"Thank you very much, Your Excellency. Ahem, actually it is very convenient for me to go home for lunch." When Captain Zhang heard that Prefect Zhou invited him to have lunch together, he bowed to thank Prefect Zhou, then paused and lowered his head to decline.
"Captain Zhang, there's no need to be polite or restrained. Although you and I are subordinates, we are just having a meal now, not doing any work." Zhou Houjie said to Captain Zhang with a smile.
Uh, I don't think I'm being polite or reserved...
Zhu Ping'an watched the two interacting from the side without saying anything, but he had a strange feeling in his heart. Looking at Captain Zhang's expression just now, it seemed that he was not as polite and reserved as Zhou Houjie said. Instead, he looked a bit like... disgusted, as if one is afraid of ropes for ten years after being bitten by a snake once.
"As your Excellency has taught me, I will not be polite." Captain Zhang bowed.
"Okay, that's all. Go ahead and tell the cook to come and have dinner together." Zhou Houjie nodded with a smile.
"Yes, sir." Captain Zhang responded and withdrew, going to the kitchen to arrange for the cooks in the yamen to add more dishes.
"Let's go, Zihou, let's go inside and wait for a while." Zhou Houjie smiled and stretched out his hand as a gesture of invitation, then pulled Zhu Ping'an straight into the lobby.
The Shuntian government office is five rooms wide, with a platform in front of the hall. Although it is old, it is magnificent and majestic. A black lacquer case is placed in the middle of the hall, and behind the case is a background screen with a red sun rising out to sea. Above the hall hangs a plaque with the words "A clear mirror hangs high", and on both sides of the hall are plaques with words such as "Silence", "Avoidance", and "Official of the Second Sage". In front of the hall hangs a couplet that reads "When dealing with unjust cases, the joints are blocked, and the deity is like Yama; when providing relief to the victims, the compassion is boundless, and the heart of a bodhisattva is still there." It is fair and majestic, yet considerate and loving, and expresses the attitude, responsibility, love and closeness of officials one by one. It is similar to the couplet outside, and should also be written by the prefect Zhou.
Prefect Zhou pulled Zhu Ping'an from the main hall to the second hall, which was where Zhou Houjie worked daily. The six offices of the government office, namely "Li Hu Li Bing Xing Gong" were distributed around the second hall. Upon hearing the sound, the clerks of the six offices came out one after another to salute Zhou Houjie, who nodded in response and led Zhu Ping'an to the second hall.
After entering the second hall, Magistrate Zhou asked Zhu Ping'an to sit anywhere he wanted. He stood up, took the teapot from the small charcoal stove, poured a cup of tea for Zhu Ping'an and brought it over.
Zhu Ping'an stood up from his seat and took the teacup with both hands.
"A guest is a guest, Zihou, just sit down." Zhou Houjie said with a smile.
After sitting down again, Zhu Pingan observed the second hall where Zhou Houjie worked. Zhou Houjie arranged it like a study room. Several bookshelves were filled with books, including the Four Books and the Five Classics, as well as legal books such as "The Regulations of the Tang Dynasty", "The Regulations of the Ming Dynasty", "Laws and Decrees", "Continuation of the Great Edict", and "Three Compilations". Judging from the color of the books and the degree of wrinkles on the pages, these books were often read.
There was a piece of rice paper on the desk, with the ink ground already, and half of it written on it... ... Zhou Houjie must have been writing something here just now, and when he heard me coming, he went out.
"Sorry to bother you while you're working." Zhu Ping'an said apologetically.
"It's okay, just light the candle for a few moments tonight." Zhou Houjie waved his hand indifferently, then started to clean up the table to make it convenient for dining later.
"Zihou, I have read the document you wrote. This matter is now handed over to me. I will definitely get to the bottom of it." After tidying up the table, Zhou Houjie said to Zhu Ping'an.
"Thank you, sir, for taking care of Ping'an." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his gratitude.
"This is my job, Zihou, why do you have to do this? I regret that I have known you for so long, but this has nothing to do with today's case. I will handle this case impartially and will not tarnish the good reputation of the court." Zhou Houjie said seriously.
