Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 154

“My lord, here are the case files from Xiayuan County for this month. Please review them.”

Pei Che sits in his chair, eyeing the hefty stack of documents in the official’s arms. He clears away the missing persons files cluttering his desk to make space for the new files.

“My lord, I’ll take my leave,” the official says, placing the files on the desk before departing.

Pei Che looks at the stack of documents piling up on his desk, rubs his tense forehead, and lets out a sigh. Just a few days ago, he felt like he had nothing to do; now, he’s beginning to feel overwhelmed.

Those missing persons cases are shrouded in mystery, and just thinking about the possibility that some of the missing people might still be alive but trapped somewhere makes Pei Che want to solve the cases immediately and rescue those innocent citizens.

However, some of these cases are quite old. Pei Che can only send people to comb through every location where people have gone missing over the past year, but no clues have surfaced at these sites, making it feel like solving these cases is a long way off.

Realizing his mind is drifting back to those unresolved cases, Pei Che shakes his head and opens the newly presented case files, deciding to finish his official duties first before delving back into the mass disappearance cases.

Xiayuan County is a small county, impoverished like most of the counties in Cangzhou. The people there struggle daily just to meet their basic needs and rarely have disputes that require going to the authorities. However, some wealthy families in town occasionally cause trouble that reaches the magistrate’s office. In this batch of files, seven or eight out of ten cases concern them.

Pei Che flips through the files, his expression darkening. It’s all trivial matters: someone’s ox wandered into a neighbor’s vegetable patch, or a neighbor’s chicken laid eggs in someone else’s yard. He can’t help but want to summon the county magistrate and ask him why he’s opening formal cases over disputes that could be resolved through mediation.

“What’s the matter?” A voice sounds outside. Pei Che’s thoughts shift, and he quickly stands, circling the desk to take the food container from the visitor’s hands.

“Ah Miao, why are you bringing food again today?” Pei Che asks.

Jiang Miao replies, “Could you do me a favor and check the time? You get so engrossed in your duties that you forget to eat and sleep. How much is the court paying you to work yourself to death like this?”

Grumbling, he sets the dishes on a small side table. If he hadn’t waited so long without Pei Che coming back, afraid he might get sick from hunger, why would he make this trip?

Pei Che sheepishly pokes his head out to look at the sky outside, finally realizing how late it’s gotten.

“Ahem, thanks for this, Ah Miao. I promise I’ll come back early tomorrow,” Pei Che promises.

Jiang Miao rolls his eyes. “Sure, just like you said the day before yesterday and yesterday. Why don’t I just bring you food every day? At least that way you won’t keep eating at odd hours and making unnecessary trips. Now sit down and eat—it’s cold, and the food will cool quickly in cold weather.”

Obediently, Pei Che sits down.

If someone cares about your health this much, does it really matter if what they say isn’t so pleasant?

Pei Che picks up his chopsticks and takes a bite. As he swallows, he realizes just how hungry he actually is and begins to eat faster.

Jiang Miao, seated across from him, watches and can’t help but think of the old Pei Che. Back then, he always ate slowly and looked so refined. Maybe it’s because they’ve spent so much time together and rubbed off on each other—Jiang Miao feels like his own table manners have improved, while Pei Che’s are becoming more like his.

“What’s wrong?” Pei Che swallows his last bite, noticing Jiang Miao staring at him with a strange look. Instinctively, he wonders if something’s stuck to his face.

Snapping out of it, Jiang Miao shakes his head. “Nothing. By the way, you looked a bit upset when I came in earlier—what’s going on?” He deftly changes the topic; Pei Che is the type to overthink things, and if he hears that his eating habits have changed, he’d probably spend the rest of the afternoon dwelling on it.

Pei Che doesn’t suspect anything and answers, “The county magistrate of Xiayuan is utterly incompetent. He’s recorded all these trivial, insignificant matters and sent them to me for review.”

Jiang Miao scratches his head. “Isn’t that a sign of diligence? If he only sent two or three files a month, you’d probably think he wasn’t doing his job at all.” After all, in modern times, it’s all about documentation for accountability. Pei Che should be glad there aren’t group chats here, or there’d be even more trivial things coming his way.

So that’s it, Pei Che understands. Being in a high position, he naturally hasn’t considered what those below him are thinking. He says, “It seems I’ll need to make things clear to them—tell them not to be so overly cautious. They should only pass along what truly needs my attention, and if something unnecessary is handed over, a lesson might be in order.”

Jiang Miao nods in agreement; the subordinates are only trying to avoid criticism from their superiors—who would want to do extra work if they didn’t have to?

After eating, Pei Che tidies the dishes into the food container with practiced ease, a skill that would surprise anyone who doesn’t know he comes from a noble family.

Jiang Miao sits where Pei Che had been and, out of curiosity, pulls a case file from the pile on the desk. He wants to see just how absurd these Xiayuan County cases really are, but his eyes widen as he reads.

“Quick, Ah Che, look! Another person has gone missing!” Jiang Miao exclaims, tossing the file over to Pei Che.

