TSWPF -Chapter 315 A Show of Authority

Although the house was a bit old and run-down, it had been cleaned thoroughly. The space was also large enough to accommodate all of them.

Liu Zhimou nodded in satisfaction and thanked Deputy Magistrate Ma.

No matter what, someone had arranged for people to clean the place for them, and that courtesy deserved thanks.

Deputy Magistrate Ma waved his hands in embarrassment, saying it was only right—just what they should do.

From the looks of it, this newly arrived Lord Liu seemed easy to talk to. He only hoped that Lord Liu would truly do something for the people, unlike the previous county magistrates who merely went through the motions. Once their term was up, they would leave without a second thought—having done nothing practical for the people of Ninghua County. Worse still, they kept squeezing the common folk dry.

The people dared not speak out despite their anger, only enduring it in silence. If this new Lord Liu turned out to be the same, no one would be able to tolerate it anymore.

However, if Lord Liu wanted to truly carry out his work here, he would first have to deal with the four “Gods of Wealth” of Ninghua County. Otherwise, just like the previous magistrates, he would be suppressed by those four people and forced to obediently follow their lead.

Deputy Magistrate Ma felt that the Lord Liu before him was someone with real promise. If nothing else, the presence of Mister Luo at his side was already strong proof.

It was said that this Mister Luo had once been the Emperor’s teacher, and even the Emperor treated him with great respect. Anyone who wanted to touch him would have to think twice. Someone so respected would surely not be so easily cowed.

At this thought, Deputy Magistrate Ma’s heart grew warm. He became even more enthusiastic in introducing the three-courtyard residence to Liu Zhimou and the others, explaining in detail the layout and structure so they wouldn’t be completely lost.

Seeing how capable and perceptive this man was, Liu Zhimou gave him an extra glance, silently pondering: was this person on his side, or working for someone else?

If this man was decent, Liu Zhimou wouldn’t mind giving him a hand.

If he was a nail placed beside him by others, then there would be no need for courtesy.

Following Deputy Magistrate Ma, Liu Zhimou and the others toured the entire three-courtyard compound.

When they reached the back gate, Deputy Magistrate Ma’s expression grew more serious. He kindly reminded them that at night they must be sure to check whether the back gate was securely closed. The compound was not far from Ning Mountain, and there was a risk of wild animals coming down from the mountain, so they needed to be extra careful.

Hearing this, Liu Zhimou opened the back gate and looked outside. The gate opened into a rather secluded area, and at a glance, Ning Mountain lay right there.

He felt a quiet surge of joy—this meant that Ah Huang and Ah Bai could go home to stay.

After closing the gate, he sincerely thanked Deputy Magistrate Ma once again.

Deputy Magistrate Ma rubbed his hands awkwardly. “Lord Liu, our place here is truly very remote, and everything is rather backward. I hope you… you won’t mind.” He had been to other counties before, and their yamen were definitely not this out of the way. Ninghua County was an exception.

But there was nothing they could do. Ninghua County was surrounded by mountains. Even if they wanted to build the yamen in a more prosperous area, it simply wasn’t possible. Otherwise, Ninghua County wouldn’t be so poor.

Liu Zhimou smiled at him. He had come here to serve the people and to put the people first—how could he mind such things?

For some reason, after hearing Liu Zhimou’s words, Deputy Magistrate Ma instinctively believed that this young man before him would truly allow the people of Ninghua County to live better lives.

“Oh, right—Deputy Magistrate Ma,” Liu Zhimou suddenly asked, “does our Ninghua County yamen not have a judicial clerk (dianshi)?”

Faced with the sudden question, Deputy Magistrate Ma froze for a moment. With a troubled look, he said, “Clerk He is ill and unable to come welcome you, Lord Liu. Once he recovers, he will personally come to apologize.”

As for that Clerk He—Deputy Magistrate Ma didn’t think much of him and didn’t really want to associate with those people.

He stole a glance at Liu Zhimou and saw that his face still carried a gentle smile. It was impossible to tell whether he truly didn’t care, or whether he had other thoughts.

Though he hadn’t spent long with Liu Zhimou, his intuition told him that this Lord Liu was deeply unfathomable and absolutely not someone to offend.

“In that case,” Liu Zhimou said calmly, “this official can only wait until he recovers before meeting him.”

As a county magistrate, it was impossible for him, upon first arrival, to personally visit a subordinate. If he did, it would give others the impression that his authority as magistrate was no greater than that of a mere clerk, leading to disobedience down the line.

To avoid such problems later, he could not take that step now.

With time, however, things would be different. Visiting subordinates personally then would be seen as consideration and care, inspiring greater loyalty and devotion.

“Indeed, indeed. That’s only right,” Deputy Magistrate Ma said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and nodding in agreement.

Whether Clerk He was truly sick or just pretending, Liu Zhimou’s attitude had already caused certain plans to fall through.

Did they really think this Lord Liu would be as easy to bully as the previous magistrates?

In their dreams.

