Judge of the Song Dynasty

“Ah!”

As soon as Xu Zun left, Xu Zhiqian was pulled into Zhang Fei’s embrace, causing her to let out a delicate cry. She raised her hand and gave Zhang Fei a heavy smack. “What are you doing?”

But she didn’t hurry to break free, having grown accustomed to it by now.

Zhang Fei said aggrievedly, “This is all your fault.”

“My fault?”

Xu Zhiqian’s phoenix eyes widened in anger. “How can this be my fault? I’ve been reminding you all along that once you’ve gained an advantage, you should keep a low profile. You’re the one who wouldn’t listen, saying something about being born for grand occasions. If you ask me, you brought all this on yourself.”

Toward the end, she mimicked Zhang Fei’s arrogant, infuriating tone.

Zhang Fei gently patted her perky bottom. “Stop being so sarcastic. This is a different matter. If you had married me earlier, I could have been exempted from corvee service. You’re definitely fully responsible.”

“You wish.”

Xu Zhiqian couldn’t help but blush, giving him a coquettish glare. “Even if that were the case, it still wouldn’t work. Unless you married into the Xu family, only then could you be classified as being part of an official’s family.” “Really?”

Zhang Fei asked, “What about those imperial relatives?”

Xu Zhiqian snorted. “Imperial relatives don’t have pen-in-cap or merchant backgrounds either.”

That was true – they all married within their social class. Zhang Fei suddenly asked, “So when do you plan to marry me?”

“Ah?”

Xu Zhiqian was somewhat flustered.

Zhang Fei said, “What? Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it?”

“I…”

Xu Zhiqian pressed her lips together.

“Hmm?”

Zhang Fei stared directly at her.

Xu Zhiqian didn’t dare meet his gaze and said softly, “I want to wait until my brother returns.”

Zhang Fei clicked his tongue. “If you’re getting married, he’ll definitely come back!”

“That’s not what I mean.” Xu Zhiqian said, “I mean, wait until my brother returns to the capital to take up his post. That way, there will be someone to keep my father company.”

So that was it. Zhang Fei fell silent in thought.

Xu Zhiqian stole a glance at Zhang Fei. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Zhang Fei was startled, his eyes turning. “Actually, I don’t really mind when we get married, it’s just…”

Xu Zhiqian leaned in, asking somewhat nervously, “Just what?”

Zhang Fei said, “It’s just that sometimes sleeping alone gets cold.”

“Cold?”

Xu Zhiqian glanced at the intense sunlight outside the door. Shouldn’t it be hot right now?

Suddenly, she moved like a startled rabbit, jumping directly out of Zhang Fei’s arms. “You lecher, your mind is full of such indecent thoughts.”

Zhang Fei said irritably, “We’re already engaged – how is that indecent?”

“But we still haven’t performed the ceremony.” Xu Zhiqian’s cheeks were like they were painted with evening clouds.

Zhang Fei spread his hands. “I’d be fine with performing the ceremony tomorrow. It’s you…”

Xu Zhiqian knew she was in the wrong and blurted out, “You… go find Sister Gao.”

“I’d like to.”

“Hmm?”

“No, cough cough, what I mean is, everything has its priorities.” Zhang Fei chuckled. “How about tonight I rest in your boudoir to conserve my energy for the upcoming battle with corvee service?”

“Don’t even think about it! I won’t talk to you anymore, you lecher.”

With that, Xu Zhiqian fled in panic.

“This woman.”

Zhang Fei scratched his face. “Waiting for her brother to return – that’ll be till the cows come home. No, I still need to get on the train first and buy the ticket later. Just don’t let me catch the opportunity.”

After his lustful thoughts passed, worry crept back in.

“Good heavens!”

Zhang Fei sighed deeply while looking up. “Corvee service, you bastards, I’ll definitely make you regret this.”

While complaining, he returned home. Just as he reached the back courtyard, he suddenly heard sobbing sounds.

“Eh? Who’s crying?”

Zhang Fei turned to look and saw a voluptuous, alluring figure sitting on the corridor railing, covering her face and weeping.

Who else could it be but Gao Wenyin?

“Wife.”

Zhang Fei hurried over.

“Zhang San?”

When Gao Wenyin saw Zhang Fei, she immediately stood up and hastily wiped away the tears on her face with her silk handkerchief.

Zhang Fei looked her over and asked nervously, “Who bullied you?”

Gao Wenyin shook her head. “No one.”

“If no one did, why are you crying?”

“I wasn’t… wasn’t crying.”

“I saw it myself.”

Zhang Fei said anxiously, “Tell me quickly, who bullied you? If you don’t say I’ll go ask Xiaotao. This is absolutely outrageous – when did the Zhang family fall so low that anyone can step on us?”

