Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

In a blink of an eye, it is the fourth day of the New Year, and Qin Yunhe is about to set off back to the city.

He did not ask Yunniang to make cakes this year, but Yunniang still made cakes and bait as she did last year and divided them into cloth bags and straw paper.

"...Last time I heard everyone in your hall say that the cakes were delicious, so I told you to bring them again this year. Please see if it's enough. I calculated that it should be enough."

Qin Yunhe naturally understood the intentions of Yunniang and her husband, and accepted it without any hesitation.

Everyone saw us off, just like in previous years. After some reluctance, they finally parted ways.

Zhuzi shouted, and the carriage slowly set off.

It was already evening when we returned to the government office. On the fifth day of the next day, all government offices opened their seals.

Qin Yunhe first dealt with the cases that were unresolved before the New Year and those that were sealed before arranging the trial.

Qin Yunhe went to court to investigate the case of a police officer involved in murder years ago, and basically confirmed that the police officer was indeed wrongly accused.

The reason why the fellow Fuyuan yamen runner framed him was very simple, it was because the magistrate was pursuing him.

Fuyuan County Magistrate was always strict with his servants. No matter how difficult the case was, he would set a strict deadline to solve it quickly.

Qin Yunhe and Zhuzi shared the same idea and felt that the missing servant was a strong suspect in the crime.

So he sent people to Fuyuan County and nearby counties to issue a reward for the arrest of the official's servant. He also sent a letter to Fuyuan County asking them to assist in the search.

Half a month later, news came from Fuyuan County that the policeman's servant was found by a county yamen hanger-on and taken to the county yamen, and then taken to the hall from Fuyuan County for trial.

After multiple investigations and trials at the government office, the truth was finally uncovered.

It turned out that the servant got up at night and heard noises coming from the kitchen. Later he saw a man crawling out from inside. He guessed that the daughter of that family was having an affair with someone, so he became malicious and wanted to use this to threaten someone to do something inappropriate.

Unexpectedly, when he entered the kitchen, he found that the girl was unconscious. He guessed that the person who had just left might not be his lover but a thief.

The servant was thinking of taking advantage of the girl's unconsciousness to do something indecent, but she suddenly woke up and started to scream. In a hurry, the servant covered her mouth and nose, accidentally killing her and hid her in the grain pile in the yard...

Unexpectedly, the body was soon discovered, the officer was arrested, and he dared not show up again...

The government office planned to sentence the servant to death by beheading, but the falsely accused officer was released on the spot, and Fuyuan County was ordered to continue tracking down the thief who broke into the farmer's house that night.

The officer had been detained for a long time, and when he was released in court, his wounds had almost healed.

When he was in Fuyuan County, he had not expected to be released, and now that the truth had come to light, he was a little dazed.

"Brother Zhao, your kindness to me is as great as the sky and the earth." The officer knelt down and kowtowed: "My benefactor, please accept my respect."

Zhuzi helped him up: "I am not a benefactor, it is just my duty."

"It's my job..." The officer smiled bitterly.

Thinking of how he was tortured and forced to confess by the yamen runners who were working with him, Zhuzi naturally understood his feelings.

"Are you going back to Fuyuan County to continue your work?"

"What's the point of not being an official? Now that I'm in this line of work, I can only continue to do it."

Zhuzi felt a little sad. Seeing that he was wearing prison clothes, he knew that he must have no money to go back. He took out two pieces of silver from his pocket and said, "I'll give you some money for your trip. Although it's not much, it should be enough to support you to go back to Fuyuan County."

The officer did not refuse, but bowed deeply again and said: "I have nothing now, so I dare not ask for repayment. If I have the chance in the future, I will never forget this kindness."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

The three shifts of yamen runners in the hall were naturally well aware of the course of the case, and also knew how the officer was tortured into confessing.

As they were both yamen runners, they inevitably felt a little sad, and they all became silent and distant from each other.

Liu Dianshi naturally saw it too, and frowned, saying, "Why are you acting so pitiful? The Magistrate has always been lenient, when has he ever been strict with you?"

After hearing this, the yamen runners realized that, yes, the prosecutor would not impose strict limits on the pursuit, and they did not need to worry about framing others in order to solve the case.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and the atmosphere returned to normal.

At the end of February, Wei Chengji was transferred to be the magistrate of Qihe County, Antong Prefecture. Although it seemed to be a lateral transfer, it was actually a demotion because Qihe County was a remote and small county.

Gu Zhi's term of office will expire this year, and he will be summoned to Beijing in February to report on his work.

In March, news came that Gu Zhi was promoted to the prefect of Linxing Prefecture in Jiangdong Province.

Qin Yunhe was reluctant to see his senior brother being promoted to prefect, but he was also happy for him.

Lin Zhaotang's term of office will also expire this year, so he is not worried about the three-year plan.

With the help of County Magistrate Lu, the county affairs were in order during his three years in office, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

He had just entered the official career and knew that promotion usually took at least two terms, so he was prepared to stay in office or transfer. However, he never expected to receive an imperial order in April to report on his work in Beijing.

Lin Zhaotang first arranged for someone to send his wife and children back to Fuyu County, and then arranged various affairs in the county before preparing to set off.

County Magistrate Lu led the entire county government to see Lin Zhaotang off.

"I think it must be recommended by a senior official. I would like to congratulate you first."

County Magistrate Lu had mixed feelings, but he appeared to be completely calm on the surface.

He's used to it.

No matter how much he did, the final credit would naturally go to the magistrate.

But this time he did not have as much resentment and resentment as before. After all, Lin Zhaotang could not be said to love the people like his own children during his tenure, but he was dedicated to his work, self-disciplined, diligent and honest.

He couldn't blame anyone.

"Thank you, County Magistrate Lu, for your support over the past few years."

County Magistrate Lu returned the greeting with a bow: "Your Excellency is polite. This is what I should do."

After Lin Zhaotang's carriage drove away, County Magistrate Lu turned around and looked at the familiar Xunlin County Office for a long time, then ordered: "Xiao Ke, take people to clean up the inner office. The new county magistrate should be here soon."

Soon, Lin Zhaotang was transferred to be the magistrate of Yongnian County, a county attached to the capital.

Afterwards, County Magistrate Lu received a transfer order and was promoted to the position of Magistrate of Fuyu County, and was ordered to take office immediately.

----

In ancient times, yamen runners would be given a time limit to solve the case or catch the suspect. If they failed to solve the case or catch the suspect, they would be beaten with a stick. This was called "chai bi" - this is how some unjust cases came about.