Lin Tie was never accustomed to the life of rising with the rooster's crow in this era. Every day, he would cover his head and sleep until daylight before getting out of bed to wash up, practice his sword, and then deal with the daily chores.

  On the nineteenth day, after the first crowing of the rooster, a faint blue light began to seep through the window paper. Lin Xie was still in a daze when he heard the door creaking with a soft knock, and Liu Yue'er's gentle voice calling out to him. Lin Xie responded vaguely, and then heard the sound of "creak" as Liu Yue'er pushed open the door and entered. The room was very dimly lit, but he saw Liu Yue'er fumbling around to find the tinder to light the lamp.

  "What time is it?" Lin Xie asked as he sat up and looked at Liu Yue'er.

  "The rooster has crowed everywhere, it's almost time for the fourth watch......" Liu Yu'er walked over with a candle holder burning with a bean-sized flame and placed it on the corner stool beside Lin Xie's bed. She didn't dare to look at Lin Xie's sturdy upper body exposed in the cold air, saying, "Young master should get up, today is your first day as the new official." In her heart, she thought, young master looks so weak and thin-faced, but his body is actually quite robust.

  Lin Xie suddenly remembered that before going to Jiangdao Prison for his shift today, he still had to go to the Procuratorate's yamen for morning duty.

  In this era, there was no habit of working from 9 to 5. Not to mention that most people in rural areas would get up with the chickens, shopkeepers and apprentices also had to prepare before dawn to open their doors to welcome customers. Officials also needed to report to the government office at the fourth watch, which is equivalent to reporting for duty before 7 am in modern times.

  Although he realized this point, the drowsiness stuck in his brain was hard to dispel. Lin Xuan stretched out his hand to grab his clothes and almost knocked over the candle holder on the corner stool.

  "Gongzi and others will go to the Procuratorate later, can't come back to change clothes after noon..." Yueliang thought of serving Lin Xie to wear his clothes, looking at him with a bare waist, feeling a bit uncomfortable, turned around and picked up the neatly stacked official uniform on the triangular edge table in her hands, first looked at Lin Xie sitting on the bed wearing the inner shirt well, then handed over the blue official uniform to him, watching him dress clumsily, couldn't help but go up to adjust his collar...

  Lin tied up his hair, washed and rinsed, then practiced with his sword in the courtyard. When the sky was a bit brighter and he could see the scenery in the corners of the courtyard clearly, he had breakfast and set off on horseback with Zhao Hu to the Provincial Inspector's Office.

  At the gate of the government office, it so happened that Gu Wu Chen was also riding a horse-drawn carriage to escort Yang Shi and Ma Chao to the government office.

  "Alright, you come with me first. Later, when Lord Jia arrives, I'll take you to meet him and the other officials..." Gu Wu Chen got out of the carriage and warmly invited Lin Xie to follow him.

  In fact, Lin Xie was appointed as the prison officer of Jiangdao Island, only a small ninth-grade civil servant, just entering the ranks. According to reason, except for the investigating officer Jia Pengyu and other officials, Lin Xie should first pay respects to the higher-ranking officials in the yamen, such as the Zhaomo and Jingli; apart from his own duties, he should also pay respects to other fifth-grade officials, and wait patiently for an audience after reporting to them.

  So-called tiger skin big flag, although it is said that in peacetime, colleagues should be humble and peaceful, and abide by the rules. At this time, Gu Wu Chen wants to take him directly to see Jia Pengyu, Lin Fu naturally will not be bound by those old rules again, saying a word of good, following Gu Wu Chen into his courtyard.

  According to the old rules, Lin Xiechu was not allowed to directly take office on Jiang Island after entering officialdom. After taking office at the Procuratorate, there would be a period of internship and job assessment, which could be long or short, with a minimum of three to five months and a maximum of one to two years before he could officially take office.

  Gu Wudu wanted to memorialize the imperial court as soon as possible to allow the reopening of the Jiangdong prison, without giving Jia Pengyu and others too much time to drag their feet. According to his wishes, he naturally hoped that Lin Xie could directly take over the management of the Jiang Island Prison, and the "Memorial on the Prison" provided him with a perfect excuse.

