Being a County Magistrate is just wishful thinking; aiming for a secretary position is somewhat hopeful.

But...

Qin Yao cleared her throat with a soft "ahem," successfully drawing everyone’s attention to Liu Ji and reminded him:

"Don’t forget, your most important task now is to thoroughly study the notes left by the teacher to prepare for next year’s Spring Exam, not always fantasizing about the thrill of being an official."

The leisurely tone made Liu Ji’s back crawl with a chill, as if the warm March had instantaneously returned to the cold December, shocking him into quickly bowing his head, lifting his bowl of rice, and continuously eating.

It wasn’t until the cold gaze above his head moved away that he secretly exhaled a sigh of relief, narrowly escaping disaster.

However, despite that!

Liu Ji suddenly lifted his head and earnestly suggested, "Dear, I think it’s necessary for us to find out about the new County Magistrate’s schedule."

"Even if I don’t become the secretary, making a good impression on the new County Magistrate wouldn’t hurt; it’ll certainly be convenient in the future."

Qin Yao pondered for a moment and saw Liu Ji’s itching desire that might be uncontrollable; rather than letting him secretly mess around, she’d better agree.

After all, she wouldn’t lose anything.

"Then go check it out yourself, report back immediately if you find any information." Qin Yao nodded, allowing him.

"At your command!"

Liu Ji immediately stood up joyfully, ran a lap around the table, ruffled the hair of his four children at home one by one, feeling elated — he could finally go out in broad daylight!

After reading books all winter at home, his brain felt like it turned to mush; now that the splendid spring was here, how could he let it go to waste!

Qin Yao gave him a suspicious glance; the smile on Liu Ji’s face was perhaps too bright.

Feeling her gaze, Liu Ji quickly toned down his grin, stood up to serve dishes to his wife, "Dear, these spring bamboo shoots are delicious, have some more, it’ll help you grow."

Qin Yao tightened her fist, "I’m already twenty-two, how much more can I grow?"

Liu Ji, without batting an eye, lied, "Dear, you’re only eighteen; you have two more years to grow tall, eat more of these bamboo shoots, they’re both sweet and crunchy, miss out now, and you’ll have to wait another year."

He kept piling bamboo shoots into her bowl, forming a small mountain, turning back to give her an encouraging smile.

Qin Yao’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and Liu Ji’s smile gradually froze on his face; his hands quickly moved all the piled shoots back into his own bowl, sitting down to silently eat them.

It was a while before he heard someone beside him pick up their chopsticks and bowl again.

The shadow of death faded away, and Liu Ji raised an eyebrow playfully, once again a lively and energetic man!

With his wife’s consent, early the next morning, Liu Ji actively took on the job of sending the children to school, and after leaving them there, he rode to the county town.

He initially planned to find a few acquaintances for a small drink in town while inquiring about the new County Magistrate’s whereabouts. But unexpectedly, just after entering the town, he was almost knocked over by a person rushing past.

Liu Ji was instantly furious, yelling: "Who’s so blind that they ran into me on such a wide street?!"

It was a plainly dressed young man, perhaps in his early thirties, sweating profusely and looking anxious. Realizing he bumped into someone, he hurriedly reached out to help Liu Ji, apologizing repeatedly.

"No, no, no!" Liu Ji quickly avoided his reaching hand, seeing the black mud in the man’s fingernails, worried it would dirty his new spring clothing.

Noticing the man’s pitiful urgency, Liu Ji snorted and waved it off, intending not to pursue the matter.

"Sorry, truly sorry." The young man cupped his fists apologetically before continuing his urgent run.

"What’s happening?" Some bystanders curiously discussed.

Others shook their heads, clueless, but from the man’s direction, it seemed he was heading towards the government office, possibly to report a robbery?

"Hey, sir, you dropped something." A passerby pointed to the ground, tapping the shoulder of Liu Ji who was straightening his attire.

Liu Ji stared inexplicably downwards at a folded piece of rice paper at his feet, luckily unharmed by today’s dry weather, else it would have been soaked and ruined.

"It’s not mine..." Liu Ji muttered, yet his hands earnestly checked all his pockets, confirming the paper was not his before leaning over to curiously pick it up.

Others peered in curiosity but couldn’t read.

Liu Ji spread open the paper, noticing the ink hadn’t dried, the writing was beautiful and still looked fresh; approximately, it described a kind of elegy.

"Something about being trapped on Liao Feng Mountain, legs weak, unable to ascend, unable to descend... leaving this message as a warning to future generations to be cautious of height..."

Liu Ji was shocked, "A message?"

Just as he found the farewell letter amusing, the previously rushing young farmer ran back and snatched the letter from his hand.

This aroused Liu Ji’s curiosity further, who happily chased after him asking, "Hey, brother, where did you get this letter? The words and phrases are written so well!"

Though the content was a bit timid, getting stuck halfway up a hike, unable to proceed or retreat, going mad and leaving such a note.

The young man glanced at Liu Ji in surprise but had no time to reply, rushing all the way to the government office where an officer awaited at the entrance.

Presumably, the man had just reported an incident, lost crucial evidence, and the officer was waiting for him to return with it.

Liu Ji’s face was quite recognizable in Kaiyang County, and along with Qin Yao’s reputation, the officer immediately recognized him and greeted him politely, "Liu Junren."

Liu Ji returned the greeting, curiously repeating his question, "Brother, are you facing some trouble, do you need help?"

When the man heard the officer addressing Liu Ji as a scholar, he respectfully glanced at Liu Ji, handing over the letter as he explained:

"This morning, I went into the mountains to chop wood. By the roadside, I saw an empty carriage, guessed someone went uphill for sightseeing, and fifty strides forward, I found this paper. I can’t read, but after bringing it home for my son to see, we realized it’s a farewell letter—someone is trapped on Liao Feng Mountain!"

"Lord, Liao Feng Mountain is steep, going straight up and down with cliffs on both sides; if someone truly got stuck in there, the situation is dire!"

By now, the officer had read the letter, and upon noticing the signature ’Changli,’ his heart skipped twice—could it really be such a coincidence?

"Both of you, please come inside to wait; I’ll inform Lord County Magistrate!"

Calling a colleague to take them to the main hall, the officer hurriedly ran to the back offices with the paper.

Not long after, the County Magistrate came rushing out with the letter, at first surprised to see Liu Ji there, but then delighted.

"Liu Junren, you come at the right time! This is a serious matter; we need you to quickly return home and fetch Village Chief Qin. Our officers here can’t rescue the new County Magistrate from Liao Feng Mountain."

"What?" Liu Ji didn’t miss the key term ’new County Magistrate’ from the County Magistrate’s mouth. He glanced at the farewell letter, then at the reporting farmer, and finally fixed his gaze on the County Magistrate, questioning in shock:

"The new County Magistrate is trapped on Liao Feng Mountain, desperately wrote a farewell letter, and threw it down the mountain?"