"Your Excellency... Your Excellency the Prefect!" The clerk trembled as he approached Prefect Chen.
"What exactly happened? As the person in charge of Ye City, you caused such a big incident, and you didn't even know?" Jiang Ling's official position was far above that of Prefect Chen, and the news of Jiang Ling's promotion of four ranks in two years had already spread within their ranks. Everyone thought that Jiang Ling would soon become a first-rank imperial consort.
Therefore, Prefect Chen was well aware that even if Jiang Ling's official rank was not higher than his at the moment, he still had to treat her with respect.
"This..." Ye Cheng was very frustrated. He had finally managed to please Prefect Chen in the past two days and was even able to get a promotion. But why did he have to run into Lei Qiang causing trouble?
Lord Ye probably doesn't know what kind of person Lei Qiang is. It's just that Lei Qiang has given him a lot of benefits in the past, so most of the time he turns a blind eye to Lei Qiang. As long as things don't escalate, he usually tries to keep the peace.
But now, he has the prefect on his left and the lady-in-waiting on his right. Both of them hold higher positions than him. If he doesn't handle things properly, he might not only lose his chance of promotion, but he might even be demoted!
Thinking of this, Ye Cheng, the person in charge, shuddered. He walked over to Lei Qiang and kicked him hard: "You just want to cause me trouble, don't you?"
Jiang Shan was still a bit dazed from Lei Qiang's beating earlier, and now that he had just recovered, he felt even more aggrieved when he saw his boss kick him.
"Lei Qiang, get out of here! Stop getting in my way!" the manager shouted angrily.
Lei Qiang's stubborn temper flared up, and he started arguing with the person in charge, even revealing each other's past misdeeds.
The scene was incredibly awkward, but Jiang Ling was quite pleased with herself. She turned to the dumbfounded Niu Er, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Let Jiang Shan take you to your room first. I'll handle things here!"
Jiang Shan nodded, picked up Niu Er, and disappeared silently into the crowd.
When they came out of the government office, it was already getting dark. Jiang Ling was very satisfied with the outcome. Not only was Lei Qiang severely scolded by Prefect Chen, but Niu Er's mother would also have someone to take care of her in the future.
As soon as Jiang Ling returned to the inn, the couple from earlier that day came looking for her, looking embarrassed.
"Gong...Gongren, please be magnanimous and don't hold it against us. We really didn't know who you were! Otherwise, we wouldn't have been so impolite!" The man scratched his head and said embarrassedly, while the woman looked at Jiang Ling with some fear.
Jiang Ling grinned helplessly, "I was being presumptuous. Anyone would have done the same! So, have you two thought this through?"
The man nodded repeatedly, explaining, "Yes, yes! My wife and I have discussed it, and we're sure we'll make a fortune by following Gongren!"
Jiang Ling wiped her sweat helplessly and explained, "Um, I can't guarantee you'll get rich, but I can guarantee you'll have a stable job, at least you won't be homeless, and you'll have days off. You'll definitely earn more than you would doing street performances! I don't know about you..."
"Yes, yes!" The man nodded immediately before Jiang Ling could finish speaking.
Jiang Ling smiled and led the two to the inn, giving them a top-tier room.
With everything settled, Jiang Ling was in a good mood. That evening, she specially ordered a large table of dishes so that Niu Er and the couple could get to know each other.
Through conversation, we learned that the man's name was Gu Bei and the woman's given name was Wan Qinfeng, now known as Gu Wanshi. The two had studied acrobatics for several years and were childhood sweethearts. When they reached marriageable age, they naturally got married and traveled around performing for money.
Five days later, Jiang Ling returned to Lujia Village with the three of them. When the carriage slowly stopped at Jiang Ling's house, Niu Er and the Gu couple were all stunned in surprise.
"Boss, this...this is a village?" Niu Er asked, looking at the surrounding facilities with surprise.
The Gu couple's expressions weren't much better; they stared wide-eyed, revealing an air of utter ignorance.
"Of course, this is Lujia Village, but it's now Lujia Town. I'm confident that Lujia Town will soon become Lujia County, or even Luzhou!" Jiang Ling smiled faintly as she stepped off the carriage. The three people behind her followed closely behind.
"Mother, you're back?" Jiang Yaojie hurriedly greeted Jiang Ling when he saw her appear.
"Hmm, where are Xiao Wuzi and Bing Ning and Xue Ning?" Jiang Ling asked.
"They're all in the dorms. Our 'Kelabo' has been getting more and more customers these past few days, all thanks to Xiao Wuzi!" Jiang Yaojie explained excitedly.
"Okay, then I'll take the three of them over now!" Jiang Ling felt a little relieved after hearing Jiang Yaojie's explanation, and then led the Gu couple and Niu Er towards the dormitory.
The dormitory was specially reserved by Jiang Ling when she built "Kelabo". Jiang Ling knew that only places that provide food and lodging would be more attractive, and now she has guessed right!
"Boss, where...where are you taking us?" Although the Gu couple planned to join Jiang Ling's team, they were still a little timid about the unfamiliar environment.
Jiang Ling turned to them and said with a smile, "Didn't you say you'd provide accommodation? I'll take you to your room!"
At first, when Jiang Ling said she would provide accommodation, the couple thought they would just sleep on the floor somewhere in Jiang Ling's house. Unexpectedly, Jiang Ling led them to a row of neat houses.
"Come on, Niu Er, this is your place. You two can stay here!" Jiang Ling said enthusiastically.
"I'll send someone to bring the bedding over in a bit. You all wait here for a while while I go get someone!" Jiang Ling explained before walking to the side.
"Xiao Wuzi! Bingning and Xuening! Come out! We have new friends!" Jiang Ling's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a lot.
Before long, Xiao Wuzi, Bing Ning, and Xue Ning all ran out. The three of them looked at the three unfamiliar people opposite them with curiosity.
"Let me introduce you. This is Xiao Wuzi, who performs ventriloquism. These two sisters play the zither and dance..." Jiang Ling finished her introduction.
They nodded to each other amicably, and Jiang Ling continued to say to Niu Er and the others, "Come backstage tonight and watch how those three perform! Then rest for a day, and then train for five more days before you start performing on stage!"
Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately adopted serious expressions and nodded.
"Alright, you must be tired from your journey. Go back to your rooms and rest! Let's all have dinner together tonight and get to know each other better!" Jiang Ling said before leaving.
After dinner, Jiang Ling led Niu Er and the other two to "Kelabo". Before they even went inside, the three of them were amazed by the facilities at "Kelabo".
Going inside to search was like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden.
Xiao Wuzi's performance, along with Bingning and Xuening's, was an eye-opener for the three of them.
Niu Er looked at Jiang Ling somewhat nervously and said, "Boss, I... am I really capable? I don't think my skills are up to par!"
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