Chapter 67: Countermeasures

After instructing Tianhao to greet Fu Chunjian, Lin Dong made his way to the lobby. On the second floor, three customers stood in front of the information board on the south side, studying the information there. To the south, six or seven customers sat in a row of wooden chairs, exchanging information about various matters in Qiufeng Mansion. Two waiters were serving tea nearby; when they saw Lin Dong coming upstairs, one of them stepped forward.
Learning that the “tiger mother” had not left yet and finding out which private room she was in, Lin Dong immediately went to knock on the door.
“I’ll open it!” came a voice from inside.
Inside, it was the voice of a young maid. Lin Dong frowned slightly—her voice wasn’t loud, yet it came through so clearly, indicating that the soundproofing of the private room was poor. If customers needed to discuss business, even whispering would be audible from outside, which was certainly inconvenient.
With the introduction of the information board, the number of customers in the private rooms on the second floor of the inn had been increasing in recent days. Rebuilding the private rooms would give Fenglin Restaurant a chance to attract more customers.
Touching the outer wall of the private room, Lin Dong noticed significant gaps between the wooden planks. Although they were covered with white paper, making them seem airtight, they offered no real soundproofing. If he could spend some time at night sealing those gaps and repainting them, things would improve greatly.
As he was thinking, the door creaked open. The young maid, seeing Lin Dong standing there, froze with her polite smile.
Lin Dong felt embarrassed—no wonder she had been so eager; she must have thought it was Liu Xiu knocking.
“Uh, I have something to discuss with the madam.”
“Madam, it’s Manager Lin,” the maid called inside.
Li Yunfeng stood up and said, “Please let Manager Lin in.”
“Hmm!” The maid, less polite than Li Yunfeng, stepped aside slightly. “Come in!”
Lin Dong nodded, entered, and bowed to Li Yunfeng. “Madam, I’m sorry to disturb you.”
Li Yunfeng shook her head. “Manager Lin, please sit. I actually wanted to talk to you as well—I was planning to reach out these days.”
There was no food or drink on the table, just a pot of tea. Lin Dong sat down on the wooden chair. Though the maid didn’t like him, she still poured him a cup of tea before standing behind Li Yunfeng.
“It’s like this…” Lin Dong recounted everything Fu Chunjian had told him, then added with a smile, “Dean Fu has always been kind to my family members, Tianhao and Xiaoshuang. I really can only ask you for help with this.”
“Manager Lin, you’re too kind. This is such a small matter; it’s not a hassle at all,” Li Yunfeng replied without hesitation.
Lin Dong breathed a sigh of relief. This hidden task assigned by Fu Chunjian was basically done—he could now wait for the reward.

“I just heard that Madam needs to see Lin Dong. I wonder what it is?” Li Yunfeng’s face, as rugged as Jiang Kui’s, showed a hint of hope. “I heard the reason this table makes people feel relaxed is because a spiritual array is arranged on it?”
“Mm!” Lin Dong nodded.
“Shopkeeper Lin, could you sell me one?” Li Yunfeng asked.
Lin Dong felt troubled. Li Yunfeng was undoubtedly the most formidable woman in Xilan City, but she didn’t wield much influence at Lin’s Inn. On the contrary, Lin’s Inn didn’t have to worry about official troubles thanks to Li Yunfeng’s backing.
Given that Li Yunfeng had silently suppressed Cheng Wencai’s attempt to force Lin’s Inn to hand over the spiritual array, and had never acted arrogantly to demand it, if such a spiritual array really existed and could make people feel relaxed, regardless of her reputation outside, Lin Dong wouldn’t hesitate to make one for her at home.
But the problem was that such a spiritual array didn’t exist at all.
With a wry smile, Lin Dong had to use the explanation Yun Lan had given him and said helplessly, “Madam, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. This spiritual array was set up by a reclusive sage who happened to pass by the inn. Before leaving, since my skills weren’t strong enough, he didn’t teach me how to set up the array but only how to move it. If it were only a hundred meters away, maybe I could move it with my abilities, but moving it directly to the county yamen is beyond my power.”
Li Yunfeng stared at Lin Dong without blinking, unable to read anything from his face after a long while.
“I’m sure Madam thinks Lin Dong is just making things up,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Actually, the spiritual array isn’t in the private room but is spread throughout the entire inn, and it really can’t be moved. If Madam still doesn’t believe me, I can find someone to carry the table to the county yamen. Even the whole private room can be taken apart first and then reassembled at the county yamen just as it was.”
“This…”
Li Yunfeng was tempted but hesitated to agree.
“When Madam returns to the county yamen, I’ll arrange for the staff to take apart the private room. Fortunately, these rooms are made of wooden planks, so rebuilding them isn’t a hassle.” Li Yunfeng wasn’t like Bai Jingtai. With Bai Jingtai, a relationship of five or six years allowed him to be completely convinced with just any excuse. So, seeing Li Yunfeng’s expression, Lin Dong didn’t hesitate and made the decision for her.
Li Yunfeng remained silent, implying her acceptance.
“By the way, why did Madam think of setting up a spiritual array at the county yamen too?” Lin Dong took the opportunity to bring up the matter of Cheng Wencai being transferred out of Xilan City.
After a brief hesitation, Li Yunfeng explained, “In a few months, that idiot of mine will be transferred to Qiufeng Mansion to take charge of the household affairs. So…”

