Li Li

Whether in ancient or modern times, the location of an office is always very particular about hierarchy. In the state government office, the row of main rooms facing south was the office of the several officials. Liu Hongyu the middle, Cai Yaozong was on the left, Li Li was on the right—in the Great Jin, the left was always considered the place of honor.

If Zhao Ruxi hadn't come, Cai Yaozong and Li Li would have been like his left and right arms, flanking Liu Hongyu. Now that Zhao Ruxi has arrived, according to the rules, her office is located to Cai Yaozong's left.

There were five rooms in a row, and the remaining room was probably the office of the clerk. The clerk was in charge of the state government's receipts and documents. If Liu Hongyu was the mayor and the three magistrates were the deputy mayors, then the clerk was equivalent to the secretary-general, Subordinate Ninth Rank official, and a proper official of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Feng Xuemin, a clerk in Nanyang, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and was about the same age as Liu Hongyu.

In the information Xiao Lingyan gave Zhao Ruxi, this person had little presence and was probably someone who had been sidelined by Chen Kang, the clerk of the yamen. That's why he was on sick leave for many years and rarely stayed in the yamen. Liu Hongyu, Cai Yaozong, and others didn't care. If there was anything in the yamen, they would go directly to Chen Kang and let him assign the responsibilities.

Zhao Ruxi's office was extremely spacious, probably fifty or sixty square meters. It was divided in the middle by a screen, and the inner room was probably her desk. The furniture there was obviously more upscale than the others. There were some seats placed near the outside, but these were not for clerks and yamen runners, but for the attendants of her superiors.

Officials typically employed their own servants, not clerks or yamen runners. Clerks and yamen runners had their own offices, located in another part of the courtyard.

Zhao Ruxi was generally satisfied with the place.

"Lord Zhao, is there anything else you'd like to purchase? If so, please let me know, and I'll mention it to Lord Liu after this period has passed. Lord Liu is quite generous to his subordinates. As long as it's not excessive, he'll agree to purchase it. Lord Cai and I also purchased some things when we came," Li Li said.

Zhao Ruxi smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Li, but thank you anyway. There's no need to use public funds to purchase these items. I can purchase them myself if needed. I can just move them all with me when I leave."

She had just fallen out with Liu Hongyu; wouldn't it be pointless to go begging for something like this now? She had money; she didn't care about such things.

However, it was clear that Li Li's reminder was well-intentioned. He specifically pointed out "after some time" instead of "immediately," probably because he wanted to wait until Liu Hongyu's anger subsided before bringing it up again. He also mentioned that he and Cai Yaozong had added some things when they came, which was a way of telling Zhao Ruxi that the request was within reasonable limits.

Seeing that Zhao Ruxi's expression was gentle and that she wasn't someone who was always hostile, Li Li hesitated for a moment before asking, "Lord Zhao, aren't you afraid that Lord Liu will target you for offending him?"

Zhao Ruxi knew that Li Li's question wasn't out of feigned innocence, but rather for ulterior motives.

Firstly, he wanted to show that "we're on the same side" and express goodwill towards her; secondly, he also wanted to test her, to see if she was truly cunning and shrewd, or just outspoken and naive.

She glanced at the other person silently and asked, "If I don't offend them like this, will they stop targeting me?"

Li Li was speechless.

He then gave a wry smile.

That's absolutely true.

When he came to Nanyang to take up his post, he was there to fill a vacancy in a proper way.

Normally, a prefecture should have two assistant prefects. This was the case when Cai Yaozong was appointed as assistant prefect. Later, the other one was transferred, and the court filled the position with Li Li.

As a result, Cai Yaozong acted as if he wanted to seize power from him, giving him no friendly treatment and constantly making things difficult. It took a long time before he was given a small portion of the work to manage, which was all thankless and arduous tasks.

Liu Hongyu watched coldly from the sidelines. As long as Cai Yaozong didn't go too far, he wouldn't interfere.

I suffered quite a bit of losses back then.

Now that Zhao Ruxi has forcefully intervened, turning two sub-prefects into three, the power is divided. Even if Zhao Ruxi greets Cai Yaozong with a smile all day long, she probably won't be able to please him.

Thinking of this, Li Li glanced at Zhao Ruxi with a complicated expression.

This young girl before him, though so young, was far more insightful than he was, winning the first round against Cai Yaozong. One really can't judge a person's ability by their age. She was the top scholar, intelligent beyond the reach of ordinary scholars like themselves; her insight was far sharper than theirs.

At this moment, Li Li, who had originally planned to observe from the sidelines for a while, decided to stand on the same political side as Zhao Ruxi.

"Sir, Clerk Guan and Qin Wang have arrived." A voice rang out from outside the door.

Zhao Ruxi brought Lady Luo, Zhou Chun, and a guard named Xiang Ming, whom Xiao Lingyan had given her, to the yamen. At this time, the three servants stayed in the room with her. Li Li's attendants, seeing that there were many people, did not come in but stood outside the door.

The person who just reported this must have been Li Li's servant.

"Let them in," Li Li said.

Immediately afterwards, two more people entered and stood at the doorway, bowing in unison to Li and Zhao: "Guan Jian'an (Qin Wang) greets Lord Li and Lord Zhao."

Li Li nodded and looked at Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi glanced at the two men, focusing on Guan Jian'an.

Guan Jian'an to be in his thirties, with a pale face and a thin body, suggesting he was in poor health; while Qin Wang was a boy of fifteen or sixteen, likely a newcomer to the yamen.

The prefectural government had six departments, each with seven or eight clerks. Guan Jian'an was a specially marked person on the list of clerks that Xiao Lingyan gave her.

She nodded and said, "No need for formalities. From now on, you two will work for me, and I will assign you tasks."

Even if Liu Hongyu is a tiger with almost no teeth left, he still has a temper. She just Gao Xing him, so it's understandable that he would send someone who seems useless on the surface but is actually connected to Chen Kang to do her bidding.

It doesn't matter if she's useless or not healthy, as long as she doesn't cause you harm, that's fine.

Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang were both taken aback. Clearly, no one had told them they were to follow the new official when they arrived, and they certainly hadn't expected the new official to be a young girl.

Guan Jian'an, being a veteran of the government office, quickly realized what was happening and bowed, saying, "I will obey your orders, sir."

Qin Wang was a newcomer with no experience. Seeing Guan Jian'an speak, he quickly followed suit and said, "I will obey your orders, sir."

"Guan Jian'an, how long have you been in the yamen?" Zhao Ruxi asked.

"Reporting to you, sir, I have been working in this yamen for ten years," Guan Jian'an.

What exactly were you doing before?

"Because of my poor health, I have to take leave from time to time, so I only do some odd jobs. Wherever there is a shortage of manpower, they call me over, and I do the work assigned to me by each department."