When they got to the pier, they disembarked from their horse carts and boarded a boat. The boat then cruised down the river and headed directly for the county in which Free Cloud Sect was located. This wasted quite a substantial amount of time. Once they got off the boat it was almost evening. The streets were still bustling with people even at this time, as they rushed to finish up their chores and prepared for dinner. They called for an ox-cart as they rode down the streets. When they finally arrived at the magistrate’s office, the number of people had dwindled significantly.
The magistrate’s office was located by a corner and had several lanterns lit at the entrance. Several stalls and restaurants were nearby and were punctuated by the lively sounds coming from within. Cold wind gently blew across, as the pair arrived at their destination.
Pei Zi Yun walked up and knocked several times on the large door. After several knocks, a bailiff opened the door and asked irritably, "Who has come so late?"
The minute the bailiff shot them a glance, his expression changed as he hurriedly smiled nervously, "So it’s master Top Scorer. I wonder what matter is so urgent that you might wish to see master magistrate at this time?"
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he nodded his head and handed over a note, "I have my reasons for wanting to see the magistrate."
The bailiff received the note and realized that it was written very elegantly. There was also some silver patterns carved on the notes, which made it seem very formal. He then replied, "Please wait a moment, Master Top Scorer."
The magistrate was reading documents within his office. At this moment he placed his reading materials down and mumbled to himself, "Free Cloud Sect’s reaction to this matter is very prompt. They’ve buried their dead in an honorable matter, issued compensation, began rebuilding projects and put everything in order."
When his advisor, an old man, heard this, he swallowed before replying, "Magistrate, are you going to ignore the matter of the wheat storage family? The news was that all of them had just died."
"Since people claimed that their death was a result of a plaque, what can we do about it? If we really wish to get to the bottom of it, we can investigate. But Free Cloud Sect has been the recipient of a title by the Imperial Court. If we investigate who killed the wheat storage people, we would also have to conduct investigations on other matters. Would that not mean that I’m not doing my job properly in allowing all these to happen under my nose?" The magistrate asked as he glared at the advisor.
The advisor started sweating. At this point the magistrate noticed that his room was getting dimmer and called for someone to replace his candles. A bailiff then hurriedly walked over and asked, "Master, Top Scorer Pei wishes to see you. This is the note."
"Bring it here." The magistrate ordered. The minute he spoke these words, the bailiff passed the note over.
He took a look at it before hesitating, "Should I agree to meet him or not?"
The advisor who was by the magistrate’s side stopped copying documents and hurriedly spoke out, "Master, although this Pei Zi Yun has a famous reputation and is a Top Scorer, but he’s chosen the Dao path. Hence, he has forsaken his future as a politician. What use is he to you? Besides, King Lu’s men had just paid us a visit and sent their regards to us. Whether you agree to meet him or not is crucial. Please think it through properly."
Hearing the advisor’s words, the magistrate paused before replying, "You are correct."
"Men, reply Top Scorer Pei now. Tell him that I’m not feeling well today, and wouldn’t be convenient to see anyone in this state. Return him his note as well." The magistrate shouted out to his bailiff, who hurriedly received the note and turned around to carry out his orders. When he saw Pei Zi Yun, he forced a laugh, "Master Top Scorer, my master has caught a cold and wouldn’t want to infect his guests. He thus wouldn’t be able to grant you an audience today. He seeks your understanding on this matter."
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he looked up and noticed that the bailiff’s eyes were cast downwards. Pei Zi Yun then laughed out, "It must be that he ‘caught a cold’ as soon as he heard that I had come."
When the bailiff heard this, he laughed out as well, "That’s not true master Top Scorer. The magistrate is really ill. Please don’t make things difficult for me."
Pei Zi Yun waved his hands, "I won’t make things difficult for you. It’s just that I have something with me. I wish to pass it to him and let him take a look. When he’s seen it, he should decide again if he wishes to see me."
Pei Zi Yun then retrieved a wooden box and handed it over to the bailiff, who had his own thoughts. He wondered, ‘What could be within this box, that it has to be concealed in such a manner, could it be a treasure?’
"Magistrate, Master Top Scorer didn’t leave. When he heard what I had to say, he handed me this box and asked for you to take a look. He seemed confident that you would change your mind after seeing its contents."
The advisor was slightly over fifty years old and was dark and skinny. He looked extremely tired, with deep eye bags beneath his eyes. When he heard this, he laughed coldly, "What trickery is this."
