Hsu Fengnian went back to Mount Qingliang alone. Jiang Ni went to Mount Wudang, saying that he missed the vegetable garden there and that it would be too late if he didn't plant something while there was still some spring rain. Xu Weixiong probably thought that Hsu Fengnian would go to North Resisting Town outside Liangzhou Pass, so she specially asked Fu Shui Room to send him a "letter from home". The meaning was very simple and clear. No matter how urgent the military affairs outside the pass were, Hsu Fengnian had to go back to Mount Qingliang first. This matter was non-negotiable. Xu Fengnian didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this. Of course, he understood his second sister's good intentions. She was afraid that because he had mustered so many people to bring back the little clay figurine, he would have a guilty conscience and not dare to see Wutong Courtyard's Lu Chengyan, the official official consort of Northern Liang Path. In fact, Hsu Fengnian didn't have the idea of "hiding from debt". Some things would be a knot in his heart if he didn't talk about it. If he talked about it, there would be a scar in his heart. There was no distinction between good and bad. However, when Hsu Fengnian left Beiliang, he had already thought about how to face Lu Chengyan. He didn't say that Lu Chengyan would be Beiliang's Princess Consort in the future. When Xu Fengnian walked out of the Wutong Courtyard with her and arrived at the pavilion in the middle of Tidehark Lake, when she heard those three words, her smile was tranquil as she gently tossed a handful of bait into the lake. Then Hsu Fengnian, the young king who wasn't afraid of Wang Xianzhi, the King of Liyang, the army of Beimang, and the fearless man who even dared to kill immortals, sat beside her a little uneasily. Lu Chengyan didn't say anything, and he didn't know what to say. The two young Tiger Kui desperately rubbed against him. Hsu Fengnian glared at them fiercely. The two poor "little guys" were immediately scared and ran out of the pavilion. However, they didn't want to leave, so they could only lie under the stairs and lazily bask in the sun, waiting for their master to change his mind.
Fortunately, the steward of the prince's mansion, Song Yu, helped the King of Beiliang out by saying that the deputy administrator, Song Dongming, had something important to discuss with him. Xu Fengnian felt relieved and took his leave. Lu Chengyan stood up to send him off. She softly said, "Your Highness, you should write another Spring Festival couplet and have someone send it to Mount Wudang. In the future, don't say sorry, it's really not necessary." Hsu Fengnian wanted to say something but stopped. Then he smiled. This was probably the taste of a family. He insisted on sending her back to Wutongin first. Along the way, he casually asked his father-in-law about Lu Dongjiang. Lu Chengyan seemed to have gotten over it. Towards the new provincial governor of Liangzhou, who had broken off their father-daughter relationship with her, there was neither deliberate alienation nor excessive closeness in her words. Hsu Fengnian didn't know how to explain it, mainly because he was afraid that he would paint a snake with legs and draw legs. It was difficult for an upright official to resolve family disputes because the scale of reason and affection were too difficult to grasp. Logically speaking, the Xu family took care of the Lu family in all aspects. However, it was obvious that the Lu family still felt that the in-laws didn't do enough. They never thought that the family's unacclimatized situation in Beiliang was their own fault. Instead, they thought that the support from Mount Qingliang was not enough, and that Lu Chengyan didn't give him enough pillow talk.
