Where Is Lord Feng, the Records Officer?

He said, "My lord, everyone in Nanyang knows that Guan Jian'an's father died in the line of duty. If you dismiss him today, his reputation will suffer greatly. It's not worth it to damage your reputation for Guan Jian'an. Why don't you give him another chance? If he takes too much leave, then you can dismiss him, and I will have no objections."

Zhao Ruxi, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly spoke up, "Lord Liu, I've heard that the clerk Lord Feng in the prefectural government is also on sick leave all the time? If you dismiss Guan Jian'an, shouldn't Lord Feng be dealt with in the same way? Otherwise, if someone reports this, you'll definitely be branded as lax in your jurisdiction."

Chen Kang's body stiffened, and he looked at Liu Hongyu.

After hearing Zhao Ruxi's words, Liu Hongyu gave Chen Kang a deep look, then turned to Zhao Ruxi and bowed, saying, "Lord Zhao is right. I have been too lenient with the officials under my jurisdiction, always considering their poor health, which has allowed them to be so undisciplined."

He turned to Zhong Liang and said, "Draft a document instructing Feng Xuemin to return to the yamen immediately and not to take sick leave again. If he becomes ill and can no longer perform his duties as a clerk, he can submit a memorial to the court requesting retirement so that a more capable official can take his place."

"Yes." Zhong Liang bowed and quickly sat down in a corner to get to work.

Chen Kang's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Feng Aimin was ousted from his position by him and couldn't stay in the government office, which is why he's been on sick leave for years. Now, Zhao Ruxi actually wants Liu Hongyu to bring Feng Aimin back, and Liu Hongyu has agreed to her request.

Has Liu Hongyu formed an alliance with Zhao Ruxi?

Chen Kang looked at Zhao Ruxi.

He really underestimated this girl.

He thought Zhao Ruxi would try to curry favor with him and win him over, just like Cai Yaozong had done before. Although he had been discussing with Cai Yaozong how to deal with Zhao Ruxi a few days ago, he was actually waiting for Zhao Ruxi to come to him.

Only what is sought after is truly valuable, and its price will only increase. Since both sides are vying for his cooperation, he decided to see who would offer the greatest benefit.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Ruxi completely ignored him and showed no intention of reconciling with Cai Yaozong. Instead, she directly won over Liu Hongyu, thus undermining his power. Now, she even wants to use Feng Aimin to seize the power from him.

He sneered inwardly.

Does she really think that having Feng Aimin means she can take away his power? This girl is far too naive.

He didn't rely on a title, but on the village chiefs far and wide, as well as the wealthy merchants and landowners of all sizes. Getting these people to pay their grain taxes on time and in the correct amounts wasn't easy. As for salt, there were even more intricacies involved, far beyond what a young woman could handle on her own.

If Zhao Ruxi were to seize Cai Yaozong's control over salt and grain, these people could make things incredibly difficult for Zhao Ruxi as long as he didn't say a word. Zhao Ruxi would never be able to collect a single penny of tax or a single grain of grain, and there were many traps waiting for her to fall into among the salt merchants.

As long as Liu Hongyu doesn't completely side with someone else and help Zhao Ruxi with the intention of offending him and Cai Yaozong, they really aren't afraid of Zhao Ruxi.

Liu Hongyu paid no attention to what Chen Kang was thinking.

He turned to Zhao Ruxi with a polite smile and explained, "Since Guan Jian'an is here, I should give him a chance out of consideration for his father and Administrative Clerk Chen. It wouldn't be good not to give Lord Feng a chance either. Let's treat them equally. If their health truly prevents them from fulfilling their duties and they need to take sick leave, then I will follow the court's regulations and have them resign."

Zhao Ruxi smiled and cupped her hands in a respectful gesture to Liu Hongyu: "Lord Liu is truly a role model for us all. He handled this matter with both compassion and principle. I will certainly learn more from you in the future."

Chen Kang made up his mind, stood up and said to Liu Hongyu, "If you don't need me here anymore, sir, I'll take my leave and go back to my work."

Liu Hongyu glanced at him, nodded, and said, "Go."

He then said to Guan Jian'an, "You should go too."

Guan Jian'an quickly followed Chen Kang out of the house.

After the two left, Zhao Ruxi stood up to take her leave. "Thank you, Lord Liu. I'd like to take a look at the files and accounts that the Revenue Department found."

Liu Hongyu nodded. "Go."

When Zhao Ruxi went to the household office, she saw a group of people sitting at their respective tables, some doing accounts, some writing, and some reading. Everyone was doing their job in an orderly manner.

A young clerk sitting by the door saw Zhao Ruxi and his entourage, quickly stood up, bowed, and asked with a smile, "Is this Lord Zhao?"

"Yes," Zhao Ruxi said. "Is Administrative Clerk Wang here?"

"Yes, yes," the clerk replied with a smile.

Someone had already relayed the message to Wang Yongshou, and soon after, a thin old man stood up from the innermost part of the room, walked over, and said to Zhao Ruxi, "This humble one is Wang Yongshou, greetings to Lord Zhao."

"Administrative Clerk Wang, I heard that Lord Liu said the dossier and accounts I requested are ready? I'll have someone come and move them over," Zhao Ruxi said politely with a smile.

"Let me call a few yamen runners to help you move it over there, sir," Wang Yongshou said, gesturing outside.

The young clerk sitting by the door quickly ran out and returned shortly afterward with several constables.

At this moment, Wang Yongshou was leading Zhao Ruxi to stand next to a table, on which was a stack of yellowed paper files and accounts.

"If Your Excellency wants to understand the relevant government affairs in Nanyang, it's more organized to start from the beginning. So we've first found the files and accounts from the past few years. Once Your Excellency has finished reviewing these, we'll bring you the more recent ones," Wang Yongshou said.

"I've already discussed this with Lord Liu Lord Liu. Didn't he instruct you to bring me all the files and accounts? If not, I'll go find Lord Liu again." Zhao Ruxi was too lazy to argue with them anymore and turned to leave.

If Liu Hongyu were an incompetent person, this tactic wouldn't work. But Liu Hongyu is a capable minister; although he has delegated some power to Cai Yaozong in recent years, his influence remains.

Upon hearing Zhao Ruxi's words, Wang Yongshou changed his tune. "Yes, yes, I have given the order. However, I imagine Lord Zhao won't be able to finish reviewing them in a short time. And these documents are of great importance; if they are lost, destroyed, or burned, no one can bear the responsibility. Therefore, I advise you to review each batch before moving the rest. As long as you finish quickly, I have no objection to moving the recent files and accounts tomorrow morning."

Zhao Ruxi didn't want to push too hard. These clerks were all seasoned veterans; arguing with them would take ten days or half a month to resolve the issue.

Since Wang Yongshou had put it this way and there was some truth to it, she didn't press the matter further and said, "Alright, I'll come back to move them after I've looked through them."