After the morning court session, Yan Shaoxuan dismissed the guards accompanying him and returned to the main hall of the inner quarters with Jiang Xiaowu.

As they entered, they ran into Xiao Jiu, who had come to deliver breakfast. Xiao Jiu set the breakfast out on the table in the outer room, then gave Yan Shaoxuan a strange little bow before leaving.

Jiang Xiaowu, who had been waiting outside, saw him come out and gave him a knowing look: “What kind of bow was that?”

Xiao Jiu smiled: “I learned it from the maids in the courtyard. I saw them bowing to our master whenever they saw him, so I figured we should copy them too—otherwise, people will laugh at us.”

Jiang Xiaowu burst out laughing: “Can a maid’s etiquette possibly be the same as a ger’s? I think you’ve got it all mixed up!”

The two chatted and joked as they went to wait in the back room, while Yan Shaoxuan went into the bedroom.

Yan Xiaoyu hadn’t gotten up yet. The room was warm, and he was still sleeping on the heated brick bed. His quilt wasn’t tucked in tightly, leaving a section of his wrist exposed. Being a cook, his hands were pale but not particularly delicate.

Yan Shaoxuan touched it, then leaned down and gave the wrist a gentle nibble: “Wake up. Why not eat breakfast before going back to sleep?” His eyes sparkled with amusement—a complete contrast to his demeanor during the second court session earlier.

Yan Xiaoyu had only gone to bed at dawn and was still drowsy; he grunted twice but refused to open his eyes.

His cheeks were flushed from sleep, which delighted Yan Shaoxuan. He leaned down to kiss his cheek again and coaxed, “Xiao Jiu made the lamb flatbread you like, and he also made that special soup from Lingbei. Why don’t you get up and try some?”

Yan Xiaoyu kept his eyes closed and pushed Yan Shaoxuan’s face away with his hand. “I’m not hungry.”

No sooner had he spoken than his stomach let out a loud “gurgle.” He stiffened, and Yan Shaoxuan chuckled softly, “Even if you’re not hungry, just eat a little with me.”

He’d only meant to give his little Fulang a way out, but seeing Yan Xiaoyu actually sit up obediently, his heart soared with joy. 

Nothing else could coax him out of bed, but the mere mention of keeping him company made him sit up on his own—how could he not be moved by such devotion? 

“Let me help you,” Yan Shaoxuan said softly.

As usual, Yan Shaoxuan helped Yan Xiaoyu get dressed and wash up. Once they were ready, the two of them sat hand in hand at the table in the outer room to have breakfast.

The Lingbei-style soup that Xiao Jiu had made was the same spicy soup they’d eaten outside the city the day before. He’d adjusted the ingredients to suit Yan Xiaoyu’s family’s tastes, first using lamb bones to create the broth base, then adding cooked lamb, flour, glass noodles, and ground pepper…

The spicy soup had a rich, meaty aroma and a smooth, refreshing texture, pairing perfectly with mutton flatbread.

After finishing half a bowl of steaming hot spicy soup, Yan Xiaoyu let out a satisfied sigh: “Xiao Jiu’s cooking skills are getting better and better. This spicy soup is both fragrant and spicy—a bowl on a winter morning is just the thing to warm you up!”

Yan Shaoxuan agreed wholeheartedly: “That’s true.”

The two chatted casually over breakfast.

“I don’t feel comfortable letting the servants who were here before handle important tasks, so I assigned them the job of tending the underfloor heating. It just so happens that A-Chai and the others haven’t had much experience with this sort of thing yet and aren’t very skilled at it. Today, I’ll just observe them. If they work diligently, I’ll let them stay; if not, I’ll send them away.”

“Mom and Dad said that heating all these rooms with underfloor heating is a bit of a waste of firewood. From now on, we’ll only heat the rooms where everyone spends most of their time; we won’t heat the main hall—the one neither of us uses.”

“I think they have a point. From now on, we’ll keep the expenses for the inner quarters separate from those of the front office, so no one can use that as an excuse to ask for a gift from you. We’ll buy our own firewood too, instead of using the county office’s supply. As for the servants who were here before, if they’re still useful, we’ll pay their wages ourselves.”

“Big Brother says it’s cold now, so it might be difficult to open the food shop right away. The tastes of the people in Lingbei and Weishi County are also somewhat different, so we can’t just copy what we did before. Today, I’ll discuss it further with him to figure out exactly what kind of food to serve. Then we’ll go ahead and rent the shop, hire craftsmen to renovate and spruce it up, so we can open for business once the weather warms up next year…”

After Yan Xiaoyu finished his rambling explanation, Yan Shaoxuan nodded. “All right, I’ll leave it up to you. There’s no need to rush about the shop. You and my older brother have been working so hard for so long; taking a month off now will be just the thing to rest and recuperate.”

Just a moment ago, Yan Xiaoyu had been reluctant to get out of bed, but now he was full of energy again.

“Renting a storefront isn’t much trouble, and the craftsmen will handle the renovations—we don’t have to lift a finger, so it won’t get in the way of our rest!”

“Just one thing,” Yan Xiaoyu winked at Yan Shaoxuan. “If anyone tries to take my shop away from me again, I won’t back down this time!”

“No need to back down,” Yan Shaoxuan said decisively. “Go ahead and do whatever you want. As long as you’re in the right, you have nothing to fear from anyone.”

I won’t let anyone treat you unfairly ever again.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Everyone in the inner courtyard was enjoying breakfast, from the highest to the lowest, in a joyful and harmonious atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the front office was on the verge of chaos. 

Yan Shaoxuan first agreed to his subordinates’ request to waive the melting tax and charcoal tax, then dismissed a constable.

