Chapter 110: The Magistrate's Inspection

Greeting Magistrate Lu were not only Battalion Commander Ma and Headmaster Zhu, but also their respective subordinates, attendants, and a group of "prominent figures" from Taiping Town.

To be fair, there was not much worth introducing in such a backwater; they were merely there to make up the numbers.

Battalion Commander Ma wore the official robe of a fifth-rank military officer, with a majestic bear embroidered on his chest, surrounded by a crowd of company commanders and garrison officers. Although Su Youjin was only a flag officer, as a favorite of the Battalion Commander, he had also come to join the reception.

Headmaster Zhu wore a large cap and the round-collared robe of a *juren* scholar, accompanied by a group of imperial students and scholars. Though they held no official positions, their bearing clearly overshadowed the military men beside them. If it were not for the fact that the local power brokers of Taiping Town were difficult to offend, they would have been ashamed to stand alongside them.

The official sedan chair slowly approached the group and came to a stop. The movement was so sluggish, almost like slow motion, that it left Battalion Commander Ma and Zhu Liu stunned, wondering what was happening. However, they dared not ask or comment, and could only endure the risk of a heart attack while watching the curtain rise. A black satin boot with a powder-white sole slowly, ever so slowly, emerged. A long while later, the other boot followed.

After another long wait, Magistrate Lu, sweating profusely, leaned on the shoulder of his senior attendant to step out and exchange greetings with the two men.

"My goodness, Magistrate, what has happened to you?" Both men were startled by his appearance.

"Sigh, it is a long story," Magistrate Lu, having already prepared his excuse, replied with a bitter smile. "My lower back injury flared up on the road."

"Oh dear, oh dear! Why bother getting out of the chair, then?" Battalion Commander Ma quickly added, "Your Honor should have just remained seated to receive us." His humble demeanor was a complete departure from his usual self.

"Heh, one must not neglect the rites," Magistrate Lu forced a smile. He was not doing this for the fifth-rank military officer, Ma, but because the *juren* status of Headmaster Zhu left him with no choice but to dismount.

The Ming bureaucracy had an extreme obsession with educational credentials. Even if the other party held no official position, as long as their academic rank was higher, one could not put on official airs before them. Magistrate Lu was an imperial student by background—specifically a *li-jian*, the lowest of the four categories—putting his credentials far behind those of the legitimate *juren*, Zhu Liu. In formal settings, Magistrate Lu naturally took precedence, but if he dared to act haughty before Zhu Liu in private, he would become a laughingstock.

Lu Zhaoye had suffered enough for his lack of credentials, so even in this formal setting, he endured the intense localized pain to dismount and exchange greetings with Zhu Liu, leaving no room for the other to find fault. In truth, Zhu Liu respected him enough—otherwise, he would not have come twenty miles to greet him—but faces are known, not hearts, and who knew how others might disparage him behind his back? The traumatized Magistrate Lu thought to himself.

After the exchange of formalities, Lu Zhaoye slowly returned to his sedan chair, and surrounded by the crowd, they proceeded toward Taiping Town.

~~

By the time they reached the town, it was already noon.

Once the chair reached the bluestone-paved streets, it finally stopped jolting violently, ceasing the rhythmic impacts against Lu Zhaoye's fragile "rear end." Having sat lopsided the entire way, he finally dared to straighten up slightly. His stiff back began to relax, and the cold sweat on his forehead subsided.

Only then did he regain his composure and find the leisure to open the fine cotton-paper window of the sedan chair to view the local scenery. Unexpectedly, Taiping Town was not small at all; it was quite prosperous, truly living up to its reputation as a water and land transport hub. Shops lined the street one after another, with various signs and banners creating a continuous display that gave the Magistrate a feeling of having returned to the world of the living.

~~

He then noticed that the roadside was filled with colorful flags. At first, he thought they had been arranged by Battalion Commander Ma specifically to welcome him, but upon closer inspection, he realized that was not the case.

The flags were inscribed with slogans like "Drink Erlang Liquor," "Erlang Liquor—It Won't Go to Your Head," and "Give Erlang Liquor as a Gift." The red-on-black banners repeated over and over, making his eyes swim. Battalion Commander Ma had ordered the roads cleaned and sprinkled with water early that morning, clearing away idlers—mostly street vendors and ignorant foreigners. However, he had not dared to remove a single one of these eye-catching flags; there was no help for it, as it was his own business...

"Erlang Liquor certainly has quite a presence," Magistrate Lu remarked indifferently from behind the sedan curtain.

"Just some nonsense by the local merchants," Battalion Commander Ma chuckled awkwardly. "Though their liquor is actually quite good. I will have them send over a few jars later to help everyone refresh themselves." He then added eagerly, "I have prepared a modest banquet at the garrison office to welcome you, Magistrate. I hope you will honor us with your presence."

Magistrate Lu’s liver trembled at the suggestion. These brutes had such heavy-handed tastes; he had fallen victim to hemorrhoids after drinking with a company commander yesterday, and if he drank with a battalion commander today, he would surely lose his life. He waved his hand, politely declining, "Many thanks for your kindness, Commander, but the students at the academy have been waiting a long time. Would it be appropriate for us to go drinking now? I appreciate the sentiment, but let us head straight there."

"It is just a simple meal; it won't take long," Battalion Commander Ma insisted, but Magistrate Lu remained unmoved, adamant about skipping the meal to head directly to the academy.

"Sigh, very well," Battalion Commander Ma said dejectedly. "Magistrate Lu is truly diligent and cares for the people; you are a model for us all."

