"I say, Lord Pang, you were sent back for such a trivial matter? Don't tell me you can't even handle a small county magistrate. If that's the case, I might as well go and talk to your Lord Li!"
While Ma Wen Gui and his group were causing a ruckus, Wang Chao An swaggered into the main seat of the Pang Manor in the northwest of Yuan City.
The host, Pang Yue, could only respectfully occupy the lowest seat.
"It's not that I'm not trying my best, but it's because this kid's backing is..."
As Pang Yue spoke, he pointed towards the southwest with a hint of helplessness.
Wang Chao An understood perfectly, knowing he was referring to the Han family of Xiangzhou. However, he had no intention of letting it go.
"Lord Pang, you should think carefully. If the Han family is difficult to deal with, do you think my husband is easy to provoke?"
Fang Chao An sneered disdainfully.
"If it were just a county magistrate without any foundation, there wouldn't be any need for so much trouble. Based on Han Mo's actions that day, a simple charge of disrespecting a superior would be enough to deal with him. But the problem is that Han Mo is, after all, a member of the Han family, and this county of Neihuang is simply too close to Xiangzhou..."
Hearing the veiled threat in his words, Pang Yue was in a difficult position.
This was truly a case of being caught between a rock and a hard place.
If he dared to deal with Han Mo on such grounds, he would likely be finished as the Transport Commissioner before he even returned to Yuan City.
"Brother Wang, I really didn't mean that. It's just that if the Han family were to make a fuss about this, it wouldn't look good for husband's reputation either, would it? If someone were to accuse my husband of mistreating the descendant of a loyal subject, wouldn't that also be troublesome?"
Pang Yue said cautiously.
"Are you threatening me, surname Pang? Do you think this matter can be brought up to husband?"
Before he could finish speaking, Wang Chao An's expression turned grim.
"I, I..."
"Let me say it again. If you dare to drag Master Wang into this, let's see how many lives you have to throw away!"
Seeing the intense killing intent on Wang Chao An's face, Pang Yue immediately realized he had spoken out of turn again.
"Brother Wang, please calm down, calm down! I misspoke. This matter has nothing to do with Master."
Although Pang Yue felt incredibly wronged, he didn't dare to argue with Wang Chao An any further at this moment.
"There's nothing to calm down about. If you can't handle this matter, Lord Pang, I think Lord Li would be quite willing to find someone to replace you!"
With a cold snort, Wang Chao An turned and left, showing no regard for Pang Yue.
Watching his retreating back, Pang Yue felt a surge of disgust.
"Pah, what kind of person is he!"
The thought of himself, a dignified official appointed by the court, being berated by a mere subordinate for so long made him feel terribly stifled.
However, if he were to abandon this assignment, he would feel reluctant to do so.
After all, the region of Hebei was becoming increasingly unstable, and all of them, who had followed Wang Ge, had questionable backgrounds.
Now, with a new emperor and new officials, Xu Churen had already begun a large-scale purge.
He knew his own situation; the things he had done over the years were such that he deserved to be executed by slow slicing.
If he didn't seize this opportunity to be transferred out, staying here would be a sure path to death.
But there were only so many officials in the world, and even if he were willing to be demoted and retained, there weren't many positions that could accommodate him!
Yuan City was the seat of Dameng Prefecture, and with the Transport and Garrison Commanderies located in the same city, the news naturally couldn't be kept secret.
Xu Churen had already dealt with most of the arrogant and powerful generals in the army, and the next step was local governance.
This matter was his last chance.
If Xu Churen began investigating them, it would be too late.
"Master, it's late. The second wife requests you to rest in the back courtyard..."
"Get out! All of you, get out!"
The servant's words instantly ignited Pang Yue's rage.
Furious, Pang Yue overturned the table in front of him without thinking. Seeing his ashen face, the servants attending outside quickly retracted their heads and slipped away...
The sun slowly rose again, and under the nascent dawn, the glazed tiles of the Shenxiao Wanshou Palace shone resplendently.
Listening to the bell chimes from the Taoist temple and the chanting of the morning scriptures by the Taoist priests, even laymen like Ma Wen Gui had to admit that, if other factors were disregarded, the Shenxiao Wanshou Palace indeed possessed a celestial grandeur.
"Master, many pilgrims have arrived outside! They all say they want to pay their respects to you. What do you think..."
Wang Daolu was sleeping soundly with a naked beauty in his arms when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.
"What did you say? Pilgrims? What time is it? Did you turn them away?"
Having been up all night the previous night, he had only managed to fall asleep as dawn broke. Being disturbed now, how could Wang Daolu have a good temper?
"B-but all the prominent figures of Neihuang County have come..."
Hearing him start to lose his temper through the window, the young disciple outside was filled with apprehension. However, thinking of the identities of those pilgrims, he steeled himself and spoke.
"What did you say?"
Hearing this, Wang Daolu no longer cared about the woman. He didn't even have time to put on his clothes, just hastily throwing on a robe, he got up.
"Everyone of note in Neihuang County has arrived, a vast crowd, perhaps dozens of people..."
With just a glance at the woman's fair skin on the bed, the young disciple immediately lowered his head.
"It's not a festival or holiday, why are they here? Has something happened recently?"
Wang Daolu was somewhat bewildered. In the past, it was difficult to even get them to accept an invitation.
But today, without any special occasion, these fat sheep were flocking to him. At this moment, he was truly puzzled, what were these people up to?
"I haven't heard of anything..."
The young disciple was also at a loss. After all, Neihuang County was not that large. If something were happening, how could they not know about it?
"Ask them to wait in the refectory and have some vegetarian food. I'll be right there!"
Although he didn't know what these people were here for, since they had come to his doorstep, he couldn't possibly avoid them.