Chapter 56 The Sycophant
The morning mist in Suzhou had not yet completely dissipated when a row of carriages had already lined up outside the Princess's Mansion.
Pei Zhiwei stood below the steps, wearing an apricot-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with delicate embroidery on the hem.
Xiao Wanyao tugged at Xiao Yunzhan's arm, her eyes reddening, and said with reluctance, "If you can't stay peacefully in Yangdu, send me a message immediately. Don't be stubborn."
Steward Lin is one of my trusted confidants; he came with me from the palace. If you need anything, just ask him.
Xiao Yunzhan was also reluctant to leave, but he had no choice but to go. He patted the princess's hand and coaxed her softly.
"I know, Third Sister. I'm not a three-year-old. How could I let myself be wronged?"
But you, stop worrying about us all the time and take better care of yourself.
If anything goes wrong, be sure to send me a message.
Pei Zhiwei stood to the side, watching the siblings talk, and felt a strange feeling in her heart.
She herself has cousins who married far away, and she hasn't seen them for a long time. Do they also miss their families as much as the princess does?
As I thought about it, I felt a lump in my throat and quickly turned my head to look elsewhere.
Gu Boheng stood beside the carriage. "Your Highness, Lord Pei, please take care on your journey."
I've already spoken to Yangzhou; if Suzhou Prefecture needs any cooperation, just send someone to deliver a message.
Xiao Yunzhan nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, brother-in-law. I'll leave it to you to keep a close eye on things in Suzhou, especially the follow-up to Suhetang. Make sure there are no more problems."
"Don't worry, I understand."
"Also, brother-in-law, you must remember that you are now a member of the royal family and the son-in-law of the emperor. How can you allow the mere Zhang family to act so arrogantly on your territory?"
His Majesty's decree reprimanding the Zhang family this time is to support you.
You mustn't let His Majesty's painstaking efforts go to waste.
Gu Boheng: "Don't worry, I understand His Majesty's intentions. I will make sure they put away their inappropriate thoughts and engrave the word 'rules' into their very bones."
Before we knew it, the luggage had been moved.
Pei Zhiwei was afraid that if they didn't finish moving Xiao Yunzhan, they would run out of arguments. Right now, they didn't have any concrete evidence and couldn't do anything to the Zhang and Gu families.
Fortunately, Zhu Qing, the deputy leader of the Taihu Gang, had mentioned that their superiors were fighting amongst themselves.
Regardless of whether the Zhang and Gu families were involved, Xiao Yunzhan and his father's intention was to stir things up first.
Neither of them are good people anyway, so the fiercer the fight, the more advantageous it is for them.
Xiao Wanyao wanted to give a few more words of advice, but the morning mist gradually dissipated and the sun had already risen.
Fearing they would be late, Xiao Yunzhan had no choice but to persuade her, "Third Sister, we should go."
The group boarded the carriage.
When the carriage curtain was lowered, Pei Zhiwei saw Xiao Wanyao standing at the gate of the mansion wiping away tears.
Just as the carriage was about to turn the corner, the figure finally couldn't hold back anymore and cried as she tried to chase after her younger brother, but was stopped by the prince consort who held her in his arms.
The carriage moved steadily, and no one spoke along the way.
On the morning of the fourth day, when they were still two miles from Yangdu, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves ahead.
Pei Zhiwei lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw several horses parked by the roadside, with about a dozen people standing beside them.
They looked like ordinary people, but their posture was quite neat, not like they had just randomly gathered together.
"Are the people from Yangdu here to greet us?" Yan Jinghong also woke up and leaned over to take a look.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a man from the group of people came running over quickly.
He stopped a few steps away from the carriage, a smile plastered on his face, his voice booming.
"Is that His Highness Prince Rui's carriage? I am Zhang Xuren, the Prefect of Yangdu, here to welcome His Highness!"
Xiao Yunzhan got out of the car first, followed by Pei Zhiwei and Pei Lin.
