Chapter 511: Unfriendly Visitors

The entire group consisted of about fifty yamen officials and a brand-new, luxurious carriage. It moved in a grand procession, standing out sharply on the streets—both eye-catching and imposing.
On both sides of the road, passersby quickly stepped aside, and vendors carefully pulled their stalls back. The chaotic scene made the young woman inside the carriage, dressed in glittering clothes adorned with gold, luster, and jade hues, giggle with delight.
Next to her was a middle-aged man in his early forties, thin-built, with a handlebar mustache, wearing a brocade robe. Like the young woman, he also lifted the carriage curtain to look outside, but his focus was quite different.
The young woman enjoyed the embarrassment of pedestrians and vendors, savoring the sense of reverence as everyone made way for her. Meanwhile, though the middle-aged man also felt the aura of authority, his attention was mostly on the shops along the road.
Anyone with a bit of judgment could guess that one of them was Zhang Yuquan, the prefect of Tailiang Prefecture, and the other was likely his favored concubine.
“Stop!”
Suddenly, the middle-aged man raised his arm and shouted authoritatively. The coachman promptly pulled the reins, and with a neigh, the carriage came to a halt. The lead officer also raised his arm, and the entire group of yamen officials stopped as well.
At the center of the group, a plump, fair-skinned middle-aged man in official robes dismounted carefully from a small black horse. The horse let out a contented neigh as it straightened out after being compressed.
“Sir, what are you doing here?” The plump man smiled, but outwardly, he seemed more like a corrupt official. In contrast, Zhang Yuquan appeared sharp and authoritative, giving off the image of an able administrator.
Yet, this plump man, who dared not ride a large horse, was one of the few capable and honest officials in the Great Han Kingdom. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuquan’s greed and incompetence earned him a notorious reputation among the thousand prefects of the country.
“County Magistrate Hu, is this an inn?” Zhang Yuquan’s gaze shifted toward the Lin’s Inn slightly further back.
“Yes, yes, it’s an inn. Unfortunately, business isn’t good, and the owner plans to close it down,” Hu Changyong nodded repeatedly, wiping sweat from his forehead with a worried expression. “Sir, the weather is hot. In my opinion, we should head back to the county yamen as soon as possible.”
“There’s no rush. This inn seems quite large—rare even in the prefectural city. Why isn’t business good?” Zhang Yuquan asked calmly.

“Your Excellency, what you don’t know is that the owner of this inn doesn’t know how to run a business. It’s supposed to be an inn, but it insists on treating diners as its main customers. Moreover, the chef’s skills are poor, and the staff are lazy. That’s why business has been declining steadily, until they finally had to consider closing down.”
Hu Changyong explained while wiping sweat from his forehead. The sweat on his forehead wouldn’t go away no matter how hard he wiped it. The hot weather was a major factor, but the bigger reason was that Zhang Yuquan had chosen Lin’s Inn.
Hu Changyong knew that a few months ago, Lin’s Inn had given him some silver. By his usual standards, such money should have been confiscated. But when he sent officials to investigate, they found that Lin’s Inn paid fairly high wages to its staff and chefs, hired a large number of them, and used high-quality wood in building the inn. Not only did it never cause any disturbance to the locals, but it also often helped nearby beggars. It was a legitimate inn, so he returned the silver.
Since he had sent people to investigate Lin’s Inn, Hu Changyong knew quite a bit about it. Although there had been attempts at bribery, it was common for businessmen to try to curry favor with officials when they first arrived. These flaws didn’t overshadow his positive impression of Lin’s Inn. Half a month ago, he had even sent someone to ask why Lin’s Inn kept paying its staff and chefs monthly even though it hadn’t opened yet. Only after learning that it was just a branch that needed approval from the head office did he feel relieved. With such a large inn and a solid reputation during its construction, Hu Changyong didn’t want it to suffer losses due to poor management.
When he heard that Zhang Yuquan was coming to Chengfeng County for another inspection, given Zhang’s attitude last time, Hu Changyong had no choice but to send an official to tell Lin’s Inn to open for a day or two first. After all, Lin’s Inn was too large, and if Zhang Yuquan discovered it, he might use it as an excuse to become furious. Hu understood that Zhang Yuquan was already very dissatisfied with his lack of cooperation. If Zhang didn’t have the power to dismiss him, he would likely have already been removed from his position. If he angered Zhang any further, there was a risk that Zhang might go to the county seat and cause him trouble on impulse.
To Hu Changyong’s surprise, Zhang Yuquan actually focused on Lin’s Inn. If anything serious happened to Lin’s Inn, it would be as if they were taking the blame for him. Although Hu Changyong’s courage didn’t match the character “yong” in his name, he still didn’t want to see anyone suffer for him.
“Doesn’t know how to run a business? But why do I see other shops are equally deserted?”

Hu Changyong wasn’t wrong at all—Zhang Yuquan was extremely dissatisfied with him. Wealth should be shared among those in power; holding office shouldn’t be for personal gain. Eventually, one would end up selling sweet potatoes back home. If you wanted to sell sweet potatoes later, you couldn’t block others’ paths to wealth. And moreover, it was his direct superior’s path to wealth that was being blocked.

