HLnovel Chapter 1117 Wang Huai'an Disappears
Chapter 1117 Wang Huai'an Disappears
"The Accounting Office?"
Upon hearing this, the people immediately started chattering: "I know that place. It's a good place to be an accountant! I heard they've even caught corrupt officials there!"
"That's right! I've heard that officials get promoted every year there! If you do well, you can even go to the capital to become an official!"
"Oh my, Lord Xu has done a great job as an official; he's even brought a high-ranking official from the capital to our household!"
"Can't you speak properly? What nonsense about replacing officials! Lord Shen himself said it was the Emperor's will! What does that mean? It means the Emperor has always been watching over our Liuyang Prefecture!"
Amid the murmurs of the crowd, Shen Zheng returned to her carriage.
After the carriage had traveled a short distance, she lifted the small curtain and said earnestly to Xu Yunyan, "Don't listen to those words."
Hearing the murmurs of the people behind him, Xu Yunyan smiled and said, "Let them say what they want. I have no official rank to begin with, and as long as I can continue to serve you, I am fine with anything."
Shen Zheng sighed helplessly, "Can you stop being so obsequious... What I said to the people just now was all true. I never asked His Majesty for an official position for you. It was His Majesty who saw your merits and that's why he promoted you."
Looking back now, it seems that when the emperor said "Xu Yunyan's achievements are not worth mentioning" during the relief efforts, he had already foreseen this day.
A person who did not pass the imperial examination and suddenly becomes a seventh-rank official in the prefectural government will inevitably be envied and questioned.
The words she just had the people spread were merely a temporary fix.
If we really want to address the root cause, we need to let the people see Xu Yunyan's achievements and genuinely believe in his abilities.
Thinking of this, Shen Zheng retreated into the carriage and began to ponder what tasks the government office could assign to Xu Yunyan so that he could first gain some recognition.
More and more people followed the carriage, and soon they arrived at the government office.
A group of government officials lined up at the entrance, and as soon as she got out of the carriage, they immediately came to greet her.
"Greetings, Lord Shen!"
Shen Zheng nodded, and Yu Zhengqing walked over and said to the officials, "I'm sure you are all very familiar with Lord Shen, so I won't go into too much detail. However... this gentleman over here is probably someone you're meeting for the first time."
All the officials turned to look at Xu Yunyan, and Prefect Huo was the first to express goodwill: "This must be Lord Xu, right? Oh my, just as rumored, a handsome and talented man indeed!"
In fact, Huo Tongpan had never heard of any rumors.
But he understood very well that Xu Yunyan was Lord Shen's top subordinate, and to please Xu Yunyan was the same as to please Lord Shen.
Although he is only a seventh-rank official now, who can say for sure what will happen in the future?
He saw it clearly: as long as Lord Shen remained in power, her confidants would definitely rise in rank!
Huo Tongpan was not the only one who thought this way.
In the blink of an eye, most of the officials moved closer to Xu Yunyan and introduced themselves.
“Lord Xu, I am Yi Mingli, and I am in charge of investigation. In the future, I hope you will take good care of me.”
"Lord Xu, I am Ning Bufan, the prefectural magistrate. In the future, if you have any tasks, please feel free to give me your orders!"
Xu Yunyan returned the gifts one by one.
Yu Zhengqing glanced at the officials and said, "Let's go inside and talk."
In an instant, the officials became like mummified gourds, obediently following Yu Zhengqing into the government office.
As soon as they entered the main hall, Yu Zhengqing asked in a deep voice, "Where is Wang Huai'an?"
Shen Zheng had seen Wang Huai'an once before at the government office. She hadn't seen him earlier and thought it was because there were too many people and she had missed him. It wasn't until Yu Zhengqing asked her that she realized Wang Huai'an was really not there.
"Lord Wang?" The officials looked puzzled, turned around and searched the hall, then froze: "Lord Wang was here when it was time for roll call... Could it be that he went out on business?"
"What is it?" Yu Zhengqing frowned and said unhappily, "I sent someone to deliver the message at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), how could he not know about the handover at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM)? Send someone to find him!"
The officials were startled and rushed out to fetch someone.
Yu Zhengqing asked Shen Zheng and Xu Yunyan to sit down, and frowned as he said to Shen Zheng, "I also heard those rumors on the road. I thought they were nonsense and didn't need to pay attention to them, but Wang Huai'an dared to act like this. If they get out, it might be bad for Xu Yunyan."
Shen Zheng nodded after thinking for a moment.
The "disadvantage" that Yu Zhengqing mentioned was not that it would affect Xu Yunyan's appointment as an official, but that rumors, if circulated for a long time, would eventually become a weapon that could hurt people, and might affect Xu Yunyan's future performance reviews and evaluations.
As Yu Zhengqing had said before, the handover was a major event. Now that Wang Huai'an was gone, it was either intentional or he had been tricked by someone else.
Shen Zheng didn't know Wang Huai'an well, so she could only ask Yu Zhengqing what kind of person Wang Huai'an was.
Yu Zhengqing said, "He's been honest and unremarkable. But I've heard that he dotes on his wife and is a regular customer at the cosmetics shop in the mansion. Also... his father hasn't been feeling well lately and has been taking medicine."
Shen Zheng fell silent upon hearing this.
"Let's wait a little longer." Yu Zhengqing took a breath and poured tea, saying, "As long as the person is still in the government office, everything is fine."
The three waited in the hall for a little over a quarter of an hour. Huo Tongpan and Yi Jiqian arrived one after the other, and both said they still hadn't seen Wang Huai'an.
Another quarter of an hour passed, and Magistrate Ning Bufan and Constable Sun arrived, but they still shook their heads.
But Constable Sun brought a message: "Sir, around 4:45 AM, someone saw Lord Wang at the end of the street and said he went towards Wuyi Lane."
"Wuyi Lane?" Yu Zhengqing stood up and asked, "Have you sent people to look for it?"
"We're looking for him." Constable Sun paused, then couldn't help but say, "Sir, forgive my bluntness, but the shops in the alley only sell women's items. Lord Wang... he's probably buying something for his wife again."
Yu Zhengqing lowered his eyes, and after a moment said, "Send more people to search."
Just as Constable Sun was about to leave after receiving his orders, Shen Zheng called him back.
Shen Zheng asked, "Officer Sun, has Lord Wang sent anyone to his residence?"
Constable Sun was taken aback: "Reporting to you, sir, not yet... Lord Wang's house is quite far from the government office. He always travels to and from the office by carriage. I just checked, and his carriage is still parked behind the government office. He shouldn't have gone home yet."
Besides, what is Lord Wang doing going home so early in the morning?
Shen Zheng turned to look at Yu Zhengqing.
Yu Zhengqing was silent for a moment, then walked out of the hall. "Let's go, let's go there ourselves. Even if he didn't go home, his family is here, let's see if we can get some information out of them."
Shen Zheng had the same idea, so she took a step and followed, with Xu Yunyan close behind.
Two carriages left the government office. This time, Xu Yunyan did not ride a horse, but rode with Shen Zheng.
The two remained somewhat silent throughout the journey.
Shen Zheng said proactively, "Your family should already know about your promotion. After this is over, go home and visit your family for a couple of days before returning to the county."
Xu Yunyan smiled and said, "Thank you for your consideration, sir."