The man quickly bowed, bending lower than the average person.
"Your humble servant Zhang Xuren, Prefect of Yangdu, greets Your Highness Prince Rui!"
The dozen or so people behind him also bowed, and a chorus of "Greetings, Your Highness!" and "Greetings, Lord Pei!" filled the air.
Pei Zhiwei's eyelids twitched. Were these people so afraid that others wouldn't know they were there to flatter him?
Such a big commotion, and they're shouting so loudly?
Is this a desperate gamble?
Xiao Yunzhan reached out a hand to help him up, saying, "Lord Zhang, there's no need for such formalities. I'm just passing through Yangdu to investigate some matters, so how could I trouble you all to come and pick me up?"
Zhang Xuren: "I heard yesterday that Your Highness was arriving today, so I made a special appointment with my brothers to come and welcome you."
"It's not some kind of official etiquette; it's just that we officials genuinely respect Your Highness and want to see your majesty in person."
Pei Zhiwei's lips twitched involuntarily upon hearing this. The flattery was too blatant, without any attempt at concealment.
She stood behind Xiao Yunzhan, secretly observing Zhang Xuren.
The man was about fifty years old, dressed in a dark brown casual suit, and his hair was neatly combed and tied up with a wooden hairpin.
When he smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, and he held a folding fan in his hand with a rough landscape painting on the fan. He looked more like a kind and gentle landlord than a powerful governor.
Pei Lin bowed to Zhang Xuren and said, "Pei Lin greets Lord Zhang."
"Oh, Brother Pei, we met once in Andu many years ago. I never expected to see you again today. You are still as charming as ever." Zhang Xuren returned the greeting with clasped hands, and his smile became even more cordial when he looked at Pei Zhiwei.
"This must be my niece."
I've long heard that Brother Pei has a daughter who is exceptionally intelligent and has helped His Highness solve many cases. Meeting her today, I can confirm her extraordinary bearing!
Pei Zhiwei maintained the standard demeanor of a noble lady from a prominent family, "Lord Zhang, you flatter me. I was merely assisting His Highness and my father."
"Even as a mere assistant, you're incredibly capable. Madam Pei is far too modest!"
As Zhang Xuren spoke, he turned to Xiao Yunzhan.
"Your Highness, I have prepared wine and food at my residence, as well as clean guest rooms. If you and Lord Pei do not mind, please come and rest at my residence first?"
Xiao Yunzhan: "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Zhang, but I had already visited Princess Zhaohua earlier."
The princess was worried that I would not be able to adapt to the climate and water in Yangdu, so she specifically instructed me to stay at the princess's villa.
As you know, I dare not disobey the princess's wishes.
Therefore, we will not disturb your visit.
Zhang Xuren's smile remained unchanged. "Oh dear! Her Highness the Princess is so thoughtful!"
That villa, I know, is indeed much more suitable than my own residence!
As Zhang Xuren spoke, he made a "please" gesture.
"Your Highness, shall we enter the city first?"
The morning market has just opened, and the streets are bustling. If Your Highness doesn't mind, I can tell you about some of the latest happenings in Yangdu.
The group headed towards the villa.
Zhang Xuren talked nonstop the whole way, from Yangzhou tea to canal boats, and then to Yuhuchun restaurant.
"Your Highness, Yu Hu Chun Restaurant in Yangdu is known as the 'Number One Restaurant in Guangling,' and its chefs are brought in from the capital!"
"I have already made reservations. I would like to invite Your Highness, Lord Pei, and Lady Pei to come and have a meal tonight, as a welcome dinner for Your Highness."
Xiao Yunzhan smiled and nodded: "I have long heard of the fame of Yuhuchun. Then I will trouble Lord Zhang."
A gilded plaque hangs at the entrance of the villa, which reads "Yaoguang Garden".
An elderly steward, around fifty years old, stood at the entrance. Upon seeing the carriage arrive, he quickly came forward to greet it.
