If he had a choice, the County Magistrate of Changshe wouldn't have wanted to be Liu Yuan's subordinate.

But he had no choice. Changshe County was subordinate to Yingchuan Commandery, and Yingchuan Commandery had already been taken over by Liu Yuan. He couldn't possibly separate Changshe County and righteously declare himself still an official of the Qin Dynasty, so yielding was inevitable.

Since he had played a part in previously forcing Liu Yuan into a desperate situation, the self-aware County Magistrate of Changshe adopted the humblest possible posture, hoping his deferential attitude would earn him forgiveness for past grievances.

And so, the previous scene unfolded.

Leading the Liu family members, the Changshe County Magistrate stopped several dozen paces away from Liu Yuan's group. Then, with the attitude of a subordinate toward a superior, he respectfully kowtowed.

“Zhao Ming, the County Magistrate of Changshe, pays his respects to the Governor of Yingchuan Commandery!”

Behind him, the members of the Liu family, as well as the uninformed bystanders, stared dumbfounded as their local official paid respects with an almost subservient posture to a man they had once looked down upon.

Liu Yuan reined in his horse, dismounted, and strode forward to help the Changshe County Magistrate up, letting out a long laugh. “County Magistrate Zhao, why be so courteous?”

The moment Liu Yuan helped him up, the Changshe County Magistrate couldn't help but tremble.

This was truly too strange.

Zhao Ming absolutely did not believe that Liu Yuan had completely forgotten how he had been forced into a corner. Liu Yuan had left Xiang Town last winter. In less than a year, he had already distinguished himself among the rebels and been appointed by Chen Sheng as the Governor of Yingchuan Commandery. This fully demonstrated that he was by no means a person who could be bullied at will.

His inner turmoil was reflected on his face.

“Governor, previously...”

Liu Yuan stopped him from speaking further, his smile amiable. “County Magistrate Zhao, what’s past is past, let it go with the wind. I have already reviewed the assessment records for this past year. You have governed Changshe with considerable merit. While one cannot say that every household leaves its doors unlocked at night, it has been peaceful and uneventful. Since that is the case, the position of County Magistrate still belongs to you and no other.”

This was a completely unexpected and pleasant surprise.

The Changshe County Magistrate had never imagined that not only would Liu Yuan not hold his past offenses against him, but he would even let him continue as County Magistrate.

Moreover, he discerned an even more important message from Liu Yuan's words: Liu Yuan had no intention of making drastic changes, not just for him as the Changshe County Magistrate, but for the entire order within Yingchuan Commandery. Everything would remain as it was; things would proceed as they always had. Everyone could return to their homes and go about their business, a happy outcome for all.

No matter how foolish the Changshe County Magistrate might be, he knew that Liu Yuan was being exceptionally magnanimous toward him. Otherwise, given the past grievances between them, Liu Yuan could have easily sent troops to oust him as County Magistrate before even arriving in Changshe County and installed one of his own men instead—not to mention, the Changshe County Magistrate was not foolish at all.

Thus, he was so moved that tears and snot streamed down his face on the spot. He forcefully pulled free from Liu Yuan's hands and kowtowed respectfully several more times. “Rest assured, Governor! I will do my utmost to maintain peace and order in the county!”

Whether the Changshe County Magistrate's gratitude was genuine or feigned, he was acting appropriately, which naturally pleased Liu Yuan. The two exchanged a few cordial pleasantries before Liu Yuan shifted his gaze to the people behind the County Magistrate.

Liu Xin wore a stern expression, looking serious and unsmiling. Though his son had become a Governor, he showed not a hint of joy. Upon closer inspection, however, it was not difficult to see the embarrassment hidden beneath his solemnity.

In contrast, Liu Chi's feelings were much more apparent. He had never expected his younger half-brother to have such a stroke of good fortune after fleeing, even becoming the head official of a commandery.

Watching the brother who had hated studying since childhood and served as a perfect bad example suddenly make a comeback and leapfrog to become his superior's superior, the feeling in Liu Chi's heart was like an overturned bottle of five flavors—beyond description!

Even so, he still had to follow his old father here to pay his respects.

What had things come to? The son was making his father come to welcome him personally?

The more Liu Chi thought about it, the more wrong it felt. Several times he wanted to open his mouth to say something, but then he would look at the menacing soldiers behind Liu Yuan and lose his nerve.

After this happened a few times, his expression soured.

As if he hadn't noticed, Liu Yuan bypassed the County Magistrate and bowed deeply to Liu Xin. “Your unfilial son, Yuan, pays his respects to Father. For days, Father has been made to worry and fear for his son's safety. Yuan is truly unfilial. I ask for Father's punishment!”

Liu Xin had indeed been fraught with anxiety these past few days, but he wasn't afraid for his youngest son's safety, but rather that the entire family would be implicated by him. Hearing Liu Yuan's words now, his expression became even more awkward. Seeing that the surrounding crowd and the Changshe County Magistrate were all looking at him, if Liu Xin were to actually say something to punish him, he feared everyone would say that he was an unkind father.

“Get up!” Liu Xin said dryly.

“Thank you for your magnanimity, Father!” Upon hearing this, Liu Yuan got up so crisply and decisively that it was clear he had no intention of being polite any further, which made Liu Xin choke and roll his eyes.

The Changshe County Magistrate seized the opportunity and shrewdly stepped forward. “I have just learned that the Governor's family is living in the mountains. I have already dispatched men to find them, and they should be here shortly. I invite the Governor to the county yamen to rest for a moment.”

