Chapter 2609 - 2582: Arranged Encounter

The emperor said, "There’s a great deal to learn out in the provinces. If he wants to go further, he has to understand how to govern common folk, how to govern the great clans, how to govern the local gentry. Only in places where ’the heavens are high and the emperor is far away,’ and far from the commanderies and prefectural offices, can he rely entirely on his own strength and wits to blend in with and contend against these people. Only then will the network of connections and reputation he cultivates truly belong to him alone."

The emperor said, "Look at Yang Heshu. What sort of reputation does he have now in Xiazhou, and what sort of reputation does he have at court?"

Although he is far from the capital, far from the center of power, in the minds of the ministers his weight is at least as great as Tang He, who entered service in the same cohort, if not greater.

The emperor folded his hands behind his back, his fist faintly clenched. Too many threads are entangled behind Yang Heshu, and the future is uncertain, but Bai Shan, though born into a great clan, has always grown up away from his main family. When the crown prince ascends the throne in future, Bai Shan may turn out to be the purest one of them all.

The emperor thought, assuming he doesn’t grow crooked.

That very evening the emperor deliberately kept the crown prince to dine with him. Father and son ate at the table together, and the emperor brought up this matter, saying to the crown prince, "Bai Shan is still young, with the hot zeal of youth upon him. Where do you think it would be best to send him?"

The crown prince said, "Since he himself isn’t being picky, we can just look at where the next vacancy is and assign him straight there."

The emperor shot him a glance and said, "That’s not how you cultivate talent."

The empress smiled as she ladled them another bowl of rice. "Talk after you’ve eaten."

Bai Shan, meanwhile, finished the work at hand and left the palace. But just as he exited the imperial city, a carriage blocked his way. County Magistrate Guo lifted the curtain and said with a smile, "Lord Bai, the weather is fine today. Why don’t we have a meal together?"

Bai Shan thought it over for a moment and understood at once, so he smiled and nodded.

Seeing this, County Magistrate Guo promptly raised the curtain and invited Bai Shan into the carriage.

Bai Shan handed his horse over to County Magistrate Guo’s attendant, then put his foot on the step and got in.

County Magistrate Guo asked with a smile, "Where would Lord Bai like to eat?"

Bai Shan smiled and said, "Let’s wait a bit."

County Magistrate Guo: Does it really take this long to think of a place to eat? Primus Pavilion, Nine Blessings Building—just pick one at random and he probably wouldn’t even blink.

Only Bai Shan took a rather long time to think; the carriage had already passed one whole ward and he still hadn’t decided, and then the carriage was stopped.

Inside the carriage, County Magistrate Guo heard a familiar voice say, "Why is Lord Bai’s horse with you all?"

County Magistrate Guo: ...

He lifted his gaze and quietly looked at Bai Shan.

Bai Shan gave him a slight smile, lifted the window curtain, and said, "I’m right here."

Manbao dismounted, curiosity piqued, and stepped closer. Her gaze met County Magistrate Guo’s inside the carriage, and she asked in puzzlement, "How come you two are together?"

County Magistrate Guo had already returned to normal; with a smile on his face, he said, "The weather is fine today. I happened to run into Lord Bai and wanted to invite Lord Bai to share a drink."

Manbao would sooner believe ghosts than believe him. Don’t they happen to ’run into’ each other several days every month?

Yet she’d never seen him invite her.

County Magistrate Guo laughed and said, "What a coincidence, we’ve met Lord Zhou as well today. That must be fate. Lord Zhou, why don’t you join us for a drink?"

Manbao glanced at Bai Shan, and Bai Shan gave her a slight nod.

So Manbao handed her own horse over to County Magistrate Guo’s attendant as well, and in a short while there was one more person in the carriage.

Bai Shan picked up the teapot in the carriage, poured her a cup of tea, and asked, "You’re alone?"

"No, Assistant Doctor Duan and the others were with me, but I had them go back first."

Bai Shan casually asked, "How is Young Master Zheng’s injury now?"

