A Blatant Threat

Since the appointment letter arrived, they had all inquired about Zhao Zhiwei's background and affairs in the capital. Last year, there was a crisis of grain supplies at the border, but Zhao Zhiwei stepped forward and resolved the crisis. Her mathematical prowess was known to all officials in the Great Jin.

He asked her to look at the accounts for salt and grain. Although Cai Yaozong felt that the accounts for these two items were well done and that nothing should be found out, and there were no problems in the case files, he still didn't dare to put the account books in front of Zhao Ruxi.

But he said it himself, so how can he back out now?

He wiped the sweat from his brow and said shamelessly, "Salt and grain are of paramount importance; these are imperial secrets. Apart from the prefect and the deputy prefect in charge of these matters, no one else is allowed to see or interfere. Otherwise, if anyone were to see them casually, and someone were to betray the country and collude with the enemy, wouldn't that be a leak of secrets? When the investigation goes on, we wouldn't even know where the mistake was. Therefore, Lord Zhao cannot touch these two matters. As for the information on other matters, please feel free to do so, Lord Zhao."

Zhao Ruxi looked at Liu Hongyu: "Lord Liu, is that so?"

Liu Hongyu nodded slightly, somewhat embarrassed. "That's exactly right."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruxi frowned, looking at Liu Hongyu with a puzzled expression, and asked, "Lord Liu, aren't you the prefect? Why do you have to listen to Lord Cai in everything? Does this mean that Lord Cai calls the shots in Nanyang?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Cai Yaozong, stood up, and bowed to Cai Yaozong: "Lord Cai, I was truly rude to you just now."

Liu Hongyu and Cai Yaozong almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Lord Zhao, you really dare to say anything. Could it be that you think you can disregard your superiors just because your senior brother is the Minister of Personnel?" Cai Yaozong said in a sinister tone.

He hadn't expected this new girl to be so difficult to deal with. He didn't know if she was genuinely naive or cunning.

"Wrong, I'm not relying on my senior brothers, but on the Emperor." Zhao Ruxi stopped pretending to be ignorant, smiled slightly, and said calmly, "I am the top scholar personally selected by the Emperor. I suppose the Emperor still cares about me, the female top scholar who gave up entering the Hanlin Academy and took the initiative to request an outside post. When I submit my memorial to report the situation, I will report the situation in Nanyang in detail."

Her round, beautiful eyes glanced at Cai Yaozong, then at Liu Hongyu: "When the time comes, I can't just make things up about Lord Liu and Lord Cai; I'll have to write it down truthfully."

Liu Hongyu and Cai Yaozong: "..."

This is a blatant threat.

"Threatening his superior on his very first day in office, Lord Zhao is truly something else," Cai Yaozong said through gritted teeth.

He knew that if Zhao Ruxi couldn't stand up and was at a disadvantage in his struggle, just like Li Li sitting next to him, Liu Hongyu wouldn't care about their competition. But once it threatened Liu Hongyu's own interests, he naturally wouldn't stand idly by.

If Liu Hongyu doesn't stand by his side, his position will be threatened.

"No matter how capable you are, you can't compare to Lord Cai, who directly bypassed Shangguan to become the de facto ruler of Nanyang," Zhao Ruxi retorted.

"Alright, enough talk," Liu Hongyu snapped. He found Zhao Ruxi's words extremely offensive; wasn't she implying his incompetence?

"Since Lord Cai has requested that Lord Zhao understand the situation, then let's make sure the understanding is comprehensive. Lord Cai, when Lord Zhao needs to see the accounts for salt and grain, you should show them to her without refusing; the same applies to other matters, you must not resist or refuse to cooperate with Lord Zhao," he said sternly.

Although Cai Yaozong's words were somewhat presumptuous, he dared not truly offend Liu Hongyu. Whether Liu Hongyu recommended him as his successor upon leaving office or not would make a significant difference.

Although the Crown Prince stood behind him, he was still a minor official of the Subordinate Sixth Rank, not yet at the point where His Highness the Crown Prince would wholeheartedly protect him. He had to have the ability to strive for greater power before the Crown Prince would value him and be willing to protect him.

Therefore, he has to earn this position of prefect himself through his own abilities.

"Yes, since Lord Liu has spoken, this humble official dares not disobey," he said, feeling aggrieved.

At that moment, he deeply regretted wanting to give Zhao Ruxi a hard time. If he had delegated some unimportant tasks to Zhao Ruxi from the beginning, wouldn't everything have been fine?

Zhao Ruxi was then satisfied and said, "Then please have Lord Cai move the accounts to my office now."

She turned to Liu Hongyu and asked, "Shouldn't I have an office?"

Cai Yaozong, standing nearby, flew into a rage. "I have plenty of official business to attend to, how could I have time to look for your accounts? Let's talk about this in a few days!"

With that, he stood up, flicked his sleeves, and prepared to leave.

Zhao Ruxi ignored him, and only when Cai Yaozong was almost at the door did she slowly say, "I will report all of Lord Cai's remarks to the Emperor truthfully."

Cai Yaozong paused in his steps.

Liu Hongyu was startled and quickly stopped Cai Yaozong: "Lord Cai, put aside your official business for now. If it's particularly urgent, have your subordinates handle it; if they can't, hand it over to Lord Li. In the next two days, find all the accounts and documents that Lord Zhao needs and move them to her room."

Cai Yaozong: "..."

He turned around, gave Zhao Ruxi a sinister look, and squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth. "Yes."

Liu Hongyu then said to Zhao Ruxi, "I have already had your office cleaned up; it's to the left of Lord Cai's room."

He turned to Li Li, who was watching the commotion, and said, "Lord Li, would you please take Lord Zhao to see the house later?"

After Li Li nodded, Liu Hongyu pondered for a moment and said, "As for manpower... let Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang take orders from Lord Zhao."

Cai Yaozong's eyelids twitched when he heard the name Guan Jian'an.

He looked at Liu Hongyu.

Liu Hongyu, however, never looked up, slowly sipping his tea, seemingly oblivious to Cai Yaozong's gaze.

"Yes." Li Li bowed in agreement, stood up, and gestured to Zhao Ruxi, "Lord Zhao, let's go see your room. I'll also have those two clerks and the constables come to pay their respects to you."

Zhao Ruxi gave Li Li a deep look, then cupped her hands in a respectful bow. "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Li."

She knew that Li Li was giving both sides a way out. Since Cai Yaozong and Liu Hongyu had already given in to her under her threats, she shouldn't be so aggressive. Leaving here to go to the office was a good way to ease the tension.

Li Li's move was a gesture of goodwill towards both sides. This man is no ordinary person.

Zhao Ruxi then cupped her hands in greeting to Liu Hongyu and Cai Yaozong, saying, "Lord Liu, Lord Cai, I'll be going now. We'll talk later."

Cai Yaozong: "..." Bah!