A Warning

"Are you following in your father's footsteps?" Zhao Ruxi asked again.

Guan Jian'an looked at Zhao Ruxi in surprise, wondering how she knew about this.

He answered honestly, "Yes. Fifteen years ago, a murderer was sentenced to death. Before the execution, the murderer's younger brother rushed into the yamen and killed someone. The situation was critical, and the yamen runners didn't have time to react. My father was a clerk in the criminal division at the time, and he was standing next to the prefect and several clerks. He died protecting them."

"Seeing that my family was in dire straits after my father's death, with my twin siblings only five years old and my mother in poor health, the prefect allowed me to take my father's place in the yamen. Because of this situation, even though I was in poor health, the officials did not punish me harshly and allowed me to stay in the yamen."

Zhao Ruxi nodded and asked, "Is your mother alright now?"

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern. My sister got married, and my brother has started his own family. My family is doing quite well," Guan Jian'an said.

"That's good."

Zhao Ruxi turned to Qin Wang.

Qin Wang nervously swallowed.

"Qin Wang, what about your family? How old are you this year? How many people are in your family? How did you get into the government office, and how long have you been working here?" Zhao Ruxi asked.

"I... I... uh, I'm sixteen years old this year. There are seven people in my family: my grandparents, my parents, and three brothers. I'm the eldest."

As Qin Wang spoke, he wiped the sweat from his brow, composed himself, and spoke more fluently than before, "My father is the village head, and he begged the magistrate of the yamen to let me work there. I've only been working for a few days, originally patrolling the streets with some constables, and I just returned to the yamen when I was summoned here."

Zhao Ruxi nodded, looking at the two men. "I suppose I didn't ask for your opinions before assigning you here. Now I'm giving you a choice. If you don't want to follow me, just say so, and I'll have Lord Liu send two more men to me; if you do want to, then you must do your best to carry out my orders, without being perfunctory, without shirking responsibility, and certainly without deception or betrayal."

"If I discover any mistakes you make, I will punish you at best, and at worst I will have you removed from the government office, making you unfit to be clerks or runners again. So think carefully about whether you want to follow me."

She then fell silent, looking at the two men and waiting for their reply, clearly not intending to give them time to consider.

Upon hearing "leave the yamen," Qin Wang was immediately terrified and looked helplessly at Guan Jian'an.

Guan Jian'an, however, was much more composed. As soon as Zhao Ruxi finished speaking, he cupped his hands and said, "If you, sir, do not mind that I am weak and sickly and have to take leave from time to time, making it difficult for me to do my job, I am willing to follow you."

Upon seeing this, Qin Wang seemed to have found a pillar of support and followed suit, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect and saying, "This humble one is also willing to follow you, sir."

Zhao Ruxi nodded in satisfaction and said, "Since I asked that question, I naturally won't look down on either of you."

She changed the subject, saying, "Since you've both said you're willing to follow me, I have a task for you two. I've already discussed it with Lord Liu and Lord Cai. Lord Cai will bring over the files and accounts related to salt and grain in Nanyang for me to review. Go find Lord Cai now and have them find the files and accounts so you can bring them over."

As she said this, she carefully observed the expressions of the two people.

Guan Jian'an looked surprised when he heard that Lord Cai would provide the information; but when he heard Zhao Ruxi tell them to go find Lord Cai, his brows furrowed.

Qin Wang listened attentively to Zhao Ruxi's speech, and after listening, he had a "yes" expression on his face, clearly showing that he was completely unaware of the intricacies and working styles of the various officials in the yamen.

Zhao Ruxi asked, "What do you want to say?"

Guan Jian'an said, "Sir, I'm afraid this matter won't go smoothly. Lord Cai probably won't provide the most crucial files and accounts."

Qin Wang then realized the extent of the difficulty, and a look of panic appeared on his face.

His family went to great lengths and spent a lot of money to get him a job in the government. If he were sent back after only a few days, he wouldn't be able to face his family.

But he still had some emotional intelligence; although he was very flustered, he didn't say anything about backing down.

His father had taught him that the senior officials were very capable. When he needed to make a decision but couldn't make up his mind, he should observe what the senior officials did and follow the wise ones among them.

He didn't know Guan Jian'an was smart or not, but he was sure he had some ability to stay in the yamen for more than ten years. Since Guan Jian'an thought he could follow Lord Zhao, then it was definitely the right thing to do for him to follow as well.

Therefore, he kept his head down and remained silent.

"I said, do your best to handle it. If you are capable and do it well, I will reward you," Zhao Ruxi said calmly.

Guan Jian'an immediately replied, "Yes, I will do my best."

Qin Wang quickly echoed the same sentiment.

A slight smile finally appeared on Zhao Ruxi's face.

She pointed to her three servants and introduced them, "This is my steward, Zhou Chun; this is my guard, Xiang Ming; and this is Nanny Luo. If you need anything and it's inconvenient to come to me, you can talk to these three. If there are too many files and accounts to move later, you can ask Xiang Ming to help you."

"Yes," the two replied.

"Alright, you can go and take care of your business."

Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang quickly bowed and took their leave.

Zhao Ruxi watched the two figures as they walked away, her face full of deep thought.

After leaving the corridor and descending the steps, Guan Jian'an was about to head towards the east wing when he saw Qin Wang following him like a little tail.

He stopped under the tree, frowned, and said, "Why are you following me?"

Zhao Ruxi was an official, he was a clerk, and Qin Wang was a servant. The hierarchy was clear, with each level suppressing the others and each having its own barriers.

Therefore, even though Qin Wang and Zhao Ruxi both obeyed Zhao Ruxi's orders, they had different identities and did different things.

"I..." Qin Wang was somewhat bewildered.

He scratched his head. "I didn't know where to get the files and accounts, so I had no choice but to follow you, Brother Guan."

As he spoke, he looked at Guan Jian'an with embarrassment.

Guan Jian'an felt quite helpless about this newcomer.

Seeing that no one was around, he said in a low voice, "Actually, you should have refused just now. It wasn't easy for your family to get you into this yamen as a constable. Getting involved in the power struggle between these officials won't do you any good."

"Huh?" Qin Wang's eyes widened.

He pointed at Guan Jian'an: "I saw you agree, so I agreed too. As for the so-called 'game,' I don't know anything about it."

He scratched his head, looking distressed. "What should we do?"

Guan Jian'an sighed, patted Qin Wang on the shoulder and said, "But since you've already agreed, it's too late to go back on your word. Alright, from now on you'll work for me."