Chapter 162: Arrogance at First, Subservience Later

The group disembarked from the ship and traveled by land for over an hour before arriving at Dongping Prefecture.
Dongping Prefecture was located east of the Huitong River, with Hushan to the north, Weishan to the northeast, Anshan to the southwest, and Anshan Lake below. During the Yuan Dynasty, it had been part of the Dongping Road under the Zhili Provincial Administration. When Zhu Yuanzhang was the King of Wu, it was known as Dongping Prefecture, later reduced to the status of a prefecture. It was less than twenty li from the dock where Zhang Yue and the others had disembarked.
After successive invasions by the Jin against the Song, the Yuan’s conquest of the Central Plains, and the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the population in Shandong had plummeted from hundreds of thousands to just over twenty thousand at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. However, after fifty years of recovery and with the canals gradually restored, the region began to show signs of prosperity. Still, the scene in Dongping City could not compare to that of Beijing, let alone the wealthy regions in the south like Nanjing.
The prefect of Dongping Prefecture initially only knew that Meng Xian, the deputy commander, was coming. Upon learning that the accompanying family members included those of the new governor, he paid them no attention. As for Zhang Yue, the county magistrate of Anqiu, he regarded him even less. After all, Dongping Prefecture was not under Anqiu’s jurisdiction, and as a fifth-rank official, the prefect was far above Zhang Yue, who was a seventh-rank county magistrate. Deep down, he also truly despised the inexperienced Zhang Yue.
Thus, Zhang Yue saw the prefect, a man in his forties with a plump face and large ears, fawning over Meng Xian—personally arranging the main house in the courtyard for Meng’s family and ordering hot water to be prepared, while ignoring him and Du’s group. The cold treatment was self-evident. Seeing that Meng Xian didn’t speak up for him either, only turning to give him a slight smile before entering the house, Zhang Yue understood that it was intentional. He smiled faintly, took Qiu Hen by the hand, ordered the servants to prepare the west wing room, and busied himself taking care of Lady Du.
Despite being neglected, Lady Du, used to such treatment during her hard times in the countryside, didn’t mind it. With Zhang Yue’s help and Du Wan leading a few maids, she quickly prepared the east wing room, so she didn’t have to worry at all. Meanwhile, the prefect, Yan Kuan, had taken care of Meng Xian thoroughly, overseeing every detail. Seeing that the other two groups had settled on their own, he was relieved and strode lightly back ahead.
“Sir!”

It was already late by then. As he was humming a tune, he suddenly heard a noise and was startled. When he saw that the figure standing in the shadow under the porch, bent over, was Li Cai, the detective he had sent to pick someone up, he snorted irritably, “Standing in such a place and suddenly making noise—do you want to scare me to death? It’s late today; let’s talk about it tomorrow if there’s anything to discuss!”
“Sir, I certainly know it’s late. But when you sent me to pick someone up, you said it was Lord Meng. Why are there two more groups? I remember the supplies we prepared earlier didn’t seem enough. If Lady Du arrives in Jinan Prefecture and complains to Lord Du, by then…”
“What’s there to fear?” Yan Kuan glanced disdainfully at Detective Li, who looked panicked, and waved his hand nonchalantly. “That Lord Meng is a descendant of meritorious officials. Do you know what meritorious officials are? After the emperor ascended the throne, even his most trusted civil officials were sometimes demoted or executed, but meritorious officials were hardly ever touched. Even if they were demoted, they were soon recalled. As for Lord Du… Hmph, don’t be fooled by his status as a favored official in the emperor’s court. Is it that easy to sort out the chaos in Shandong?”
“But…”
“What ‘but’? In short, stay out of matters that aren’t your concern!”
Li Cai hesitated, wanting to say more, but seeing the magistrate enter the house impatiently with a wave of his sleeve, he sighed. He then remembered seeing Zhang Yue and Meng Xian talking at the dock earlier. From the way they acted, it was clear they knew each other well—Zhang Yue called Meng Xian “Uncle Meng,” while Meng Xian called Zhang Yue “Brother Yue,” suggesting a relationship between prominent families. And Lady Du and her group were traveling with these two, with Zhang Yue even addressing her as “mistress.” How could they afford to neglect them?
Seeing the two large doors shut firmly in front of him, he felt helpless and resentful—after all, if anything went wrong, it would be the magistrate’s fault, not his. Even if the sky fell, someone higher up would take care of it. After a long day of work, it was best for him to go back and sleep!
That night, everyone slept well—those who had been on the ship for three or four days, the clerks who had worked hard all day, and even Yan Kuan, the magistrate, who was surrounded by beautiful concubines. So, the next morning, even Lady Du Qiu, who was usually punctual, was delayed by half an hour, not to mention the others. When the fat Yan Kuan rushed over in a hurry, everyone in the three rooms had already packed their belongings and were ready to set off.

