"Familiar? Has the general been here before?" Lian Yingtong asked.
"I don't remember." Gu Jingheng finished speaking, a slight smile playing on his lips, before turning and leaving.
Lian Ying was left standing there, looking embarrassed and remorseful.
Deputy General Ge Xianshun watched Gu Jingheng walk away, then approached Lian Yingtong and asked, "General Lian, what's wrong with our general?"
"I... I misspoke." Lian Yingtong was filled with remorse, her lips pressed tightly together.
"Huh?" Ge Xianshun was puzzled.
Where did we break any taboos in those few sentences of conversation?
Ge Xianshun couldn't understand it.
But Lian Yingtong didn't bother to explain, and instead shook her head and sighed as she went to chase after Gu Jingheng.
Xu Meng turned around expressionlessly to follow, but Ge Xianshun grabbed his arm.
"Hey, don't go. Tell me what the general and General Lian were talking about just now. I didn't understand anything."
"It's normal that you don't understand. How long have you been by the general's side?"
After saying that, he slapped away Ge Xianshun's big hand and chased after Lian Yingtong.
Ge Xianshun was left scratching his head in confusion: "I've only been with the general for a year, so what! You guys have just been with the general the longest, what's so great about that!"
At the west gate of Yongning City, Gu Jingheng and his entourage, disguised as merchants, followed the procession of the common people into the city.
"Although Yongning City isn't very big, it's quite lively." Ge Xianshun looked around.
The streets were bustling with people, and small vendors moved about among them.
"This place also suffered from famine two years ago. There were continuous heavy snows in winter and droughts in summer, so crops didn't grow well and there was no grain to pay taxes. It was Prefect Sun Chengye who first petitioned His Majesty to reduce taxes and requested that the granaries be opened to distribute grain to relieve the disaster victims. Because he acted quickly and decisively and provided timely disaster relief, not too many people became disaster victims, and the disaster situation was quickly stabilized, allowing the people to return to normal life faster than in other prefectures." Lian Yingtong whispered the information he had gathered to Gu Jingheng.
“Sun Chengye is quite capable as an official,” Gu Jingheng nodded. “Compared to the other prefectures, the difference is indeed noticeable once you enter the border of Qingshui County.”
Qingshui County was originally the smallest and poorest of the four northern prefectures, but after Sun Chengye took over, its status rose to second place among the four prefectures in just four years.
Gu Jingheng led Lian Yingtong and the others, chatting and strolling along the way, and finally arrived at Lingyue Tower, which was said to be the largest restaurant in Yongning City.
Inside Lingyue Tower.
Manager Wen stood behind the counter calculating accounts, glancing at the door every now and then, always ready to greet guests who appeared to be of high status.
So when Gu Jingheng stepped into the shop, Manager Wen immediately greeted him with a smile.
"Distinguished guests, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"
"Shopkeeper, do you have any guest rooms?" Lian Yingtong asked, then paused and quickly added, "I want clean, spacious and bright ones."
"Yes, yes, yes, the guest rooms are clean and hygienic. The bedding, cups, bowls, and saucers are all cleaned and replaced in a timely manner, so guests can rest assured."
"Give our master a superior room, and the remaining three ordinary rooms," Lian Yingtong said.
“No need,” Gu Jingheng said, smiling at Manager Wen, “I’d like four superior rooms.”
Shopkeeper Wen immediately beamed and led the way, saying, "Yes, yes! There are only four rooms left. Our customers are truly destined to have this shop!"
As a businessman, he keenly noticed that the man at the head of the group was dressed more luxuriously than the others, and was taciturn with a cold demeanor, clearly the center of the group.
"The upper rooms are upstairs, please follow me. Our shop provides a free breakfast for guests in the upper rooms every morning. You can tell us what you would like to eat."
Upon arriving at the fourth floor, Manager Wen opened the four connected upper rooms one by one.
Gu Jingheng stepped into the house first. In the middle was the living room, and opposite the door was a window. Under the window was a small table with a bamboo stool on each side. Looking down from the window, one could see Lingque Street, which they had just walked through. In the middle of the living room was a round table with several round stools, and a tea set was placed on the table. The left side of the living room was separated by a curtain, which was drawn up during the day and lowered when in use. On the right side of the living room was a desk and a multi-compartment cabinet against the wall.
All four main rooms have the same layout.
Lian Yingtong took out a ten-tael silver ingot and placed it in Manager Wen's palm. Manager Wen respectfully accepted it, closed the door, and left.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Gu Jingheng sat down on the bamboo stool by the window, looked at Lian Ying and the other two, and slowly nodded.
Lian Yingtong, Ge Xianshun, and Xu Meng exchanged glances.
Then, Ge Xianshun suddenly seemed deflated, stretching as he walked to the table. "Ah, after sleeping outdoors for several days, I can finally lie in bed again."
Ge Xianshun, no longer standing upright, slumped down at the table in a very unladylike manner, reached for the kettle to pour water, but found nothing.
"Shopkeeper, why is there no water!"
A moment later, a knocking sound was heard outside the door. Manager Wen came upstairs with a waiter and said outside the door, "The water that was just boiled has been brought up to the guests."
Xu Meng, who had been silent all along, stepped forward and opened the door, letting Manager Wen and the waiter in.
Manager Wen and the waiter didn't look around at all. They just filled the teapot with water, poured the rest into the washbasin on the shelf by the door, and then left.
Lian Yingtong had been watching the actions of Manager Wen and the others the whole time. Only when the sound of their footsteps going downstairs disappeared did he walk up to Gu Jingheng and whisper, "General, we didn't find anything unusual. They probably don't know our identities. They're just ordinary restaurant merchants."
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