Official Cen was in his forties, fair and plump, with eyes that narrowed into slits when he smiled.

Seeing Hao Jianfeng enter, he immediately went forward to greet him, bowing respectfully yet warmly: “It’s been some time since we last met. How is your health? I heard that the Elder Madam was slightly unwell, and your wife took your young son to attend to her… How is the Elder Madam’s health now? Is this your son’s first visit to his hometown? Has he adjusted well?” His words were extremely cordial, making one feel as if basking in spring sunshine.

Hao Jianfeng smiled and nodded, pointing somewhat reservedly at the grand chair in the room, saying “Let’s sit and talk,” then continued: “The Elder Madam merely caught a slight cold. My humble wife took the opportunity to bring our son back to see his hometown—he was born in the capital and doesn’t know anyone from our ancestral home.” After speaking of his matters, he asked about Official Cen’s affairs: “How are things? Have all the procedures been completed?”

“Completed, all completed!” Official Cen said with a smile. “It’s all thanks to you. Otherwise, how could I have secured such a good position, and how could the procedures have been completed so quickly?”

“This is also due to your good fortune.” Hao Jianfeng felt very pleased inwardly, but outwardly maintained a modest demeanor. Changing the subject, he mentioned Fifth Master Fu, “…he’s returning home for mourning.”

Official Cen had served as county magistrate for nine years before finding an excuse of “both serving in Shaanxi” to connect with Hao Jianfeng. Since then, his career had progressed smoothly to the rank of prefect. While he wouldn’t claim to know everything about Hao Jianfeng’s affairs, he was well-informed. Recalling how a colleague had once proposed a marriage alliance with Fu’s daughter on behalf of Hao Jianfeng only to be rejected by the Fu family, and Hao Jianfeng’s subsequent coldness toward Secretary Fu, Official Cen assumed Hao Jianfeng was simply getting some satisfaction—Hao Jianfeng was relatively upright and focused on securing a position as a Grand Secretary in the Cabinet. Although he had grievances with the Fu family, he wouldn’t forget public duty for personal reasons or arbitrarily make things difficult for Secretary Fu or seek revenge. That would be too undignified. But if Secretary Fu encountered misfortune, Hao Jianfeng taking some pleasure in it was only human nature.

He was happy to add flowers to the brocade.

“So both gentlemen of the Fu family are returning home for mourning?” Official Cen smiled and said, “You may not know, but the Fu family has been declining year after year. First, their Ninth Miss suddenly died of illness, then their in-law, Scholar Zuo Junjie, suddenly disappeared. People in Huayin are saying that Scholar Zuo had gone mad, wanting to marry the Fu family’s Ninth Miss, and falsely accused her of having an affair with him. Unable to bear the humiliation, the Ninth Miss took her own life. Seeing the situation turn against him, Zuo abandoned his property and fled. To protect the Ninth Miss’s reputation, the Fu family only said she died of illness. Then, their widowed first daughter-in-law, unable to endure the Fu family’s neglect, hanged herself from a beam in the Fu family ancestral hall. Later, a wealthy merchant offered a betrothal gift of thirty thousand taels of silver to marry the Fu family’s Fourteenth Miss… It’s all a mess, not at all like the Fu family of the past.”

The implication was: you, Master Hao, are fortunate not to have married into the Fu family. Otherwise, you would have been burdened by such in-laws!

Hao Jianfeng, however, was inwardly delighted.

It was truly a case of finding without seeking, gaining without effort.

He had been worried about how to investigate the Fu family’s affairs, and now Official Cen had brought it up voluntarily, precisely what he wanted to know.

But Scholar Zuo falsely accused the Fu family’s Ninth Miss of having an affair with him to marry her… Who would act in such a way?

This wasn’t a proposal; it was creating enmity!

He recalled what he had heard before.

Father and daughter estranged… All because Yu Jingxiu and Dignitary Fan’s daughter had a private agreement to break the engagement… Scholar Zuo falsely accused the Fu family’s Ninth Miss of having an affair with him… The Ninth Miss, unable to bear the humiliation, took her own life… The Emperor made arrangements, and the Grand Empress Dowager bestowed marriage upon Zhao Ling and Miss Fu… Yu Jingxiu sought the position of Left Censor in the Ministry of Personnel… The usually low-profile and reclusive Miss Fu petitioned the Emperor, using a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken, placing her third brother-in-law in the position of Left Censor in the Ministry of Personnel…

The thoughts flashed through his mind.

