At dawn, the side door of the Duke's Mansion opened. A carriage slowly drove out, and soon turned the corner and drove towards the empty street.
Pei Che sat in the carriage with his eyes closed. He seemed to be resting, but he was actually thinking about something. After all, today was only his first day in office. He was a new official, so he had to report to the office according to the time. If he was not careful, he would inevitably be caught and reported.
Losing his job was a minor matter, but losing this position that allowed him to legitimately look through the household register was a major matter. He could not be careless before finding Zhao Wei. The death of his parents had always been a thorn in his heart. He finally had some clues, but if he didn't investigate thoroughly, wouldn't he be unworthy of being a son
"Master, we're here." The carriage stopped at some point.
Pei Che lifted the curtain and got out of the car, sent them back, and walked into the gate of the Ministry of Revenue alone.
Compared to the bustling yamen yesterday, the Ministry of Revenue at this hour seemed extremely deserted. Pei Che followed the direction given by the Left Assistant Minister yesterday and came to the check-in room. He found that there was only one clerk on duty inside, who was sleeping soundly on the table.
Pei Che walked over and knocked on the table. The man suddenly sat up straight, and the words came out before he opened his eyes.
"Sir, you are here! Just make a mark on this booklet." As he said this, he pushed out the list that had been pressed underneath.
After doing all this, the man seemed to be somewhat sober, and when he opened his eyes and saw that it was Pei Che, he showed a little surprise. Without waiting for Pei Che to explain his identity, he turned into a look of understanding.
"You are the newly appointed Mr. Pei, right? Your name has been added to this page. Please just make a mark." He quickly flipped through the list and turned to the page with Pei Che's name.
"How do you know who I am?" Pei Che took the pen and drew a circle next to the name.
"Prince Pei, you are extremely charming and everyone in Liangjing knows you. I was not here when you came yesterday, but the Minister had already instructed me to register you. I didn't expect you to come so early."
Pei Che chuckled and thought this guy was quite interesting. He looked around and asked, "What time is it now?"
The man didn't know why Pei Che asked this question. He glanced at the clepsydra beside him and blurted out, "It's already the first quarter of the morning." After saying that, he immediately reacted and said, "Master Pei, are you wondering why there is no sign of the other masters?"
Pei Che nodded: "I'm new here, and I don't know the rules of the Ministry of Revenue. I'm afraid I may not be able to act properly. I wonder if you can give me some advice so that I don't have to make a fool of myself as soon as I arrive."
"Master Pei, you are too polite. You can just call me Hu San." Hu San said, "I don't deserve the advice, but the Ministry of Revenue has always been like this. No matter what time it is, it is considered a roll call. That's why the other masters haven't come yet."
"No wonder it's like this. It seems that Pei was abrupt today, and it made you, Hu, unable to sleep well."
Hu San hurriedly said, "What are you talking about, sir? Clerks like us have to wait here two quarters of an hour in advance, regardless of whether you are coming or not. I caught a cold recently, so I was lazy for a while and took a nap on the table. Please don't mind, sir." Hu San was a little nervous. He was just a small clerk. If Lord Pei said a few words in front of the Minister, he would be driven out of the Ministry of Revenue.
"Pei has no intention of holding you accountable, so don't be nervous." Pei Che smiled. "Since you've come early today, why don't you talk to Pei about some of the rules of our Ministry of Revenue? Are you willing?"
Pei Che listened with great interest, nodding his head in affirmation from time to time. This greatly encouraged Hu San and made him speak more and more enthusiastically.
Pei Che silently took note of the important contents of his words. Hu San had been in the Ministry of Revenue for a long time. Since he was in charge of attendance, he knew a lot of people and knew more than the adults who had worked in the Ministry for several years.
It was not until footsteps were heard outside the door that Hu Sancai stopped talking. He felt that this Lord Pei was indeed as the rumors said, a humble and gentlemanly person, and he was not arrogant despite being a prince.
In fact, Pei Che was not like this before. Although he would not deliberately make things difficult for the people below him, he would not deliberately make friends with them. In his heart, there was still a natural gap between the nobles and the common people. Since he met Jiang Miao, under the influence of Jiang Miao over the years, he gradually felt that people should not simply judge whether to make friends with each other based on their status.
More and more people came to check in. Pei Che said goodbye to Hu San and walked towards the police room. The door of the police room was locked. He stood outside and waited for a long time before he saw a man dressed similarly to Hu San walking towards him slowly. This man had a bunch of keys hanging around his waist. He must be the person who was responsible for opening all the police room doors before the Mao hour as Hu San said, right
It seems that even though they are both clerks, their status and treatment are completely different. When this person passed by Pei Che, he only bowed slightly and perfunctorily saluted. Without waiting to be called, he stood up straight, walked over, took out the key, opened the door of the room, and then walked leisurely towards the next room.
Pei Che didn't want to argue with him. This man must have someone to back him up. Before finding out Zhao Wei's identity, he'd better not do anything to attract attention.
"Sir, this is Liang Jing's household registration book. It's all here." The leading clerk pointed to the ground. They were all scholars. They had been carrying heavy objects for a long time and were already sweating profusely.
Pei Che looked in the direction of his finger and was stunned for a moment. These heavy black wooden boxes were filled with household registration books? No wonder when he just ordered this person to move all the household registration books of Liang Jing, this person confirmed it several times before doing the job.
"I wonder if your Excellency has any other instructions?" The clerk saw that Pei Che had been silent for a long time and was unsure for a moment. After hesitating, he took the initiative to ask.
"It's okay, you can leave now." Pei Che retracted his gaze and signaled that he could leave.
After the group left, Pei Che sighed. It seemed that finding someone in Liangjing City was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. It was too difficult to find someone named "Zhao Wei" in these big boxes.
Pei Che walked over and opened the box closest to him, deciding to start from this box. He picked up the two lists and walked back to the table, sitting down and flipping through them. You don't need to read the list too carefully, just glance at ten lines and then find the person with the surname Zhao.
However, it is not easy to do. My eyes feel sore as I read. These household registration books have been stored for a long time. Every time I turn a page, I can feel the dust blowing towards me. In this case, it is not easy to read so many books.
Pei Che shook his head, smiled bitterly, and then looked again.
(End of this chapter)