The tea house was indeed ordinary, with several tables set up in the hall. In the northeast corner near the kitchen, there were two compartments separated by a cloth curtain, which only covered the upper half of the door opening. A middle-aged man wearing a long gown and two guards in green robes walked into one of them. The curtain opened, and the person inside also looked out.

  County Magistrate Liang Zuo was in his prime, with a white face and a slight mustache, wearing a casual tunic. He was wondering who was causing the commotion outside when he saw Lin Xie walk in, and he was slightly startled. Before he could turn his head back, Lin Xie stood outside the curtain and bowed: "I thought it was just two watchdogs barking wildly, but I didnt expect County Magistrate Liang to be here. Student pays respects."

  Lin Yuezhi spoke sharply and sarcastically, Liang Zuorens face was embarrassed, and he couldnt vent his anger even if he had any.

  When Lin Tie was presenting his visiting card at the county government office, Liang Zuoren invited his old friend to come over for dinner. This newly promoted scholar who had died and been reborn in the Baisha County robbery case, Liang Zuoren knew his true nature, his writing talent was ordinary, he just had a bit more luck than others, even as a member of the Lin family, he was humble and didnt receive much attention from the Lin family. Afraid of delaying his reunion with his friend, Liang Zuoren casually found an excuse to decline Lin Ties request for an audience, who would have thought that they would meet again here, and coincidentally, his friends bodyguard clashed with them at the door?

  "Hmm..." Liang Zuoren responded with a gloomy face, saying, "No need for formalities, you all go have dinner too."

  Lin wanted to go see who else was sitting in the private room, but the curtain had already been let down from inside.

  Lin tied them down to a square table in the corner, Zhao Hu stood there and beckoned the young and beautiful Xiao family daughter, saying: "Xiao family daughter, do you still remember the dishes I had in the store? Add another serving of cold-cut beef for us." The soft and sweet voice of the Xiao family daughter was really nice to hear, with a clear response: "I remember, dont we need to warm up a pot of Linghu Huang?"

  Zhao Hu sat down next to Lin Xie, leaning his head close to her ear and said in a low voice: "This time youve come back, its completely different from before."

  Liang Zuoren is the father of Shiliang County, I shouldnt have provoked him?" Lin Fu asked.

  Zhao Hu thought Lin Xuan was quite different from before. Although he felt a sense of relief earlier, he also thought that if the cautious and meticulous Lin Jingchang were present, he would probably be flustered and unsure whether Lin Xuan was right or wrong.

  Lin Xie smiled and said in a low voice, " When ones position is humble, they should be cautious; when one gains power, they become arrogant. This is the mentality of ordinary people. On this trip to Baisha County, I have gained insight into a truth: if you want to avoid being bullied when youre down on your luck and not be resented when you rise to success, then an ordinary persons mentality wont do. Liang Zuoren looks down on me, but I wont give him the satisfaction of losing face; this time, I can take advantage of the situation and make him lose face, even if he harbors resentment in his heart, hell know that Im not someone to be trifled with... Being humble is fine, but you have to show your fangs; this is no different from courting trouble."

  "Alright, Mr. Qin cant express this kind of reasoning..." Zhou Pus voice was low, but his left hand made a exaggerated motion as if slapping the table, with a smile at the corner of his mouth, and he felt even more that Lin Xuan had a unique flavor: resolute, responsible, not dragging things out, appearing to be reckless but actually having careful considerations that others couldnt match.

  Zhao Hu found it hard to understand the logic of Lin Xies words for a moment, and in his heart, he thought that since Lin Xie had gone through life and death twice in Baisha County, it was natural that he should be different from before, and he shouldnt be looked at with old eyes.

  *****************

  In the compartment separated by a curtain, the middle-aged man in a long shirt who appeared at the entrance of the store and two green-clad guards were standing on one side to attend. They were all guards. Sitting opposite Liang Zuoren was a handsome young man in his early twenties, blocked by the curtain, he couldnt see Lin Fu and others, and asked Liang Zuoren: "Liang sir, who was that person just now? He is so arrogant and domineering even in front of your fatherly official?"

