Li Xiangrong put down his chopsticks and looked at the table full of delicacies. He sighed and looked a little lonely. Secretary Bai, who was sitting on his left, asked: "Why is Li Xiangrong sighing? Is the food not to your taste?"
Ye Xiaotian also put down his chopsticks and looked at Li Xiangrong strangely. Li Xiangrong didn't answer. He only shook his head and said to Ye Xiaotian in an enigmatic tone, "Lord Ye, you and I once went to the Mercury Silver Mountain on official business together. We can be considered brothers who have gone through fire and water together. Don't you agree?"
Ye Xiaotian nodded with a smile. "Of course. This lowly official has always regarded Brother Li as an elder brother."
Li Xiangrong sighed again. He patted Ye Xiaotian's shoulder and said earnestly, "But now that I'm in your territory, your Brother Ye, you're not being a good friend. Not at all!"
Ye Xiaotian was at a loss. He looked at the table and saw all the delicacies in the world. This was the third day since Li Xiangrong came to Gourd County. Except for breakfast, every meal was delicacies on land and water. "Taibai Restaurant" had become Li Xiangrong's designated canteen.
The head shopkeeper, Sheng Long, had been instructed by the officials of Gourd County to treat Li Xiangrong as if he were an emperor visiting incognito. He bought the most expensive and best ingredients to serve Li Xiangrong. Even the shopkeeper, who hadn't cooked for many years, put on an apron again.
The wine was also good. Crane Year of the Capital, Apricot Blossom of Shanxi, West Phoenix of Willow Forest, Gou Sauce of Bozhou. The tea was also good. Jade Leaf Spring Tea, Gu Zhu Purple Bamboo Shoots, Green Stream Bright Moon Tea. Why was Li Xiangrong still not satisfied?
Li Xiangrong chuckled and ignored Ye Xiaotian's doubtful gaze. He picked up a toothpick and began picking at his teeth. The corners of his eyes were drooping, and the corners of his mouth were curled up. Secretary Bai rolled his eyes and seemed to understand something. After a while, he quietly left the table and went outside to whisper in Manager Sheng Long's ear.
After the banquet, Inspector Luo, Ambassador Li and the others left. Ye Xiaotian and Secretary Bai sent Li Xiangrong to the guest room in the back. This Taibai Restaurant was not only a big restaurant but also the best inn in Gourd County. It was Li Xiangrong's residence.
Ye Xiaotian and Official Registrar Bai walked Li to the door and then took their leave. When they left Taibai Residence, Ye Xiaotian said to Official Registrar Bai, "Old Li has been served with good wine and meat every day. What's there to be dissatisfied about? How can you say that we are not good enough?"
Official Registrar Bai smiled but did not say anything. When they parted ways, he said to Ye Xiaotian, "This lowly official has guessed a few things. Whether or not my guess is correct, we will know tomorrow." He then cupped his hands towards Ye Xiaotian and left with a smile, leaving Ye Xiaotian confused.
Li Xiangrong unhappily pushed open the door. His room was very big. It was the size of four ordinary guest rooms. There was a study, bathroom and living room. Li Xiangrong was tipsy. He staggered into the bedroom and saw the candles in the room were as bright as day.
Li Xiangrong looked up and saw a pair of beauties standing in the room. When they saw him, they bowed down and said, "Nu nu greets Master."
Out of these two beauties, one was tall and slender, with skin as fair as snow and jade. She was dressed in an evening gown, and half of her breasts were exposed. Her white, supple, and firm breasts were trembling silently. Under the light, one could see that she was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and her sweet, mature, plump, and alluring body filled his vision …
Li Xiangrong struggled to move his eyes away. When he looked at the girl next to him, his eyes lit up again. The girl was at most fifteen or sixteen years old. She had a slender waist. Her eyebrows and eyes were young. She was petite and had a little baby fat on her face. She wore a Miao costume and silver ornaments. When she moved slightly, the ornaments shone. Li Xiangrong's eyes also shone.
