Chapter 4 third chapter

Pazar followed Blarney in the Ptah district, where he settled his donkey and dog just south of the old white-walled castle, but he didn't know how to settle himself. Several administrative buildings were built near the courthouse, and several soldiers guarded the entrances.The old doctor explained to one of the soldiers the reason for his visit. After hearing this, the other soldier disappeared for a while, and when he came back, there was a justice representing the prime minister beside him. "It's good to see you again, Blaney. This is the one you highly recommend?" "Pazar is very excited."

"At his age, that's an understandable reaction. But is he ready for his new role?" Pazar was shocked by the adult's sarcastic tone, so he said coldly, "You don't believe me?" The justice frowned. "I'm taking him away, Blaney, and the investiture will begin." The eager eyes of the old doctor encouraged this junior who was still a little lacking in self-confidence. No matter how difficult the future was, he must unfortunately fail his expectations. Pazar was ushered into a small rectangular room, and the justice asked him to sit down facing the jury, which consisted of the justice himself, the Governor of Memphis, a representative of the Labor Department, and a representative of the god Ptah .All of them wore thick wigs and cloth strips wrapped around their waists, all of them looked serious and expressionless.

"You are now in the place of 'assessing the difference' (the word in the Book of the Dead that distinguishes between justice and injustice)," said the prime minister's representative. Take responsibility for judging others. Like a judge in Giza Province, you must direct the investigation, preside over the trials of the local courts in your jurisdiction, and submit cases that cannot be resolved to your superiors.Would you like to take on this job? ""I would. " "Do you know that once you agree, you can't go back on it?" "I know."

"Please judge this future judge according to the law." Then the governor asked in a solemn tone: "Which jurors will your court choose?" "Law scholars, artisans, policemen, experienced men, respectable women, widows. " "So, how are you going to intervene in their deliberations?" "I have no intention of doing so. Everyone is free to express their opinions, and I will respect every opinion and make a judgment at the end." "In any case?" asked the Prefect incredulously. "There is only one exception, that is, when a juror accepts bribes, I will immediately stop the discussion and try him according to law."

"How should you respond to a crime?" Pazar replied immediately: "First conduct a preliminary investigation, establish a file, and then submit it to the Prime Minister's Office." The representative serving the god Ptah folds his right arm on his chest and puts his fist lightly on his shoulder. "When the underworld judges, all actions will be taken into account, and your heart will also be placed on the scale platform to face the test of the laws of the world. In what form is the law that you want the people to obey conveyed? ""There are forty-two provinces in the country, and there are also forty-two volumes of laws and regulations, but the spirit of the laws has not been recorded, nor should it be recorded.The truth can only be conveyed orally, the teacher dictates and the disciple listens. "

The representative who served God smiled, but the representative of the Prime Minister was still not satisfied. "Oh? So how do you define the law?" "Bread and beer." "can you explain this?" "It's the justice everyone needs, young and old." "Why is the law represented by an ostrich feather?" "Because the ostrich is the messenger of extradition between the human world and the divine world. The law is like the breath of life. It should be kept in people's noses to drive away physical and mental disasters. If there is no justice and axiom, the wheat will not grow again, and the rioters will Once in power, the people will no longer have festive celebrations."

The governor stood up and placed a limestone in front of Pazar. "Put your hand on this white stone." Pazar complied.He didn't tremble. "This stone bears witness to your oath. It will always remember what you said. If you betray the law, it will also report your crimes." The governor and representatives of the Labor Department stood on either side of Pazar. "Please stand up," the prime minister's representative ordered. "This is your seal ring," he said, putting the ring with a rectangular gold plate on Pazar's right middle finger.Engraved on the gold plate: Judge Pazar. "Documents stamped with your seal are official official documents, and you must be solely responsible, so use them with caution."

The judge's office is located in the southern suburbs of Memphis, between the Nile River and the West Canal, on the south side of the Temple of Hador. This young man from the countryside thought he would have a luxurious house, but he was completely disappointed.All he was assigned was a small two-story house. The guard on duty was sitting on the threshold dozing.Pazar patted him on the shoulder, and he jumped up. "I want to go in." "The office is closed." "I am the judge." "No way...he's dead." "I am the succeeding Pazar."

"Oh, it's you... the clerk Yaluo told me, do you have any documents?" Pazar showed him the signet ring. "Before you arrived, I was responsible for guarding this place, and now the task is over." "When can I see the clerk?" "I don't know, he should be solving a troublesome problem." "what is the problem?" "Firewood. It's cold here in winter. Last year the treasury refused to distribute firewood to the office because three applications had not been filled in. Yalo just went to the records office to make up the formalities. Good luck to you, Judge Pazar, in Meng Fez, you will never be bored."

Pazar slowly opened the door to his new office.The inside is quite spacious, and there are piles of bundled or stamped paper rolls. There was a layer of dust on the ground.Faced with this chaotic scene, Pazar also ignored his noble status, and immediately picked up the broom to clean up. After cleaning, Pazar looked through the contents of the file: cadastral and tax information, various reports, complaints, bills... The matters he has to manage are really complicated. In the largest cupboard are the tools for writing: a stationery table with holes dug to hold ink, ink sticks, small saucers, powder paint bags, brush bags, scraping knives, gum, whetstones, thin and short linen ropes, Mixed tortoise shells, a whisk made of clay, and Song Dynasty represents the ancestor of Egyptian hieroglyphs Thoth, each of which is of high-quality texture.

There is one most precious thing in the wooden box: a water clock.It was a small container in the shape of a truncated cone, with two sets of different scales inside, a total of twelve notches, and water dripped from the hole at the bottom of the container for timing.The clerk probably feels that it is necessary to take into account the time limit when working. Pazar took a pen trimmed from a rush pole, inserted the end of the pen into a small saucer filled with water, and put a drop of water on the stationery table for later use.He was feeding the prayer that all clerks must say before writing: "A drop of ink for your guardian spirit, Inkhtai." Homage with hieroglyph master Inkhtai. Pazar then went up to the second floor.The dormitory had long been disused: the three rooms had been neglected by the former judge who had placed Pazar in preferring his hut on the edge of town, and were now a nest of fleas, flies, rats, and spiders. Pazar was not discouraged, this kind of formation was just a trivial matter to him.When he was in the country, he often had to do this kind of work to drive away the rats, ants and mosquitoes at home. He splashed water with soda on the walls and floors, then sprinkled a mixture of toner and inula, one of the varieties of inula.This mixture emits a strong aroma that repels insects and termites.Finally, he mixed frankincense, myrrh, camphor essence (an aromatic plant, some varieties can be used as cinnamon bark, which refers to spices here), and honey to disinfect the environment by fumigation and keep the smell pleasant.In order to buy these expensive products, I had to advance most of next month's salary. After everything was ready, he was so tired that he spread out the mat and lay down.But he always felt uncomfortable and couldn't sleep, yes, it was the signet ring.I can't pull it out.Shepherd Baby was right, he had no choice.