“A head of the household affairs department? That’s a position of great power at the sixth rank. It seems we should congratulate Magistrate Cheng on his promotion.” Lin Dong was slightly surprised. The household affairs department handled matters such as registration and taxation for the entire prefecture, offering far more benefits than being a county magistrate. Without approval from higher-ups, it was almost impossible to get such a position.

Li Yunfeng said helplessly, “This matter is of great significance. Otherwise, I would have preferred to stay in Xilan City forever.”

Lin Dong was perturbed. He wanted to ask why Cheng Wencai, whose second term in Xilan County hadn’t even ended, had suddenly been promoted. But he decided against it. Li Yunfeng’s reaction clearly indicated that this was related to power struggles within Qiufeng Prefecture. Asking would be pointless; even if she knew the reason, she would surely not reveal it.

After some thought, Lin Dong asked, “Does your ladyship know who the new county magistrate will be?”

Li Yunfeng pondered for a while. “It hasn’t been finalized yet. The prefectural office has only sent word ahead; it hasn’t been reported to the prefecture yet. There are three candidates proposed by the prefectural office, and the most likely candidate is Zhang Zhanquan, the former magistrate of Hulin County. Of course, the final decision still rests with the prefect.”

Lin Dong nodded. In the Great Han State, local officials served three-year terms. When those terms ended, it was also the time when the next imperial examinations concluded, after which the Ministry of Personnel would make adjustments based on evaluations submitted by each prefecture. If there was a change during a term, officials below the seventh rank were recommended by the county office and approved by the prefectural office. For those from the seventh to sixth rank, the prefectural office made recommendations, the prefecture office made the final decision, and then a list of candidates was submitted to the Ministry of Personnel for formalities.

Lin Dong wasn’t sure if there were any tricks in the list proposed by the prefectural office, but he believed that since Li Yunfeng said the new county magistrate would be Zhang Zhanquan, it was almost certain.

After chatting with Li Yunfeng for a few more minutes, Lin Dong got up to take his leave.

After arranging for the sealing of the private room, moving tables, and dismantling it, he returned to the back yard, where Fu Chunjian was discussing Emperor Gu Huanzong with Tian Hao.

“Zhang Zhanquan? Zhang Zhanquan, the magistrate of Hulin County in Hailing Prefecture? No, absolutely not!”

Upon hearing about the candidate for county magistrate, Fu Chunjian’s intense reaction caught Lin Dong’s attention.

“Damn it! That Zhang Zhanquan has already turned Hulin County into a mess. Now he wants to bring disaster to Xilan County as well.” Fu Chunjian was so angry that he trembled. “Fu Tongshan is truly the worst kind of scoundrel.”