Master Li's drunkenness seemed to have increased. He asked, "You … you are …?"
The two beauties, one big and one small, pursed their lips and smiled at the same time. They charmingly came forward and held onto his arms, saying in a tender voice, "Nu Nu Hong 'er (Yao' er), help Grand Master sleep peacefully!"
The next day, Li Xiangrong dragged his two soft cotton legs. When he saw Ye Xiaotian and Secretary Bai, he smiled and said, "Oh, Masters, you are so kind, so kind. Hahaha, Li Xiangrong is embarrassed."
Secretary Bai cupped one hand in the other before his chest and said with a smile, "Your Excellency has worked hard. This is just a small token of appreciation from the whole Gourd County."
Li Xiangrong smiled from ear to ear and said, "Not at all. Li Xiangrong is very satisfied with your hospitality. Li Xiangrong is really embarrassed. Since you are so kind, Li Xiangrong will also be kind. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, I understand!" Secretary Bai smiled from ear to ear. Ye Xiaotian was still at a loss. He found an opportunity to ask Secretary Bai, "Old Bai, what does Old Li mean?"
Secretary Bai smiled and said to Ye Xiaotian meaningfully, "Your Excellency, you have a beautiful concubine at home who serves you attentively. Li Xiangrong is alone outside, but he can't sleep. A man who can't fill his stomach doesn't know the hunger of a hungry man. Do you understand what I mean? "
Ye Xiaotian murmured, "So that's what I mean …"
…
While Li Xiangrong was enjoying himself in Gourd County, Zhao Wenyuan had already returned to Bozhou with the coffin. According to the system, if an official's parents passed away, no matter what official position he held, he must return to his ancestral home to guard for twenty-seven months from the day he learned of the funeral.
If it was an important figure in the cabinet or a general stationed at the border, because it involved the political or military affairs of the country, he would need to write to the imperial court and wait for permission. But Zhao Wenyuan, who was just a deputy, did not need to do so. He handed over his duties to the deputy deputy, wrote a letter to the imperial court, and left Gourd County in a hurry.
To Yu Junting's surprise, Zhao Wenyuan did not send anyone to Bozhou to report the funeral. He was worried that once his brothers heard the news, they would divide the family property first. By the time he returned, the dust would have already settled. Although he had his father's "will", it would be difficult to take out the fat meat that was already in other people's mouths.
So when Yang Yinglong heard the news, it was from the informant he had arranged in the Guiyang administrative office. When he found out that his right-hand man Zhao Xin had died, Yang Yinglong was very upset. With the death of Grand Mu, he needed to promote another trusted aide to take over this important position. But the promotion of any one person would cause other positions to be vacant, and a series of adjustments was inevitable.
The Yang clan had been in charge of Bozhou for nearly eight hundred years. The ancient Zhou dynasty, Eastern Zhou, and Western Zhou added up to less than eight hundred years. It was clear to see the vitality of the chieftain clans. After eight hundred years of operation, Bozhou had formed an independent and stable bureaucratic system. The confirmation of any important position required consideration from all sides, and Yang Yinglong needed to think carefully.
At the same time, he also learned that Magistrate Zhang of Tongren planned to promote Ye Xiaotian to the prefectural magistrate, and that Registrar Bai would be promoted to county magistrate. As for the vacant positions of county magistrate, registrar, warden, and post magistrate, the imperial court would appoint new officials. And this idea was actually proposed by Yu Junting.
Yang Yinglong was plotting against Tongren, and he really didn't want Ye Xiaotian to go to this place. Yu Junting only thought that by appointing Ye Xiaotian to a position of no importance, he would be able to keep an eye on this monkey. But he was very clear that Ye Xiaotian had another identity, so this person's power couldn't be underestimated.
Unfortunately, he and Yu Jun Ting were using each other, and their secret engagement was also part of their cooperation. Therefore, they were both hiding things from each other, and neither of them revealed all of their trump cards to the other. This resulted in an imbalance of information, and as a result, they often sabotaged each other.