He was already in a bad mood, and seeing his family members being wronged was something he absolutely couldn’t tolerate.

“That’s not it.”

Gao Wenyin hurriedly stopped Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei said with a serious expression, “Then why were you crying?”

“I…”

Seeing her hesitate to speak, Zhang Fei also became somewhat agitated. “Come on, just tell me. Am I the type of person who’s afraid of trouble?”

Gao Wenyin was immediately startled by Zhang Fei’s tone, staring at him blankly with tear stains still on her face.

Seeing this, Zhang Fei continued, “If you can’t even confide in your family when you’re wronged, then what’s the point of living together?”

Gao Wenyin blinked and said with a choked voice, “I wasn’t wronged. I just… I just blame myself for dragging you down, Zhang San.”

Zhang Fei’s eyes widened in bewilderment. “How did you drag me down?” He was also puzzled inwardly – you have that kind of ability? How come I never noticed before?

Gao Wenyin’s eyes reddened slightly. “If I hadn’t been living in your house, you wouldn’t have faced this calamity. I… I’m just an inauspicious woman.”

Zhang Fei became more confused the more he listened, scratching his neck. “Calamity? What calamity?”

Gao Wenyin blinked. “I heard Li Si say that you… you will have to serve corvee service.”

“Oh.”

Only then did Zhang Fei understand, laughing. “You mean runner duty for corvee service?”

Gao Wenyin nodded repeatedly like a pecking chicken.

Runner duty had previously destroyed her family, when her husband was made to deliver official silver. Now that she was living with the Zhang family, she still couldn’t escape this corvee service. Ancient people were superstitious, so she believed herself to be an inauspicious person.

Zhang Fei looked at her gentle, quiet face and thought that if he didn’t put her mind at ease, this woman might do something foolish.

After pondering briefly, he suddenly sat down on the railing and patted his thigh. “Sit.”

Gao Wenyin stared at him with wide eyes.

“No.”

He patted the spot beside him instead. “Sit, sit, sit. I’ll explain the whole situation to you.”

“Oh.”

Gao Wenyin quickly sat down.

Zhang Fei explained, “Do you know that many ministers at court want me to enter government service?”

Gao Wenyin first shook her head, then nodded. “I… I think I heard Li Si mention it, but you seemed unwilling to become an official.”

Zhang Fei nodded. “The truth is that those officials fear my legal arguments, so they hope to win me over, but I’ve repeatedly refused them. That’s why they came up with this scheme – using the name of runner duty to first recruit me to the government office, and when the time is right, promote me to an official position. Father-in-law just explained everything very clearly to me. What I’ll be doing at the government office is legal work, not hard labor.”

Gao Wenyin said joyfully, “Really? You aren’t deceiving me?”

Zhang Fei laughed. “Why would I deceive you? If they really wanted to harm me, Father-in-law would never have agreed in the first place. Hmph, speaking of this matter, Father-in-law is on their side – he also wants me to become an official.”

“Now I can rest easy.” Gao Wenyin gently patted her chest, her red lips slightly parted as she breathed softly. After a moment, she continued, “Actually, Lord Xu also has your best interests at heart. Why are you unwilling to become an official?”

Zhang Fei shrugged. “The position is too low-ranking. I’m not interested.”

Gao Wenyin bit her red lips lightly, momentarily at a loss for words.

Zhang Fei continued, “Wife, people live in this world to endure hardship. It’s only because there’s suffering that there’s joy. No one drags down anyone else. Even if this time I really was going to serve corvee labor; you say you’ve dragged me down – but you help me wash clothes and cook, help me ward off mosquitoes and dress me, allowing me to work wholeheartedly without worries and achieve such success. How should we account for that?”

Hearing this, Gao Wenyin couldn’t help but lower her eyelids and say softly, “What I do are all trivial matters. Your achievements today are due to your own talent.”

This woman really is…! Zhang Fei scratched his head, then suddenly his eyes lit up as he extended his hand. “Wife, give me your hand.”

Gao Wenyin looked up, staring blankly at Zhang Fei.

“Give me your hand.”

Zhang Fei shook his wrist with a serious expression.

After some hesitation, Gao Wenyin still placed her hand in Zhang Fei’s.

Zhang Fei gripped it tightly, and Gao Wenyin couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

Zhang Fei’s other hand suddenly and domineeringly wrapped around Gao Wenyin’s waist, pulling her close.

“Zhang San.”

Gao Wenyin cried out in surprise.

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “Now we two share a common destiny. Since I’ve been implicated by your troubles, we must agree today that if we encounter difficulties in the future, you must help me overcome them.”

