After the Shiliang River was straightened, the old river course that surrounded the county seat of Shiliang did not become abandoned, but its prosperity was far from what it used to be. The bustle in the county seat was also inferior to that of Shanglintu.

  At dawn, Lin Xie and others rode a donkey cart to the county town, it was already three poles of the sun.

  Thanks to the care of Chief Clerk Chen Ling, it was very convenient for Zhou Pu and Chen Enze to handle their registration at the county government office. Since Zhou Pus hometown had fallen into the hands of the Eastern Hu people, Shiliang County could not send a letter to verify his identity in Ji North, so Shiliang County could only treat them as displaced persons who had lost their registration. With Lin Xian as guarantor and taking them in as followers, there was no problem at all. Even so, the household registration officer was very diligent and called the county guard to bring out a large stack of wanted notices that had accumulated over more than ten years to compare with Zhou Pu and Chen Enzes appearance.

  Qin Chengzu, Cao Zikang and Zhou Pus wanted notices were among them. However, Zhou Pus notice did not read "Zhou Pu", but rather "Zuan Linbao Zhou Pu" with a drawing of him having a mustache. Zhou Pu followed Lin Xie back to Dongyang and had his mustache shaved clean, yet still looked 70-80% like the person in the drawing. However, neither the household registration office nor the county authorities suspected that Zhou Pu was Liu Mangs killer, and when they took out the wanted notice, it was just a formality and soon passed over.

  Chen Enze was a bit nervous, while Zhou Pu was calm and composed, with his hand casually resting on Chen Enzes shoulder, telling him not to be too tense. Lin Xuan saw Zhao Hus expression change slightly and lightly kicked him, knowing that he had seen Zhou Pus skills yesterday and would likely connect Zhou Pu with the wanted poster of Hai Cangwen.

  Zhao Hu didnt lack courage, and with a light kick at Lin Xie, he quickly returned to normal.

  They finished the formalities before noon, and both the county clerk and the county lieutenant politely declined Lin Xies invitation to dinner. They all said that Liang Zuo was strict in his governance, and now we can see a glimpse of it. Even in later generations, Lin Xie had never seen government officials refuse someones invitation to dinner, unless their schedule was full and they couldnt make it. The county clerk and the county lieutenant did not refuse the silver ingots that Lin Xie secretly sent over, and promised to get things done as soon as possible and send the tokens, household registration, etc. by hand through a police officer.

  Lin Xie didnt hurry to leave the county government office, and instead handed over a visiting card to request an audience with the Honorable Magistrate.

  Yesterday, Instructor Lu Dongyang and Chief Clerk Chen Ling were dispatched by County Magistrate Liang Zuoren to visit and verify the fact that Lin Xie had died and come back to life. Although this was a major matter that County Magistrate Liang must investigate immediately, it can also be understood as a sign of concern for him from the county magistrate. Moreover, as the only successful candidate from Shiliang County in this years imperial examination, it is necessary for Lin Xie to visit his "parent official" County Magistrate Liang Zuoren or for County Magistrate Liang to summon Lin Xie to meet with him.

  The county government office was divided into a front hall and a rear residence. The front hall handled official business, while the county magistrate and his family lived in the rear residence. The gatekeeper went back and forth, saying that Magistrate Liang was having lunch at noon and it wasnt convenient to meet, asking Lin to come again in the afternoon.

  Lin Tie didnt feel belittled either, and went with Zhou Pu, Zhao Hu, and Chen Sizhe into the city to find a place to eat.

  Zhao Hu was somewhat annoyed, yesterday the instructor and the chief clerk personally visited his door, letting him mistakenly think that County Magistrate Liang Zuoren held Lin Fu in high esteem. Unexpectedly, he was given a cold shoulder with the excuse "its inconvenient to meet at noon when hosting guests". Speaking on behalf of Lin Fu, he said: "What kind of reason is this? At the beginning of the year when he first took office and went to Shanglindu to deliver a courtesy visit to the Lin family, it wasnt like this."