"This old servant, Lin Fu, greets Your Highness, Lord Pei, and Governor Zhang."
Xiao Yunzhan: "Manager Lin, there's no need for such formalities."
Zhang Xuren: "Then this humble official will not delay Your Highness's rest any longer. Your Highness, please remember, it is late afternoon today."
The group first sat down in the hall of the east courtyard. Lin Fu had tea and snacks brought in, and said something like "please let me know if you need anything" before leaving.
Once the courtyard quieted down, Xiao Yunzhan picked up his teacup and slowly asked, "What do you all think of Zhang Xuren?"
Pei Lin laughed and said, "Yangdu is a place with excellent feng shui. Many powerful families are eyeing this location."
He's capable of holding onto his position as governor; how could he be a mere sycophant and flatterer?
Otherwise, it would have been devoured to the last crumb.
Pei Zhiwei quickly chimed in, "I find it strange too!"
He made such a big fuss the whole way, as if he was afraid people would misunderstand him as someone who wasn't a fool.
Xiao Yunzhan smiled and took a sip of tea: "He's pretending on purpose. He can only lower people's guard by pretending to be a good-for-nothing who only knows how to flatter and doesn't care about important matters."
"But isn't he overdoing it? Anyone with eyes can tell he's faking it."
This is what Pei Zhiwei can't understand the most. His current behavior is like having the words "I'm a fool, I'm just pretending" written all over his face.
Why bother?
“Isn’t this just like us?” Pei Lin interjected.
"We'll use the excuse of sightseeing to let those in the shadows know that we don't really want to get involved in this case."
However, the successive cracking of several major cases also showed them that we were not incompetent.
He used this situation today to tell us that he would not hinder our investigation into the Uyghur caravan.
However, his appointment as the governor of Yangdu was not due to true incompetence.
Pei Zhiwei was almost completely confused, but suddenly she felt a surge of admiration. Her mother was right; there were no good people in officialdom.
It seems that this trip to Yangzhou is even more complicated than the trip to Suzhou. We need to be more careful in the future.
After resting for an afternoon, Lin Fulai reported in the evening: "Your Highness, Lord Zhang sent someone to ask if it's time to go to Yuhuchun. He's already waiting there."
Xiao Yunzhan glanced at the sky. "Let's go. We can go see the night view of Yangdu."
Everyone changed into their banquet attire.
Pei Zhiwei wore an orange ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), while Xiao Yunzhan wore a moon-white casual robe with delicate cloud patterns embroidered on the collar, looking more gentle than usual.
Pei Lin wore a dark blue long robe paired with a jade crown and belt that Pei Zhiwei had bought in the capital, while Yan Jinghong wore a light purple one; both looked refreshing.
Xiao Yunzhan looked at Pei Lin's outfit and felt that it looked somewhat familiar.
After a moment's thought, he unconsciously raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this exactly the same set of tactics that Pei Zhiwei had used on him when they were investigating a case at Linglong Pavilion?
***
Yu Hu Chun Restaurant is located on the main street of Yangzhou. Two large red lanterns hang at the entrance, illuminating half of the street.
During the banquet, Zhang Xuren was very good at finding topics to talk about and could chat about anything.
Xiao Yunzhan never allowed him to utter a single word.
After a few rounds, it was a complete waste of breath.
Pei Zhiwei was used to such occasions. As long as she maintained the demeanor of a noble lady from a prominent family, ate and drank well, and behaved herself as a refined and elegant woman, she was fine.
After a few rounds of drinks, everyone was having a lively conversation.
Suddenly, a sharp clang of weapons clashing and the crashing of tables and chairs breaking came from outside, along with panicked shouts.
Pei Zhiwei's heart tightened. Before she could react, she heard a loud "bang" as a dark figure smashed the carved wooden door of the private room into pieces, sending wood chips flying everywhere!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com