The county magistrate rolled his at the bailiff eyes, "You ah!"
To be honest, he understood certain matters as well. With regards to King Lu’s plans, he knew that his advisor didn’t take any money from King Lu’s men. Besides, the people representing King Lu won’t give out money to see a job done. His advisor and himself had been too entrenched within King Lu’s camp to refuse his orders. Even if there were no benefits to be gained, they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to.
The advisor had been an Elementary Scholar for a long time, and didn’t have the opportunity to become a High Scholar. Hence, he could only be an advisor for the rest of his life. When he saw Pei Zi Yun, who became a High Scholar at such a young age and threw it all away by becoming a Daoists, he couldn’t be too pleased with him. Hence, he just have to grit his teeth. This was the feelings between the advisor towards Pei Zi Yun.
The magistrate spoke out as he looked the box, "What gift do you think this Pei Zi Yun got for me?"
He then waved a hand, "Bring me the box."
The bailiff brought it over as the magistrate opened it. When he saw the contents he sighed. There was a tile encased within the box. It was made of pure gold.
When he picked it up and looked at it properly, his eyes nearly rolled up. The tile dropped on the table as he trembled slightly. He then shouted out at the bailiff, "Get out of my office. I have something to discuss with my advisor. Wait for me at the door."
The bailiff hurriedly left and closed the door. The advisor looked at the magistrate strangely, "Magistrate?"
The magistrate gradually collected himself, "We have a big problem. I didn’t expect him to cast his support for the Crown Prince. I have the Crown Prince’s royal tile here in my hands."
"What? Pei Zi Yun has the Crown Prince’s tile?" The advisor leaned over to get a look, and saw the cold, glimmering gold tile on the table. There were inscriptions of dragons all along the tile, along with the words, "Crown Prince Palace" on it. The minute he saw it, his face turned pale.
The pair froze, unmoving for a long time. Only after that did the advisor slap his thighs and spoke out, "Ai, what should we do? King Lu had just sent his regards, but we are compelled to obey because of the Crown Prince’s tile."
When the magistrate heard this, he too sighed, "Let him enter. We cannot offend the Crown Prince."
The advisor seemed somewhat unhappy as he spoke out, "But King Lu just sent his regards. If he finds out we hosted Pei Zi Yun, he might be upset."
"Although King Lu sent someone to give us his regards, the Crown Prince’s tile is in front of me. Nothing else can compare the tile, it’s a direct order. We have to take the option which deals less damage." A shadow flickered on the magistrate’s face caused by the dancing candle as his face remained stoic. He mumbled to himself as he stood up, "Invite master Top Scorer to meet me."
The bailiff then walked over to the door and laughed, "Please come in, master Top Scorer. After having some medication, my master is feeling much better now, and can meet with you."
The bailiff then led Pei Zi Yun into the living room. Soon after, the magistrate greeted Pei ZI Yun, "Master Top Scorer, I was very busy yesterday and might have caught a flu while neglecting my health. I seek your forgiveness. Come, take a seat. Prepare some tea for us!"
Pei Zi Yun entered and took a seat before taking a sip from the teacup which was served. He glanced at the magistrate and smiled, "Based on the deep eye rings around your eyes, I can tell you must’ve been very busy with work and must be tired. I won’t impose on you for too long."
"You should probably know the purpose for my visit. But I will mention it nonetheless."
"Firstly, Free Cloud Sect has been issued with a title by the Imperial Court. When we were in trouble, you refused to send help. If I were to file a complaint about this matter with the Imperial Court, do you think you can still hold your position in this office?"
When the magistrate heard this, he sucked in a breath of fresh air, "Master Top Scorer, it’s not that I refused to help. It’s that to mobilize an army, I would have to seek permission from the higher authorities….."
"Magistrate, your excellency. May I ask, where is your permission report then?" Even before the magistrate could speak, Pei Zi Yun interrupted to ask.
When the magistrate heard this, he paused before replying, "Ai, master Top Scorer, why must you put me in a difficult position? As for this matter, King L…."
The magistrate paused without completing his sentence as he took a deep sip of tea. When Pei Zi Yun heard this he understood and nodded his head, "You’re involved within King Lu’s matter, is that it?"
"This is a matter for the Imperial family, and I understand that you do not wish to caught up between both sides." Pei Zi Yun spoke out coldly. "You have your problems, I can understand. A few days ago, Free Cloud Sect came under attack, and you didn’t send help, but let’s forget about that. Now that I’ve won, you still chose to remain on the other side. That’s unacceptable."