Lin Dong was confused. “The Grand Tutor is currently just the prefect of Qiufeng Prefecture. How does the candidate for county magistrate relate to Hailing Prefecture? Logically, if Zhang Zhanquan were truly insatiable, it would only affect Qiufeng Prefecture’s performance.”

“It’s all those messy matters in the court. The scholars’ faction suffered a crushing defeat recently, so Fu Tongshan must be trying to advance by retreating.” Fu Chunjian sat down angrily, his chest heaving violently as he struggled to calm down.

Lin Dong understood. It was likely that Fu Tongshan had no say in this list of recommendations.

“All this fighting and strife—none of it is for the benefit of the people.” After a long while, Fu Chunjian sighed heavily and looked at Lin Dong, saying helplessly, “The mother tiger’s father, Li Jiancheng, is the deputy governor of Qiufeng Mansion. Since Fu Tongshan has stepped back, Qiufeng Mansion should be under his control. I wonder if, given the relationship between Manager Lin and the mother tiger, you can persuade her to visit her family’s estate and remove Zhang Zhanquan from the list?”

Lin Dong remained silent. The mother tiger was about to go to Qiufeng Mansion, and Lin’s Inn didn’t have any branches there. Why should they help her? Besides, if the mother tiger really had such influence over Li Jiancheng, she wouldn’t have let Cheng Wencai take up the position there. Although it was a promotion, the mother tiger would surely prioritize her own health issues.

Fu Chunjian smiled bitterly. He was desperate and reaching out to any possible solution. With the power struggles already settled, it was unlikely that Li Jiancheng could change anything.

“Manager Lin, I’ll leave it to you to take care of Niu Dading for these few days. I’m setting off for Lingnan Commandery tomorrow.”

“Going to Lingnan Commandery?” Lin Dong was puzzled.

Fu Chunjian nodded. “Although the list of recommendations is made by Qiufeng Mansion, the real decision lies with the commandery governor. Relatively speaking, changing a county magistrate’s position is a major deal for Li Jiancheng, but it has far less impact on the commandery governor.”

“Does President Fu know the commandery governor?” Lin Dong asked.

Fu Chunjian shook his head helplessly. “We have no connection, but I have to give it a try. Hulin County is completely ruined; we can’t let Zhang Zhanquan cause trouble in Xilan County again.”

Lin Dong frowned, thought for a moment, then said, “Does this commandery governor like money?”

Fu Chunjian laughed dryly. “A high-ranking official like him would probably not even glance at it if it weren’t for tens of thousands of taels.”

Lin Dong smiled bitterly. It seemed he couldn’t do anything to help choose the new county magistrate of Xilan County. With the growing number of customers in the second floor, he could at most raise two or three thousand taels in a month.

“By the way!” Fu Chunjian suddenly looked pleased. “Since Manager Lin asked whether the commandery governor likes money, I remembered something. The governor’s only son disdains literature and favors martial arts, but his talent isn’t enough to join a sect. Since Tianhao has caught the eye of the leader of the Gu Huan Sect, if we can get Tianhao to persuade Sect Leader Xiao to share one of the Gu Huan Sect’s advanced spiritual techniques, it might persuade the governor.”

Spiritual techniques?

Lin Dong suddenly saw the light. Even the highest spiritual techniques of the Ancient Huan Dynasty were only at the fourth level, while he possessed many spiritual techniques of higher ranks. Moreover, Old Ding hadn’t specified that they couldn’t be shared outside. A high-level spiritual technique was undoubtedly of inestimable value in the eyes of those who valued martial arts. With the power of a county governor, it would be no problem to replace a county magistrate—even appointing a beggar as one. However, the lowest-ranked technique he had was still at the seventh level. Unless it could bring some other benefits, it wasn’t very worthwhile. After thinking for a moment, Lin Dong made up his mind. Once the inn grew to a certain scale, he would inevitably have to deal with this county governor, and his high-level spiritual techniques would come in handy then. Fortunately, the list hadn’t been submitted yet, and Xiao Tianchi should be arriving at the inn soon. He could first ask him for a fourth-level spiritual technique as a starting point, using the seventh-level one as a trump card.