Deputy Magistrate Ma felt somewhat fortunate that he hadn’t rashly chosen sides—otherwise…

“Deputy Magistrate Ma, please trouble yourself to go to Clerk He’s home on my behalf,” Liu Zhimou continued. “Tell him to rest properly and only return to duty once he has fully recovered.”

Could he say no? Obviously not. He nodded awkwardly and agreed.

He still couldn’t quite grasp what kind of person this new Lord Liu truly was.

But there was no need to rush. With time, he would naturally find out.

Sometimes, it was better to be a little muddled—why be so serious about everything?

Liu Zhimou turned to look at Li Qingling and the others, smiling as he said, “You all rest at home. I’ll go take a look at the yamen with Deputy Magistrate Ma and be back shortly.” If he didn’t see the yamen for himself, he wouldn’t feel at ease. Only after seeing it would he have the confidence to proceed with other matters.

Why had Lord Liu changed his mind again? Hadn’t he said he would rest at home for a while? Deputy Magistrate Ma looked at Liu Zhimou in confusion, but swallowed the question before it left his lips.

He decided not to meddle. Whatever Lord Liu said, he would do—that was the safest approach.

That was also the reason he had managed to keep his position all these years: do his own job properly, and absolutely not interfere in anything else.

Besides, he didn’t have the ability to meddle anyway.

Li Qingling nodded at Liu Zhimou, telling him not to worry about them and to focus on his work.

Liu Zhimou gave a soft “mm” and followed Deputy Magistrate Ma to the yamen. When he saw that the yamen was even more dilapidated than the residence, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

“Deputy Magistrate Ma,” he asked, “is the silver allocated by the court really not enough for you to repair the yamen?”

He had truly never seen such a rundown yamen before. He suspected that if the wind blew a little harder, the whole place might collapse.

Deputy Magistrate Ma bent slightly at the waist and said he didn’t know.

He truly didn’t know—he wasn’t lying to Liu Zhimou.

Liu Zhimou glanced at him. Seeing no sign of deceit, he didn’t pursue the matter further. With his hands clasped behind his back, he strode into the yamen.

Inside, he saw three or four yamen runners lounging about, chatting lazily. His brows immediately furrowed.

“How many yamen runners does the yamen have? Just these few?”

As Liu Zhimou’s expression grew colder, sweat began to bead on Deputy Magistrate Ma’s forehead. He nodded and said that the yamen only had these few runners.

And even these had been stuffed in by the clerk—people with some sort of connection to him.

These men were usually arrogant, never taking Deputy Magistrate Ma seriously at all. Yet he had no choice but to endure it, pretending they didn’t exist.

Liu Zhimou clenched his fists, then relaxed them, again and again, before letting out a loud cough.

The chatter of the runners stopped. Turning around and seeing Liu Zhimou and Deputy Magistrate Ma, they burst into laughter, asking Deputy Magistrate Ma why he was here—wasn’t he supposed to be busy fawning over the newly arrived magistrate?

Deputy Magistrate Ma glanced at Liu Zhimou, straightened his back, and said sternly, “Why aren’t you coming over to pay your respects to Lord Liu?”

In his heart, he felt that these men were finished. Liu Zhimou would never allow such parasites to stay here eating for nothing.

Seeing how young Liu Zhimou was, mockery flashed through the runners’ eyes. They slowly stood up and casually greeted him.

It was obvious—they didn’t take Liu Zhimou seriously at all.

In their minds, Liu Zhimou was no different from the previous magistrates—utterly useless. Why should they put him in their eyes?

Liu Zhimou looked at them expressionlessly, his gaze so sharp that the runners involuntarily shrank back.

Damn it—what was going on? This newly arrived magistrate, so young-looking, yet his eyes were terrifying.

They didn’t even dare meet his gaze directly.

“Do you know what yamen runners are supposed to do?” Liu Zhimou asked coldly, his presence fully unleashed only after the men no longer dared look at him.

These people—he had no intention of keeping them. But having just arrived, he couldn’t move against them yet. Once some time had passed, he would strip them of their positions.

The runners exchanged glances, took a deep breath, and answered loudly—but their replies were completely off the mark.

Liu Zhimou’s face darkened further with every word. Unwilling to listen to more nonsense, he cut them off. “How long have you been working at the yamen?”

“These are nothing but parasites,” he thought. During his tenure, he absolutely would not allow such parasites to exist in his yamen.

“Reporting to Your Lordship, we’ve been here for three years,” they answered—longer than you’ve been in the yamen.

Hearing that they had been here for three years, the corner of Liu Zhimou’s mouth lifted into an ambiguous smile. “Three years? Very good.”

After saying this, he ignored the runners and turned to Deputy Magistrate Ma. “Deputy Magistrate Ma, take me to see where the case files are usually stored.”

Seeing how chaotic the yamen was, he held no hope for the files—he only hoped the judgments weren’t outrageously unjust.

Deputy Magistrate Ma clenched his fists tightly, suppressing the smile threatening to reach his lips, and led Liu Zhimou to the archive room.

Who would have thought that Lord Liu would be so formidable—he had given those parasites a warning the moment he arrived.

Once again, Deputy Magistrate Ma felt certain that following Lord Liu would definitely lead to a future worth hoping for.