Threatened Again

He said with a beaming smile, "I wouldn't dare to lie. You'll see when you let Mister Kumu and Lord Gan try it; they certainly won't be disappointed. If they like it, you don't need to send anyone to find more; just let me know. I'll have the winery prepare some, send some to Mister Kumu, and also have you take some to the capital as gifts."

"No need, no need, just tell me where you bought it," Zhao Ruxi said.

She didn't want the wine; she wanted to see the distillery.

"Sir, you don't know, although this winery does sell wine, it's all newly brewed. They don't have much aged wine, and they generally don't sell it to anyone who isn't a close relative. I was only able to buy this good wine because I happened to do them a favor ten years ago."

"I see. Then I'll have to trouble Administrative Clerk Chen then." Zhao Ruxi cupped her hands in a very polite manner.

Seeing Zhao Ruxi and Chen Kang chatting happily back and forth, their relationship was becoming increasingly good, to the point that they were even going to the winery to buy wine together, Cai Yaozong felt extremely envious.

He chuckled and said, "Old Chen, you're from Nanyang and haven't been to other places. It's natural you find this wine good and are proud of it, which I understand. But the world is vast, and there are countless good things. The fact that this wine didn't become a tribute item shows it still has its shortcomings. Mister Kumu is the Emperor's cousin, practically a brother to the late Emperor. What kind of tribute wine hasn't he tasted? Don't exaggerate too much, or you'll disappoint Mister Kumu and the others."

Chen Kang's smile froze, then he said, "Lord Cai is right. I'm just a frog in a well; I thought I was the best in the world after drinking a little bit of wine that tasted good, and I forgot where Lord Zhao and Mister Kumu came from. I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed."

"However, everyone has their own taste. Perhaps Mister Kumu, Lord Gan, and Mister Zhou will enjoy this kind of wine? Since they've come to Nanyang, Lord Zhao, it would be a thoughtful gesture for you to offer them some Nanyang wine. So why not give it a try?"

"I'm sure this is good wine," Zhao Ruxi nodded. "I'll let Master and the others try it in a bit."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kang's face broke into a radiant smile.

"Listen to the meaning behind words, and listen to the sound of drums." Zhao Ruxi's words indicate that she is willing to accept Chen Kang's kindness, but rejects Cai Yaozong's offer.

Hmph, that old dog Cai Yaozong wants to sabotage him? No way!

"Ahem!" Cai Yaozong coughed loudly to announce his presence before turning to Zhao Ruxi and saying, "Besides paying my respects to Mister Kumu and the others, I also have something to say to you, Lord Zhao."

"After thinking about it, I realized that since Lord Zhao was personally selected by the Emperor as the top scholar, his knowledge and abilities must be exceptional. It would be inappropriate for me to view you with the same standards I use for an ordinary newly appointed official."

"I plan to transfer the responsibilities of grain supervision and water conservancy from my office to Lord Zhao; Li Li will also allocate one or two responsibilities to Lord Zhao. What do you think? If Lord Zhao has no objections, I will report this matter to Lord Liu when I return to the yamen."

Zhao Ruxi thought Cai Yaozong would fight her for a couple more rounds, but she was surprised that he gave up so easily.

She stood up and bowed to Cai Yaozong: "Thank you, Lord Cai, for your kindness in mentoring a junior like me. Since Lord Cai are so kind, I will respectfully accept your offer and take on these tasks."

Before Cai Yaozong could even smile, Zhao Ruxi continued, "Actually, what Lord Cai said is not wrong. Although I am better at studying than others, I am young and have not had much contact with daily affairs, so I am indeed not as familiar with government affairs as you are. Therefore, I would like to humbly request Lord Cai's permission to review the salt and grain records and accounts."

Cai Yaozong's expression changed.

Before he could speak, Zhao Ruxi continued, "But Lord Cai, rest assured, I'm just gathering information and learning; I won't do anything else. Lord Gan has already retired and no longer serves in the court; his offer to look at the accounts for me was just a joke. Doing so would be against the rules, and I don't want to trouble him too much."

"This..." Cai Yaozong's expression was extremely unpleasant. "Lord Zhao, you are young, and there are some rules of officialdom that you may not be aware of. In matters under someone else's jurisdiction, it is inconvenient for other officials of the same or lower rank to interfere, let alone look at files and accounts, unless they are superiors."

"It's extremely taboo to overstep one's bounds. If I agree to this, it will benefit neither of us. So, I'm sorry, but I cannot agree to this."

"Is that so?" Zhao Ruxi frowned and thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "Then forget it. I'll refrain from taking over the affairs for now and proceed as planned. It won't be too late to take over specific tasks after I've understood the situation and learned about all the matters."

She smiled at Cai Yaozong and cupped her hands in a respectful gesture, "I'll trouble Lord Cai and Lord Li to take care of things during this time and manage some affairs for the time being."

Cai Yaozong felt a mouthful of blood welling up inside him, and he almost spat it out.

Why is this little vixen so difficult to deal with? He's already taken a big step back, but she's still clinging to the issue, demanding to see the salt administration records and accounts.

Zhao Ruxi was still smiling, looking like an innocent and carefree young girl, but what she said was anything but cute.

She said, "I'm not making this request to put you in a difficult position Lord Cai. It's mainly because I'm good at math. Last winter, when there was a problem with the border's food supplies, I did the accounting for the Ministry of Revenue. Minister Lord Qi the Ministry of Revenue Ministry of Revenue been wanting me to take a position there."

"I only wanted to learn more about local government affairs, which is why I volunteered to be transferred to an outside post. I don't know how long I'll be able to stay here; perhaps soon Lord Qi will ask the Emperor to transfer me back. So I want to take this opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of local affairs. That way, when I return to the capital and take up a position in the Ministry of Revenue, I'll be more confident in my work."

Cai Yaozong: "..."

A threat, a blatant threat indeed!

He's only in his early forties, and he'll likely be an official for at least another ten or twenty years. After Liu Hongyu retires, he'll probably succeed him as the prefect of Nanyang; later, he'll likely take up other official posts elsewhere. If Zhao Ruxi goes to work in the Ministry of Revenue, won't all his accounts have to go through her?

With so many provinces, prefectures, and states across the country, it would be quite an achievement for officials in the Ministry of Ministry of Revenue to be able to inspect the accounts at the provincial level. The Bureau of Civil Affairs would conduct more inspections of the provinces under its jurisdiction, but rarely at the state level, at most once every two or three years.

But this is only the general case.

If a problem arises in a certain place, or if a local official offends an official from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue will scrutinize the accounts of that place closely.

No matter how well you keep your accounts, nitpickers will always find fault.