  Before Zhengyedang could even print "Tiluo Prison Book", Gu Wuchen had someone copy another one and sent it to the desk of Pressing Judge Jia Pengyu; Jia Pengyu originally didn't want to go against Gu Wuchen, as long as Gu Wuchen came up with a reason, he naturally also ignored the old rules and didn't stop Lin Fu from directly taking over Jiangdao Prison. Even if something went wrong in the future, it would be Gu Wuchen's responsibility. Besides, those imprisoned in Jiangdao Prison were all poor devils, what big trouble could they cause?

  Xian sui gu wu chen bai jian Jia Pengyu, Lin Fu you you Yang Shi dai zhe qu bai jian jin ri zai ya men li dang zhi de zhu qing shi guan.

  English Translation:

  Then followed Gu Wu to pay respects to Jia Pengyu, and Lin Fu again accompanied by Yang Shi went to pay respects to the various officials on duty in the government office today.

  The fifth-grade official of the Investigation Department is slightly lower than that of the Investigation Envoy and the Deputy Investigation Envoy. There are officials promoted from the Ministry of Punishment, and those who come from the Censorate system. They are all metropolitan officials, and only officials from the Imperial Academy and the Advanced Scholars can be appointed. Many prefectures and towns, in order to facilitate the governor's control over local areas or command military operations, often use the title of "Investigation Envoy" with the rank of "Prefectural Magistrate" or "Riding Colonel" to concentrate power. Compared to other officials' promotions, it is easier for Investigation Envoys to be dispatched to local areas to preside over major events.

  Lin Xuan returned to the yamen of the Surveillance Commissioner's office, where he had previously sent his wife and sister-in-law. All the officials inside had met him before, and they were well aware of his relationship with Gu Wu Chen as well as the trouble he had caused in Jiangning during this time. Naturally, they wouldn't look down on him just because he was a newly appointed junior officer from the ninth rank. When Lin Xuan came to pay his respects, everyone was very courteous.

  The official in charge of the Jiangdong prison, as well as the prisons of various prefectures and counties in Jiangdong, was Xiao Xuanchuo, who was Lin Xian's superior. He had been an unremarkable figure in the bureaucracy for nearly twenty years, with no powerful connections to speak of, but his success in the imperial examinations on the twelfth year of the Yuan era had allowed him to rise steadily to the high position of Vice Commissioner of the Jiangdong Circuit. His only ambition was to find a way to get assigned to a wealthy region as a prefect and accumulate some wealth to live out his days in comfort.

  Twenty years of official career made Xiao Xuanchu a thorough official, he knew that Chu Dang was in power in the court, so he spent a lot of thought to please Gu Wudeng. In daily life, he completely had no airs and called Lin Fu, Ma Chao, Yang Pu and others brothers. Seeing Yang Shi entering the room, he warmly greeted: "Yang Xian nephew, how do you have time to come to my room today?" Then seeing Lin Fu enter the door, he quickly stood up from behind the bookcase, "Lin... ah, from now on we are colleagues, I should call you Lin Daren."

  "Adult Lin Xuan is joking," Lin Xuan saw Xiao Xuan's face full of smiles, but the rules he should follow he still had to follow, making a bow and giving Xiao Xuan a courtesy, "Subordinate Lin Xuan has come to listen to your orders."

  "What's the point of giving orders or not, isn't it just discussing with colleagues to get things done?" Xiao Xuanchuo came over and put his arm around Lin Fu's shoulder, saying, "If we must give orders, let's go together to hear what Lord Gu has to say..."

  Gu Wudu had some expectations for Lin Xian to take over the Jiang Island Prison, and they had discussed it in detail at home. Reminding him again at the government office was just a formality.

  In the morning, Lin Xie was in the Procuratorate's yamen, where he paid his respects to his colleagues. At noon, he spent 20 taels of silver at the Hui Cui Pavilion, hosting a banquet for his colleagues and the private secretaries who had been hired by the procuratorate to assist with official duties. In the afternoon, Lin Xie returned to the Procuratorate's yamen, where he received some instructions from Gu Wu Chen. He was then escorted by Xiao Xuanchang, a fifth-grade procurator, who led a team of guards to send him off to take up his post on Jin Chuan Island outside the mouth of the Jin Chuan River.