“Madam, Dongping is about three hundred li away from Jinan Prefecture. Although you and Sister Wan have quite a few family members with you, the journey is uncertain, so I think it’s better for me to take people to send you to Jinan Prefecture first, and then go to Anqiu to take up my post, so I can also meet Master.”
Mrs. Qiu had long known that the Meng family also had an interest in Zhang Yue and was glad he brought this up; she was truly delighted. However, since she had to travel with the Meng family, she couldn’t show her joy openly. After nodding, she bid farewell to Lady Wu and the others. Meng Xian had anticipated this and didn’t say much. The two girls of similar age, Meng Min and Du Wan, were reluctant to part. Meng Min gave her a embroidered piece, while Du Wan returned it with a purse. As they talked, Zhang Yue finally found an opportunity to say something to Meng Min.
“Although Qingzhou Prefecture is where the Shandong Military Command is located, it’s still different from Nanjing or Beijing. Fourth Sister, please take care.”
Meng Xian raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, while Lady Wu felt a pang of bitterness. Meng Min was surprised for a moment before smiling and thanking him. Seeing this, Mrs. Qiu was slightly puzzled. Though she didn’t think it was wrong, she still glanced at Du Wan. Du Wan, on the other hand, stared at the flawlessly embroidered piece in her hands, feeling a bit uneasy.
At this moment, Yan Kuan, who had been acting like a ghost up until then, finally noticed a hint he hadn’t seen the previous day, and he felt a sense of foreboding. This seemingly unremarkable young county magistrate from Anqiu called the madam “madam” and referred to the Meng family’s eldest daughter as “Fourth Sister”—seemed he had some kind of background. When Meng Xian smiled and gave Zhang Yue more instructions, his unease grew even stronger.
After finally sending both groups out of the city and ensuring they were out of sight, he immediately grabbed Li Cai, the police chief who had come to see them off, and snapped, “What’s the deal with that Anqiu county magistrate? Why is he so close to the Meng family? And why does he call that Lady Du ‘madam’? What’s your job? Why didn’t you explain everything to me yesterday?”
“Weren’t it you who told me last evening that I shouldn’t meddle in matters that aren’t my concern?”
Li Cai’s reply made Yan Kuan’s face turn blue with anger, though he secretly felt relieved. But he still didn’t dare go too far and had to explain everything he had seen and heard at the dock the previous day. Only then did he cautiously say, “I went to see you last evening precisely to talk about this. That Mr. Zhang seems to have an extraordinary background. I was afraid you might offend him…”

Before he could finish speaking, he felt the gaze of the prefect before him burning like fire. He quickly stepped back, fearing that the man, known for his temper, might slap him on the spot. This was quite possible—being a former imperial scholar, the prefect was usually irritable, and it was common for his subordinates to be beaten; at worst, they would receive a loud slap. Everyone secretly wondered where he got his official title in the first place.

By now, Yan Kuan was deeply regretful. He wasn’t afraid of Du Zhen’s student, but since that person seemed to be related to the Meng family, he had to worry if they were also descendants of meritorious officials. The thought of such people abandoning their military careers to become minor county magistrates only added to his confusion, and he began to blame Meng Xian for not giving him any hints the night before. The Zhang surname… there seemed to be more than one noble family with the Zhang surname in the capital. Hopefully, it wasn’t the most prominent one!

With these thoughts, he abandoned the idea of returning to the city immediately and rode after them personally, chasing for two miles. Used to a comfortable life, he had never endured the hardships of riding a bumpy horse before. By the time he caught up, he was out of breath and in pain, yet he forced a smile and spoke to Zhang Yue.

“Lord Zhang, it wasn’t my intention to neglect you earlier. It’s just that…” Usually good at deceiving superiors and subordinates, Yan Kuan suddenly ran out of words. After struggling for a while, he finally blurted out, “It’s because Lord Meng is my superior, and I had no other motives.”

Zhang Yue glanced at Lady Du and Du Wan’s carriage, noticing a slight gap in the curtain, and realized they were also curious about why the prefect of Dongping Prefecture had chased after them. He then smiled and said, “I believe Lord Yan has no ulterior motives. Lord Du, as the provincial governor, is a second-rank official and the head of civil affairs in this province. Surely Lord Yan shouldn’t treat him differently.”

