The Ministry of Revenue stood on the eastern side of the Thousand-Pace Corridor, next to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites.
The office frontage spanned five bays, with two stone lions crouching before its gates.
Cui Fu stopped the carriage drawn by a chestnut horse a short distance down the road, but did not leave.
"Young master, shall I wait at the roadside inn outside the Great Ming Gate?"
"Go home," Wei Nisheng said without looking back. "Come fetch me when my duty ends."
Cui Fu answered, but still held the reins without moving.
Only after Wei Nisheng stepped through the Ministry of Revenue's gates did he give the reins a gentle shake and slowly drive away.
As Wei Nisheng entered the ministry compound, an Office Clerk came forward to meet him.
He was in his forties, with a sallow complexion-the unmistakable look of a man who had spent years bent over a desk.
He cupped his hands to Wei Nisheng, his tone as flat as if he were reading a routine official document.
"Official Wei, the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau's duty room is in the eastern wing of the second courtyard. This way, please."
There were no pleasantries, no congratulations; even the word "official" was mumbled indistinctly.
Wei Nisheng did not take offense. He simply followed the man through the main hall of the first courtyard, then east along the covered corridor.
The various bureaus' duty rooms lined both sides. Now and then an official poked his head out, let his gaze rest on Wei Nisheng for an instant, then withdrew.
In the eastern wing of the second courtyard, the Revenue and Expenditure Bureau's door stood ajar.
The Office Clerk pushed it open and stepped aside, casually knocking twice on the doorframe to announce the