Just as Liu Yuan was about to nod, he saw several bailiffs ahead leading a group of people toward them, mostly women and children. On closer look, a woman was holding a young child. They were dressed in rags and looked truly destitute. If not for the bailiffs leading them, others would have thought they were beggars.

Upon seeing them, a joyous expression appeared on Liu Yuan's face, a world apart from the reserved, polite smile he had shown his father.

An Zheng was also overjoyed. He moved forward with Liu Yuan. The group on the other side had already seen them, and Xu Zhongfang, who walked quickly and had a loud voice, was already shouting, “Big Brother, Second Brother!”

Reunited after a long separation, and with each having gone through extraordinary experiences, the three brothers were naturally overcome with emotion, wishing they could pour out all their feelings. But Liu Yuan had more important things to do right now. He patted Xu Zhongfang's arm firmly with both hands, then let him go and looked toward his wife and children standing to the side.

When Liu Yuan's gaze fell upon their tattered clothes and travel-worn faces, his eyes reddened.

Whether it was Madam Zhang or the children, Liu Nan and Liu Zhen, the clothes they wore, while relatively clean, had clearly been mended many times and were on the verge of being unwearable. In contrast, Madam Yu, Liu Cheng, Liu Shu, and the others beside her were dressed in new, neat clothes with rosy complexions. The stark contrast between the two groups was indescribably ironic.

The Changshe County Magistrate was startled. He had been very thorough, having instructed the bailiffs to bring clean, beautiful clothes for them to change into when he sent them up the mountain to find the family. This was to prevent Liu Yuan from thinking he had mistreated the Governor's relatives. Who would have thought that while the people had been found, they were still wearing their old clothes.

He naturally did not know that this was all Liu Zhen's deliberate doing.

When the bailiffs had found them on the mountain, they had brought not only a complete set of fine silk clothes, shoes, and socks, but also cosmetics and hairpins for the women. They had even brought a maidservant to help them with complex hairstyles in case Madam Zhang and the others didn't know how, showing impeccable attention to detail.

At the time, Madam Zhang had heard the bailiffs and wanted to change into the new clothes as they suggested, but she was stopped by Liu Zhen.

Liu Zhen's reason was simple: We are poor and destitute not because we are lazy, but because Father was forced to leave our hometown. Since we have neither stolen nor robbed, now that Father has returned, we should of course meet him as we are—upright and honest, without need for cosmetics or extra adornments.

In reality, what Liu Zhen was thinking was that the Changshe County Magistrate's actions had an ulterior motive. He simply wanted to dress them up beautifully to meet Liu Yuan, so he could show Liu Yuan that he hadn't mistreated Madam Zhang and the others. This way, Liu Yuan would feel too embarrassed to hold it against him. What's more, if Liu Xin and Liu Chi were present, they might even think that the family had been living well. But if they went over in their tattered rags, it would be a different story. At the very least, they could score some sympathy points from the uninformed crowd, help their dad gain the upper hand, and slap those other people hard in the face!

But this reason could not be stated openly, so she could only rephrase it in a more high-sounding, respectable way.

Madam Zhang did not know what Liu Zhen was thinking. She only felt that they were now the family of a Governor. To still be dressed in rags was simply too humiliating. She could not bear the loss of face, so she was not prepared to follow Liu Zhen's suggestion.

However, just at that moment, when no one was paying attention, Liu Zhen snatched the clothes from the bailiffs' hands, ran into the inner room, and threw them directly into the fire. The others didn't even have time to stop her!

Liu Wan had been staring eagerly at the beautiful clothes and jewelry, even reaching out her hand to touch them. At her age, she might not have understood the significance of clothes and jewelry to a woman, but that didn't stop her from loving pretty things. Who knew that in the blink of an eye, these things would be reduced to ashes? Liu Wan was stunned, and then she burst into tears.

Everyone else also stared at Liu Zhen, dumbfounded.

After burning the things, Liu Zhen clapped her hands and said to Madam Zhang as if nothing had happened, “Mother, don't be angry. When I see Father, I will naturally ask for his punishment.”

Madam Zhang was so choked by her words that she couldn't speak. The scolding she wanted to deliver was stuck in her throat, and her expression was naturally not pleasant to see.

But with most of the clothes burned, leaving only jewelry and shoes, it was of course impossible to wear them. Otherwise, wearing beggar-like clothes with that jewelry would be a ridiculous, laughable sight.

Madam Zhang had no choice but to keep her original attire. She only washed her face before following the bailiffs over.

Now, feeling the astonished gazes of her husband and the others on them, Madam Zhang felt so ashamed and indignant she could have died, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Liu Zhen, however, stepped forward magnanimously, pulling Liu Nan down with her to kowtow.

“Get up! Quickly, get up! You have all suffered!” Liu Yuan hurriedly pulled them up, holding one in each hand.

The Changshe County Magistrate was equally embarrassed. He shot a fierce glare at the bailiffs, who had to suffer in silence, and stepped forward, saying, “Governor, this...”

At this moment, Liu Zhen spoke up. “Father, you are a Governor. I heard that a Governor is the head of a commandery, even higher than a County Magistrate, is that right?”

“That's not wrong,” Liu Yuan said with a smile.

“Then why is it that Uncle is only a County Clerk, yet my cousins from the Liu family are dressed better than we are?” Liu Zhen immediately asked.

...

Liu Yuan looked at Liu Zhen's innocent face, then at the ugly expressions on Liu Xin and Liu Chi's faces over there, and almost burst out laughing.

This daughter of his, really...