  "Its a young master of the Lin family..." Liang Zuoren said with furrowed eyebrows.

  The young man had just heard Liang Zuoren complaining that Lins family was relying on the prestige of their noble surname to dominate the local area, and now he heard Liang Zuoren say that this guy was a member of the Lin family. He said with a face full of indignation: "This is too arrogant! Why does Lord Liang want to indulge such a reckless little man? Take him to the county yamen and beat him thirty times, let him know what it means to disrespect an official."

  Liang Zuoren shook his head and smiled, revealing a hint of helplessness in his smile. He didnt respond to the young mans words, but instead turned to face a middle-aged scholar sitting on his left side and said: "Youve seen my situation today, even if its just a distant relative of the Lin family, they dont take this humble county magistrate seriously." As Liang Zuoren spoke, he couldnt help but feel a bit puzzled in his heart: Its said that Lin Xuan is timid and incompetent, but earlier his sharpness was quite impressive?

  "The local tyrants are powerful, and its always a hidden danger that cant be eliminated...". The middle-aged scholar who had been sitting silently beside him finally let out a soft sigh. "This time I met Director Li, Id like to ask him why he was lenient with the Xiao family, causing all the local tyrants to have unrealistic ideas?"

  Liang Zuo has been living in the countryside for a long time and is unaware of the movements within the imperial court. He dares not to rashly discuss the matter of Shi Jies surrender, but from his old friends words, he knows that Liang Zuo is extremely dissatisfied with the imperial courts acceptance of Shi Jies surrender.

  ***************

  Lin Tie and others sat around the table, waiting for the dishes to come up. Occasionally, they would pay attention to the private room behind the curtain. The unpleasantness at the entrance of the store just now was also driven away by the steaming hot food and fragrance.

  Next to them were four rough-looking men, the same four who had entered the tea house ahead of Lin Ju. They wore long gowns with patches on them and used straw ropes as belts around their waists. On their heads they wore square-shaped felt hats, and against the wall leaned four long bamboo poles used for carrying loads, making them look like porters who came into town to find work. However, their physiques seemed a bit too robust. These four porters were eyeing the young woman from the Xiao family, who was busily running around in the main hall, with an unbridled gaze. They were drinking and chatting: "In Shiliang County, there are two widows who are particularly famous, one of whom is this young woman from the Xiao family. The Xiao family has a silk fabric store on the west side of town, which is one of the few wealthy families in Shiliang County. Unfortunately, their son was an invalid and had been bedridden for a long time. It was said that they were going to marry this young woman into their family as a way to bring good fortune. However, before ten days had passed, the Xiao familys son died suddenly, and the Xiao family blamed the young woman for being unlucky and causing their sons death. The young woman took over the management of the tea house from her parents and was able to make a living. This young woman was extremely beautiful, and no other girl in town could compare to her beauty; however, this was not why she was famous."

  "Whats Xiao Jias little girl most famous for?" someone chimed in with a lewd tone.

  "Think about it, that sickly husband of hers didnt even last ten days after the wedding and kicked the bucket. I suppose he wasnt very capable in bed either... Everyone is wondering if the young mistress of the Xiao family has lost her red pill..." This person seemed to be intentionally teasing the young mistress of the Xiao family, their hushed voices carrying across half the hall so that all the customers could hear. The others who heard it just snickered with ill intent, while the young mistresss face turned bright red, her beautiful eyes flashing with resentment, but she couldnt drive the customer away and instead seemed to add a seductive air to the atmosphere. Lin Xiao and Zhao Hu were also standing on the side listening and laughing, but they didnt have any sense of justice that would make them stand up for her, just teasing the young widow with their words, which wasnt anything out of the ordinary for the common folk."