"Don’t you forget, King Lu is not the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is the one due to inherit the throne."
"Yes, yes, yes!" The magistrate wiped sweat off his brows as he spoke. "Master Top Scorer understands my situation, and I’m extremely grateful. Please tell me what can I do now?"
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "My request isn’t big at all. I want you to send a hundred riders to Free Cloud Sect’s domain for a month. The purpose is to prevent any burglars or bandits from attacking us now that we’re weak."
"In fact, you don’t even have to send your riders to the top of my sect’s mountain. Isn’t there a small town at the foot of the mountain?"
"You can cite the reasons for deploying the riders as catching burglars and preventing bandits from disrupting order within the city. This would be a pretty good reason!" Pei ZI Yun understood the way such matters worked. Without a reputation and status, even money wouldn’t work. With a reputation and status however, everything could be resolved with money. Thus, he fished out a wad of notes from his robes and placed it on the table, "I won’t shortchange you of money."
The magistrate looked across and saw that the topmost bill was worth a hundred silver taels. Looking at the thickness of the stack, he knew that it was worth at least a thousand taels. His heart was on fire.
The magistrate then pushed the wooden box across the table, "Master Top Scorer, please keep this well."
When his hands returned, he pulled the wad of notes towards him and smiled, "Master Top Scorer is very thoughtful. Managing burglars and bandits are the duties of this office. Now that there are thieves pillaging the village around your sect and harming my good people, I shall be the righteous official and exterminate all these bandits. I shall dispatch riders to the location at once."
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he stood up and saluted, "Many thanks your excellency."
The magistrate stood up, "Master Top Scorer, you don’t have to be over courteous with me. I just wish you would speak some good words into the ears of the Crown Prince on my behalf when you get the chance."
The minute he said this, he shouted out once more, "Men, come. Ask Inspector Li to come over and speak with me."
Within minutes, Inspector Li came over and looked at Pei Zi Yun curiously. He then bowed, "Respects to the magistrate."
The magistrate started fuming, "Inspector Li, look what you’ve done."
Realizing that he was being scolded, Inspector Li scratched his head in confusion as he hurriedly spoke out, "This subject isn’t clear of what I’ve done. Please enlighten me, your excellency."
The magistrate then spoke out, "Today, Top Scorer Pei lodged a complaint. He said that bandits have been disturbing peace in Free Cloud Sect and committed acts of arson. Why didn’t you investigate this matter? You’ve failed in your job."
Inspector Li was bewildered. He knew that Daoist resided atop the mountain, and usually settled issues of bandits by themselves effortlessly. The magistrate’s office usually have no part to play. Why would the magistrate suddenly bring this up?
Although he was a bailiff by vocation, arresting bandits and burglars were the jobs of patrol officers. At this point he didn’t dare to be defiant and spoke out, "It’s my fault, I’ve failed in my job."
The magistrate seemed to be satisfied with his reaction and replied, "Tomorrow, you shall gather the rest of the patrol officers and their horses. Go and investigate the matter at Free Cloud Sect. Start from the town under Free Cloud Sect’s mountain. Continue your mission for a duration of one month. Be sure to exterminate every bandit around."
The minute these words were spoken, Inspector Li understood and hurriedly replied, "I shall handle it at once."
When Pei Zi Yun walked out, he saw Yu Yun Jun waiting for him on the ox-cart. Pei Zi Yun then turned around and spoke to a Daoist, "You don’t have to follow me anymore. Return with this inspector and the patrol officers. Instruct Elder Zhao to give this inspector fifty taels of silver and the patrol officer leader a hundred taels. As for the their living costs, we don’t have to bother about it. The county has funds for them to spend on basic necessities."
"You just have to organize a banquet for them on the first and last day. That would be all."
Pei Zi Yun understood the rules and customs. Someone who didn’t understand might say, "This sum wouldn’t be enough for a hundred men to survive for a month."
But this wasn’t the way things were done. Everywhere that the patrol officers went, they were doing their job. This shouldn’t be counted as an expense for Free Cloud Sect. Hence, the money should be given to the magistrate instead, and he will handle everything else.
The minute Pei Zi Yun said this, the Daoist acknowledged as he retreated. Yu Yun Jun understood Pei Zi Yun’s intentions and was full of admiration, "Have you settled the matter with the magistrate? Where shall we go next?"
Pei Zi Yun sighed deeply, "We shall go to the Governor’s Mansion. It’s time to see the Governor."