CHAPTER 786: CHAPTER 29: CURSE KILLING SKILL, XIA JING WITHDRAWS, MENG KUN STARTS TO DISTURB? (DA ZHANG)_5

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the fourth day of the second lunar month.

At this time, most of the officials in Chongming Prefecture had already begun their annual leave, but the Earth God Temple had become busier and busier.

Because it was close to Spring Festival, many people flocked to the temple to worship the Earth God.

On this day, Zhao Xing was also granted a half-month holiday by the King Heavenly Destiny.

He exited from the underground secret chamber and returned to the temple.

When he arrived at the office of the Earth God Temple, he saw a large pile of documents flying into the chief’s office.

Almost as soon as one batch was processed, a new batch flew out from the furnace.

There were also subordinate officials continuously coming in and out, seeking instructions from Chen Shijie.

Upon seeing Zhao Xing enter, the surrounding officials were momentarily stunned, then they cupped their hands in salute, "Greetings, Mr. Zhao."

Although they saluted, some officials’ faces did not look very pleasant.

This was because Zhao Xing often took long naps and did not handle affairs, leaving everything to Chen Shijie, the Right Director.

As a result, some officials had almost forgotten that there was a Left Chief named Zhao Xing, only recalling it after being reminded.

"Continue, continue. Don’t mind me," Zhao Xing said with a smile as he walked into Old Chen’s office.

Entering the chief’s office, Chen Shijie was already buried in documents.

Heaven have mercy, Zhao Xing entered, and he didn’t even notice!

Chen Shijie was the Military Minister of Agriculture Officer, with great alertness, yet he didn’t even notice Zhao Xing’s entrance; it showed how busy he was.

"Ahem..." Zhao Xing coughed twice, casually grabbed a clerk, picked up two stacks of documents, and walked over, "I’ll handle this, you can go."

"Yes."

"Pretty busy, huh." Zhao Xing grabbed the documents and intended to sit down, only to find there wasn’t even a place to stand; so he had to remain standing.

"What are you doing?" Chen Shijie looked at the documents in Zhao Xing’s hand.

"I came to help you handle some official matters."

"What do you know about handling official matters? Give them here; these two are urgent from Mingyang County."

"Of course, Mr. Chen." Zhao Xing swiftly handed over the documents.

Chen Shijie’s hand didn’t move, but many pens, held by the wind, signed off on the reports from the subordinate counties without pause.

The Earth God Temple was usually not busy, but as Spring Festival approached, it became overwhelmingly busy.

National affairs are in military and sacrifices, and sacrifices were one of the most important activities in Great Zhou.

Spring Festival was particularly crucial; the daily sacrificial activities of the county did not need prefectural approval, only needing to report to the county level.

But sacrificial events related to Spring Festival required approval even at the county level by the prefectural city.

However, now there were too many. After observing for a while, Zhao Xing realized there were far more matters than he had imagined.

"Why are there so many things? Even county-level matters fall under our jurisdiction?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Temporary addition," Chen Shijie said, "A month ago, Zhou Siming allocated county-level spring festivities to the prefecture to handle."

"Was someone targeting us?" Zhao Xing frowned. "Is Zhou Chengwen with Prince Liang’s Party?"

Zhou Chengwen, a Star Lord Priest at the God of Fate Hall in the prefecture city, was a third-rank official, their superior, in ranking.

"I don’t know, it’s hard to tell." Chen Shijie shook his head, "His reasons are also quite valid; this year is a major spring sacrifice and allocating county-level matters to the prefecture is reasonable."

The Earth God Temple was not solely involved in sacrifices but also had to manage agricultural affairs. Chongming Prefecture was large, even with island counties; it was overwhelming.

Zhao Xing nodded; it was inevitable.

He couldn’t be sure if Zhou Chengwen was part of Prince Liang’s Party, nor did he know what conspiracies were at play behind the scenes, but Zhao Xing didn’t bother thinking about it.

Since Princess You Ruo hadn’t intervened, it meant what he did wasn’t excessive.

"Spring Festival is approaching, will it be done before the New Year?"

"No." Chen Shijie shook his head, "What are you thinking, the New Year is the busiest time."

"The Earth God Temple isn’t just about sacrifices; it also has to manage agricultural affairs. These two months are the busiest."

"How long have you not taken a break?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Haven’t taken any since arriving."

"..."

Zhao Xing couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

"Forget it, take a break, go home for the New Year, I’ll give you a holiday."

"If you don’t go back, Gui Niang will want to complain."

Chen Shijie was puzzled, "Are you quitting? If I leave, who will handle this work?"

"I will," Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"You?" Chen Shijie scrutinized Zhao Xing.

"Who are you looking down on?" Zhao Xing said, "I’m busy, not incompetent."

How could he not handle official affairs?

He knew the "Ultimate Guide to Handling Affairs" compiled by the players.

"You’re not going back?" Chen Shijie asked, "This year not only Long Xiao will return for the New Year, but even Xia Jing will come to the East Sea after the Spring Festival."

"Oh? Xia Jing is coming too? Why didn’t he tell me?" Zhao Xing was a bit surprised.

"If they could find you," Chen Shijie took out his chief seal, "I’ve been marking your attendance for you."

Zhao Xing said, "I mean, how does he have the time to come."

The barbarian war wasn’t over; Xia Jing was now a standard fifth-rank military officer, how could he leave?

Chen Shijie said, "Xia Jing broke both his arms and was poisoned by the Earth Witch."

"What?" Zhao Xing’s eyebrows jumped, "Is it serious?"

"He said it wasn’t serious." Chen Shijie said, "Xiang Kui found millennium broken bone ginseng produced in Guangling Cave Heaven for him, but his two poisoned arms couldn’t be reattached, can only wait for them to grow back, needs time to recover."

"The poison is also quite troublesome, expected to take a year and a half to completely heal."

That was very serious!

Xia Jing practiced the Xuanwu Shield externally and the Gluttonous Eating Skill internally; to be injured this severely, how could it not be serious?

"It’s fortunate he’s still alive." Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he didn’t die on the spot, there was always a chance.