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

Seeing this, Pei Zhao finally made a move.

Without drawing his sword, he took half a step forward, grabbed the idler's wrist with his left hand, and with his right hand, he pressed and flicked the sword sheath along the man's forearm.

With a "crack," the short stick flew half a meter away, hit the blue bricks in the courtyard, and rolled twice before coming to a stop.

The idler turned pale with pain, but instinctively tried to struggle.

Lu Cheng pressed down from the side and kicked him in the back of the knee. The kick wasn't hard, but it made him fall to his knees with a thud.

From beginning to end, it took no more than two breaths.

Before the people watching from outside the door could even catch their breath, the people on this side had already been forced to the ground.

What's even more frightening is Pei Zhao's decisive and efficient manner.

He didn't curse or make any threats; he simply twisted the idler's wrist behind his back and said calmly:

"Who gave you permission to bring a stick up the steps of the yamen?"

He Liu's face finally turned completely pale.

When the idler with the short stick knelt down, Zhao Suanpan's legs went weak and he almost collapsed on the spot.

It was only at this moment that Yang Xuan finally got his hands on the old seal.

"He Liu."

"You just said that if we deal with you, there will be no one willing to do a lot of work afterwards."

"I'll tell you now."

"What Yanjing County has no shortage of is people willing to work. What it lacks is people making way for those who should be doing the work."

He pressed the seal down on the table, his voice calm and devoid of any anger.

"Ah Fu, write this down."

"exist!"

"He Liu, the head constable, is a public servant who has disobeyed orders, given unclear answers, given false names, and failed to fulfill his duty assignments. He has also used old yamen practices to cover up miscellaneous expenses for the city gates. He is hereby suspended from duty and arrested pending investigation."

"The tents at the city gate will be sealed off today."

"Old ledgers, loose change, receipts, wooden plaques—none of these are allowed to be moved."

"Anyone who dares to move will be punished as an accomplice."

Afu answered so loudly that his hand holding the pen felt a little warm.

He Liu panicked as soon as he heard the words "stop the work" and "take it down".

"Your Excellency!"

"Even if I am at fault, I must wait for the county magistrate and the registrar's reply..."

"I'll ask them when they arrive."

Yang Xuan looked at him with a very cold gaze.

"You should clarify your own words first before worrying about others."

He Liu was still trying to struggle, but Pei Zhao had already let go of the idle man by the door and walked straight up to him.

"Should you kneel down yourself, or should I help you?"

That's more effective than anything else.

He Liu's lips trembled, and the anger in his eyes finally dissipated little by little.

He knew, of course, that if he stubbornly refused to kneel at this moment, Pei Zhao would make him look even worse than the one by the door.

But if he kneels, and word gets out that he did, half of the old prestige that Yanjing County had built up on him will collapse.

He stood there, frozen, as if someone had a knife held between his face and bones, and it was wrong to dodge in either direction.

In the end, his knees buckled and he fell heavily to the ground.

When he knelt down, many people outside the door felt their hearts skip a beat.

He Liu was not considered a big shot in Yanjing County.

But precisely because he is small, he is most like a living shadow of the old order of this place.

He knew the ropes and knew where to lend a hand, where to pass on a message, where to put pressure on the outsiders, and where to smooth things over for the people inside.

For many years, when people in Yanjing County mentioned government offices, they might not necessarily think of the county magistrate or the registrar first, but they would definitely think of He Liu.

Now, right there at the yamen gate, in front of everyone on the street, this man was forced to kneel down by the new magistrate.

The taste will be different.

This shows that the newcomer is not here to take office.

They really need to ask people for help.

Yang Xuan didn't give everyone much time to recover.

He turned to look at Zhao Suanpan.

"Go back."

"Bring all the account books, receipts, and payment slips from the shed for the past three months."

"Half an hour."

"If one thing is missing, I'll assume you and He Liu swallowed it together."