  "Whats my background, doesnt Liang Zuoren know? I cant bring any glory to the Lin family." Lin Xuan said with a smile. Perhaps Liang Zuoren didnt necessarily know him before, but after he was selected in the imperial examination and encountered the Baisha County robbery case, how could Liang Zuoren not know that he was just a weak and useless young master from a side branch of the Lin family? How much attention would he pay to him?

  "Right, is Lord Zhou really the bandit Zhou Bo of Huaiyang, who has been hiding in the forest?" Zhao Hu asked in a low voice, his expression showing no fear, but rather some excitement.

  "Maybe," Lin said, neither confirming nor denying, "Lets not talk about this on the street. Lets find a place to eat first. Magistrate will probably have some free time this afternoon and come over again..."

  "Every time Xiao Wu comes back to the county, he must go to a tea house. I suppose you dont know either, Showzhai. Lets go there for dinner..." Zhao Hu said.

  "Oh, whats so special about He Cha Hotel that makes Xiao Wu miss it?" Lin Xian asked, he really didnt know that Lin Jingchang had a favorite place to go in the county.

  "Just go and youll know." Zhao Hu made a mysterious gesture, leading Lin Xuan, Zhou Pu, and Chen Enze around the county government office to a narrow alleyway deep in the city. After passing through the alleyway, they arrived at the old water gate of the Shi Liang River, which led into the city. The tea house was located on the east bank of the river.

  It was the most common wine and rice shop, nothing special could be seen. The donkey cart was tied to the hitching post in front of the tea hotel, and the luggage was carried in hand. Two green-clad men with waist knives were standing at the door of the tea hotel. Four porters carrying shoulder poles came in and out of the wine and rice shop, they didnt care; Lin Xie and Zhao Hu approached, they blocked the way in front of the shop: "The guest is full, please go to another restaurant for dinner."

  "Whats the reason why others can enter, but when we try to go in, its full?" Zhao Hu was inexplicably blocked at the door by two men, his heart stifled with anger. How could they be so easily intimidated? He furrowed his brow and glared at the two men guarding the entrance.

  Lin tied his eyes to look in from the door, inside the light was very dark, and he didnt know what kind of character would visit this ordinary tea hotel, and let two guards stand at the door; these two guards didnt care about other people coming and going, but they stopped them because he had a dagger around his waist, and another knife was placed in the package on Chen Enzes shoulder, it looked very obvious, after all, Zhou Pu was not yet a follower, as a civilian, it was forbidden to carry weapons with him, and in Shiliang County, he still had to be careful.

  Two men in green robes heard that the people in front of them refused to leave, their faces slightly changed color, became vigilant, and put their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to drive them away.

  These two guards didnt seem like the usual yamen runners, their official speech had a hint of a foreign accent. Lin Xian thought back to when he submitted his request to see Liang Zuoren at the county yamen earlier and the doorman said Liang Zuoren was having a banquet at noon, could it be that Liang Zuoren arrived before them to host his noble guest? Its really unknown whats so special about this tea house, Lin Jingchang and Zhao Hu both like it here, even Stone Bridge Countys parent official Liang Zuoren likes it here.

  Lin Xie was not the same as before, who didnt dare to cause trouble. Moreover, he had the upper hand, and looking at the two guards standing in front of the door with a tough attitude, unwilling to give way, their hands on the hilt of their swords, posing a threatening posture, thinking that it would be better to provoke Liang Zuoren inside, he said loudly: "You are not the masters of this house, blocking us from entering, what kind of reason is this? You press your swords, do you want to threaten us with swords and drive us away? Even if County Magistrate Liang Zuoren is inside, he wouldnt dare to indulge his servants like this. What kind of people are you?"

  Lin Xies words were imposing and awe-inspiring; the two men at the door had no way to respond, taking Lin Xie for a formidable figure in the area. After all, if things escalated into a conflict, the other party was not only local but also outnumbered, and by blocking the door first, they seemed to be in the wrong. They hesitated about whether to let them in.