Previously, Yu Junting didn't know that Ye Xiaotian had a secret agreement with the Zhan family, so he made a decision that backfired. This time, because Yu Junting didn't know that Ye Xiaotian was the Venerable of the Gu God Sect, he once again made a decision that went against Yang Yinglong's wishes. When Yang Yinglong received the news, the administrative department of Guizhou had already submitted the report to the imperial court. If Yang Yinglong stopped the appointment of a prefectural magistrate, it would attract too much attention, so he could only swallow his anger and secretly hope that the imperial court would reject this proposal.
The turmoil in the imperial court had yet to subside, and the liquidation of Zhang Juzheng was nearing its end after more than a year. The person in charge was the successor of the prefectural magistrate, Zhang Siwei. Zhang Siwei originally entered the cabinet by sucking up to Zhang Juzheng, but Zhang Juzheng valued him far less than Shen Shixing.
After Zhang Juzheng's death, Zhang Siwei became the prefectural magistrate. If he wanted to keep his position, he had to follow the emperor's wishes and step on Zhang Juzheng. In order to establish his own prestige, he still had to step on Zhang Juzheng. Therefore, Zhang Siwei was very happy to step on Zhang Juzheng. Not only did he step on Zhang Juzheng, he also stepped on the great eunuch Feng Bao, who had lost the emperor's favor.
Other than these two achievements, in the year that he was the prefectural magistrate, he also imitated Zhang Juzheng and made his son a scholar. However, his prestige and power were far less than Zhang Juzheng's, so he didn't dare to be as brazen as Zhang Juzheng and directly arrange for his son to be a scholar.
As Zhang Juzheng's successor, Shen Shixing didn't agree with Zhang Siwei's series of actions, but in the current situation, he could only protect himself. It was not convenient for him to go against Zhang Siwei and the emperor in these matters. When the liquidation of Zhang Juzheng came to an end, the two of them had differences in their political views and began to confront each other.
Zhang Siwei had already gotten used to stepping on people. He was planning to step on Shen Shixing until he was half dead, but unexpectedly, the heavens were not willing to help him. At this time, his father died.
Thinking back to the time when Zhang Juzheng's father died, he begged and begged for his position as the prefectural magistrate and refused to leave. As a result, people cursed him when he was alive, and they still cursed him when he was dead. With this lesson in mind, Zhang Siwei didn't dare to go against the great dao of filial piety. He could only reluctantly resign and go home to observe mourning.
In this way, Shen Shixing smoothly became the prefectural magistrate. When the memorials related to Gourd County were sent to the court, Zhang Siwei was kicked out and Shen Shixing was promoted. Shen Shixing was more inclined to Zhang Juzheng's policies. Although he was open-minded, his temperament was very gentle, unlike Zhang Juzheng's radical ideas.
He operated Guizhou, turned Gourd Mountain into Gourd County, and set up officials to govern it. His intention was to use this as a breakthrough to open up Guizhou's thousand-year independence and isolation. He even secretly sent the Brocade Guards to instigate a rebellion in order to provide the court with an excuse to suppress them. This series of radical measures were all taken during Zhang Juzheng's reign.
As Zhang Juzheng's successor, Shen Shixing also attached great importance to the management of Guizhou. However, he didn't approve of Zhang Juzheng's unscrupulous methods to achieve his goals. He hoped to use open and aboveboard methods to subtly influence and change Guizhou.
After the news about Gourd County arrived, Shen Shixing carefully considered it. Secretary Bai was the former prefectural magistrate of Jiangpu and didn't have any background in Guizhou. Moreover, from his resume and evaluation, he could be considered a capable official and could be used. If he used a secretary, he would be promoted to a county magistrate, and the former county magistrate would have to be transferred. This way, it would be easier for the new county magistrate to manage government affairs. Therefore, Grand Secretary Shen approved of the proposal to promote Ye Xiaotian to the position of prefectural magistrate in Tongren.
Thus, Shen Shixing waved his pen, and that scourge, that taisui, that monkey who stirred up trouble, was sent to Tongren Province.
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