Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Gao’s lips turned pale, yet he couldn’t refute it. He could only kowtow while breaking out in cold sweat, “This subordinate is guilty.”

The smile on Zhao Hanzhang’s face faded as she stared at him heavily and asked, “What crime has County Magistrate Gao committed?”

County Magistrate Gao choked, and truthfully, he really didn’t know what crime he had committed.

Was enjoying pleasures a crime?

No crime!

Winter days were long and cold, dull and dreary. Whether warming by the fire, drinking wine and appreciating beauty—wasn’t this all just living?

If one could live well, why live poorly?

So where was his crime?

Gao Cheng couldn’t help but seriously contemplate this. Zhao Hanzhang undoubtedly disliked officials being extravagant and dissolute, but at most this just didn’t align with his superior’s preferences, so…

Gao Cheng secretly thought, so he actually had no concrete crime that could be defined, right?

If it was merely a personality clash, at worst he just wouldn’t serve as this official anymore.

The thought had barely emerged when Gao Cheng’s ears rang with a roar. Nervously, his fingers curled up. He gathered his courage, raised his head, and looked directly at Zhao Hanzhang, “Inspector Zhao, I…”

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes and met his gaze directly, “Mm?”

Just this one light “Mm” blocked many of Gao Cheng’s words in his chest.

Zhao Hanzhang stood up with a stern face and said, “Summon the county lieutenant and chief clerk. Find all the public documents and proclamations you’ve received since I took office and bring them to me. Have the ward chiefs and village elders come see me.”

Seeing Gao Cheng still kneeling motionless, Zhao Hanzhang squatted before him, “What, is County Magistrate Gao reluctant to leave this warm room, or unwilling to obey my orders?”

“This subordinate wouldn’t dare,” Gao Cheng finally came to his senses, scrambling to his feet with trembling body and stumbling out.

Zhao Hanzhang snorted lightly, looking at these carved beams and painted pillars as she contemplated in silence.

When Fu Tinghan led a crowd of refugees into the city, the county’s chief clerk and county lieutenant had only just arrived at the county office. Arriving with them were several ward chiefs and village elders from within the city. The ward chiefs from outside the city hadn’t been notified, and gathering everyone would require at least two days.

County Magistrate Gao stood with them, hands bound at his sides below the hall, heads lowered, foreheads beading with slight sweat. Though he had already gone outside to catch his breath, just standing before Zhao Hanzhang, he still couldn’t help but feel cold fear and guilty conscience.

County Magistrate Gao kept building himself up psychologically, telling himself he had done nothing wrong, committed no crime, and at worst could resign his seal and leave office…

Lost in these distracted thoughts, Zhao Hanzhang, who was standing at the desk, picked out two official documents and casually tossed them at County Magistrate Gao’s chest.

County Magistrate Gao instinctively reached out to catch them.

Zhao Hanzhang raised her chin and said, “Read them.”

County Magistrate Gao looked confused as he unfolded them. Upon seeing what documents they were, his hands trembled and he directly knelt on the ground. In this instant, all thoughts of “I did nothing wrong, I’m not guilty” vanished from his mind.

He prostrated on the ground, voice trembling as he said, “This subordinate is guilty!”

Behind County Magistrate Gao, the county lieutenant, chief clerk, and ward chiefs and elders quietly raised their heads to look, their hearts pounding wildly.

Zhao Hanzhang looked down at him and sighed deeply, acting as if sharing her innermost thoughts with him, “County Magistrate Gao, what do you expect me to do with you? As the father and mother official of a county, you cannot complete the orders I issue above, nor can you pacify and provide relief to the people below. You only indulge in consuming the people’s fat and blood. Even though your attitude in admitting guilt is so good, it’s still very difficult for me to show you leniency.”

Fu Tinghan, who had just walked to the doorway: …

He couldn’t help but stop, seeing the person prostrate on the ground trembling. This should be because Zhao Hanzhang’s image of killing people was too deeply ingrained. He only heard him say, “I beg Your Excellency to give this subordinate one more chance. This subordinate will deeply reform and never again dare neglect your governance orders.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “How will you reform? How many refugees have been expelled by you people now, and how many merchants have been intercepted on the roads?”

Gao Cheng immediately said, “This subordinate will immediately order people to let them pass, and simultaneously open the city gates to let all refugees enter.”

Zhao Hanzhang snorted coldly, “Let all refugees into the city? Do you take me for a three-year-old child? With so many refugees flooding into Xi’e County, is that saving refugees or trying to make the people of Xi’e County sink together with them?”

Gao Cheng’s sweat dripped down as he immediately changed his words, “This subordinate will definitely properly arrange all refugees while managing city security to ensure no chaos erupts.”

Zhao Hanzhang contemplated in silence. So the question was—should she kill this person or not?

Perhaps sensing Zhao Hanzhang’s internal struggle, Gao Cheng sweated profusely while saying, “This subordinate knows that currently the most urgent matter is gathering relief supplies, especially grain and cloth. Many refugees fleeing from the north lack clothing and food and need pacification and relief.”

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him, her fingers lightly tapping the desk surface as she nodded, “Continue.”

Gao Cheng hurriedly said, “But to pacify people’s hearts, grain and cloth alone aren’t enough. We must also settle people, only then can they feel secure.”

“So we must find ways to give them land to stabilize people’s hearts,” he paused briefly to catch his breath before continuing, “Heavy snow is approaching. Dangerous buildings both inside and outside the city must be sorted out to prevent major disasters. Besides this, we must also restrain the incoming refugees and help them integrate into Xi’e County.”

The corner of Zhao Hanzhang’s mouth lifted slightly, but inwardly her anger grew. Furious to the extreme, she instead calmed down, “It seems County Magistrate Gao isn’t ignorant of everything and has quite clear plans in mind.”

But why hadn’t he acted before?

Gao Cheng smiled ingratiatingly at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him with a gentle expression, the anger completely gone from her face. She nodded, “Then let’s proceed according to County Magistrate Gao’s proposal. I’m putting you fully in charge of this matter.”

Seeing Fu Tinghan standing at the doorway, Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly, stood up and said, “Young Master Fu has brought refugees here—over three thousand people we encountered on the road. County Magistrate Gao, arrange this first batch properly.”

Gao Cheng was stunned for a moment before hastily agreeing.

Zhao Hanzhang said to Fan Ying, “You stay to assist County Magistrate Gao. On our way here, we saw wilderness everywhere outside the city. Clearly there are many refugees. I imagine such a large Xi’e County can still accommodate these three or four thousand people without problem.”

Gao Cheng’s forehead broke out in sweat again. Even if there was a problem, under Zhao Hanzhang’s sword, he could only say there was no problem.

Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over the county lieutenant, chief clerk, and the ward chiefs and elders. Originally she had wanted to have a good chat with them after beheading Gao Cheng, but now it seemed unnecessary.

So she chuckled lightly and directly pulled Fu Tinghan along, “Come, we’ve traveled a long way. Let’s find a place to rest first.”

Everyone lowered their heads and stepped aside to let them pass. Gao Cheng came to his senses and hurriedly rushed forward from behind, enthusiastically saying, “Your Excellency, Young Master Fu, why not stay temporarily in the rear courtyard? I’ll have the main courtyard cleared out.”

Zhao Hanzhang immediately nodded in agreement, “Very well.”

As soon as she agreed, Qiu Wu immediately led people over and surrounded the rear courtyard, replacing everyone in the main courtyard with their own people.

Gao Cheng: …

Zhao Hanzhang nodded with great satisfaction. When traveling abroad, one should pay more attention to safety, especially when bringing family along.