  Zhao Hu looked at Lin Fu and felt strange. In the past, he and Lin Jingchang were always the ones causing trouble, but when had he ever seen Lin Fu being so overbearing in front of others? And those two men were even wearing swords at their waists, looking very majestic! Zhao Hu didnt care too much about it, if Lin Fu was going to be tough, then he wasnt afraid of stirring up trouble on the streets of Shiliang County either. He shouted towards the shop: "Xiao familys daughter, come out quickly! Whats with the two watchdogs in front of your shop?"

  The slightly older green-clad guard was more serious, but another person couldnt bear being scolded and was about to draw his knife. Zhou Pu stepped forward, placing his hand on the mans wrist, making him unable to exert any strength, and sternly shouted: "Under broad daylight, who dares to draw a knife?" Lin Xie also placed one hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes fixed intently on the slightly older man, and again sternly asked: "Who are you people, daring to be so insolent in Shilian County?" He seemed to think he was the master of Shilian County.

  The young guard pressed Zhou Pus wrist, using all his strength to try and pull out the knife, but it wouldnt budge. He lifted his foot to kick Zhou Pu, but ended up kneeing him instead. If he hadnt grabbed Zhou Pus wrist, he would have fallen over, his face burning with shame and pain, bright red with embarrassment.

  The older guard had more experience, and at this time he didnt dare to make things bigger, loosened his grip on the knife handle, took a step back, cupped his hands and said: "Its not that I want to stop you all, but Mr. Liang Zuoren is having dinner in the inner room..."

  "I had just handed in the door tablet at the county yamen when Magistrate Liang was still entertaining guests in his rear residence... You are allowed to chatter nonsense here!" Lin shouted furiously, "Even if Magistrate Liang were guarding the gate himself, he would have no reason to block us from entering to eat."

  "Whats going on?" A middle-aged man in a long gown walked out, and although he was wearing a long gown, his eyes and exposed muscles showed that he was a practitioner, likely a personal bodyguard and the leader of the three. Behind the middle-aged man, a pretty young woman poked her head out to take a look, saw Zhao Hu, and said: "Ah, its the Zhao brothers..." She quickly explained Zhao Hus identity to the middle-aged man, "Officer, the Zhao brothers are the leaders of the Upper Lin Ferry Camp, and also regular customers of our store. Im afraid theres been a misunderstanding." She clearly didnt know that Zhao Hu had been kicked out of the Upper Lin Ferry Camp half a month ago.

  The middle-aged Han man sized up Lin Lian, Zhou Pu, Zhao Hu and others for a few eyes, thinking that the newcomers were the leaders of the Shanglindu Township Camp. No wonder they were so arrogant. Liang Zuoren had just complained to the adults about the Lin familys tail being too big and handling the local area. Now, he can see it with his own eyes. I dont know if its because the Lin family knows that the adults are in Shiliang County, and they deliberately sent people over to test them. Anyway, they were unreasonable and blocked the door first. The few people in front were also local snakes. The middle-aged Han man sternly shouted at the two green-clad guards: "Let you watch at the door, and didnt ask you to drive people away... Forget it, all of you come in." This sentence was a step down for Lin Lian, Zhou Pu, Zhao Hu and others.

  A middle-aged man and two young guards in green robes entered the shop, and the dispute temporarily ceased. Lin Xie saw that he couldnt provoke Liang Zuoren, so he felt a bit disappointed. They followed the beautiful young woman into the shop. The woman was wearing a blue-flowered cotton jacket with a white apron tied around her waist, which accentuated her slender figure. She looked to be about 21 or 22 years old, and her pale, delicate face was very charming. Her black hair was styled in a low bun on the side of her head, adorned with a silver plum blossom hairpin. Standing at the entrance of the greasy teahouse, she stood elegantly, and it didnt seem like this woman had much of a worldly air about her.

  Lin Xie knew that this was the "Xiao family daughter" in Zhao Hus mouth. This ordinary-looking tea hotel outside, its biggest specialty is probably Xiao family daughter. Even rough cloth clothes cant hide her charming appearance. No wonder Lin Jingchang would linger here, and no wonder the county magistrate also chose this place to entertain guests. Looking at Zhao Hu who often comes over, from ancient times to the present, mens fondness for beauty is not something that needs to be hidden.