Gathering Information
In the end, she left the female guard at home and chose a male guard named Xiang Ming to take with her.
And since Zhou Chun was indispensable when working by her side, Zhou Chun naturally had to be brought along as well.
So now all sorts of miscellaneous tasks have fallen on Zhou Chun's shoulders. He has to win over all sorts of people in the yamen, gather information, and sometimes even do errands for Zhao Ruxi.
Fortunately, Ma Wushi and his servants would be waiting at the yamen gate. If there was anything that needed to be done, Zhou Chun only needed to go out and give the order, and someone would take care of it, so he didn't need to show his face.
"What are you saying, sir? This is just my duty," Zhou Chun said with a smile.
Once inside the government office, he changed his address, no longer calling her "Miss" but "Sir."
"There's nothing much going on right now, so I'll go out for a stroll and see what the various government offices are up to," Zhou Chun added. "And while I'm at it, I'll also urge Guan Jian'an and the other man on their way."
"Okay, go ahead." Zhao Ruxi nodded.
Upon seeing Xiang Ming, Xiang Ming was immediately moved.
He was a guard sent by His Highness Prince of Qi to be by the side of the future Consort of the Prince of Qi. As long as he protected Zhao Ruxi's safety and prevented any accidents from happening to her, he would have completed his mission.
That was Xiang Ming's original plan as well.
During this time, he followed Zhao Ruxi from the capital to Nanyang. Although he thought Zhao Ruxi was good, he only thought she was talented, but not particularly capable or resourceful.
But after seeing how Zhao Ruxi dealt with Cai Yaozong and Liu Hongyu, forcing the two seasoned officials into an awkward position, his opinion changed drastically.
No wonder His Highness Prince of Qi was so determined to marry her and even allowed her to become an official and mingle with those men in the bureaucracy; it's because Miss Zhao is capable.
He suddenly realized that it was a huge waste of an opportunity for him to simply stay by the side of the future Consort of the Prince of Qi without seeking any merit or making any mistakes.
If he can't become an indispensable confidant to His Highness Prince of Qi, then becoming an indispensable person to Miss Zhao isn't so bad, is it? Maybe in the future, Prince of Qi will even have to listen to Consort of the Prince of Qi.
Thinking this, he quickly added, "Sir, shall I go out for a stroll too?"
Zhao Ruxi nodded and said, "Okay, you go too."
She was also very curious about the people Xiao Lingyan had sent to her side, wanting to see what Xiang Ming was capable of. She was also happy that these three guards were willing to do things for her.
The men sent to her side must have been given orders by Xiao Lingyan, and they would obey and protect her. However, whether these three truly trusted her, were willing to pledge allegiance to her, and actively do things for her varied in their attitudes, and her acceptance of each of them also differed.
If the three men only see her as a task and have no intention of seeking her favor or getting close to her, then once she returns to the capital, she will return them to Xiao Lingyan and will not ask them to come to her side again.
However, if the three of them are willing to join her, even if she returns to the capital and Xiao Lingyan, she will still keep them by her side.
Now that she's in the government office and has Lady Luo protecting her, and she's not exactly weak, nor does she have any enemies who want to kill her, she doesn't need to be on edge and have Xiang Ming by her side at Xiang Ming times. She can let Xiang Ming do whatever he wants.
Seeing that Xiang Ming had also taken his mission and left, Lady Luo suddenly felt that she hadn't been of any use.
She looked around the room and found that although someone had cleaned it and the tables, chairs, and floor were not dirty, the nooks and crannies were not cleaned properly.
She rolled up her sleeves and said, "Sir, the room isn't very clean. Let me clean it again."
Zhao Ruxi was indifferent. "Okay."
Lady Luo went out for a stroll and somehow got hold of a basin and a large basin of water, along with a rag. She then started cleaning the house, wiping and scrubbing everything.
Zhao Ruxi took a book out of her sleeve pocket, sat down and began to read it with great interest, looking completely at ease.
When Lady Luo had cleaned the house until it was spotless, Xiang Ming returned.
He reported, "Guan Jian'an first went to the middle room of the east wing and stayed there for quite a while before coming out. Qin Wang waited in the corridor the whole time. After Guan Jian'an came out, he led Qin Wang to the room on the left."
Although he went to gather information, he knew that his primary task was to protect Zhao Ruxi's safety. Therefore, he dared not go far, much less run into other people's offices to chat with them like Zhou Chun did.
He had just been standing in the doorway of the house where he could see Zhao Ruxi and Guan Jian'an, watching Guan Jian'an's movements from afar.
Zhao Ruxi immediately understood where Guan Jian'an had just gone.
Ancient government offices generally had similar layouts.
In government offices like the prefectural and county governments, the officials all worked in one large courtyard. The main buildings facing south were where the officials worked. The east and west wings were where the six departments worked, while the yamen runners worked in another courtyard.
In ancient times, the center was considered the most important place, so the middle room in the south wing was the office of the prefect; the middle room in the east wing was where the personnel office was located. To the left of the Ministry of Personnel was the household office; to the right was the rites office.
The west wing has a military barracks in the center, a prison on the left, and a workshop on the right.
Because each department had about ten clerks under its jurisdiction, the offices of each department were quite large. The interior could be separated by screens or walls, but this was the general layout.
Although the salt and grain were assigned to Cai Yaozong for management, their accounts and files were kept in the household affairs office.
Logically, Guan Jian'an should have gone to the Household Revenue Department, not the Personnel Department. But he went straight to the Personnel Department; was he going to consult Chen Kang? Was he seeking Chen Kang's advice, or did he want Chen Kang to order Wang Yongshou, the Revenue Ministry of Revenue, to move the files and accounts?
Zhao Ruxi stroked her chin, a look of interest on her face.
After about half a cup of tea's time, Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang did not return, but Zhou Chun did.
He said, "I just went to the workshop for a chat and made an appointment with Hu Jingcheng from the workshop to have drinks at noon."
Zhao Ruxi nodded approvingly. "Very good."
The other clerks all had their own masters and were not easy to offend. However, the Ministry of Works was the last of the six departments, with no power or lucrative opportunities, and was always disliked. Zhou Chun might face various suspicions and cold treatment if he went elsewhere, but there would be no problem going to the Ministry of Works.
Zhou Chun didn't need to ask the Minister of Works anything; she only needed to inquire about the relationships between the various clerks. Anyone who stayed in the government office for a long time would know such things; there was no secret about it. If the Minister of Ministry of Works wanted to do her a favor as the newly appointed Assistant Magistrate, he would naturally tell Zhou Chun about these things.
Zhou Chun had previously inquired about the situation of the clerks in the yamen, but his knowledge was limited and could not compare to the inside information known by these veteran officials.
Take Guan Jian'an and Qin Wang, for example. They were previously inconspicuous. Zhou Chun was too busy inquiring about other people's situations to know anything about them. But now they are hampered by a lack of information.