  "Who is another famous widow in Shiliang County? Is it also because of the red pill that she became famous?" Another person chimed in to ask.

  "This Hong Wan has lost and hasnt lost, I dont know," the man became even more pleased with himself, his voice also louder. "I dont know if youve heard of Qiufu in Shiliang County?"

  "Madam of Upper Lins Ferry? Ah, isnt Master Lin Tingxuan still alive? How did the Seventh Madam become a widow again?"

  "Dont look at the whole Dongyang Prefecture, there are not many people who can compare to Lin Tingxuns prestige, but if youve seen him once, youll know whether Madame Qi is still in mourning or not - Lin Tingxun was still vigorous ten years ago, but during that harsh winter ten years ago, four large ships from Hongzepus water stronghold came to plunder Lindu, and Lin Tingxun personally led the local militia to pursue the bandits. In the naval battle, he accidentally fell into the icy waters, and although he survived, its said that his...thing was ruined..."

  "Lins patriarch wasnt married to the Gu familys daughter as his seventh wife after that, whats the point of taking a concubine if hes impotent?" someone asked in doubt.

  "If others suspect that you are not capable, cant you find something to cover it up? Lin Tingxun got married and had a son before he fell into the water. After marrying the seventh wife, have you seen any movement in her belly these years?" The mans voice grew louder as someone questioned him, "Besides, all six wives of the Lin family are honest and stay in the inner courtyard, only the seventh wife is showing off and interfering with the Lin familys affairs. If Lin Tingxun didnt have a guilty conscience, how could he tolerate the seventh wife like this? Speaking of which, the seventh wife is really pitiful. Ten years ago, the Gu family was also a noble family, and the seventh wife was a young lady from a wealthy family. However, her uncle, Gu Wudeng, who was an official in the capital, suddenly went crazy and wanted to reopen the case of Su Hu, a traitor who sold out the country. He almost got beheaded, and the seventh wifes parents were also implicated and exiled, dying on the way. The Gu family declined from then on. However, the seventh wife married Lin Tingxun in order to save her uncle. You say that Gu Wudeng is a scoundrel, if he knew that his niece had married such a useless person, wouldnt he be ashamed and jump into the river? The seventh wife has been a widow for ten years, but its strange to say that I saw her face looking radiant last time, not like someone who has been abstinent for a long time. Looking at those sons of the Lin family, they all seem to be willing to serve her... its not hard to understand whats going on..."

  Zhao Hus family had benefited greatly from the care of Seventh Madame Gu Yingxiu, and Zhao Hu also held her in high esteem. Upon hearing this, he could hardly contain himself and was about to jump up and scold these arrogant rascals. Lin Xian grabbed his wrist, subtly shaking his head for him to sit back down, and furrowed his brow as he glanced at Zhou Pu, unsure if he had noticed anything unusual.

  In this era, the government is as fierce as a tiger in the eyes of ordinary people, and its normal for people to be afraid of seeing officials. Just now, when I came in and paid respects to County Magistrate Liang, many customers in the restaurant hastily finished their meals and left, but those four porters next door were not affected at all, speaking even more wildly and recklessly as if they didnt care about the county magistrates presence, slandering the Lin family of Dongyang Prefecture. Theyre really arrogant. Although those four porters glanced over here while talking, Lin Xie could tell that they werent targeting them, so were they saying these jokes for the people in the private room to hear?

  Lin Xie wondered who else was in the private room besides County Magistrate Liang Zuoren. What was his relationship with Seventh Lady and the Gu family?

  Zhou Pu lightly kicked Lin Xies foot on the table, letting him see the four bamboo poles leaning against the wall, indicating that there was a problem with those four bamboo poles.

  "Thats enough! My tongue is tired of your nonsense!" Just then, the curtain was suddenly lifted from inside, and a tall young man with a furious face rushed to the next table, loudly scolding.