In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

Afu stared in disbelief.

"Were they drinking at the government office last night?"

"Not just last night."

Han Jitong said softly.

"Some people here have been using the government office as a resting place for quite some time now."

The clerk, as if afraid Han Jitong would say too much, immediately took over the conversation:

"Your Excellency must be tired from your journey. Why don't you rest in the back hall for a while?"

"I have already sent someone to find the county magistrate and the registrar. Once they are all here, we will hold a welcoming banquet and hand over the official seal to the county magistrate, which will be more thorough."

Yang Xuan walked to the desk and lightly wiped the ashes with his fingertips.

A clear finger mark appeared.

he asks:

Who's on duty today?

The clerk said:

"Everyone's on duty, everyone's on duty."

"Where's the salt lesson booklet?"

"This...is in Curry."

"Where's the vault key?"

"It's with the treasurer."

"Where is the storehouse clerk?"

The clerk finally broke out in a sweat.

"This morning they seemed to be going to the back street to check the old grain..."

Just then, the sound of wheels rolling outside came from outside the door.

It wasn't their car.

It was another convoy of salt carts.

The sound came from outside the west wall of the county government office, and it was very heavy, like a cart loaded with cargo.

What's even stranger is that when the old constables in the yamen heard the sound, their first reaction wasn't to go out and see, but to pretend they hadn't heard it.

Yang Xuan looked up.

What kind of car?

No one answered.

After a moment, Han Jitong finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"The car from Qing'ao Well."

"At this time, we should be passing through the county."

"Go to the back of the West Market, weigh it, unpack it, and then hand it over to the broker."

Cui Shen's eyes darkened.

"Logically speaking, shouldn't the salt produced from official wells first be registered and recorded by the county government?"

Han Jitong gave a wry smile.

"Logically speaking, yes."

"But in this place, things that should be done in the proper way are no longer being done."

The clerk inside the door completely changed his expression.

"Han Jitong, you are no longer a county official, how dare you speak nonsense in front of the county magistrate..."

"Nonsense?"

Yang Xuan finally turned around and looked at him properly for the first time.

"Then tell me."

"What kind of money was collected first at the city gate? Who was on duty in the yamen? Where is the treasury key? Why weren't the salt carts counted before passing through the county? And why did the county magistrate go to the south field to check the well on the very day I entered the city?"

"If you can explain it clearly, word by word, I will consider it nonsense."

The courtyard suddenly became very quiet.

The clerk opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Because every single one of these sentences is a solid statement.

The miscellaneous fees at the entrance are real.

It's true that people in the county don't take their shifts seriously.

It is true that salt carts did not go through government channels.

The most crucial point is that as soon as Yang Xuan entered, he wasn't deterred by the smiles and excuses at first. Instead, he followed a crooked plaque, a layer of dust, and the sound of wheels, exposing the most undignified aspects of the entire county government office to the light of day.

Yanhe, standing to the side, suddenly added casually:

"Before the magistrate even took office, the yamen was already busy telling him to 'find a better time another day.'"

"It seems that Yanjing County is a place that can't do without you."

The clerk broke out in a cold sweat.

Yang Xuan didn't make things difficult for him anymore.

That's enough.

He turned and walked into the courtyard, stood still, and listened for a while behind the old wall to the west.

The sound of wheels was still there.

One after another.

They were so familiar with the path that it wasn't the road next to a county government office, but the road outside their own courtyard wall.

He then spoke calmly:

"Cui Shen."

"exist."

"Write down everything you see after entering the city today."

"What are they collecting at the city gate sheds? Who's standing at the yamen gate? How many layers of dust are on the official desk? When will the salt carts pass by? And when they do, who's pretending not to hear?"

Cui Shen responded in a low voice.

"Note one more sentence."

Yang Xuan's gaze remained fixed on the west wall.

"The most valuable well in Yanjing County is not just the one that is not in the county government's possession, but also the one that is not on the books."

"Even when a car enters the city, it no longer needs to pass through the county government office first."

Han Jitong, standing beside the passenger car, slowly closed his eyes upon hearing this.

He fled for his life, hoping that someone would figure out exactly how rotten the place was.

It seems he made the right bet.

The clerk and several old servants in the courtyard all looked increasingly grim.