"Zihou believes in you, sir." Zhu Ping'an smiled calmly.
What Zhu Ping'an admires is this point about Zhou Houjie. Zhou Houjie is a principled man. Although he appreciates him, he believes that public is public and private is private. He is not the kind of person who would sacrifice public for private reasons. This is also why Zhu Ping'an likes Zhou Houjie very much.
It is easy to say that public and private affairs should be clearly distinguished, but it is difficult to do. Everyone is born by their parents, so who doesn't have relatives and friends? It is not like we are all living on wind and dew, and we are all cut off from the six senses, so who doesn't have seven emotions and six desires? If it involves the private affairs of relatives and friends, how many officials can remain calm and handle it impartially? If everyone is like Bao Zheng, who is impartial and just, then Bao Zheng would not be famous.
Zhou Houjie couldn't help but smile slightly, and looked at Zhu Ping'an with even more admiration.
"Actually, I still admire Zihou very much. Regarding the matter of memorials, I am afraid that even I would be hesitant and worried, let alone others." Zhou Houjie pointed at the table and mentioned the matter of memorials.
"If it's someone else, that's fine, but if it's you, I believe you will report it faster than me." Zhu Ping'an shook his head and joked.
"That's not necessarily true." Zhou Houjie smiled and shook his head.
At this moment, footsteps were heard outside, and then Captain Zhang came in with a food box. Steam was coming out of the food box, and it smelled like food.
"Sir, the food is ready." Captain Zhang came over and said, carrying a food box.
"Okay, let's have dinner then." Zhou Houjie nodded, then looked at Zhu Ping'an and said, "It's just simple food, don't be disgusted, Zihou."
"How could that be? Ping'an is sorry to bother you, sir." Zhu Ping'an said.
After Captain Zhang opened the lunch box and brought the dishes to the table one by one, Zhu Ping'an realized that what Zhou Houjie said about simple meals was not just modesty. He also understood Captain Zhang's initial expression.
Which one, I guess he really dislikes it.
There were five dishes and one soup on the table. It sounded rich, but seeing is believing. If you saw the five dishes and one soup, you wouldn't think so. Although they were colorful, with five plates placed together, and the soup in the middle was a big bowl... ...
There was a plate of vinegar-fried mung bean sprouts, a plate of stir-fried cabbage, a plate of cabbage with tofu, a plate of boiled peanuts, and another plate of pickled radish strips. The knife skills were good and the radish strips were cut very neatly, and some chopped green onions were sprinkled on top.
In the middle is a large bowl of soup, which is also the only meat dish on the table - crucian carp and tofu soup. There are two palm-sized crucian carps in the soup. It is estimated that this is most likely an added dish.
Is this the lunch of a fourth-rank prefect
Zhu Ping'an was a little stunned, then looked at Captain Zhang.
Captain Zhang gave Zhu Ping'an an affirmative look with a wry smile. This was his third time having dinner with Prefect Zhou, and he had realized this a long time ago.
"Come on, don't be polite, there are plenty of steamed buns." Zhou Houjie greeted warmly.
"Does your Excellency usually eat these?" Zhu Ping'an asked curiously, finding it somewhat unbelievable that after he passed the imperial examination, his family's living conditions would have greatly improved, not to mention Zhou Houjie, the fourth-rank governor of Shuntian.
"It's enough to eat, it's enough to eat." Zhou Houjie said with a smile, and then greeted him warmly, "Zihou, hurry up and eat. This is Liuweizhai's tofu. It tastes best when eaten hot."
"Master Zhu, you came today and the master added more dishes." Captain Zhang explained with a wry smile, "Master, do you know which dish is added today?"
"This crucian carp and tofu soup is definitely it." Zhu Pingan said.
"Master Zhu is half right. In fact, this boiled peanuts was also a dish added by Lord Fu. Lord Fu had previously instructed the kitchen to prepare a meal for you, and he felt that four dishes were necessary to entertain guests." Captain Zhang shook his head and smiled bitterly.