on the northwest side of the Administrator's courtyard. A group of subordinate officials had been waiting to pay their respects to the new superior.

Because the highest rank among these people was only a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, no one dared to be presumptuous in front of Sun Shaozong. Of course, it would be difficult to say whether they would make things difficult for him behind his back.

There was also an old acquaintance among them, the Horse-Face Constable Zhao Wuwei.

This Zhao Wuwei was in charge of more than a dozen constables and more than three hundred temporary workers [unpaid laborers]. In terms of power, he was at least a captain of the criminal police, but in Shuntian Prefecture, he was at the bottom of the hierarchy, not even ranked among the top of the low-level officials, and stood sullenly in the corner at the very end.

After these dozen or so officials stepped forward one by one to introduce themselves and pay their respects, Lin Delu, the leading eighth-rank Clerk, presented the official seal of the former Magistrate. Because the former Magistrate had died of a sudden illness, there was no handover ceremony.

Sun Shaozong carefully put away the official seal and gave a few formulaic speeches. Seeing that the responses below were sparse, he knew that these people had their own thoughts and that few of them would lean towards him, so he simply announced the dissolution of the meeting.

The officials immediately scattered like birds and beasts, and Zhao Wuwei also mingled among them and left the courtyard.

But after circling outside, and seeing that no one was paying attention, Zhao Wuwei quietly turned back and hesitated in the courtyard for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and going to the door of the main hall.

"Reporting, sir, this humble one..."

He had just respectfully started speaking outside the door when he heard Sun Shaozong's voice from inside, "Is that Constable Zhao? I've been waiting for you for a long time. Come in and talk."

Zhao Wuwei was stunned. The Judicial Assistant Magistrate's hall had three rooms: a living room, a study, and a bedroom. Sun Shaozong's voice came from the east-side study, which, in theory, couldn't see what was happening outside.

Could it be that Magistrate Sun is prescient?

Otherwise, how would he know that he was going to turn back!

Thinking this, Zhao Wuwei didn't dare to hesitate. He hurriedly slipped into the study, his shoulders hunched, his face raised, and cautiously inquired, "Lord, how did you know I was coming?"

Sun Shaozong sorted through the official documents on his desk without looking up and smiled, "I asked someone to inquire. You were a confidant of the previous Judicial Assistant Magistrate, and the previous Judicial Assistant Magistrate had some friction with Administrator Liu. Now, I'm afraid he won't easily accept your allegiance—otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged for you to find me a few days ago."

Speaking of this, he looked up at Zhao Wuwei's horse face and smiled again, "Besides, you were just standing in the corner, twisting around like a monkey. If I still couldn't see that you were hiding something, wouldn't I be blind?"

As expected of 'Divine Judge Sun, the Judicial Assistant Magistrate'!

Zhao Wuwei sighed inwardly. He saw that the official documents on the desk had been sorted clearly in a short period, without any sign of a novice's confusion. It looked like an old hand who was used to this kind of thing, which added to his confidence in Sun Shaozong.

So he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, "Lord, your eyes are indeed like torches! I am now alone and helpless, and I have offended Administrator Liu. I can only rely on you, Lord. As long as you are willing to take care of me, I will do anything, even if it means dying for you!"

After saying this, he knelt on the ground, anxiously waiting for the result. Who knew that an arm as thick as a thigh suddenly reached out and lifted him into the air!

Zhao Wuwei was taken aback. He wanted to struggle, but he met Sun Shaozong's eagle-like eyes, which made half of his body go limp. How could he still struggle?

Sun Shaozong stared at his horse face and smiled amiably, "I don't care if your words are sincere or false. Since you want to be my lackey, it's best not to be indecisive!"

"Administrator Liu can at most make you lose your job, but if you dare to betray me—do you think with my ability to climb over walls in the middle of the night and wipe out your entire family, would anyone be able to find out afterward?"

His smile was like a spring breeze, but his words were like swords, cold and chilling!

Zhao Wuwei had seen many officials scolding and reprimanding, but this was the first time he had seen such a tyrannical superior who wanted to wipe out someone's entire family at the drop of a hat!

Fortunately, he had dealt with many notorious bandits and had some courage, so he hurriedly trembled, "L... Lord, please be clear, I would never dare to be disloyal!"

"Haha..."

Sun Shaozong laughed and gently put him back on the ground, then patted him on the shoulder, "Just kidding, don't take it so seriously—tell me, what is the real reason you came to me?"

It would be foolish of Zhao Wuwei to believe that those words were a joke!

But how dare he delve into it? He hurriedly explained his intention, "Lord, I heard that the people in the yamen are planning to embarrass you at the welcome banquet!"