Fang Yun was still sitting there drinking tea, calm and composed, as if the sky falling had nothing to do with him.
Ji Zhibai's men were stunned for a moment, then instinctively looked at Ji Zhibai and found that Ji Zhibai's legs were trembling and his face was ashen. They immediately realized that it might be related to Ji Zhibai.
The two horse barbarians guarding the gate lowered their heads deeply, fearing to offend the powerful existence of the human race.
The officials passing by originally just wanted to watch the fun, but they were all dumbfounded when they saw this scene. The chief minister of the Dongsheng Pavilion was here in person!
Academician Yan looked at Ji Zhibai sternly and said, "Master Ji, do you want to enter this court?"
The three great scholars looked at Ji Zhibai's face, and Ji Zhibai was like being hit by an invisible heavy hammer. He took a half step back, and the blood in his chest was surging. The three great scholars had no external power at all. Just a little displeasure was enough to make the dignified Jinshi unable to bear it.
He gritted his teeth, but blood kept flowing out from the corners of his mouth.
Ji Zhibai's body swayed slightly, he felt dizzy, his body was in turmoil and shaking, even his literary courage had lost its function.
The pressure from the three great scholars continued to spread, and the two youngest followers behind Ji Zhibai rolled their eyes and fell to the ground.
"Please... please forgive me, sir. I didn't know you were here and I misunderstood Magistrate Fang."
After all, Ji Zhibai was the top scholar in the country. Even though he was scared to death, he still answered with gritted teeth.
Grand Secretary Yan raised his chin slightly and said sternly, "In front of the three semi-saint examiners, Fang Yun is indeed the acting county magistrate, but in front of us, he is Fang Xusheng! Wherever he lives is the residence of Xusheng, and you will not be allowed to mess around! I order you to send a letter to the Rites Hall to apologize for your crime and accept the punishment of not being promoted for three years. Are you convinced?"
Ji Zhibai was so angry that he said, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Master Yan. I will apologize now."
"You wait outside!" Grand Secretary Yan waved his sleeves and the two doors closed.
Ji Zhibai lowered his head and waited for the door to close with a bang. He waited for more than ten breaths before looking up, looking at the closed door with lingering fear and filled with resentment!
After a moment, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Holy Academy was looking for Fang Yun for something important, and not to arrest him.
However, thinking of his own reaction just now, Ji Zhibai felt ashamed and annoyed. He turned back suddenly, his eyes like a knife. He swept across the faces of several men, pointed at the two fainted students and said fiercely: "Throw these two pieces of trash out!"
Afterwards, Ji Zhibai held the official seal in his hand, his face turned pale and blue, and he gnashed his teeth in hatred.
"Three years! According to the original plan, my teacher wanted me to be promoted to the fifth rank this year, and then serve as a prefect, slowly polishing myself, so that I can have a foothold even if I become an official of Qing State. But it was delayed for three years! For other scholars, it doesn't matter if they don't get promoted, but I majored in miscellaneous knowledge and must be trained in the officialdom. The higher the official position, the faster the promotion. Now, I have wasted three years! Fang Yun. This matter started because of you, and I will never let it go!"
Ji Zhibai didn't want to accept the punishment like this, but after thinking about it, he found that he couldn't change it. If he didn't agree, he could ask Zuo Xiang to come forward and there would be a chance, but if he changed his mind after being scared into agreeing, what if Fang Yun tricked him again and made him never hold any official position, which meant that his path to becoming a jack of all trades would be cut off.
Ji Zhibai gritted his teeth and slowly wrote a letter of apology, admitting that he should not have offended Fang Yun who had an important mission, and finally sent the letter to the Li Hall.
After sending the letter, Ji Zhibai stood at the door of the main hall, not daring to move.
Fang Yingwu smiled and said, "Since Master Ji is here, we don't need to guard the main gate of the court. Two barbarian lords, let's go to the side hall to rest for a while. I think Master Ji will definitely help stop the people behind us. Keep an eye on this door! Let those who refuse to accept our toasts and drink the wine for punishment know how powerful we are!"
After Fang Yingwu finished speaking, he took the two barbarian generals away and walked towards the side hall.
The main hall door was closed tightly. Ji Zhibai and others stood at the door like guards. They knew that Fang Yingwu was insulting them, but they did not dare to leave.
The officials passing by looked at Ji Zhibai with complicated eyes. Just last year, Ji Zhibai was their immediate superior, majestic and a role model for countless families in the county to educate their children.
But this year everything changed. Fang Yun was the role model, while Ji Zhibai, a high-ranking official, was not only turned away when he arrived at Fang Yun's county government office, but was also forced to serve as a gatekeeper.
Ji Zhibai's image in their minds completely collapsed.
These officials shook their heads slightly, walked away quickly, and then, following the fine tradition of public officials, spread the news in the county government.
A quarter of an hour later, Ji Zhibai discovered something wrong. He had been working in Ning'an County for more than half a year and knew very well that the area in front of the main hall was indeed the widest place in the county, but officials seldom passed by here when working and all walked through the back of the main hall.
But now, all the officials in Ning'an County, big and small, regardless of their rank and seniority, can take a detour through the main hall gate even if they want to go to the next door to get a page of document.
Those who had hope in the Left Prime Minister's party called Ji Zhibai "Master Ji" when they saw him, and expressed their hope to contact him in the future. Those officials who were abandoned by the Left Prime Minister and hated him covered their mouths and laughed as they walked by.
As for Fang Yun's staff and officials, they did not hide their feelings at all. They looked at Ji Zhibai with a smile and walked calmly past the door.
Not long after, a small yellow dragon flew slowly from the direction of the east gate. A little fox stood on its head, holding the dragon's horns with its two front paws. On its head, it wore the most expensive headdress in the world, the Mist Butterfly, which made it look even more majestic.
Ao Huang smiled as he passed by the main hall entrance, then flew to the west gate.
Ji Zhibai wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, but he didn't know when the four big shots inside would leave, so he didn't dare to move.
Ji Zhibai endured, endured, and endured again, but after an hour, when he heard the conversation between the two, he finally couldn't help it and spat out another mouthful of blood.
At the east gate, Yu Bachi said, "Prince Huang, what a coincidence, you are here again?"
"Isn't it? This is also the second time for Dianshi Yu?" Ao Huang said leisurely.
"No, this is my third time."
"I actually have one less time than you?"
"You can make it up later."
"That's it, then."
After saying that, Yu Bachi and Ao Huang walked slowly past Ji Zhibai, as if they didn't see Ji Zhibai. Nu Nu was on Ao Huang's head, holding her stomach and rolling around laughing.
Near noon, the door of the Ning'an County government hall finally opened again. Fang Yun smiled kindly and said, "The four gentlemen came to visit suddenly before, and I didn't have time to notify you. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time. Come in, please. However, I'm going to have a drink first. I'll be back soon."
Fang Yun chuckled and left quickly.
Ji Zhibai immediately carefully sensed the atmosphere in the courtroom, and then he became so angry that his eyes went dark. The aura of the great scholar inside was very weak. The four people had been gone for at least half an hour!
Fang Yun drank tea in there for half an hour!
"Control your anger, control your anger..." Ji Zhibai kept admonishing himself in his heart, but deep in his heart, there were waves of sadness. Since he had Fang Yun, he had not had a good day! (To be continued...)