After sending Lu Chengyan back to Wutongin, Hsu Fengnian looked at the slender and weak back. He hesitated for a moment and finally made up his mind. Then he followed Song Yu to Song Dongming's government office, which was located halfway up the mountain. Unexpectedly, Song Dongming stood at the door to greet them. After Hsu Fengnian and the Deputy Administrator of Beiliang took their seats in the government office, Song Dongming told them the reason without waiting for the officials to serve them tea. It turned out that after Lu Dongjiang was promoted to the Governor of Liangzhou, he promoted more than a dozen children of the Lu family to the Provincial Governor's Mansion. Moreover, some of the appointments were related to the fourth-grade official position. They should have been approved by the Governor's Mansion before they could take effect. However, it seemed that Governor Lu wanted to act first and report later. To be honest, Song Dongming did not nod or shake his head about the resignation of the former Governor of Liangzhou, Tian Peifang, and the filling of the vacancy by Lu Dongjiang. If he were an ordinary official, he would have roughly figured out Deputy Administrator Song's bottom line. Hsu Fengnian was silent. In the final analysis, the crux of the problem was not the Liangzhou officialdom, which had just changed parents, or even Lu Chengyan and Lu Dongjiang. It was Hsu Fengnian himself. In the past two years, he did not have a good impression of the Lu Family. However, when he did not make a clear statement on many things, no one in Beiliang could understand his thoughts. Therefore, they could only tolerate and compromise. Especially when they recruited the children of the Lu family to be officials with real power in Beicheng, the officialdom of Beiliang naturally did not dare to underestimate the Lu Family. Especially when Lu Dongjiang was unexpectedly promoted, it undoubtedly fueled the arrogance of the Lu Family. Song Dongming's expression was calm, but he could not help but feel a little depressed. Originally, he wanted to make friends with Lu Dongjiang. He did not expect that this famous scholar of Qingzhou, who was famous in the Central Plains, would be so insatiable that he might disrupt the situation in Liangzhou. Song Dongming knew that Bai Yu was against Lu Dongjiang's appointment as the Provincial Governor of Liangzhou. Therefore, Lu Dongjiang's action was tantamount to a silent slap to Song Dongming's face. Presumably, Bai Yu was watching the fire burn across the river. Hsu Fengnian sighed and did not say much to Song Dongming. He only said that the three appointments were temporarily put aside at the Administrator's manor. He would personally go to the Liangzhou Provincial Governor's manor. Then, Hsu Fengnian changed the topic. He said with a smile that Administrator Li Gongde had also submitted his resignation, only keeping the post of Northern Supervisor. Then, Li Gongde recommended Song Dongming to be the second Administrator in Beiliang's history. Song Dongming did not agree. He only said that Beiliang still needed Li Gongde, an experienced and reputable local official, to be the Administrator. Otherwise, now that the Provincial Governors of Liangling and Youliu had been replaced by foreigners, if Song Dongming were to be promoted to Administrator, it would be one disaster after another. It was inevitable that the local scholars of Beiliang would resent him. Hsu Fengnian did not press the issue. He only said that Song Dongming should think it over.
After leaving the yamen, Hsu Fengnian went to the Liangzhou Provincial Governor's manor with a light carriage and a simple entourage. Sitting in the carriage, Hsu Fengnian's fingers unconsciously stroked the jade pendant with a dragon's tail hanging from his waist. It was not strange that Song Dongming would give up the position of Administrator. Bai Yu, who had arrived in Beiliang later than Song Dongming, was now in a low position in Mount Qingliang. This Mr. White Lotus did not have a prominent official status, but he had gathered a group of like-minded young talents around him. Bai Yu only lacked a status. Once Song Dongming vacated the position of Deputy Administrator, there was no doubt that Bai Yu would take it. Obviously, in Song Dongming's eyes, the position of Deputy Administrator was like a dangerous pass. He could not give it to Bai Yu, who was eyeing it covetously. Otherwise, Bai Yu, who was justified, would truly rise in Beiliang's officialdom. Song Dongming was determined to sit in the position of Deputy Administrator for another two or three years. At that time, as long as the Battle of Liang Mang came to an end, Beiliang's civil and military officials would reward him based on his contributions. Bai Yu, who did not have enough status, would not be a threat to him in the future. Hsu Fengnian smiled knowingly. He had no intention of exposing Song Dongming's dark thoughts. In fact, this was a good thing. It meant that Song Dongming was showing signs of taking root in Beiliang. As for whether he would treat Bai Yu unfairly, Hsu Fengnian did not care. Speaking of which, if Song Dongming could really provoke Bai Yu's competitive spirit, it would be a great thing for Beiliang.
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