Hao Jianfeng could barely contain his excitement, to the extent that he didn’t hear what Official Cen said afterward. After a brief consideration, he simply asked: “Coming from the west, have you heard rumors that the Marquis of Xiping offended Guizhou Regional Commander Zhao Ling, and that Zhao Ling has been creating obstacles for the Marquis of Xiping at every turn, making his life very difficult?”

“I’ve heard, I’ve heard,” the Official Cen smiled and said. “Not just me, all officials on the northwestern route are discussing this matter! It’s causing quite a stir. That Zhao Ling is truly not one to fear trouble; he’s openly declared his intention to deal with the Marquis of Xiping!”

“Oh!” Hao Jianfeng was quite surprised, raising his eyebrows involuntarily. Leaning forward slightly, he said, “What exactly is this all about? Tell me.”

Official Cen smiled and said: “It’s said that years ago, when Zhao Ling was still a Battalion Commander at Zhuanglang Guard, a distant relative of the Marquis of Xiping—who had no real connection to him—somehow took a fancy to Zhao Ling’s wife. Mrs. Zhao was also a formidable character. She hid herself in the home of the then-Deputy Regional Commander of Gansu, Wang Dan, but left several starving large dogs at her home. The Marquis of Xiping’s relative tried to sneak in under the cover of darkness and was nearly mauled to death. When Zhao Ling found out, he was still not satisfied and traveled a thousand miles in secret to kill the Marquis of Xiping’s relative.”

“The Marquis of Xiping felt he had lost face and caused trouble in the Zhangye area for half a year. Only after the Marquis of Yingchuan had both defeated and persuaded him did the matter finally pass. The Marquis of Xiping had long forgotten about this, but who would have thought that Zhao Ling had remembered all along? He declared he would repay in kind, inciting the new Shaanxi Regional Military Commission Commander-in-Chief Wu Xin to make things difficult for the Marquis of Xiping. Additionally, the Gansu Regional Commander He Fu had long disliked the Marquis of Xiping, leaving him in a wretched state. Thinking that he had no past grievances or recent conflicts with Wu Xin, the Marquis decided to approach him directly. Wu Xin was quite forthright, telling the Marquis of Xiping that he was indebted to Zhao Ling and was now acting on his behalf, with no choice but to comply. This made the Marquis of Xiping tremble with anger, yet he was powerless. He Fu found great pleasure in this, saying that if he ever came to the capital, he would definitely meet with Zhao Ling and also wanted to meet Mrs. Zhao.”

What kind of affairs were these!

Hao Jianfeng could hardly suppress his amusement.

Official Cen sighed and said: “No wonder Zhao Ling climbed to the position of Second Rank in just five or six short years. Just based on this skill alone, one can’t help but be impressed!” He continued, “However, this Zhao Ling is truly bold. At that time, he was just a small Battalion Commander, yet he dared to go alone to Liangzhou to kill someone…” At this point, he couldn’t help but shudder. “Such a person is truly to be feared!”

Hao Jianfeng’s expression changed, and he chatted absent-mindedly with Official Cen for a while before yawning at an appropriate moment.

Hearing this, Official Cen immediately rose to take his leave: “You should rest now. It’s getting late, and I’ll return to the guild hall. I’ll come to see you again in a couple of days—I can stay in the capital for ten days.”

Hao Jianfeng smiled and said a few polite words, had his steward see Official Cen out, and immediately called his attendant: “Prepare the carriage. We’re going to Official Wu’s place.”

Just back, and leaving again!

The attendant grumbled inwardly but didn’t dare delay for a moment. He immediately ordered the carriage driver to prepare the carriage and accompanied Hao Jianfeng to Shi Family Alley.

Official Wu and Madam Wu were discussing countermeasures when they heard that Hao Jianfeng had returned. They immediately welcomed him to the study to talk.

