Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 193

“Did you find it?”

In the evening, Pei Che returns to the Duke’s residence. Today, the old lady doesn’t summon everyone for a meal, so his family eats privately in their small courtyard. The three of them are used to eating Jiang Miao’s cooking, so Jiang Miao has their portions brought back and prepares the meal himself in the small kitchen.

Seeing Pei Che’s exhausted face, Jiang Miao can’t help but feel concerned. How can things turn out like this on his very first day at work? Back when he managed the vast region of Cangzhou, he handled it all with ease.

Pei Che shakes his head. He spends the entire day going through the household registration records, to the point where his eyes grow blurry, and even when he closes them, it feels like characters are floating before him. Despite this, he can’t locate Zhao Wei. In fact, after all this time searching, he barely finds anyone with the surname Zhao at all.

And this is just a small part of the massive chest of registration records. There are still several more chests like it waiting to be reviewed.

“Sigh, it’s such a pity you can’t bring those records back home. Otherwise, I could help you search,” Jiang Miao sighs. These records are important and would be difficult to replace if lost. Household registration documents aren’t just used to count the population—they’re also critical for government investigations. When the Liang capital collects the annual head tax, they compare the submitted amounts to the registration records to check for any tax evasion.

Pei Che feels deeply touched. Every time he faces difficulties, Ah Miao is always willing to share the burden with him. Even if Ah Miao can’t actually help, Pei Che’s heart still feels at ease.

“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, now that I have some leads, I’ll just take my time searching. Eventually, I’ll get through all of it,” Pei Che reassures.

In Pei Che’s estimation, it will take at most a month to go through everything. But plans often go awry, and unexpected changes throw his schedule off track. On his second day at the yamen, Pei Che’s workload increases.

Now it is summer, and since the winters in Liangjing are so cold, many weddings and banquets are held during this season. With weddings comes the need to issue marriage documents and update household registrations.

Although marriage certificates don’t require approval from their office, the bride’s side needs to have their household registration closed, while the groom’s side needs to add her name. Only after Pei Che carefully verifies everything can he affix the seal. Without this stamped registration document, the marriage certificate can’t be approved.

This back-and-forth process consumes a great deal of time. It takes Pei Che over half a month just to finish reviewing the first chest of registration records. And yet, he still doesn’t find any trace of Zhao Wei.

“If things go on like this, who knows when I’ll be able to finish?” Pei Che sighs. At this rate, he might not even have time to squeeze in searches in the coming days.

Currently, he is the only assistant minister responsible for civil affairs, yet he is handling all the marriage, funeral, and childbirth registrations for the entire Liangjing.

Jiang Miao understands his frustration. He is so close to uncovering the truth, but various obligations keep delaying the search. The feeling of helplessness is undeniable.

Although Pei Che has a few clerks under him, he can’t entrust them with finding someone. In this world, there are no secrets that can’t leak. If he gives the order today, by tomorrow, the entire Ministry of Revenue will likely know about it. A few more hours might be all it takes for the whole capital to hear that he is searching for someone named Zhao Wei.

That might sound exaggerated, but Pei Che doesn’t dare take the risk. He still doesn’t know who Zhao Wei is or what power he wields. If news of the search leaks and Zhao Wei gets wind of it, what if he makes preparations to counteract it—or worse, flees the capital entirely?

“Does your office allow outsiders to enter?” Jiang Miao’s eyes light up, and he suddenly poses a seemingly irrelevant question.

Pei Che, pulled from his thoughts, assumes Jiang Miao is just curious and replies, “Of course, outsiders can enter. Among the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Revenue is the one most frequented by outsiders. Anything even remotely connected to money has to go through there.”

“Then that’s easy,” Jiang Miao says, patting Pei Che’s shoulder. “Starting tomorrow, take me with you. While you handle your duties, I’ll sit nearby. If the household registration records can’t be brought out, I’ll go in and look at them. United as a couple, our strength can cut through steel! With me helping, you’ll definitely finish much faster.”

Pei Che initially wants to shake his head. The records are densely packed with words, and even he, someone accustomed to dealing with documents, finds them overwhelming. How much can Jiang Miao—who gets impatient just looking at words—actually accomplish?

But then he reconsiders. Jiang Miao is clearly offering this out of concern. It must take a great deal of worry to make such a suggestion. Pei Che can’t dismiss his sincerity. Besides, having Jiang Miao by his side makes even the most tedious tasks more bearable.

The next day, Jiang Miao dons plain, dusty gray clothing and follows Pei Che into the Ministry of Revenue. He figures this way, he will attract less attention. After all, these officials carry themselves with such arrogance that they wouldn’t bother noticing a mere servant.

After roll call, the office door opens. Except for the first day, when Pei Che arrives early, he has since followed the ministry’s informal customs and operates according to their established routines.

Standing at the office door, Jiang Miao observes that the room is quite large, though it has been divided into several sections. It is clearly a shared workspace for multiple people.

Among the desks, one stands out for being especially tidy and clean. For no particular reason, Jiang Miao instinctively feels it must be Pei Che’s spot. Sure enough, Pei Che’s reaction confirms his guess. Silently, Jiang Miao makes a little “victory” gesture in his heart. Look at how in sync they are with each other!

“There’s only one small stool here. You can sit on it and go through the records. It’s a bit simple and rough, so I’m afraid you’ll have to make do,” Pei Che says.

Jiang Miao replies, “What’s the big deal? I’ve been in much worse places. Do you think I’d be bothered by this?”

With that, he steps forward and sits on the small stool. In front of him is a large chest that Pei Che opens just the day before. The chest Pei Che finishes with has already been sent back to the storage room on his orders.

Jiang Miao begins flipping through the household registration records. Pei Che watches him for a while before returning to his own desk to handle the unfinished tasks from the previous day.

Before long, the other officials begin arriving at the office one after another. The once-quiet room quickly becomes lively, filled with greetings and chatter. For Jiang Miao, who needs to focus on the records, this is a real challenge. Every time he starts concentrating, he gets distracted by their conversations. As a result, the records in front of him remain largely untouched, with pages flipping only after long intervals.

Jiang Miao finally understands why Pei Che’s work efficiency has suddenly dropped. These records are nothing like storybooks—they are dry and uninteresting. Add in the constant distractions from the environment, and it’s no wonder progress is slow.

He comes in high spirits, determined to make a big contribution, but his enthusiasm ends in disappointment. By the end of the day, he only manages to go through two or three volumes. On the way home, he can’t help feeling embarrassed, especially since he’s already talked big about how much he would help.

Noticing his dejection, Pei Che comforts him, “It’s fine. Little by little adds up. If you can get through this much every day, you’ll finish an entire chest within a month.”

Jiang Miao isn’t comforted. His efficiency today is far too low, and he vows not to make the same mistakes tomorrow. He won’t let himself keep getting distracted by the chatter of the officials.