The Old Bastard

Though that was what Governor-General Zhao thought, he feared it might be urgent. He hurried out of bed, changed into his official robes, and went to meet his visitor.

The moment he saw his former fellow examination candidate, sweat covering his face and his official robes creased, Governor-General Zhao's heart sank. Qi Hongxin looked as though he had traveled through the night.

"Prefect Qi, you asked to see me so early. Is something urgent?"

"Governor-General, I do have an urgent matter to report." Qi Hongxin lowered his head.

"A Provincial Graduate in Shunan Prefecture led a disturbance. He gathered thousands of people and demanded that the authorities turn the Water God Shrine into a Locust God Shrine and forbid the killing of locusts. Otherwise, they threatened to riot."

Governor-General Zhao's expression darkened. A popular uprising was precisely the sort of thing the court dreaded most.

"I tried to persuade them, but to no avail. I ordered the disturbance suppressed and had the ringleader and fifty-two of his followers executed..."

"Wait. How many did you say?" Governor-General Zhao, who had begun to relax and listen with narrowed eyes, stared at him. He thought he must have misheard.

Qi Hongxin lowered his gaze and repeated, "I ordered the disturbance suppressed and had fifty-three ringleaders and followers executed."

"Fifty-three!" Governor-General Zhao paced back and forth several times before looking at him helplessly. "Prefect Qi, my old fellow candidate, don't you think that's rather too many?"

"In wartime, perhaps. But in an age of peace, you killed fifty-three people over locusts? Isn't that excessive? If word gets out, what then? If the court learns of it, even I won't escape responsibility!"

"Please rest assured, sir. I've already submitted a memorial to the court admitting fault," Qi Hongxin said at once.

He did not need