Hao Jianfeng recounted his meeting with Official Cen. Official Wu drew in a sharp breath and pondered: “I’ve also heard that Zhao Ling greatly respects his wife. When he was fighting with the Marquis of Longping in Guizhou, after the Miao people were defeated, the Marquis of Longping sent two beautiful Miao girls to Zhao Ling. Zhao Ling refused them, but the Marquis thought he objected because the girls were Miao. So he spent a large sum to buy two very attractive courtesans from Yangzhou and sent them to Zhao Ling. Although Zhao Ling accepted them, he immediately passed them on to Guangxi Regional Commander Li Zai. Moreover, during these years of fighting on the frontiers, he never visited brothels or patronized prostitutes, and his subordinate officers were also most disciplined in this regard. I think we should carefully consider this matter with the Yu family.”

Hao Jianfeng immediately agreed: “That’s exactly what I think! The stubborn fear the aggressive, and the aggressive fear those who are not afraid of death. I see Zhao Ling as someone not afraid of death. If he targets someone, the consequences won’t be pleasant.”

Official Wu nodded repeatedly.

Fu Tingyun, however, was filled with melancholy.

No wonder he had helped Wu Xin secure the position of Shaanxi Regional Military Commission Commander-in-Chief; he was still thinking about Feng Dahu’s matter.

She hadn’t done anything, and had even severely punished Feng Dahu. Why wouldn’t he let go?

The Marquis of Xiping was from a prestigious family of merit, a military family guarding the border for the Emperor. By recklessly opposing the Marquis of Xiping like this, the Marquis would certainly not let the matter rest. Would this put him in danger?

Thinking of these things, she became restless and immediately sat down to write a letter to Zhao Ling, telling him about what Concubine Wu had said. She also sent Zheng San overnight to Lin Chi’s mansion, asking Lin Chi to deliver the letter to Guizhou. Even so, she still felt uneasy and carefully mulled over Concubine Wu’s words in her mind.

The Marquis of Xiping was in the northwest, and Grand Secretary Yu was from Jiangnan. How did these two families come together?

By acting this way, would Zhao Ling give the impression of “disregarding the bigger picture for personal gain”?

Given their rift with Grand Secretary Yu, would he use this as an opportunity to impeach Zhao Ling?

She was so anxious that she developed a fever.

But compared to Mrs. Yu in Alley Street, her anxiety seemed somewhat insignificant.

“Did the Marquis of Xiping say that? Zhao Ling traveled a thousand miles to kill someone for Miss Fu…” Mrs. Yu watched Grand Secretary Yu pacing back and forth before her, her expression somewhat stunned. She murmured, “Depu incited Zuo Junjie to falsely accuse Miss Fu! How could Zhao Ling let Depu off? I was confused… I didn’t think through these serious implications… Instead, I still hoped we could reconcile with the Zhao family…” At this point, she became anxious and exclaimed to Grand Secretary Yu, “My lord, we cannot let Depu go to the Censorate. If he’s assigned to inspect the nine border areas, what will become of him? Although Zhao Ling comes from a distinguished family, he has wandered the jianghu since childhood and doesn’t have any of the dignity of a gentry family’s son. He’s also narrow-minded. What if he colludes with bandits to harm Depu?” As she spoke, she covered her face and wept, “Depu is our only son!”

Upon hearing this, the veins on Grand Secretary Yu’s forehead bulged as he said: “You cannot continue to indulge him like this! If he continues on this path, it will lead to greater disaster.”

Mrs. Yu didn’t understand Grand Secretary Yu’s words and looked at her husband in bewilderment.

Grand Secretary Yu sighed in exasperation and said: “Tell Depu directly, if Concubine Wu and Miss Fei don’t show any signs within half a year, let Madam Fan return to Nanjing, and we’ll take two more concubines for him.”

Mrs. Yu frowned upon hearing this: “But the eldest grandson from a concubine still…”

“It’s because you’re always concerned about this and that, that he dares to act so presumptuously, holding your weaknesses against you!” Grand Secretary Yu said angrily. “This time, he won’t have his way.” With a cold snort, he added, “The person sent by Third Brother, he dismissed just like that. Our Yu family has been established for a hundred years, and he’s setting a precedent!”

Mrs. Yu listened, about to speak but then stopping herself.

After Grand Secretary Yu left, she went to Yu Jingxiu’s courtyard.