Zhao Suanpan's legs trembled, and he repeatedly agreed. He turned and ran out, not even bothering to look at the idler whose short stick had been taken away.

The crowd outside the courtyard gate immediately parted to both sides.

Everyone knew that something serious had really happened this time.

Cui Shen lowered his head and continued taking notes, his hands never stopping, his heart tightening with each passing moment.

Yanhe watched this scene from under the eaves, and only then did he speak softly:

"Gathering artemisia."

"exist."

"Go to the back and tell Uncle Wen that people inside and outside the yamen will be gossiping a lot today, so keep the inner gates tightly closed. If anyone comes to deliver a message, write down their name first, and don't see any unfamiliar faces."

"Yes."

Less than an incense stick later, Xu Jingyao and Cao Wenbing finally arrived in a hurry.

The two men had clearly heard the news halfway there, and their expressions were rather unwell.

Xu Jingyao, in particular, couldn't help but twitch when he entered the door and saw He Liu still kneeling in the courtyard, and a lazy man whose stick had been taken away by the door.

Yang Xuan didn't give him a chance to speak first. He simply pushed the few pages of paper on the table forward, sat down under the eaves, and glanced at Xu Jingyao.

"Magistrate Xu, you've come at the perfect time."

"You said yesterday that most of the affairs of the yamen are handled by you, the registrar, and a few experienced clerks."

"Then I'll ask about the smallest one first today."

"Is this shed at the city gate considered a matter for the government?"

Xu Jingyao felt a sinking feeling in his heart, but he still had to respond.

"Naturally."

"Since it's a matter for the government, you should know who's in charge of the miscellaneous expenses like repairing sheds, cleaning ditches, labor fees, and night patrol fees—who's watching over them, who's collecting the money, and who's disbursing it, right?"

Xu Jingyao's noodles were slightly stiff.

The city gate looked small, but the people leading it were a mixed bunch.

If a new county magistrate starts by investigating this, he's not really investigating the amount of money involved.

Just as he was about to steer the conversation toward "old practices" and "difficulties in border areas," Yang Xuan pushed the miscellaneous expenses book on the table over to him.

"Then you identify it."

"In the past three months, we have repaired the shed twice and cleaned the ditches four times. We have received payment for our labor every month, and we have never stopped making payments for night patrols."

"But when I entered the city yesterday, the sheds were crooked, the ditches were silted up, the grievance drum was cracked, and the names of the yamen runners were all mismatched."

"Tell me, was this money spent on the work itself, or on people?"

Upon hearing this, the people outside the door stopped moving.

Sweat began to trickle down Xu Jingyao's forehead.

Seeing that Xu Jingyao couldn't respond immediately, Cao Wenbing had no choice but to bite the bullet and take a step forward.

"Your Excellency, the miscellaneous expenses at the city gates are, in the end, just small amounts of money to keep the surface running. The real important matters in Yanjing County are the salt wells in the south, the weighing facilities in the back, and the safety of the people and the various wards in the county."

"If we waste our energy on such trivial matters, we are more likely to miss the bigger picture."

That's a well-said statement.

It seems like they're thinking about the county government's interests.

In reality, they wanted to draw Yang Xuan's hand away from the city gate shed and He Liu's body.

Yang Xuan looked at him.

"I've taken your words to heart."

"You say the city gates are trivial matters, while the salt wells, the weighing scales, and the households are the important ones."

"That means you know exactly where the real lifeline of Yanjing County lies."

"Now that you understand, before sunset today, send over the salt production records of the wells in the south for the past three months, the weighing records of the backyard, and the list of salt brokers for transportation."

"If you're missing one thing, I'll take it as you were just trying to fool me with empty words."

Cao Wenbing's expression froze on the spot.

He wanted to escalate the situation.

But Yang Xuan went along with him and directly asked for the booklet.

This is not just a rebuttal.

He turned around and put the rope back around his neck.