That constable was the leader of the constable squad and the chief clerk’s cousin. After all, they would be working together from now on; had Yan Shaoxuan been willing to give Shen Fu even a modicum of face, he would have given him a heads-up beforehand. But he left no room for compromise, humiliating Shen Fu on his very first day in office. One couldn’t help but marvel at his high-handed and unsympathetic manner.

Although everyone was surprised that Shen Fu’s cousin had been fired, they didn’t take it too seriously; some even took pleasure in his misfortune.

No one at the county yamen could remain unaffected.

Apart from the rent collected from the official fields, the county office had little income, yet its expenses were considerable.

As Shen Fu had pointed out, the county office employed hundreds of people in total—including the three shifts of laborers and various other servants—and all of them, except for a few, relied entirely on the county office for their livelihood.

For those who received official salaries, how could the meager pay they voluntarily contributed—enough merely to maintain a respectable appearance—possibly satisfy them?

The clerks and constables had heavy workloads, yet because they were not considered official officials, they held little status. Without these perks, who would be willing to work for the county government?

Therefore, county offices in many places relied on miscellaneous taxes to cover their expenses and subsidize their lower-ranking staff.

In addition to miscellaneous taxes, wealthy families in the county would also voluntarily offer silver to gain access to government channels and secure favorable treatment.

However, Lingbei had just been investigated by the provincial governor. The Xu family—the wealthiest household in the area—had been implicated because the son of their second branch had been closely associated with the former county magistrate, and they were now severely weakened. As a result, the other wealthy families had become much more cautious; although Yan Shaoxuan had been in Lingbei for quite some time, no one had dared to offer him a gift yet.

Everyone was waiting to see who would take the lead.

But before they could wait any longer, the first news to reach them was the abolition of the melting tax and the charcoal tax. Not long after the court session ended, word of what had happened during the morning session had already spread throughout the entire county yamen.

Shen Fu, fearing he might be implicated by his nephew, refused to take the lead; the deputy magistrate had only recently taken office and was currently at his most cautious; in the end, it was the court clerk who couldn’t keep his cool and sought them both out to discuss the matter.

The clerk, Wu Neng, spoke with a grim expression: “There’s not even two silver left in the county office’s accounts, and now the magistrate wants to waive the melting tax and charcoal tax. Are the rest of us supposed to live on thin air from now on?”

After speaking, he waited for the other two to echo his words and join him in protest, but neither of them made their stance clear.

Deputy County Magistrate Yu Jing, in his fifties and seasoned by many years in the bureaucracy, had developed a slick and slippery demeanor: “Our county magistrate is the newly crowned top scholar of the imperial examinations; he must certainly be capable. If he intends to waive the melting tax and charcoal tax, he must have his reasons. How can we, as his subordinates, dare to voice objections?”

Shen Fu, the Chief Clerk, glanced at the Deputy Magistrate with a forced smile: “The Deputy Magistrate is quite right. Since our rank is lower than that of the Magistrate, we’d best leave these matters to his discretion.”

Wu Neng was extremely annoyed, but he still flattered them, saying, “My lords, there’s no need to be so self-deprecating. Although the County Magistrate holds a higher rank, he is still young and new to the post. He isn’t familiar with the situation here in Lingbei. On certain matters, I hope the two of you will offer your advice and counsel to the County Magistrate.”

“Well—” Yu Jing looked troubled. “Lord Wu’s point isn’t without merit, but I, too, am new here. If we’re to offer advice to the County Magistrate, wouldn’t it be more effective for Lord Shen to take the lead?”

Shen Fu silently cursed Yu Jing as an old fox, but his expression betrayed a look of helplessness: “Ah! I’d be happy to lend a hand, but my cousin has just fallen out of favor with the County Magistrate. I’m afraid if I step forward, it might only further upset him!”

The three of them passed the buck back and forth, none willing to be the one to stick their neck out. After quite a while, Wu Neng grew impatient.

“I understand your concerns, gentlemen, but we’re all in this together now. If we don’t collect the melting tax and charcoal tax, I won’t be the only one to suffer. Right now, we’re living the high life—eating and drinking to our hearts’ content, with servants at our beck and call—and our families get to enjoy the good life too. But if you keep passing the buck, once this matter is a done deal, those good days will be over. Even if we try to change things then, it’ll likely be too late!”

“Besides, as the saying goes, ‘A new official must make a splash upon taking office.’ If the County Magistrate uses this matter to assert his authority today, the Lingbei County Office will become a one-man show from now on. Will any of us have a say? With such a haughty disposition, how could he possibly tolerate people like us? I fear that what happened to Cousin Shen today might very well be our tomorrow!”

Wu Neng’s words were extremely pointed, yet Yu Jing still refused to respond.

Shen Fu stroked his goatee, pondered for a moment, and came up with a plan: “You don’t know the cost of daily necessities until you run a household. The county magistrate clearly isn’t familiar with the situation at our county office, but since he’s going to audit the accounts in the next couple of days, why don’t the three of us gently advise him a bit when he’s reviewing them?”

It was a plan worth trying. The other two thought it over for a moment, and both agreed.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

After finishing his breakfast and resting briefly, Yan Shaoxuan returned to the Second Hall.

Before long, Yu Jing arrived. 

Yesterday, this man had briefly reported on his duties to Yan Shaoxuan; today, as Yan Shaoxuan was set to audit the accounts, they all stood by, waiting for his questions. A stack of case files and ledgers lay on the desk; as Yan Shaoxuan looked them over, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

It would be impossible to go through a year’s worth of ledgers in a short time, but the deficit on the county yamen’s books was glaringly obvious.