That final sentence—saying that refusal would not affect evaluations—was meant to show support for all officials. The benefits of refusing would certainly improve their evaluations, but at the same time, it also meant that if officials could not refuse the Ritual Hall, their evaluations would inevitably be affected.
Thus, officials everywhere publicly supported the Ritual Hall while secretly refusing to cooperate in the slightest.
Before the Ritual Hall officials arrived, they already understood that their mission would be exceedingly difficult. So they did not act rashly, proceeding step by step from the very beginning. They spent most of their time in government offices, and used the rest to mingle among the people, gathering their views on Fang Yun's reforms.
In Ning'an City, Zong Weixiong wore a dark silk round-collared robe, a black gauze headcloth cap, a white jade belt around his waist, and black leather boots with slightly upturned toes.
Holding a folding fan, Zong Weixiong strolled leisurely along Ning'an City's bustling streets.
Though he did not wear a Literary Rank robe and had come disguised as a wealthy merchant, his outstanding bearing drew the eyes of quite a few women.
As he walked, he observed all aspects of Ning'an City and found it completely different from Qing Kingdom. This was the north, where the people were bold and open. Many women paid little heed to trivial conventions, while the men were not particularly refined or courteous either. As Ning'an people joked about themselves on the Discourse Ranking, those who were courteous in everything had already been killed by the Demon Barbarians because they ran too slowly.
Zong Weixiong walked on, frowning all the way. He preferred the environment of South of the Yangtze in Qing Kingdom, where men were cultured and elegant, women gentle and demure, and everything orderly,