The clerk forced a smile and continued, "Your Excellency must be tired from your journey. If you could go to the back and rest for a while, have some hot tea, and then wait for the County Magistrate and the Registrar to arrive..."

Yang Xuan didn't move.

He stood in the courtyard, listened to the familiar sound of salt carts coming from outside the west wall—a sound as familiar as the alleyway behind his house—then withdrew his gaze and spoke calmly:

"I'm not going to the back room."

"Let's open the main hall."

The clerk was taken aback.

"I said, open the main hall."

Yang Xuan's voice was not loud.

But when he interrupted the sentence, "Wait for the county magistrate and the registrar to arrive," the atmosphere in the courtyard immediately tightened.

He turned to look at Cui Shen.

"remember."

Cui Shen immediately responded and began to write it down.

"At the time of today's entry into the city, who is sitting in the miscellaneous expenses shed at the city gate, who is the first to greet us at the gate, the county magistrate has not arrived, the registrar has not arrived, the treasury clerk has not arrived, and the head constable has not arrived."

"There's one more thing."

Yang Xuan glanced at the office.

"The new order has been issued, and the first thing the yamen said was not to report the seal or the register, but to advise me to go to the back hall to rest first."

Sweat immediately broke out on the clerk's forehead.

The slight smile that had been on his face suddenly became difficult to maintain.

Afu, standing to the side, almost couldn't help but look up at the person.

Since the new magistrate arrived at the yamen, he hasn't smashed a teacup, overturned a table, or cursed anyone. Yet, with just a few words, he has already exposed the most shameful aspects of this yamen, layer by layer.

"What are you still standing there for?"

Pei Zhao leaned against the door, his voice as flat as the back of a knife.

"The county magistrate ordered the court to open."

The clerk dared not delay any longer, quickly bowed and agreed, then turned to call for help.

As soon as he ran, the other old guards in the courtyard also started moving.

Someone went to push open the main hall door.

Someone went to move the table.

There was another doorman who had been dozing off. Just as he straightened his back, he heard Yang Xuan say again:

"Don't rush to wipe away the dust."

The doorman froze.

"There's no need to replace the chairs immediately."

"Set up the table exactly as it is today."

He spoke calmly, but everyone in the courtyard felt a chill in their hearts.

The meaning couldn't be clearer.

It's not that the new magistrate didn't see how dilapidated the government office was.

Since he had seen it, he insisted that those who came after him also see it.

Yanhe stood under the corridor, and upon hearing this, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

She said nothing, only turned her head and instructed Cai Fan:

"Bring over that small table that was brought in by the car behind."

"Then bring the old bronze hand warmer that was given to the princess in the palace when she was conferred her title."

Cai Fan responded softly and turned to leave.

Ah Fu didn't understand at first.

He only realized what was happening when he saw Cai Fan bring the things over.

This is not about showing off.

It's about establishing a formal status.

The county government deliberately made the handover ceremony look shabby, like an old chore that was just casually dealt with in a mess.

So, they didn't rely on shouting or making a scene; they simply used the dignity that the imperial family and the court should have to maintain to keep the situation in order.

Before long, the main hall was finally opened.

It's called the main hall, but it's actually very dilapidated.

The old plaque in the hall that read "A Bright Mirror Hangs High" had long since turned black. There were two chairs against the wall, one higher than the other. There was a layer of dust on the table that couldn't be wiped clean, and even one of the table legs was propped up with a piece of wood.

But even in such a hall, the moment the door is opened, the atmosphere completely changes.

No matter how broken it is.

It was, after all, the main hall of the county government.

The imperial seal could only be received here.

Yang Xuan did not go up to sit first, but only had the table and desk needed for receiving the seal arranged, and then gave an instruction:

"Don't close the hall door."

"Don't block the gate either."

"Let whoever wants to come see it today."

As soon as he said that, even Cui Shen looked up at him.

If someone is new to this kind of place, their first reaction is usually to clear the area, close the door, and cover up their own mess.

But Yang Xuan was quite the opposite.

He insisted on keeping the door open.

Let everyone in the county see that the new magistrate sent by the imperial court is not hiding in the back drinking hot tea, nor is he being dragged into the old "we'll talk about it another day" routine as soon as he enters the door.

Today, this seal will be received right under everyone's noses.

Whoever is dismissive, whoever is perfunctory, whoever wants to laugh, and whoever steps forward to test the waters for others—none of them can escape punishment.