  Lin had been to the estuary of Jin River several times, but only gazed at Jin Island from afar without ever setting foot on it.

  In early spring, the river water is clear and shallow, and Jin Chuan Island, which is only three miles in circumference, appears above the water surface. The northern side of the island is a relatively steep bank, and there is no ferry at the mouth of the Jin Chuan River. Lin Xie and Xiao Xuanchuo abandoned their horses at the Donghua Gate and took a boat from the Jiuyong Bridge dock, traveling north along the Jin Chuan River for over ten miles before exiting the river mouth and entering Chao Tian Tang to reach Jin Chuan Island.

  The former prison officer of Jiangdao Prison, Ge Zuxin, and several prison guards and the head of the Wu Du class, seeing the official boat approaching the Jiuyong Bridge ferry terminal, hurried to the simple dock on the north bank to wait for the welcome.

  Xiao Xuanchuo was also afraid that he wouldn't make it back to the city before nightfall, so after sending Lin Xie to the island, he hurriedly wanted to return.

  According to the previous prison officer Ge Zuxin, he should have stayed on the island for a few more days and handed over clearly to Lin Xie before leaving the island. However, after Ge Zuxin stepped down, he returned home to retire and didn't need to curry favor with anyone anymore. Perhaps there were some people who had ulterior motives and stirred up trouble, so he only did a simple handover with Lin Xie. When Xiao Xuanchu boarded the ship to leave the island, he also brought his old servant to pick up his luggage that was already packed and ready to go.

  Ge Zuoxin, a scholar-official, spent a lot of money nine years ago to fill the vacancy of the Jiang Island Prison Officer, thinking it was a lucrative position comparable to that of the Provincial Governor's Office. He never expected that the proposal for the prison reform jointly submitted by the Jiangning Ministry of Justice, Jiangning Prefecture and Jiangdong Provincial Governor's Office would be flatly rejected by the central government? In recent years, those sent to Jiang Island Prison were all poor devils who couldn't afford to bribe their way out. These poor devils were content with being able to eat two meals a day on the island and didn't even try to escape when the prison gates were opened. How much money could be extorted from them? Moreover, Jiang Island Prison was directly opposite Chao Tian Tang, making the responsibility of guarding against bandits and thieves particularly serious. There have been some problems in recent years, but fortunately, the Provincial Governor's Office has shown understanding for the difficulties here and has not pursued the matter.

  Ge Zuixin was filled with regret and resentment, wishing he could leave this place a day earlier. After Lin Xuan arrived on the island, he didn't want to stay for even a moment. With a sorrowful face, he begged Xiao Xuanchuo to let him leave the island today. Xiao Xuanchuo sympathized with him, knowing that although he had no achievements, he had suffered hardships over the years. Although his heart was somewhat anxious, seeing that Lin Xuan had no objections, he took him along and they left the island together by boat.

  Lin Xie and Zhao Hu stood in front of the simple dock, watching Xiao Xuanchu's official boat sail into the Jin River estuary. Only then did they turn around to face the group of prison guards and wardens standing behind them. With a bow, Lin Xie said: "From now on, I will be sharing the same boat with all of you - I am new here and not very familiar with the affairs of the prison, so everyone should follow the old rules for now. If any problems arise, I won't be able to escape, and neither will you... Today is already late, let's talk about anything else tomorrow morning." After saying this, he didn't care that there was still a long time before sunset and walked straight towards the high gate on the west side of the main prison.

  Although Jiangdao Prison is only a dozen miles away from Jiangning City, it is isolated outside the city walls. Unless necessary, prison guards and officials rarely leave the island. Only when various government departments send prisoners over do they have the opportunity to interact with the outside world. These people are not clear about what this new young superior is all about.

  These jailers and squad leaders couldn't gauge the temperament of their new superior, so they didn't say much. After hearing that everything would remain the same, they followed behind him back to the main prison.

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