Seeing this, the teachers’ impressions of Magistrate Lu changed drastically for the better. Who said Lu Zhaoye was addicted to wine and women, lazy, and negligent? How professional he was! His back had been nearly shaken to pieces on the road, yet upon arrival, he refused to eat and went straight to inspect! As the saying goes, "Hearing is false, seeing is believing." The ancients did not deceive!

~~

At Taiping Academy, Su Lu and his peers had been thoroughly exhausted for the past two days. They had started a deep cleaning of the entire school yesterday, scrubbing even the latrines—which the Magistrate would certainly never visit—until they were spotless.

Early this morning, the teachers had followed the Headmaster to greet the official, so classes were suspended, and they could only wait in the lecture hall. Aside from "beasts" like Su Lu, who had undergone special training and could study unaffected, most of his classmates were inevitably distracted, whispering endlessly about Magistrate Lu.

Although they were a hundred miles from the county seat, bad news travels fast. Everyone had heard plenty of anecdotes about Magistrate Lu. Aside from naming his son "Ding Sheng" (meaning "Fixed Promotion") and having his pillow made in the shape of a coffin, which Su Lu had heard of, there were other blunders—such as using county scholarship funds to gift traveling *juren* candidates to gain fame, only to be sued by local scholars to the prefecture and ordered to pay back the deficit out of his own pocket...

Perhaps because he was not their true official, or perhaps influenced by their elders, the students did not speak of the upcoming visiting Magistrate with much respect.

The dormitory proctor, Ma, could no longer stand it and warned them, "Say what you will here, but keep your mouths shut once you go out. If you offend Magistrate Lu, be careful—you might never pass the county examination in your life!" To prove his point, Proctor Ma added, "I have heard of people who remained stuck for over a decade simply because they offended him."

"The Proctor is right," the students, all intelligent, immediately realized their rashness. Disrespecting the person who decided their fate was truly foolish.

Just then, a wooden clapper rang in the courtyard, and the "Big Wolf Dog" (the nickname for the strict disciplinarian) roared, "Assemble in the front courtyard immediately!"

~~

The students filed out quickly. This included not only the junior students but also the seniors from the middle and upper dormitories.

Arriving at the front square, the students straightened their robes and hats, waiting under the sun for half an hour until they finally heard the seven-strike gong sound from outside the gate!

Li Qiyu whispered, showing off, "The gong sound is a symbol of status. The County Magistrate gets seven strikes, the Prefect nine, and a Regional Inspector is entitled to eleven!"

"You might as well go be a night watchman; you could hit it dozens of times a night..." Cheng Wanfan’s comment caused the students to snicker.

"Quiet!" the Big Wolf Dog warned fiercely. "The Magistrate’s inspection is of great importance to our academy! If anyone dares to make a single mistake, I will kick them out!" The students, fearing the Big Wolf Dog, all fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

At that moment, the grand procession led the Magistrate’s sedan chair through the open gates and into the academy...

Previously, Su Lu had only seen Battalion Commander Ma, a real official, but he hadn't witnessed any such pomp at the local office. This was his first time seeing a true official procession, and he was naturally shaken by the overwhelming, star-like status. No wonder everyone wanted to be an official—how could so many people not be obsessed with such a grand, entourage-filled spectacle?

Just then, the academy’s musicians began to play the welcoming piece, "Deer Cry."

The song went: "The deer cry out, 'yo-yo,' eating the mugwort in the fields. I have honored guests, playing the zithers and blowing the reed pipes. Playing the pipes and blowing the reeds, presenting baskets as gifts. How people love me, showing me the righteous path..."

The senior students performed the Feather Dance to welcome Magistrate Lu.

This time, Magistrate Lu’s movement in dismounting was relatively brisk, and his voice carried more vigor as he addressed the students, "Students, stand easy. I have come on behalf of the imperial court to inspect the academy. Firstly, to demonstrate the nation’s care for you..."

But before he could say much, his mouth began to ache again. After a bout of cold sweat, he had to abandon his plan for a long speech, concluding his address, "Hmm, that is all."

"..." The teachers and students were dumbfounded. How could he finish after the first point? Were there no second or third?

But brevity was ultimately a good thing. The students applauded vigorously, feeling that this Magistrate was actually quite decent. Magistrate Lu had stumbled into a wave of good favor as a result...

After the brief address, Magistrate Lu, accompanied by Headmaster Zhu, went to the ancestral hall to pay respects to Confucius and Mencius. The musicians played the "Welcoming the Spirits" from the Confucian Temple ceremonies, and the dancers performed the ritual dance.

Observing this, Magistrate Lu could not help but praise, "Excellent! Although Taiping Academy is privately run and located in a remote area, it is just as the couplet on your gate says: 'The wind brings elegant rhymes from the Central Plains, the clouds transform into sweet dew from the furthest borders.' Your ritual and discipline are meticulous! Only in this way can you educate the local people; your merit is truly immense."

"You are too kind, Magistrate. We still have much to improve," Headmaster Zhu, a *juren* for over a decade, was truly skilled in the art of social niceties. Seeing that Magistrate Lu was struggling to walk, he decisively canceled the rest of the inspection, saying softly, "Magistrate, would you like to rest for a while? Have a simple meal and examine the students this afternoon?"

"Very well. Just a bowl of porridge for me," Magistrate Lu nodded, not refusing this time.

Thus, the attendants all went to the battalion office to feast, while only Magistrate Lu declined the banquet, resting in the Daonan Hall and consuming nothing but a bowl of white rice porridge for lunch.