Qing Yao

Chapter 364 read, no reply.

If it doesn't involve their own interests, most people will choose to watch the spectacle and cheer along, hoping the matter will escalate as much as possible.

However, once their own interests are affected, these people will immediately choose to back down and vent all their dissatisfaction on the person who caused the incident.

Instructor Zhang was such a person, but he was not the first. As time went by, more and more academic officials became dissatisfied with the Education Commissioner.

At first, they complained in private, but gradually it turned into almost public grumbling.

The prevailing sentiment is that the old master is a paragon of virtue, a model of purity who can live on air and dew and not eat the food of the world, while the people below him are just ordinary mortals who eat grains and vegetables!

Therefore, Master, you cannot let us ordinary people go hungry because of your moral beliefs and the principles you uphold!

All the pressure fell on Academic Director Xu.

How could the officials at the University of Political Science and Law not be aware of the following situation?

Seeing his own government office nearly paralyzed by Zhao An, the education commissioner, furious, wrote a memorial and ordered it to be sent directly to the provincial governor's office.

The article vehemently denounces Zhao An for "using personal revenge, obstructing public funds, disobeying the emperor's grace, and abusing his colleagues, which is a violation of the court's laws and regulations and a disruption of the officialdom."

They demanded that Zhao An immediately cease his unreasonable investigation of the Education Bureau, promptly restore funding, and personally apologize to him to "save face for the court."

However, after the official document, which the education commissioner had painstakingly written, was delivered to the provincial governor's office, the office director, Lao Song, did not even look at it and, as Zhao An had previously instructed, put the document into the filing cabinet to gather dust.

Another read but no reply!

The provincial education commissioner, however, refused to believe it and wrote two more letters.

Each letter was more erudite than the last, quoting classical texts and ranging from the governance of the Three Dynasties to the ancestral system of the current dynasty. The wording became increasingly harsh, almost condemning Zhao An as the greatest villain of all time, the culprit who destroyed education in Anhui, the shameless person who undermined the unity of Anhui's officialdom, and the chief culprit who disrupted local stability!
The results of it?
All messages have been read but not replied to.

It wasn't that Zhao An read it but refused to reply; rather, he simply didn't see it at all.

Even if I see you, I'll be invisible and ignore you. What can you do about it?

He hadn't even considered replying to the academic official with a simple "I understand."

The well-read academic official, full of lofty principles, felt like he was punching a soft cotton wall, unable to find any foothold and even suffering internal injuries from the excessive force.

Internal injuries caused by holding it in.

The people sent by the provincial treasurer to audit the accounts seemed to be doing it on purpose, constantly tapping the abacus beads loudly every day. When asked about the progress, well, they had only audited three months' worth of accounts!

At this rate, the investigation won't be finished, let alone by the end of the year, and it won't be over even next year.

What's even more infuriating is that the provincial treasurer's audit team not only brought their own office supplies, but also their own food, and even their water was delivered by a special person from the provincial treasurer's office, showing that they would never take advantage of the provincial education commissioner's office in the slightest.

Enraged, the provincial education commissioner could no longer tolerate it and planned to go to the provincial governor's office to confront Zhao An. However, he withdrew his foot as soon as he stepped out of the office.

The words of the visiting card, which quoted classical texts and demanded that the other party meet "according to ancient etiquette," were still ringing in my ears, and the various textual corrections were still vivid in my mind. Did I expect him to contradict himself now, obediently hand over his petition, and wait in line at the gatehouse of the provincial governor's office among a group of candidates for county magistrate?
"I can't afford to lose face like this!"

The academic official was filled with bitterness. He was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). If he really did this, how could he face people in the future, and how could he face his classmates from the same year?

"Zhao Youlu, you scoundrel! I swear I will never forgive you!"

Enraged, the academic official punched the desk, causing the student to wince in pain.

The steward from my hometown came in untimely to complain: "Master, the rice merchant said the last bill hasn't been settled yet, and this time it has to be paid in cash. The servants in the kitchen are also clamoring that if they don't get paid soon, they'll go back to the countryside to farm. Alas, Master, if this continues, the kitchen will soon be unable to even start cooking." "Take this to tide you over, don't bother me with such trivial matters!"

The provincial education commissioner, his face ashen, pulled out a money bag containing several dozen taels of loose silver and threw it over.

The butler caught it, not knowing what to say, and could only sigh inwardly.

He knew that these few dozen taels of loose silver were the master's last possessions. After all, the master was an honest official who refused to accept gifts and also had to help his relatives back home, leaving himself penniless.

Alas, if the provincial governor's office doesn't pay the master's salary and allowance for the second half of the year soon, all these dozens of people will probably starve.

The provincial education commissioner was in financial straits, and the government office was even more strained, to the point that all office supplies had to be purchased on credit.

Of course, in the past, it was all on credit, but the accounts were settled regularly.

As usual, the clerk in charge of purchasing stationery went to the well-known old brand Moyunzhai, intending to buy a batch of paper and ink sticks on credit, just like always.

To everyone's surprise, the usually warm and attentive shopkeeper now looked troubled, rubbing his hands with a troubled expression: "Please forgive me, sir, but lately our small business has been operating at a low profit margin, and the owner has instructed us not to extend credit, especially since your yamen requires cash settlement."

Upon hearing this, the clerk immediately became displeased: "What are you saying? Usually, we pay in advance and then settle the accounts. Why can't we do that now?"

The shopkeeper, not wanting to offend anyone, could only lower his voice and say, "Sir, please don't be offended. A few days ago, the Provincial Treasurer's Office sent someone to inform us that they are going to strictly investigate any extravagant expenditures by various government offices and that we are not allowed to extend credit to your office. How could I, a small business owner, dare to offend the Provincial Treasurer's Office? Perhaps you could try looking elsewhere?"

Other companies?

Not just this street, but all the merchants in Anqing who had business dealings with the Education Bureau received a notice from the Provincial Governor's Office that daring to extend credit to the Education Bureau was tantamount to going against the Provincial Governor!

Don't believe me? Try it!
The provincial governor can't handle the academic governor, so he can't handle you, a mere businessman!

When the news reached the government office, everyone from the middle-level academic officials to the lowest-ranking clerks was in an uproar, followed by a deathly silence.

If even paper and ink can't be bought on credit, how can one stay in this government office?

It's unclear who started it, but soon those low-level clerks who relied on meager wages to support their families began to vote with their feet. Some took leave, some fell ill, and quite a few simply quit.

The once-grand educational administration office had become deserted, with all education-related official business virtually paralyzed, truly reaching a point where it could no longer be sustained.

Even some of the sedan chair bearers who were supposed to carry the Imperial Education Commissioner's sedan chair have run away!

Well, they ran away, but the bad thing is that the servants in the kitchen also resigned. If it weren't for the steward starting a fire and cooking a bowl of porridge for the master, the academic official probably wouldn't have even had a hot meal.

Looking at the steaming bowl of porridge that the steward brought over, the Academician's eyes inexplicably reddened, and he felt as wronged as a clown.

"Sir, please eat it while it's hot."

The butler knew that the master was upset, but apart from offering a few words of comfort, there was nothing he could do.

"Don't eat."

Unexpectedly, the master pushed the bowl of porridge aside, then slowly stood up as if he had made up his mind, gritting his teeth: "Prepare the sedan chair, I'm going to the provincial governor's office to confront Zhao Youlu, he's gone too far!"

"Uh"

The steward looked helpless. "Master, the sedan chair bearers have run away."

(End of this chapter)