Wang Zhong, who was standing next to Song Liyun, worried that she might not understand, explained from the side: "The Tongpan and Tongzhi of the prefectural government are sixth-rank civil officials, only one rank lower than the fifth-rank prefect. It would be a waste of their talents to appoint them as seventh-rank magistrates in Qili County."

They must want to fight over this matter.

If the case were to proceed to court, Miss Song would likely need to appear as the victim.

When the time comes, you only need to say that Tianxianglou broke into your private residence without cause and that you have the right to kill them. The rest will be handled by the garrison.

This case will definitely take some more time before it goes to trial.

"Suijin Town is the victim; at the very least, we need to capture the main culprit, Hong Jingtian, first."

Wang Zhong's detailed explanation was merely a precautionary measure, allowing Song Liyun to take preventative measures to avoid Hong Jingtian resorting to desperate measures and harming the Song family again.

Taking this opportunity, Song Liyun asked Wang Junxu to explain the administrative divisions of Yunzhou in Wuchao.

The northern Yunzhou consisted of two prefectures and one city: the Northwest Pingyang Prefecture and the Northeast Qing'an Prefecture, where Hecheng was located.

Yicheng is Hecheng, the location of the Zhenbei Commander's and Zhenbei Marquis's residence, and also the administrative center of Yunzhou.

Each prefectural government office had a fifth-rank civil official, the prefect, and the assistant prefect and vice-prefect.

The Tongpan was the deputy to the Zhifu (prefect), in charge of criminal law, and was usually appointed from among the sixth-rank officials in the capital.

Now, Pingyang Prefecture has somehow found a sixth-rank Tongpan (assistant prefect) to go to Qili County, which is definitely going to give the Zhenbei Army of Suijin Town a hard time.

Having learned the whole story, Song Liyun already had a clear idea in her mind.

This is yet another contest between the Zhenbei Army and the government.

To outsiders, everything seemed to stem from a personal feud between Tianxianglou and the Song family, as well as Tianxianglou's attempt to seize control of the acorn business in Suijin Town.

However, personal grudges are based on hearsay and lack evidence.

The only connection is that torn-up acorn starch contract.

Upon closer examination, it can only be considered a business dispute caused by Hong Jingtian deliberately exploiting his partners for petty gains.

Only Song Liyun and Luo Bairen knew that what truly led to their deaths was the Wan family's smuggling of furs.

In this situation, as long as the Wan family doesn't leak the information, no matter how they investigate, Suijin Town and Song Liyun will be innocent victims.

It is only right for the garrison to punish evildoers, and even if the punishment is too severe, the government cannot do anything about it.

Seeing that Song Liyun understood the key points with just a little guidance, Luo Baihu and Wang Zhong exchanged a smile, their joy beyond words.

This is a smart child!

After discussing Tianxiang Tower, the group brought up other things.

Zhao Tingduo, who was standing next to her, remained silent.

Just as Wang Zhong asked Song Liyun what her cardboard box factory did and whether she had enough manpower, Zhao Tingduo spoke up: "Wang Junxiong, Miss Song's paper mill doesn't need many people. It would be more appropriate to select a few veterans from the garrison."

Garrison?

A glint flashed in Wang Zhong's eyes, but Song Liyun frowned, not wanting to get entangled with the garrison at every turn.

Although Zhao Ashi is good-looking, he's just too much trouble and annoying.

Why can't I just quietly be a handsome man?

If he says another word, I'll hang him on the wall as a wall hanging.

At this moment, what she wanted to know most was: who exactly was Zhao Ashi, that he could speak in Luo Baihu's office?

Song Liyun straightened her face and looked at Zhao Tingduo seriously, asking, "Who exactly are you? Are you from the grasslands? How do you know about the Wan family?"

The room fell silent.

Zhao Tingduo looked at Luo Baihu.

Song Liyun shifted her gaze from Zhao Tingduo's face to Luo Baihu; she needed an answer from the garrison.

Luo Baihu's face was covered in a thick beard, making his expression unreadable, but his sharp gaze was fixed on Song Liyun.

Everyone looked at each other, and the atmosphere was awkward.

Wang Zhong glanced at Zhao Tingduo and saw him shake his head almost imperceptibly, realizing that Song Liyun was unaware of the truth, and he immediately felt reassured.

The identity of the Di people is a taboo in Suijin Town and must not be exposed, but Song Liyun clearly had doubts.

It is said that if you doubt someone, you should not use them; if you use someone, you should not doubt them. If you want Song Liyun to continue trading, you can't keep the source of the furs a secret forever.

However, Wang Zhong could not say that the garrison had direct contact with the Di people.

If this gets out, given how the court is making things difficult for the Zhenbei Army, as soon as the charge of the Suijin Guards colluding with foreign enemies is brought up...

Even if Luo Baihu were to be beheaded, it would be too lenient. The Zhenbei Army would definitely face another round of impeachments, and the generals of various garrisons would also be purged.

Wang Zhong thought for a moment before slowly speaking: "Miss Song, to be honest, the Zhenbei Army has set up some scouts on the grasslands and occasionally makes contact with the Di tribes."

Song Liyun glanced at Zhao Tingduo thoughtfully, thinking to herself: It seems they got the furs from the tribe.

Wang Zhong added: "These scouts travel back and forth at any time, and sometimes it is inconvenient for them to appear at the garrison."

Song Liyun finally realized what was happening and pointed at the composed Zhao Tingduo, saying, "Zhao Ashi is the Nightless Man of the Broken Gold Guard?"

Song Liyun first heard the term "night owl" from Zhou Xiaoqi.

The cavalry on the Dilu grasslands came and went unpredictably, and the Wuchao garrison couldn't just stand by and wait for the enemy to approach; they also needed intelligence.

The Zhenbei Army would occasionally send out some knights to roam the grasslands. Once they discovered any Di tribes or bandits near the border, they would immediately report back to the garrison.

These people were not all soldiers; they could be border residents or slaves who had escaped from Di tribes. They often traveled in groups of two or three horses and did not return home at night, and were known as the "Never-Night People."

They were special scouts, unlike the mysterious undercover agents Song Liyun had imagined.

When Wang Zhong mentioned scouting on the grasslands, that was the first thing that came to her mind.

He was also somewhat dissatisfied: it would have been better if he had just said he was a garrison soldier. He was being so mysterious, and he was glad he hadn't offended anyone.

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