Chapter 29: Colleagues

However, no one could have anticipated that when the imperial edict descended, commanding Wang Zhenling to enter the Hongdu Gate Academy and become a imperial student, he would flatly refuse it!

Everyone expected Wang Zhenling to court disaster because of this defiance, yet none foresaw that the commandery government would subsequently directly promote him to the position of acting magistrate of Xiji County.

This caused countless people to gasp in astonishment. One must know that even a Filial and Incorrupt scholar was required to study at the Imperial Academy for two years, and then serve as a gentleman official in various imperial ministries for several years of practical governance observation, before being dispatched to lower posts as a county assistant or similar official.

Yet who would have thought that Wang Zhenling, without even entering the Imperial Academy, had actually become a county magistrate—even if only an acting one!

It should be understood that a county assistant was the deputy of a county, a high-ranking official with a stipend of four hundred bushels, while a magistrate ranked even higher than an assistant.

Wang Zhenling entered officialdom last year, initially merely as a roving inspector, later becoming an attaché to the county commandant, then a commandant, and now a county assistant. Truly, the speed of his promotions was breathtaking.

According to the state structure of Da Cheng, the local administrative hierarchy consisted of only two levels: commanderies and counties.

A commandery governor commanded a stipend of two thousand bushels, and upon entering the court, could be considered one of the nine ministers.

Beneath the commandery governor was the county magistrate—large counties having a thousand-bushel stipend, and small counties six hundred bushels.

With Wang Zhenling as a six hundred-bushel magistrate, under the institutional framework of Da Cheng, he was essentially a major official!

Even within a clan like the Wangs of Danling, the patriarch Wang An had only managed to become a county assistant back in his day.

Presently, the Danling Wang clan had Wang Yue serving as a gentleman in the Imperial Secretary's Office, and now Wang Zhenling as a county magistrate.

Coupled with the fact that the current City God of Danling County was also an ancestor of the Wang clan, this Danling Wang family was truly on the verge of greatness!

If things developed favorably, within a few decades they might well become a prominent regional clan!

Therefore, Wang Zhenling could be said to have reached the skies in a single bound, which naturally aroused boundless envy.

Even more impressive was the fact that Wang Zhenling became a magistrate precisely *after* defying the Emperor's decree. Naturally, this could not help but set people's imaginations running wild!

At this moment, Wang Zhenling vaguely realized that there was another advantage to his appointment as acting magistrate: it dealt yet another blow to the Emperor's prestige!

Just think: Wang Zhenling had just offended the Emperor, yet not only did the Emperor fail to punish him, but instead Wang Zhenling rebounded to be promoted another rank higher, becoming an acting magistrate.

This was unequivocally a blatant slap to the Emperor's face!

It was also the Hedong Chen clan flexing its muscles before the entire realm, conveying a clear message to the world: even if you offend the Emperor, as long as the Hedong Chen clan wishes to protect you, they can still protect you and even secure your continued rise in wealth and status!

Of course, Wang Zhenling himself doubted whether the Hedong Chen clan actually possessed such immense influence within the court at present.

Perhaps they were merely riding the coattails of a trend!

The affair involving Yang Ting had plunged the court into tension, leaving court ministers increasingly dissatisfied with the Emperor.

Protecting Wang Zhenling at this juncture was presumably not the work of the Hedong Chen clan alone.

Rather, it was a deliberate maneuver by various factions, meant precisely to voice their discontent with the Emperor.

It was done purely to slap the Emperor in the face!

It was only after returning to Danling County that Wang Zhenling finally figured out this train of thought.

However, upon returning to Danling, Wang Zhenling abruptly discovered that his clan had grown considerably more distant toward him.

Wang Zhenling did not find this strange; this was simply the principle of not putting all one's eggs in one basket coming into play!

Nevertheless, Wang Zhenling believed that despite the alienation on the surface, the clan would still assist him behind the scenes in achieving his goals.

Subsequently, Wang Zhenling proceeded to the county yamen to pay his respects to the Magistrate of Danling.

That Danling magistrate had never expected such a blistering hot potato to suddenly land in his own courtyard, and internally he bewailed his bitter fate!