Gao Wenyin glanced at him shyly, “I just fear I won’t be able to help.”

Zhang Fei said, “Don’t belittle yourself. Even if I’m kneeling at the execution ground, someone still needs to come see me off.”

“Absolutely not.”

Gao Wenyin hurriedly raised her hand to cover Zhang Fei’s mouth, but then quickly lowered it again, “Zhang San, please don’t say such things to frighten me.”

Zhang Fei tilted his head to look at her flushed face, then suddenly smiled and said, “There’s an apt saying…!”

Gao Wenyin looked up and asked, “What saying?”

Zhang Fei smiled, “True feelings are revealed in times of adversity.”

Gao Wenyin was stunned, then lowered her head, her ears and jade-like neck turning completely red.

Zhang Fei continued with a self-satisfied laugh, “This runner service really comes at the perfect time. Truly, misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. I must work hard to do it well and achieve results, so as not to disappoint Heaven’s good intentions.”

Gao Wenyin was overwhelmed with shyness and quickly stood up, “I-I’ll go cook for you.”

“Don’t add eggs – I’ve had too much protein lately.”

Hall of Delegated Rule.

“This has already been decided. If His Majesty doesn’t intervene now, Zhang San will definitely have to serve at the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.”

The eunuch Wang Zhan spoke to Zhao Xu with some concern.

He was one of the few eunuchs who knew about the relationship between Zhao Xu and Zhang Fei.

Zhao Xu smiled, “Even if I intervened, I couldn’t help him.”

Wang Zhan was startled, “How is that possible?”

Zhao Xu glanced at him and smiled, “He has offended the two most intelligent and powerful ministers in the court. How could I save him?”

Wang Zhan said, “The two most intelligent and powerful? Could it be… could it be that Academician Wang and Academician Sima are behind this?”

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded.

Wang Zhan was shocked, “How is this possible? Zhang San has always had good relations with both of them.”

Zhao Xu chuckled, “In that previous lawsuit, Zhang San lost face but gained substance, while Fan Chunren won face without losing substance. Tell me, who was most embarrassed at the time?”

Wang Zhan blinked, “Oh my! This servant understands now. No wonder all of a sudden, Remonstrator Fan left the Censorate to do legal aid at the Bureau of Records, while Zhang San has to serve corvee labor.”

“Exactly so.”

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, then continued, “Letting Zhang San suffer a bit is actually good. First, it can reduce his sharp edge – for a pen-in-cap, being too aggressive isn’t a good thing. Second, it can calm anger – he has indeed offended too many people.”

He saw the whole situation most clearly, because he was fully aware of everything that had happened. Having a comprehensive view of the situation, he could tell at a glance that this was definitely Wang Anshi and Sima Guang’s doing.

However, he believed this was actually a good thing for Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei had charged ahead too fiercely and needed to pull back a bit.

After Zhang Fei had stabilized his home front, he happily ran off to report to the Kaifeng Prefectural Office.

“Patrol constable?”

Zhang Fei looked at Huang Gui in shock. “Isn’t that being a fireman?”

Huang Gui looked him up and down. “With your build, could you handle being a fireman?”

“I couldn’t!” Zhang Fei said. “That’s why I’m surprised.”

Huang Gui said, “Patrol constables don’t just handle firefighting duties – they also include police patrol work.”

Zhang Fei continued, “Police patrols are supposed to catch thieves and bandits. I don’t have those skills either!”

Huang Gui smiled. “And among the police patrols, there are some officers who specialize in maintaining traffic.”

“Traffic police?”

Zhang Fei exclaimed, “You want me to be a traffic police officer? Didn’t you say I’d be doing legal work?”

Huang Gui nodded. “That’s right!”

“How does this relate to law?” Zhang Fei questioned.

Huang Gui smiled. “Look, look, you don’t understand at all. Thieves and bandits might not appear for half a month at a time. But the disputes in this city – nine times out of ten – happen on the roads, causing no small amount of trouble for the District Court. If there were someone knowledgeable about law among the patrol police who could handle these disputes right on the street, it would make things much easier for the government offices. This is also a very important matter in judicial reform – your responsibility is quite significant.”

Hearing his earnest nonsense, Zhang Fei said, “Chief Clerk Huang, you just want me to get some sun and rain, don’t you?”

“How could that be!” Just then, Li Kai walked in, chuckling. “Our Kaifeng Prefectural Office finally managed to invite you, the great pen-in-cap Zhang. How could we waste your talents? When there are cases of street encroachment, theft, or brawls, you’ll have to handle those too. There’s still some danger involved, so you’d better be careful!”