Miss Truth

"This Prefecture Governor has really proved himself to be a lecher!" Wan Lu spat, somewhat perplexed, "How can such a man ascend to the position of Chang’an’s Vice Prefect?"

Liu Qingsong replied with a sly grin that didn’t reach his eyes, "The Wangs, the Xies, the Yuans, and the Xiaos, he comes from the Yuan family of Chen County. Although the Yuan family is not as powerful as it once was in the Tang Dynasty, a lean camel is still larger than a horse. Merely by virtue of his birth and lineage, there are thousands of scholars who can’t catch up to him. Don’t be fooled by his conduct, the official post in the Chang’an Government Office isn’t something just anyone can occupy!"

The Government Office of Chang’an can be said to be an organ as useless as chicken ribs. Chang’an is the imperial capital, and setting aside the Secretariat, Ministry of Supervision, and Ministry of Personnel, just the Nine Ministries and Five Surveillance Offices cover all duties. For major matters, the Government Office can’t do anything, and for minor affairs, there are subordinates to handle things. But as an official in the Imperial City, one cannot simply do nothing. An average person really wouldn’t know how to handle this balance. Moreover, as Prefecture Governor and Vice Governor responsible for resolving all sorts of disputes, in a city where a stick can knock over a row of nobles, more often than not, you have sons of dukedoms brawling, a Prince Consort cheating caught by a Princess, adultery...

So although Yuan, the Vice Prefect, may not have the great wisdom of those Elders at court, he is just as shrewd in smaller matters.

At noon, Wan Lu wanted to go out to the restaurant to have some food sent over, but she was stopped by two government soldiers. After a short while, Prefecture Governor Yuan came upstairs with a smile and asked Ran Yan what she’d like to have.

"Serve one entire table from the ’Banquet Meal Menu for Tail-end of Feast’, with a well-matched assortment of meat and vegetarian dishes, including dessert. Leave out the milk-fried fish; I dislike fish. Have the restaurant’s chefs kill the quail from ’Zhu’s Spring Delights’ with a quick roast; it’s too cruel to cook them alive, I can’t stomach that. However, make sure it tastes the same as if it were cooked live. Deer jerky, bear’s paw, and crane meat are essentials. The layers in the single cage of golden custard must be visible, and each layer must not be thicker than raw rice paper, otherwise, our Lady won’t eat it. Have a bit of every variety of fish, shrimp, and seafood. Hmm... I’ll just barely manage with this," Liu Qingsong rattled off a long list without pause, then took a sip of water from his cup and, seeing Yuan’s face turn slightly green, added fuel to the fire, "Eh? Prefecture Governor Yuan, you should hurry on. Oh dear, to eat from the Banquet Meal Menu for Tail-end of Feast, our Jiulang himself would feel it’s unfair to the Lady. If he knew his Lady was being starved, who knows how distressed he’d be. Prefecture Governor Yuan, you really should be considerate here! With Jiulang absent, I can only offer humble accommodations to our distinguished Lady."

"Doctor Liu speaks true; I shall get to it immediately," Prefecture Governor Yuan said, wiping sweat with his sleeve as he descended the stairs.

Seeing this, Wan Lu whispered to Liu Qingsong, "That table of food will cost a lot, won’t it?"

Liu Qingsong, grasping his fan like a dandy, fanned himself in a very undignified manner, and replied with a grin, "Not much, not much; the whole table will come to about a thousand guan."

Let’s not even mention the deer jerky and bear’s paw. Chang’an is located inland, so even ordinary live fish and shellfish are precious when transported here, not to mention the seafood that is as valuable as bear’s paw.