To meet Wang Zhenling at this moment made it exceedingly easy to be misunderstood by the Emperor and targeted by the imperial gaze.

Yet, to refuse to see Wang Zhenling would be equivalent to declaring to the world that he had resolutely thrown in his lot with the imperial faction.

This caused the Danling magistrate, who had not yet made up his mind about which faction to support, to inwardly lament, yet he had no choice but to step forward and welcome Wang Zhenling!

Regardless of everything else, Wang Zhenling was no longer a petty clerk under his command, but had now become an acting county magistrate.

When someone of such standing came to call, how could one afford to be discourteous?

With a bitter expression, he welcomed Wang Zhenling into the county yamen. Scarcely had they seated themselves when he heard Wang Zhenling drop to his knees and prostrate himself, saying, "Your Honor, my visit today is to implore your help with a matter!"

The Danling magistrate was struck with panic and hastily left his mat to return the bow, exclaiming, "Why must Magistrate Wang offer such a grand salute? We are colleagues of equal rank; I cannot bear this!"

Wang Zhenling rose and resumed kneeling upon his mat, saying, "Your Honor is aware that I have been appointed as magistrate of Xiji. Yet presently Xiji is desolate and ruined, lacking in county soldiers, and even scarcer in nether-soldiers..."

Since the matter had been broached to this extent, what difficulty could the Danling magistrate possibly have in obliging? He smiled faintly and said, "In that case, this county yamen should still be holding quite a number of criminal ghosts in suppression. If Magistrate Wang is willing, you may go and select some yourself. As long as it does not exceed three hundred, this magistrate will raise no objection whatsoever!"

Wang Zhenling was overjoyed and prostrated himself once more: "Many thanks, Your Honor!"

The Danling magistrate smiled with restrained dignity, this time returning only half a bow.

In Danling County, once the magistrate gave his word, matters became easy to handle, with zero fear of anyone below plotting obstructions.

Let it not be forgotten that the current City God of Danling was none other than the ancestral spirit of the Danling Wang clan. Such matters would always be coordinated to assist Wang Zhenling!

This time, Wang Zhenling personally went to the ghost prison to inspect and make his own selections.

Had it been anyone else, such a possibility clearly would not exist, and they would have had to wait patiently within the City God's shrine.

Yet Wang Zhenling possessed precisely these advantages. He immediately went to the City God's shrine, paid homage to the City God, and handed the Danling magistrate's official warrant to the shaman residing within the shrine.

Recognizing Wang Zhenling's identity and background, the shaman dared not show any negligence, and hastily sat in silent meditation to commune with the spirits before burning the warrant to ashes.

Within the span of a breath, the command was transmitted directly into the spirit realm of the City God.

Around the third watch of the night, a dense fog suddenly rose. Amidst the shifting, shadowy forms, numerous City God ghost-officials emerged, escorting hundreds of criminal ghosts whose ferocious killing intent was palpable, yet all bound tightly with ropes.

One of the ghost-officials said to Wang Zhenling, "All the criminal ghosts you requested are right here. As for your desire to pay respects to the City God, the imperial court has laws prohibiting the mixing of the realms of yin and yang, so you may dispense with that!"

Wang Zhenling hastily fell to his knees, crying out, "Grandfather!"

A trace of a smile appeared on the ghost-official's face: "Do well, my grandson, and strive ever to bring glory to our lineage!"

With these words, he vanished into the mist alongside the multitude of ghost-officials and ghost-soldiers.

The moment the guarding ghost-officials and soldiers vanished, the various criminal ghosts instantly began to stir restlessly.

Wang Zhenling sneered coldly and raised the magistrate's official seal...

In an instant, a flash of black light appeared, and two hundred ghost-soldiers materialized, each bearing flame-like marks upon their foreheads.

These were precisely Wang Zhenling's own nether-soldiers. Drawing their weapons, they immediately suppressed the restless criminal ghosts once again.

This magistrate's official seal could truly be considered a magical artifact of boundless might!

Although Wang Zhenling had previously utilized the seals of a roving inspector and a county commandant, even the commandant's seal fell short of the magistrate's seal by a distance of a hundred thousand miles in terms of functionality.