Such a lucrative opportunity—after all the effort, he could only get a small bite each time, and it became harder with each attempt. Last time, he even went so far as to cause the whole city to empty out. This time, it was even worse—he managed to bring about the city’s economic decline.

Zhang Yuquan really wanted to skin Hu Changyong, pull out his tendons, and eat him raw. An ordinary county might not matter much, but Chengfeng County was a huge treasure.

“I’ve failed in my governance. Please forgive me, Your Excellency,” Hu Changyong had already prepared a response and immediately took the blame on himself. Poor governance could indeed lead to dismissal, but by then his term would have ended, and it would be up to the Ministry of Personnel to decide—Zhang Yuquan had no right to interfere. Besides, given the taxes Chengfeng County paid annually, it was impossible to dismiss him just on the grounds of poor governance.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

Zhang Yuquan snorted coldly. He was tired of making trips to Chengfeng City every few months, especially in the scorching heat or bitter cold—neither was pleasant. Moreover, for a prefect to travel to a county just for money was a loss of face.

Hu Changyong grew anxious, his heart pounding. He wasn’t stupid; from Zhang Yuquan’s words, he sensed impending disaster.

Glancing at Hu Changyong, who was silent as a mouse, Zhang Yuquan smiled coldly. “If the tiger doesn’t show its fangs, do you really think a fifth-rank prefect is just better-sounding than a seventh-rank county magistrate?”

Lifting the carriage curtain, Zhang Yuquan stepped down from the carriage and said calmly, “Hong’er, you haven’t tried the cuisine in the city’s inns, have you?”

“Not yet! The inns outside are like dogholes, and the food is as bad as pig feed. I have no idea how the inns in the city are.” Xin Yuehong, Zhang Yuquan’s sixth concubine, held the carriage curtain and stepped down, swaying her waist. A handkerchief scented with pollen kept fanning the air. No one wanted to eat lunch at a local inn, but they didn’t dare defy Zhang Yuquan. Though she was favored, Zhang Yuquan’s authority was immense—both outside and at home.

Led by a group of clerks, Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong headed toward Lin’s Inn.

The county magistrate’s detective, who had followed them, saw that Hu Changyong was still dazed and quickly reminded him, “Sir, they’ve already gone in.”

Hu Changyong snapped out of his panic about his future and hurriedly rushed after Zhang Yuquan, saying urgently, “Sir, this inn is rather simple. I’ve prepared food and drinks at the county office—shall we go there instead?”
Zhang Yuquan ignored him and stepped through the threshold.
At the counter, Lin Dong had just set up the attributes such as the small garden, livestock pen, and wine cellar before getting up, only to see Zhang Yuquan enter.
Immediately afterward, some of the constables brought by Zhang Yuquan from the county office split off and, led by the chief constable, rushed through the entire hall.
“Get up, get up!”
“The county magistrate has arrived! Hurry up and kneel in greeting!”
The constables waved their staffs and quickly drove the few customers present to their feet, then swept everything aside, causing a chaotic clattering of cups and dishes.
“As expected, every master has his servants,” Jiang Wei grunted. He had encountered many constables from Chengfeng County before; although they might seek extra income, even the chief constables weren’t this arrogant.
“Dare you not kneel when the county magistrate is here?”
Seeing that no one obeyed and knelt, the constables stepped forward menacingly with their staffs raised, ready to bend everyone’s legs.
“Enough, it’s just a meal—there’s no need for such formalities,” Zhang Yuquan waved his hand. Having been here many times, he was already used to no one kneeling in any shop he entered. Later, with Magistrate Hu, who was respected by everyone in Chengfeng County, showing his authority, these unruly people spoiled by Hu Changyong would surely kneel in fear.
“Sir, please forgive me. It’s all because I failed to maintain proper discipline among my subordinates. Please, have a seat…” Realizing he couldn’t stop them, Hu Changyong quickly wiped the bench with his sleeve and invited Zhang Yuquan to sit.
“This bench is really dirty,” Xin Yuehong said disdainfully, frowning. “This inn is quite large—aren’t there any private rooms?”
“Madam, please forgive me. The upper floors are all guest rooms. Lin’s Inn isn’t doing very well, so I’m sure there are spider webs everywhere. Please forgive me.” Hu Changyong kept wiping the bench for Xin Yuehong, then turned to Jiang Wei and signaled, “Shopkeeper Jiang, what kind of food and drinks do you have?”
“We have burning knife wine, braised radishes, steamed cucumbers, stir-fried green vegetables in oil, and garlic with chili peppers,” Jiang Wei replied helplessly, as Hu Changyong’s eyes were blinking so fast they were almost unseeable.
“Is there no meat dish?” Hu Changyong pressed.
“No,” Jiang Wei shook his head.

Hu Changyong heaved a silent sigh, forced a wry smile, and stepped aside from Zhang Yuquan before turning to Xin Yuehong and saying, “Such inferior food and drink surely can’t enter the lady’s stomach. In my opinion, we’d better go to the county yamen to eat.” Xin Yuehong was about to nod when Zhang Yuquan said calmly, “I’ve come to Chengfeng County this time to understand the conditions of the people; simple food is sufficient.” Overwhelmed with worry, Hu Changyong, feeling guilty toward Lin’s Inn, didn’t even dare to look at Jiang Wei’s expression.