Chapter 7 The Watchman and the Magistrate (Part One)

Li Changhe put away the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, taking with him the visiting card that Fang Yue had just finished writing. He carried it into the side room of the county office’s administrative wing to dry it by the fire—after all, the fresh ink would smudge if not baked dry.

In the main hall, the old yamen runner had awakened from his nap and was now watching Fang Yue intently.

Fang Yue waited for a while. Soon, Li Changhe emerged from the west side room, holding the visiting card, now dry.

“Hand this card to the doorkeeper in the guardhouse behind the main hall; he’ll announce you,” Li Changhe said, handing over the card.

Fang Yue thanked him and made his way to the back of the hall. At the guardhouse, he found a middle-aged man with bulging, fish-like eyes slouched listlessly in a chair—clearly the doorkeeper on duty at the county office. Fang Yue approached, yet the man didn’t notice him at all.

“Excuse me,” Fang Yue said aloud.

Startled by the voice, the doorkeeper jolted upright, nearly leaping from his seat. Fang Yue found the reaction excessive but said nothing.

“What do you want? Do you know where you are?” the doorkeeper snapped, trying to cover his embarrassment at being startled.

Fang Yue handed over the card. “I am Fang Yue, a scholar of this county, requesting an audience with the Magistrate regarding the matter of the Donghai pirates. Please announce me.”

“Oh, here to see the master, are you?” The doorkeeper’s drooping eyelids snapped up, eyes brightening. He pretended not to see the card, instead reaching for the two packets of medicine Fang Yue carried.

Fang Yue cleared his throat and said calmly, “There’s poison inside.”

The doorkeeper recoiled in alarm, drawing his hand back. “Why on earth are you carrying poison?”

Fang Yue only smiled, offering no answer. The doorkeeper, realizing he’d been frightened on purpose, grew annoyed. Yet he assumed these were gifts for the magistrate—perhaps rare tonics, or perhaps not medicine at all, just made to look like it. His greedy gaze lingered over the two packets, but he refrained from reaching out again.

Fang Yue knew there was a misunderstanding. The packets contained sulfur and saltpeter, which he had purchased earlier at the Ren family’s pharmacy. He’d brought them along in haste when he thought of the threat of the Donghai pirates and hurried to the county office.

He hadn’t exactly lied; while small amounts of sulfur and saltpeter could be used medicinally, these quantities could easily kill if ingested—calling them poison was not far from the truth.

Fang Yue offered the card again. The doorkeeper accepted it but remained rooted to the spot, his fishy eyes roaming over Fang Yue.

Fang Yue frowned, quickly realizing the man was waiting for a bribe and would not announce him otherwise.

He drew a string of copper coins—about a hundred—from his robe and pressed them into the doorkeeper’s hand. “Please help announce me.”

The doorkeeper took the money but still did not move. Having paid the bribe and still met with inaction, Fang Yue grew impatient. “Is there something else?”

The doorkeeper, feigning good humor, said, “Scholar, aren’t you being a bit stingy? Isn’t this looking down on me?”

Fang Yue was momentarily taken aback, almost thinking the man was refusing a bribe, but then the doorkeeper continued, “It’s too little. If there’s no meat, at least let me have some soup.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted—intentionally or not—toward the packets in Fang Yue’s hand.

Fang Yue’s annoyance grew. He could tolerate a bribe, but not this level of brazen greed. And, most importantly, he was nearly out of money; he couldn’t hope to satisfy this man’s appetite.

He had come to see the magistrate about the pirates—a matter of utmost importance to the entire county. His intentions were righteous, yet he was being obstructed at the very door.

He had clearly stated his credentials as a scholar and mentioned the Donghai pirates, yet the doorkeeper cared for nothing but silver. Even a lowly doorkeeper dared to act so arrogantly. Fang Yue’s anger flared, and he nearly turned on his heel to leave.

But then he remembered his purpose. The lives of the entire county’s people were at stake; he could not let a petty doorkeeper stand in his way.

With a cold smile, Fang Yue said, “I am here to see the Magistrate, not for any personal favor, but on the urgent matter of the Donghai pirates. The pirates have been harassing our coastal areas, leaving our people destitute. The Magistrate will surely be concerned. This is official business—if you delay, can you bear the consequences?”

The doorkeeper forced a smile. “Scholar, I don’t understand such big matters. But announcing you to the master is a risk for me. If he’s displeased, I’ll be scolded and punished. Is it not fair for me to ask for a little hardship pay?”

Privately, he thought these scholars were ridiculous, always waving around grand causes as if to frighten him.

Fang Yue frowned. “Is that string of coins not enough?”

The doorkeeper replied, “Scholar, you really don’t know the hardships of commoners. That’s only a hundred coins—barely enough for anything. I left home to follow the master to Ping’an County; I have a wife and children to feed.”

Fang Yue hadn’t expected the man to be so shamelessly avaricious—truly, little demons are harder to deal with than the King of Hell himself.

If he’d had more money, he’d have paid to avoid such entanglement with this petty man. But his funds were exhausted; nothing he could offer would satisfy such greed.

Calming himself, Fang Yue said, “If you won’t announce me, then return the coins. I am a scholar; I’ll find my own way to see the Magistrate.”

The doorkeeper’s face changed. He clutched the coins tightly, hiding them behind his back—once money was in his hand, there was no returning it. Asking him to give it back was worse than digging up his ancestors’ graves.

Fang Yue’s face darkened, his tone sharp. “What, you refuse to return it? Then don’t blame me for making a scene. The Magistrate is surely in the main residence. If I make enough noise, he’ll hear me. I intend to see him anyway, which will save you the trouble of walking over to announce me. As a scholar, at worst I’ll receive a scolding—what more could happen? And—”

He deliberately lifted the two packets. “I have important business with the Magistrate. If he deems it urgent, he’ll hardly blame me. But you—taking money and refusing to do your duty—if word spreads through the office, you’ll bring shame to the Magistrate, whose reputation you represent. Do you think he’ll let you off easily?”

The doorkeeper’s face turned ashen. He had come to Ping’an County only a few months before, a loyal follower of Magistrate Hu. Hu had yet to establish himself in the county office, and many were waiting to see him fail. If a scandal broke out, he’d be the one in trouble. And knowing Magistrate Hu, who glanced at the packets in Fang Yue’s hand, he might well throw him to the wolves.

Seeing the effect of his words, Fang Yue softened his tone. “Why not announce me? The coins are yours—I won’t ask for them back. And if things go well, there will be more for you than just that string of coins.”

He made this empty promise without hesitation. The doorkeeper, his bravado deflated, found the argument convincing. “I’ll go announce you to the master, but I can’t promise he’ll see you. Stay here and don’t wander.”

With those words, he took the card and headed toward the inner residence.