Qing Yao

Chapter 411 I am Heshen
Anhui is, after all, a province, so an 18-story China World Hotel would be more fitting.

What's the difference between this place and the small guesthouse next to the train station?
Zhao An was very dissatisfied with his predecessors. Didn't these people know the importance of vanity projects?
The Anhui Grand Hotel represents the image of the people of Anhui. Who would want to invest in Anhui if it's dilapidated?
On second thought, there's not much to invest in these days.

With no profit to be made, the predecessors were naturally unwilling to spend money to build hotels, just like officials not repairing their government offices.

Now that you've come, let's make peace with it.

The person in charge of the examination hall was a Mr. Qian, an eighth-rank official who had come to the capital from Anqing fifteen years ago. He was responsible for both maintaining the examination hall and relaying some insider information from the capital to Anqing.

However, Manager Qian's knowledge of inside information was limited, because he was not a privately appointed staff member of the governor or the provincial governor stationed in Beijing. His rank limited his access to information and he did not have any relevant circles, so the information he gleaned was basically of little value.

It's possible that the frequent leadership changes in Anhui in recent years have led to Qian being "forgotten" in the capital. Otherwise, he should have been transferred back and promoted. Even if he wasn't appointed as a seventh-rank county magistrate, he could have easily secured a good position in the provincial administration to retire comfortably.

Having received no prior notice, Qian, the head of the department, was so flustered upon learning that the acting governor of the province, Lord Zhao, was going to stay at the examination hall that he practically scrambled out to greet him.

Two servants hired in the capital followed behind him, and a woman in the backyard was responsible for cooking. Their monthly wages were not much, and the three of them together earned less than two thousand coins.

The workload of the examination hall was actually not large. Except for the triennial imperial examination, it was basically empty. Therefore, the provincial treasurer could not possibly provide funds to manage renovations or expand production.

It's just a simple maintenance.

"I was unaware of your arrival, sir. I have failed to greet you properly and beg your forgiveness!"

As they spoke, Manager Qian and two servants knelt down and bowed deeply to Zhao An.

Zhao An nodded slightly and raised his hand, saying, "No need for formalities. I am here on imperial orders to enter the capital. I will stay here during my stay. Keep things simple. You can arrange the food and lodging for your entourage."

"Yes Yes."

It must have been quite exciting to see the top official in the province for the first time, especially since the top official would be staying at the examination hall for a while. As the saying goes, being close to the water tower gives you a head start, so how could there not be benefits from being around the leader every day?
If you're lucky, you might get transferred back and promoted.

But as he stood up, he suddenly remembered something, and his face turned deathly pale.

Zhao An noticed this change and couldn't help but wonder if this small guesthouse manager was hiding some unspeakable secret.

Just as he was about to ask a question, he saw two women with thick makeup on their faces leading a man toward the door. When they discovered that there were so many soldiers standing outside, and a high-ranking official there, the two women and the man they were leading on either side panicked instantly and instinctively tried to turn around, but Xu Lin stopped them: "Stop! Who are you people!"

"We, we"

The two women and the man were so frightened that they stammered and dared not speak.

Then look at Manager Qian; not only has his face lost all color, but his calves are also trembling.

"What, you're even involved in tertiary industries?"

Zhao An's inexplicable remark left Manager Qian speechless. Knowing that the matter could not be concealed, he gritted his teeth and knelt down on the ground to confess.

The Anhui Examination Hall did indeed offer special services.

To be precise, because the Anhui Provincial Treasurer's Office did not pay much attention to the examination halls in the capital, and no officials actually came to stay there, Manager Qian, whose salary was low and who was not supervised, started to have crooked ideas about tertiary industries.

Except during the triennial imperial examination when the examination hall ceases all external services, special services are available at other times.

Whether you call it skillful management or simply making good use of waste, it's quite profitable.

Currently, there are thirteen girls living in the examination hall who provide services to the public. Manager Qian is the boss, while the two servants and the cook in the backyard provide logistical support for the girls.

"Please forgive me, Your Excellency! I had no choice but to do this; the province has been doing this for years..."

Fearing that Lord Zhao would be furious, Chief Clerk Qian knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. The people from the Ministry of Rites watched from the sidelines and found it amusing, but they did not realize that something was wrong.

Let alone this dilapidated examination hall, even the grandest guild halls offer this kind of service.

The imperial court decreed that officials were forbidden from patronizing prostitutes. This red line was fine as long as it wasn't exposed by the censors, but once it was exposed, there would be big trouble.

Therefore, the workaround was to keep some girls in the guild hall in secret, so that the adults could enjoy them if they were interested, and leave it at that if they weren't.

It's an open secret in official circles.

However, it is quite laughable that the Anhui Examination Hall is open to the public. It truly shows that poverty breeds change and shows no regard for the image of Anhui.

They watched the spectacle with great interest.

Unexpectedly, the young Lord Zhao did not fly into a rage and berate the person in charge for damaging Anhui's image, tarnishing its culture, and ruining the reputation of the examination hall. Instead, he ordered the person in charge to immediately dismiss the "service personnel" in the examination hall and then arrange for the entourage to check in.

"Yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away!"

Qian, the manager who wanted to "atone for his sins," quickly dismissed the staff in the examination hall. Whether he paid them a certain amount or threatened them, the girls obediently slipped away through the back door of the examination hall.

With a flushed face, Manager Qian led Zhao An to the only relatively clean room in the building and ordered the servants to quickly clean, boil water, and prepare food.

Considering that he had more than a hundred people in his entourage and that the daily expenses were considerable, Zhao An asked Xiao Shuan to give Qian Zhangshi three hundred taels of silver to cover the food and lodging expenses of his entourage during this period.