"His hair no longer needs to be shaved; he can let it grow out now. The external wounds have already healed, but the internal bruising hasn’t completely dispersed yet, so he still has some trouble speaking at the moment."

County Magistrate Guo also grew serious and asked, "Does Lord Zhou think he’ll be able to sit for the metropolitan examination this year?"

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "When I go tomorrow to give him the needle treatment to awaken the mind and clear the channels, I’ll question him a bit. Then I’ll know."

Having served in office in adjacent posts for many years, County Magistrate Guo was well aware of Zhou Man’s abilities, so he gave a slight nod.

County Magistrate Guo glanced at Bai Shan, smiled faintly, and said, "Has Lord Bai decided where to eat yet?"

Bai Shan simply smiled and said, "Since Lord Guo is the host, naturally Lord Guo should choose. We guests will follow the host’s lead."

County Magistrate Guo didn’t stand on ceremony. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Let’s go to Nine Blessings Building. I hear Nine Blessings Building already has fresh lotus seeds this year. Because of the summer heat, they’ve specially developed several cooling dishes. We can go and try them."

Manbao nodded repeatedly. "It is getting rather hot. My sister-in-law says the shop stopped making steamed pork with rice flour much from the start of the month; instead the new cold noodles are quite popular."

Bai Shan nodded and asked County Magistrate Guo, "Does Nine Blessings Building have cold noodles?"

County Magistrate Guo: "...It should."

The three of them arrived at Nine Blessings Building, their attendants leading the carriage and horses off to be settled, while the waiters recognized County Magistrate Guo, as well as Bai Shan and Zhou Man, and hurried forward to welcome them.

County Magistrate Guo requested a private room, and the three of them sat around the spacious table to order.

County Magistrate Guo, who was not short of money, was very generous. He not only ordered two signature dishes, but also quite a few dishes suited to summer.

He was so generous that Bai Shan and Manbao both felt embarrassed to add anything more, and said to the waiter reciting the menu, "We don’t have anything to add."

County Magistrate Guo just laughed and said, "Lord Bai and Lord Zhou mustn’t stand on ceremony with me."

Bai Shan smiled and said, "It’s not that we’re being polite. It’s that you’ve already ordered enough, Lord Guo. Any more would be wasteful extravagance."

County Magistrate Guo laughed at this and said, "Well said; as expected of someone at His Majesty’s side. I’ll penalize myself one cup."

Manbao had already started writing letters today and had been using her brain too much. She was now a bit hungry and didn’t really feel like thinking. Seeing the complimentary beans and pastries on the table, she didn’t particularly want to eat the filling pastries, so she picked up the stir-fried beans with her chopsticks and ate those instead.

As for why County Magistrate Guo was inviting the two of them as a couple—oh no, inviting Bai Shan to eat, she left that entirely for Bai Shan to deal with, and focused on eating.

At first County Magistrate Guo glanced at her a couple of times, but seeing how focused she was on eating, he soon forgot about her and concentrated on talking with Bai Shan.

As for why he was inviting Bai Shan to a meal?

Of course, that had to wait until the dishes were all on the table.

Once the dishes were served, Manbao became even more focused on eating, and only then did County Magistrate Guo start eating and bring up the vacancies in Chang’an County and Wannian County.

He was currently still the county magistrate of Wannian County, but it was already foreseeable that he would be leaving his post. It was just that no one had expected the county magistrate of Chang’an County to leave office even earlier than he would.

Bai Shan thought for a moment. This wasn’t exactly a secret, and that afternoon he had already drafted the official document for County Magistrate Tang’s promotion and copied it to the Imperial Secretariat for review. He didn’t know whether the review had been completed yet, but Lord Wei had been present at the time, and since he hadn’t voiced any objection on the spot, the matter was practically settled—nine times out of ten it would go through. The review being finalized was just a matter of time.

Even Lord Guo, who hadn’t been present, already knew, so quite a few people must be aware. Thus he said, "The memorial for Lord Tang’s promotion to vice prefect of the capital prefecture has already been submitted, but the successor for Chang’an County’s magistrate has yet to be selected."