The magistrate explained, "I don't know which one is the Pei Xuan you are looking for, so it may take a little while. Please be patient, sir."
Tie Xiong said, "Hurry up."
The magistrate nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, inside Tianxiang Tower, Xu Yuehuai was contemplating the layout. She had a vague idea in mind: to display pastries on the first floor and create a rest area on the second floor where people could relax, listen to music, and enjoy the breeze when they got tired of eating. She sketched a few lines on paper and then went to sleep.
The next day she began to oversee the renovations on the other side, but soon encountered another problem.
When the staff were setting up the tables, Xu Yuehuai noticed a strange smell in the room. At first, she thought it was because one of the staff members was lazy and hadn't washed his feet, which was the smell.
But after the staff had set up the table and left, they found that the smell still lingered in the room.
Completely baffled, she went to consult with Third Sister to see if she had any clues.
"Third Sister, can you smell it? There seems to be a strange smell in the room." Xu Yuehuai walked up behind Third Sister and patted her back as she asked.
“I smelled it too, but I couldn’t find it after searching for a long time. At first, I thought it was something rotten, but the kitchen here is cleaner than the faces of those workers, so it can’t be anything rotten.” When Xu Yuehuai asked her, San Niang also gave a long explanation.
After hearing this, Xu Yuehuai followed this line of thought and happened to see a garbage truck parked on the side of the road.
"Third Sister, look at that swill cart. Isn't that the smell coming from it?" Xu Yuehuai said, pointing to the swill cart outside.
"That's right, that's the smell, it's awful." Third Sister leaned forward and then pinched her nose as she answered.
The smell made Xu Yuehuai a little unhappy. It seemed that this swill truck always stopped here. What should she do? It would affect the appetite of the people in the shop.
We need to think of a way to see if we can solve this.
Once the tables were all set up, everyone left, and Xu Yuehuai was about to close the door and leave.
The second floor was fine, but the smell on the first floor was particularly strong, so she didn't close the door, intending to ventilate it and let the smell dissipate before going straight back to Tianxianglou.
In the evening, after having dinner, Anan strolled around the doorway and then sat down to admire the moon.
Suddenly, he twitched his nose and noticed a smell coming from across the street. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was the smell of mold.
He quickly ran over to take a look. The first floor was newly decorated and looked brand new. It shouldn't have this smell. He frowned.
Anan carefully searched the house for the source of the smell, only to find that it was the smell of the table.
"That shouldn't be the case. This table is brand new, so how can it smell musty?" Anan was very puzzled.
Just as he squatted down, he noticed that the table was full of pits and dents. The table was so badly damaged, yet they had painted it with a layer of paint to pass it off as good.
He examined the other tables more closely and confirmed that they were just rotten, broken tables that had been repainted. They looked new, but in reality, they were old and worn out and definitely unusable.
Once Anan confirmed the matter of the table, he rushed over to tell Xu Yuehuai.
At the county government office, after some trouble, they finally identified Pei Xuan. However, Pei Xuan couldn't be taken up there in his current state, so the head of the yamen runners quickly sent someone to fetch a new set of clothes for him to change into, and also sent someone to wash his face.
Pei Xuan knew perfectly well that someone had come to rescue him; otherwise, these people wouldn't have changed their tune so quickly.
Fortunately, Tie Xiong arrived in time; otherwise, Pei Xuan might have truly suffered the humiliation inflicted by those constables.
Pei Xuan waved his hand and said, "It's alright, let's leave it at that. Let the newcomers see what kind of people are in this government office."
Upon hearing this, the head constable and the others were on the verge of tears. They knelt down and kowtowed several times, saying, "Sir, please forgive us. We have elderly parents and young children to support. Please be more lenient with us."
They had naturally received a report from the yamen runners ahead. Even the county magistrate was so polite to the newcomer, so the person in front of them must be either rich or noble. They had really kicked a hornet's nest.
Before he could finish regretting it, the constables became anxious and said, "Isn't it ready yet? We still need to take the men back to report."
The head constable's face turned ashen. He knew that if Pei Xuan went to the front and exaggerated his story, his own fate would be sealed.
Pei Xuan remained silent, straightened his clothes, snorted coldly, and went to the courtroom.
"So you're Pei Xuan?" the magistrate asked, looking at him with a hint of disdain.
Because in the short time it took to make the announcement, his advisor had already found out who Pei Xuan was.
Pei Xuan—a high-ranking official in the court, has now betrayed the country and colluded with the enemy. Naturally, there's no need to be polite to a traitor.
"It is indeed I, the official." Pei Xuan had long been angered by their actions over the past two days. Putting aside the fact that he was a minister in the court, even an ordinary citizen should not be treated like this. It seems that those people are used to being lawless.
The magistrate remained silent, calmly awaiting Pei Xuan's next words.
"It seems the magistrate is quite powerful, oh no, your subordinates are even more powerful, able to order my execution directly." Pei Xuan said, his face turning cold.
After the magistrate learned of his identity, he became arrogant again: "He's just a traitor who has colluded with the enemy. What's there to be so arrogant about? Of course, everyone should kill such a traitor."
After speaking, he slammed the gavel again and said to Tie Xiong, "This is the person you want to save? A traitor. I don't think you're any better."
"What did you say?" Tie Xiong immediately stood up, his face twitching as he was about to make a move.
Pei Xuan waved his hand, signaling him to calm down, and Tie Xiong sat down with a sullen expression.
Unexpectedly, the county magistrate was so absurd that he felt completely at a loss.
Pei Xuan was naturally furious upon hearing the magistrate's words, but he still managed to persuade Tie Xiong to leave and said:
“The Regent has now returned to the Central Plains. Doesn’t that prove he hasn’t betrayed the country? If he hasn’t betrayed the country, then we are not traitors either.” He spoke each word through gritted teeth, extremely angry.
The magistrate was about to continue his mockery, but he hadn't had a chance to say it.
"The prince has arrived." Tie Xiong tugged at Pei Xuan, who was still angry.
Pei Xuan then noticed that Qi Guze had entered the county magistrate's hall.
"Well, Magistrate of Luoping County, you have quite the airs of an official, daring to slander a high-ranking official in public." Qi Guze happened to hear the absurd things the magistrate had just said.
"This humble official dares not." When the county magistrate saw that the regent had really arrived, and after looking at his expression, he was immediately filled with fear.
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