After hearing this, Yan Kuan’s face turned red. But recalling the titles he had heard before, he still dared to ask, “I just heard Lord Zhang call Lady Du ‘my teacher’s wife’ and Lord Meng ‘uncle’. I wonder what that means…”

“Oh, so Lord Yan wants to ask that. Lord Du is my teacher, so naturally, Lady Du is my teacher’s wife. As for Lord Meng…” He deliberately showed a look of difficulty. Seeing Yan Kuan staring at him anxiously, he rode closer and lowered his voice, “Lord Meng and my family are closely related. However, I don’t want outsiders to know about this. Please keep it a secret, Lord Yan.”

Seeing Zhang Yue acting mysteriously, Yan Kuan initially thought it was some other kind of omen. But upon hearing those words, he was instantly furious. He wondered if this uncle’s claim was perhaps something Zhang Yue had boldly claimed on the road. He almost retorted, but seeing Zhang Yue sitting calmly on his horse with a smile and arms crossed, he grew suspicious again.

Meng Xian’s tone sounded as if he were indeed very familiar with Zhang Yue. If they really were close friends, then that person might truly be a meritorious official. Besides the Zhang family of the Duke of Yingguo, there were also the Zhang families of the Marquis of Longping and the Earl of Anxiang, all of whom were meritorious officials in the Jingnan Campaign. It would be better for him to be cautious. So, he didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he went back to the carriage with a smile to apologize to Lady Du, talked with Zhang Yue for a while, and then rushed back to the city on horseback.

As soon as he left, Lady Du, surnamed Qiu, lifted the carriage curtain and called Zhang Yue over. After asking a few questions, she said, “This Mr. Yan is obsequious at first and then condescending—there must be some other reason. Yuanjie, it seems your husband’s position as governor may not be suitable after all. You’ll need to hurry your journey. It’s fine for me and Wan’er to ride in the carriage; if you can’t hold on, you might as well take the carriage too.”

Zhang Yue agreed with Lady Qiu’s idea but didn’t want her to worry too much. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, madam. I can handle this short journey. My master has always been a man of great wisdom and talent. That Yan magistrate is probably just opportunistic, seeing that the emperor values military strength over literature.”

Passing through Dongping Prefecture, then Dong’e, Pingyin, and Changqing, one reaches Jinan Prefecture. Previously, Zhang Yue had heard that the White Lotus Sect was rampant in Shandong and thought there were indeed bandits causing chaos and lawlessness. But as he traveled along the official roads, stopping occasionally at teahouses for tea or staying overnight at inns to chat with the innkeepers and servants, he found the situation wasn’t that serious. However, whenever he asked about the Huitong River, which connected north-south grain transport, people would talk about it with fear and distress.

Due to his experiences in Dongping Prefecture, he simply concealed his identity as the newly appointed magistrate of Anqiu. Wearing a green robe, he moved around freely, and when people chatted with him, they treated him as a high-ranking attendant of the household, speaking to him without restraint. Thus, over the course of four days, he gained a deeper understanding of the situation in Shandong.

Jinan Prefecture was known as the foremost prefecture in Shandong, famous throughout the land for its renowned springs. Naturally, its grandeur could not be compared to that of Dongping City. When the group first arrived in Jinan, Zhang Yue sent Liansheng to find out where the Provincial Administration Office was. After learning the location, he led them there directly. Upon arrival, they saw a neatly arranged government building. A few men dressed like officials stood at the entrance; though not as imposing as pillars, they still carried a certain dignity. However, watching the people coming and going near the building, he couldn’t help but feel that the place seemed rather deserted.

The Provincial Administration Office was known as a “fuan si” and held equal status to the six ministries. The governor could rise to become a minister or vice minister, while the deputy censor often became a governor—these were among the most prestigious officials at the local level. How could such a place be so deserted? Even if Du Zhen had been promoted beyond normal expectations to become governor, it still shouldn’t be this extreme!

Puzzled, he dismounted from his horse and personally led Liansheng and Lianhu toward the office. When some officials stepped forward to stop them, he said in a firm voice, “Please convey a message to Lord Du: it is Zhang Yue, his student, who has come to escort Lady Du and Miss Du!”

The officials, seeing Zhang Yue’s youth and hearing the word “student,” were momentarily stunned. Upon hearing about Lady Du and Miss Du, they were stunned for a while before realizing it was the family of the high-ranking official who had arrived. They immediately turned around to give instructions and rushed inside the office. Other officials hurried over to assist with carrying things, and soon others in the streets were alerted. Naturally, many who were trying to gather information mixed among the onlookers, peered for a while, then slipped away.