This made Steward Qian feel extremely uneasy, sensing that Zhao An had no intention of punishing him for "illegally amassing wealth" by abusing his power. So he cautiously said, "Your Excellency is honest and self-disciplined, considerate of scholars, and willing to live in a humble abode. You are truly a blessing to us scholars of Anhui and a model for all officials! I'm sure His Majesty would be very pleased to hear this. Your Excellency is so young and has already risen to a high position. It's only a matter of time before you become prime minister!" Zhao An glanced at the sycophantic Steward Qian and found it amusing, because the flattery was nothing new, but he knew it was the survival strategy of a low-level official.

As for this guy's secret operation of tertiary industries in Beijing, we have no intention of punishing him. On the contrary, we think he's quite clever and that if we guide him in the right direction, he might be able to achieve even greater results.

He said calmly, "I am tired. You may leave now and do not disturb me unless necessary."

"Whoo!"

Manager Qian bowed respectfully and slowly withdrew, making sure to close the door behind him.

Zhao An instructed Xiao Shuan to prepare pen and ink and write a memorial on the date of arrival in the capital, stating that "this servant has arrived in the capital, respectfully wishing Your Majesty good health and awaiting your summons."

After writing it, he instructed Xiaoshuan to deliver the memorial to the Minister Wang in the Ministry of Rites.

Under normal circumstances, once the memorial was submitted to the emperor, officials would "pay their respects" in the capital if they had enough time.

Or it could be called the "running department".

This involved visiting powerful figures such as Grand Councilors, Grand Secretaries, and Ministers of the Six Ministries with gifts, either to maintain relationships or to secure "projects" or financial support for the province.

In addition, one should also make connections with one's mentors, teachers, and classmates who passed the imperial examinations and became officials in the capital.

However, it was already the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, and all the government offices in the capital had long been sealed off and would not be able to operate until after the New Year. The staff left behind were all low-ranking personnel, and Zhao An did not know where the important figures lived, so he could not visit them to pay his respects.

As a specially granted Jinshi degree holder, he wasn't even considered a transfer student. The Ministry of Rites didn't even give him a classmate directory, so how could he organize classmate reunions or teacher-student gatherings?

Moreover, there are specific techniques to visiting officials and making connections. The intricacies are similar to choosing a major in college. Without a capable person familiar with the intricacies to help Zhao An make connections, even as the acting governor of Anhui, he would be completely clueless.

"Sir, all the government offices in the capital have been sealed off, and all the important officials are on leave. I'm afraid we won't be able to send these silver notes out."

Xiao Shuan took out all the silver notes he had hidden in his bosom and placed them on the table, implying that Zhao An should keep them himself, since they were worth two hundred thousand taels.

"You can keep it. I told you, you'll be in charge of the money from now on."

Sitting on the slightly hard edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), Zhao An rubbed his temples and laughed, "If you can't give it away, just keep it for now. What's the rush? Is there any money in this world that can't be given away?"

Actually, it's good that we don't have to go around giving money. It saves us a lot of hypocritical socializing. Zhao An has indeed had a hard journey and needs to rest for a day or two to recharge before meeting the old master.

"Okay, Brother An, I'll head over now."

Xiao Shuan knew that the 200,000 taels of silver notes on the table were not only a huge fortune, but also a heavy trust from Brother An.

Outside the window, the north wind howled incessantly, slapping against the paper windowpanes with a rustling sound. Although there were two charcoal braziers burning inside, Zhao An still didn't feel particularly warm.

Thinking about what he had seen and heard along the way, about the emaciated farmers, about the infant corpses under the canal, about the frozen corpses along the Tongzhou road, about the filth and poverty of this capital, Zhao An's mood became increasingly heavy and gloomy.

Several times I picked up my pen to write down what I had seen and heard along the way for the old man, but I put the pen down again and finally gave up the idea.

Even if the old man were neither deaf nor blind, he would not want to see the truth about his prosperous era.

Unable to sleep, he picked up his pen to write a letter to Wanqing and Chunlan to let them know that he had arrived in the capital safely. Just as he was writing, he heard very light footsteps outside the door, and then he heard the guards on duty outside ask, "Who are you looking for?"

"Please inform Lord Zhao that an old friend from the capital has come to visit."

The person who came in sounded very gentle.

An old friend from the capital?

Zhao An, who was inside the room, was taken aback. Where in the capital did he have any old friends?

嗳！
Thinking about it carefully, there really is!

Isn't that Teacher Wu, whom he persuaded to go to the capital to teach at the Imperial College?

Teacher Wu was an important pawn that Zhao An planned to place by Jiaqing's side. Zhao An, thinking that Teacher Wu had come to see him specifically after hearing that he had come to the capital, immediately got up and went to the door.

The moment the door opened, a figure wearing a black fox fur cloak appeared before Zhao An. The person casually took off the hood, revealing a face.

By the light, Zhao An could clearly see that the person looked to be around thirty years old, with an exceptionally handsome face and a faint smile on his lips.

He's definitely a handsome guy!
Looking at this person's demeanor, it is indescribable that he is elegant and noble. His eyes are as bright as cold stars, as if they can see through people's hearts. He is definitely not an ordinary person!
Zhao An quickly searched his memory and, after confirming that he had never seen this person before, asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

The newcomer smiled slightly, entered the room on his own, and sat down on the only chair in the room. He looked at Zhao An calmly and said, "I am Heshen."

At the top of the stairs, several guards in yellow jackets stood silently with their hands on their swords.

Downstairs, Manager Qian and the others were completely silent, not daring to move an inch.

(End of this chapter)