Chapter 125: Busy

Cao Jinhua was headstrong, but the official was even more so. Without further persuasion, she ordered the yamen runners to take action.

If Shen Shi had been a mere scholar, he would certainly have suffered, but Shen Shi was no scholar—he was a cultivator. With a casual wave of his hand, the runners were unable to get anywhere near him; they were deflected by the force of his palm, unable to touch him, let alone apprehend him.

As for the "official aura" exuded by their bodies and the government office, while it did pose a hindrance to communicating with the essence of heaven and earth, it meant nothing to a practitioner of the orthodox Three Teachings like Shen Shi, who focused on self-evolution and derived all his power from within. In plain terms, this "official aura" was merely a form of energy. If one did not understand it, one would be suppressed and dominated, making it easy to be countered. But once understood, it was of no consequence.

"What is going on with you all? Quickly, throw him out! His Honor is busy."

Throw him out? How? The man possessed sorcery. Before they could even get close, they were pushed away by an invisible force.

Shen Shi shielded Cao Jinhua as they walked inside. As they drew closer, a faint, feminine fragrance drifted to his nose.

*It seems there are benefits to her dressing in men’s clothing; at least she avoids the poisoning of chemical substances,* Shen Shi thought as he caught sight of Cao Jinhua’s natural, unadorned face. He recalled that products like rouge and powder were often lead-based, and frequent use was hardly a good thing.

*Huh? Perhaps I could try selling perfume and cosmetics.*

Purely chemical cosmetics were unpopular in the future, where natural products—perfumes extracted with alcohol, cleansing volcanic ash, seaweed mud, and cucumber slices for the face—had become all the rage. More importantly, they required no real technology. Volcanic ash and seaweed mud could be dug up from the ground. As for the "cutting-edge international technology" labels, only a fool would believe them; it was enough that they could clean the skin.

Cucumbers were grown; one could eat them or apply them to the face. The only thing requiring a modicum of skill was perfume—brewing wine and purifying it into alcohol. While the ancients lacked this technique, was the process of distillation truly difficult for anyone who had studied chemistry? These were all potential sources of wealth.

As Shen Shi mused, he and Cao Jinhua reached the main hall, where the secretaries conducted their work.

Three men were present. One was sipping tea, another was reading while sipping tea, and the last was busy—he was reading a newspaper.

Of course, the newspaper he read was not filled with entertainment gossip or financial racing charts; it was the imperial gazette. Any new government policies were recorded therein, so he was indeed "working." However, his work differed from the standard operations of the Ministry of Personnel, though no one had explicitly stated he was shirking his duties.

"Who are you?" a young official stood up, righteous and stern. "Do you not know what place this is? What is the crime for disturbing an official at work?"

"At work? I don't see it," Cao Jinhua retorted, unyielding. "He has been waiting outside all day, and you refuse to see him, preferring to hide here drinking tea and reading books. What is it you are trying to do?"

"Insolent!" the official bristled.

"Hey, hey, Master Cao, don't be angry. You just want us to process your friend's paperwork, right? We’ll do it right away, right away."

Unlike the younger official, the other two recognized Cao Jinhua immediately. Whether as the sister of the Empress or the brother of the wealthiest person in the Song Dynasty, Cao Jinhua had many admirers. Even those who were spoken for knew to keep her in mind. Only the inexperienced youth failed to recognize her.

The two who recognized her scrambled: one to appease Cao Jinhua, and the other to wave the runners away, immediately setting to work on Shen Shi’s file. For officials arriving in the capital from the provinces, this was a mandatory step—a standard by which the imperial court evaluated officials. Whether a one-day journey took two days, three days, or half a month made a difference.

"You are an official from the North, are you not?" the official processing the file asked while attempting to strike up a "casual" conversation.

Though phrased as idle chatter, there was a clear motive. Shen Shi had been "brought in" by Cao Jinhua. What was he to her? A relative? A friend? Or had this tomboy had a change of heart? Over time, many had forgotten the third daughter of the Cao household, treating her entirely as the "Third Young Master." Today’s scene, whether out of gossip or a desire to understand who this Shen Shi was, made "small talk" necessary. Even the others couldn't help but crane their necks to listen.

"No. I am an official from Jinhua, in charge of literature," Shen Shi stated.

"What? You didn't come from the North?"

The official’s hand shook, nearly ruining the file.

Meanwhile, Cao Jinhua, having been mollified and now holding a cup of fragrant tea, overheard this and, seeing the official's surprise, could not help but ask, "Is there some distinction between the South and the North?"

The official who had been appeasing her answered eagerly, "Master Cao, you might not know. Those wretched Xixia bandits have invaded the Northern Circuit of Zhejiang, leaving nine out of ten households empty. Many officials have been dismissed, and even more have been abducted by the Xixia..."

His explanation was, in essence, that Zhejiang currently lacked a batch of officials, and the entire Song bureaucracy was in a frenzy. Those from the rural fringes, like the far south or the southwest, all wanted to transfer North. Those in the North, near the borders of Xixia and Liao, were in danger and wanted to head South. Zhejiang, being near the capital and the wealthy region of Yuhang, was naturally a prime location. Those without appointments and waiting for office were even more desperate.

"Master Cao, you see. Because of this, the lords at the Ministry of Personnel are at their wits' end, leaving us lowly ones here to deal with the fallout."

Dealing with the "fallout" meant doing the thankless work of offending others. Even the Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel had to hide, which showed just how terrifying the rush for positions had become. If not for the fact that the three of them were low-ranking and lacked powerful patrons, they wouldn't want to be here either.

"You are a piece of work, too. Since you are an official from Zhejiang, why ride a horse? You aren't a Northern official; why prepare a horse? Next time you come, you should take a sedan chair. That way, we wouldn't have made such a mistake."

So, the hour-long delay had been entirely because of the horse.

Though he spoke with a tone of complaint, he was actually offering guidance to Shen Shi. This was not just out of respect for Cao Jinhua, but also because Shen Shi was a civil official. If Shen Shi had been a military officer, they wouldn't have bothered, as it would have been useless—military officers rode horses, and civil officials took sedan chairs; it was the protocol of the court.

It was only the officials in the North, constantly facing the threat of Khitan invasion, who kept horses and eschewed sedan chairs—a practice that was understood. In the Song Dynasty, even if a civil official violated ancestral customs, the court rarely executed them so long as they survived. But if one fell into the hands of the Khitans, that was a different story.

To be killed, or something worse than death? Which would one choose?