Chapter Eight: Who Is Intimidating Whom

Seeing the pained expression on the gatekeeper’s face, Zhu Cilang felt stifled and leaned in to soften his voice, “Elder Zhang, I truly am newly appointed as the department accountant, under the Yunnan Bureau of Civil Service.”

“What are you shouting for? There are seventy-four senior officials and one hundred sixty-five junior officials in the Ministry, you think I wouldn’t know? Look at you—never seen you before. And even after a careful look, I haven’t seen any elder retire like your father.” Old Zhang squinted, continuing to weigh his tally cards, glancing left and right, muttering something unintelligible.

The gatekeeper’s rare refusal to accept a bribe made Zhu Cilang even more frustrated. He grumbled inwardly, My father’s office isn’t far from here, but do you even have the right to meet him?

Suppressing his irritation, Zhu Cilang kept his tone gentle. “I truly am new, not someone’s offspring sneaking in. And surely this tally card wouldn’t be wrong. And this official attire—no scholar would willingly wear it.”

Zhang Qi snorted coldly. “Even the Crown Prince’s residence was broken into by a petty criminal once. You look like a scholar, but who knows what you’re really here for!”

Suddenly, Zhu Cilang’s anger vanished; something struck him. He glanced up at the sky, abruptly snatched the tally card from Zhang Qi’s hand, straightened his robe and hat, and without another word, dashed through the gate.

Zhang Qi was stunned for a moment before realizing someone truly dared to defy all protocol and rush wildly into the great Ministry of Revenue!

“Guards, after him!”

“Chase him yourself, damn it! I always said there were no gatekeepers as forgetful and blind as you. Holding me up at roll-call, this is clearly just a show of authority!”

Thanks to his keen sense of time, Zhu Cilang quickly realized it was already well past the third quarter of the hour of the dragon. If roll call was to be held, it would be during the hour of the snake. Who knew if, as a newcomer to the Ministry, he would be “conveniently” included in the roll?

“After him, someone’s forced their way into the Ministry!”

“There, over there—heading for the Yunnan Bureau!”

“Block him!”

Yunnan Bureau of Civil Service, before the court.

The Bureau’s inspector, Chen Gaowen, stood in crisp black official robes, his gaze stern as he surveyed the clerks before him. Holding a roster, his face was angry, “Where is Kong Tian?”

“Present, sir! Greetings, Inspector!”

“Where is Wang Rui?”

“Where is Wang Rui?”

“Where is Yuan Qi?”

“Present, sir! Greetings, Inspector!”

“Where is Li Shanghe?”

“Present, sir! Greetings, Inspector!”

“Where is Lin Guzhong?”

“Where is Lin Guzhong?”

...

“Record this—twenty strokes for those absent.”

“Hmph. In the Ministry, the most important thing is to know and respect the rules. Don’t think that just because you know a few tricks or can use the abacus you can act recklessly. This month, the new Grand Chamberlain has just taken office; it’s a time for strict discipline. Today, it’s only a routine inspection, roll call at the hour of the snake, yet so many are missing.”

“You all receive imperial salaries, yet neglect national affairs—how can I forgive this?”

“There is still one more—let me call the roll. Where is Qin Xia?”

Chen Gaowen had barely finished when someone suddenly rushed in from outside, halting at the end of the line, and, hearing the roll call, stepped forth to salute.

“Present, sir! Greetings, Inspector!”

Just then, a troop of soldiers burst into the courtyard. Witnessing this scene, hearing Chen Gaowen call the roll and Zhu Cilang respond, they immediately sheathed their weapons and withdrew to the side. These soldiers had seen much in the Ministry—how could they not sense the underlying intrigue? They retreated at once, blending in as mere bystanders.

At that moment, several others came panting into the courtyard—Zhang Qi and several burly men from the Service Office. Zhang Qi pointed at Zhu Cilang and addressed Fei Jizong, the Security Supervisor of the Service Office, “This is the one—audacious enough to storm the Ministry of Revenue!”

Zhu Cilang kept his head lowered, appearing meek and compliant, though his shoulders twitched slightly, suppressing his laughter.

Just as Zhang Qi finished speaking, he looked up, meeting Chen Gaowen’s resentful and fierce gaze. “Zhang Qi, you brought your men into the Yunnan Bureau—what is the meaning of this?”

Observing the scene, seeing Zhu Cilang standing properly at the end of the line, Zhang Qi now realized his attempt at intimidation had failed, and dragging the Service Office’s soldiers along had only made his embarrassment greater.

Seeing the Service Office arrivals, Chen Gaowen ignored Zhang Qi, treating him as a discarded pawn.

A shiver ran through Zhang Qi as the realization dawned, leaving him speechless.

The Service Office was directly under the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, responsible for all logistics, discipline, and security. Hearing Zhang Qi claim someone had broken into the Ministry, they were thrown into chaos. Supervisor Fei Jizong was nearly scared out of his wits, grabbing his best men and rushing with Zhang Qi to the Yunnan Bureau.

Fei Jizong glared coldly at Zhu Cilang and shouted, “Who are you, to dare burst into the Ministry of Revenue?”

After venting his anger, Fei Jizong realized he hadn’t seized Zhu Cilang yet and signaled his men to act.

Zhang Qi and Chen Gaowen both changed expression. Zhu Cilang looked around in confusion, as if completely bewildered.

At last, Chen Gaowen couldn’t hold back and spoke, “Supervisor Feng, a misunderstanding. This is the department accountant for the Yunnan Bureau, not a criminal.”

Chen Gaowen paused, halting his men.

Zhu Cilang cleverly raised his tally card high and handed it over, secretly amused—now, who’s intimidating whom?

Chen Gaowen’s face darkened; Fei Jizong instantly understood and left in silence with his men.

To serve as Supervisor in the Service Office of such a major ministry, one must be seasoned and shrewd. Chen Gaowen’s alliance with the gatekeeper to intimidate the newcomer was clear in an instant.

Now, Fei Jizong had been used as a pawn by Zhang Qi, only to end up embarrassing himself rather than the new recruit.

Chen Gaowen certainly couldn’t let Fei Jizong take the man away—he had just called the roll, and Zhu Cilang had barely made it in time to answer. This confirmed Zhu Cilang as a member of the Yunnan Bureau. If Chen Gaowen hadn’t called the roll, and Zhu Cilang hadn’t responded, the gatekeeper’s stubbornness could have landed Zhu Cilang in trouble.

Now that everyone knew Zhu Cilang was the department accountant of the Yunnan Bureau, Chen Gaowen had to stand up for his subordinate. Otherwise, the rest would doubt him, damaging his authority!

Such a self-inflicted blunder left Fei Jizong secretly delighted, marking it down in his memory, and he paid no further attention to the tumult.

“Why are you all standing around? Get to work! Qin Xia, this is your first day—come with me to the office to arrange your duties!” Chen Gaowen, suppressing his anger, dismissed the others and kept Zhu Cilang behind.

[1] The Wooden Club Incident: In the forty-third year of the Wanli Emperor, a man named Zhang Cha burst into the Crown Prince’s residence, Ciqing Palace, wielding a wooden club, and injured the gate eunuch. During interrogation, Zhang implicated two eunuchs under the Noble Consort Zheng, Pang Bao and Liu Cheng. It was suspected that Consort Zheng plotted to murder the Crown Prince, but the Emperor refused to pursue the matter. Zhang was executed publicly for madness, and Pang and Liu were secretly killed in the palace, thus ending the case.

[2] Grand Chamberlain: Another title for Minister of Revenue.