Startled, Pei Che catches the file and scans it quickly, confirming that it’s indeed a missing person case. The report details the disappearance of a villager from Guihua Village in Xiayuan County, who went missing two days ago. After the family reported it, the county magistrate sent people to search the nearby mountains. All they found were torn pieces of the villager’s clothing, stained with blood, suggesting that a wild animal may have attacked and dragged them away.

In a case like this, the magistrate of Xiayuan County had quickly closed it as a beast attack. Since he was already preparing to submit other files, he slipped this newly closed case in with the rest.

“I’m taking people to investigate. The disappearance happened recently, so there might still be clues left behind!” Pei Che decides on the spot and calls for someone to organize a team, preparing to depart shortly.

“All right, go ahead and search, but be careful on the mountain,” Jiang Miao advises.

“Don’t worry!” Pei Che replies, heading outside. His guard has already passed down the order, gathering twenty or thirty people to set out for Xiayuan County.

Xiayuan County isn’t far from Cangzhou; by carriage, they’ll reach it within an hour, or an hour and a half at a more relaxed pace.

The group quickly sets off, arriving at the Xiayuan County office in under an hour. The magistrate, not understanding the sudden visit, watches his superior descend with a serious expression, a bad feeling churning inside him. He can’t shake the sense that something unfortunate awaits him.

…

After Pei Che leaves, Jiang Miao, of course, doesn’t stay behind. He picks up the food container and heads back home.

As he enters the main courtyard, he overhears the neighboring housewife talking animatedly with some officials’ wives, her excitement clear for anyone to hear.

“…There are so many things, even mirrors clear enough to see yourself in! I missed out last year, so this year I’m definitely getting one early,” says the woman, clearly intent on getting her hands on one of those mirrors.

Jiang Miao can’t help his curiosity and glances over a few times. One of the women notices and nudges the chatting housewife, gesturing subtly with her chin to indicate that Jiang Miao is there too.

Catching on, the housewife looks over and meets Jiang Miao’s gaze. He gives her an awkward smile.

She walks over with a warm smile, saying, “Brother Jiang, would you like to come shopping with us later?” It takes her a lot of correction to finally get his title right—she initially called him “the prefect’s wife,” and it takes Jiang Miao a while to adjust to that.

Hearing that it’s about shopping, Jiang Miao feels a bit confused. He thinks for a moment; there doesn’t seem to be any upcoming festivals. What exactly is there to buy? So, he shakes his head.

“You’re not going?” The sister-in-law seems a bit surprised. “Those traveling merchants only come once a year, and the goods they bring are all from farther south.”

“It’s hard to come across such fine things here—are you sure you don’t want to take a look?”

From the south? A thought strikes Jiang Miao, and he asks, “Are they the ones who buy up the mountain goods from the local people?”

The sister-in-law is confused for a moment but then nods. “Exactly! They bring loads of goods to sell each year, and once they’re sold, they buy mountain goods from the locals. Back and forth, I bet they make a lot of money.”

“In that case, I’d like to take a look. Could you call me when you’re ready to head out?” Jiang Miao says with a smile. The sister-in-law quickly agrees, saying she’ll call for him when everyone is gathering.

Jiang Miao carries the food container back to his house, where Chan Yi and Wen Jing are seated in the main room, mending clothes. When they see him enter, they stand up to greet him.

Chan Yi sets down her things and takes the food container from Jiang Miao, teasing, “Master Jiang, how come you’re back so early today? Didn’t His Excellency keep you there to study with him?”

Jiang Miao is easygoing, so the two maids feel comfortable joking around with him. But in front of Pei Che, they act sharp and efficient, looking quite professional.

“Your young master went out with a team, so naturally, I came home. By the way, you two should come along with me later. I’d like to go out and do a bit of shopping.”

“Shopping? You mean the southern merchants who just arrived?” Chan Yi is surprised. “I heard people talking about them when we went out this morning. Just a few merchants arriving has the locals so excited—what amazing things have they brought to sell?”

Wen Jing adds, “They’re not just selling goods. Besides selling, they’re also here to buy mountain goods. With Cangzhou surrounded by mountains, locals often go up and gather things they can sell for money to buy rice and flour.” Wen Jing, who is more thoughtful, had heard about it earlier and took the chance to learn more.

Jiang Miao nods. “Exactly. Now go change into something nice, and let’s head out soon.” He then goes to his room to change as well.

“Master Jiang, why are you dressed like that?” Chan Yi cries out as soon as she sees him.

The two maids have chosen to wear their new, polished clothes for the outing, while Jiang Miao has deliberately dressed in plain, coarse fabric, looking dusty and more like he’s headed to sell mountain goods than to buy them.

Just as Chan Yi thinks this, she sees Jiang Miao pull out a basket from somewhere, already filled with dried pine mushrooms he’s gathered from the mountain earlier.

Could it be that Master Jiang really intends to sell mountain goods?

The two maids are momentarily stunned. Their young master’s monthly salary might not be much, but surely, things aren’t this dire!