Yet at that moment, in the Hall Master's office at the very heart of the Law Enforcement Hall, Leng Yaozhu felt none of the high spirits that came with holding great power.
She sat behind a broad blackwood desk, with files piled before her like a small mountain, nearly burying her whole.
Her crimson gown had been replaced by a neat black-and-red enforcement uniform, and her long hair was tied high. She had lost some of her usual elegance and grandeur, gaining a sharper, more capable severity instead. Yet the exhaustion in her eyes could not be concealed. She set down the wolf-hair brush in her hand, sighed softly, raised both arms over her head, and stretched hard.
Her joints cracked crisply, and the tension in her shoulders and neck eased somewhat.
Leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling, Leng Yaozhu could not help cursing Zhong Shenxiu over and over in her heart.
I really should have slapped my past self a few times.
Why did I give up being the perfectly good vice tower master of the Spirit Pagoda and agree, in a moment of madness, to take over this damned Law Enforcement Hall because of that brat?
Back then, I was even moved by his words, "You're the one I trust most." Now that I think about it, that damned kid just wanted to dump everything on someone else!
He had certainly been generous with the authority, making her directly answerable to Zhong Shenxiu and allowing her to deploy troops, pass sentences, and appoint or dismiss local officials.
But in return, every last mess had been dumped in her lap.
The Leng Family had only just moved to East Sea, manpower was scarce, regulations had to be built from scratch, sentencing standards had to be