Women dressed as men: powerful officials

"You too." Xu Yuan replied with a smile.

She always felt that someone was following her, keeping a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

But she didn't know who it was.

It was not until Cheng Jie and a few others came out that she felt that there might be more than one person following her.

She went through all of them and only kept one name.

Chen Shan.

Chen Shan is the only one who has the time and ability to follow her.

After Xu Yuan greeted him, he asked, "Why are you following me? Are you spying on me?"

"Mr. Xu has misunderstood. Following Mr. Xu is my master's order. It is not to monitor Mr. Xu, but to protect him."

"Do you think I will believe it?"

"The master said that Master Xu had offended Cheng Tiankun because of Miss Song, and now the people of the Song family will arrive in Sishui County soon. Once the people of the Song family leave, Cheng Tiankun will probably cause trouble for Master Xu, so he asked his subordinates to protect the safety of Master Xu."

After hearing Chen Shan's words, Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, and then said, "Your master knows the situation in Sishui County very well."

If she remembered correctly, Shen Renyao had been in Sishui County for less than half a month.

During this period, we spent a long time in the desert.

Chen Shan said: "Mr. Xu is joking."

"I don't need you to protect me, and I'm not afraid of Cheng Tiankun."

Xu Yuan looked at Chen Shan and said, "If your son wants to win me over for the Third Master, please tell him that Xu Yuan is just a village man who only wants to protect his family. He will not participate in the fight for the throne, nor will he take sides in the court."

With every word Xu Yuan said, the shock on Chen Shan's face grew more intense.

Especially, the last sentence.

In this deserted alley, the boy's voice was unusually frank.

Chen Shan didn't even know whether making a wish was smart or too stupid.

Xu Yuan could guess Bei Yao's intention.

But he said it so carelessly, aren't you afraid of being silenced?

After a long while, Chen Shan said, "The Third Master and the Crown Prince are brothers, and now that the position of the Crown Prince has been decided, the Third Master does not covet the throne."

At least, that's what it looks like on the surface.

In the capital, the Third Master Bei Yao is just a playboy, and no one would associate the fight for the throne with Bei Yao.

Some even said that the emperor and the empress kept Bei Yao in the palace because they were afraid that Bei Yao would act too recklessly.

"You're the only one who believes this, right?"

Wishing smile.

"If you didn't have that intention, why would you win over Shen Yichuan and make friends with your son? If you didn't have that intention, why would you send people all the way to Sishui County to keep an eye on Song Xiujing? Not only that, Third Master is much bolder than I thought. Just based on what your son did in the Geshu tribe, Third Master and I are doomed to never become allies in this life."

Xu Yuan looked at Chen Shan, and after finishing what was in his heart, he said frankly: "So, please tell your son not to send anyone to follow me. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake."

Hearing this, Chen Shan was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know whether to say that you are eloquent or that you are bold and reckless."

"Then convey my words to your master one by one, and he will naturally understand."

Xuyuan dropped the stick in his hand and gently patted the ashes in his hands.

"It's getting late. I'll leave now. I hope we won't see each other again."

Seeing that Xu Yuan had no intention of turning back, Chen Shan said, "Mr. Xu, wait a moment."

"how?"

"Aren't you afraid that those people will really sue the authorities?"

Chen Shan felt from the beginning that Xu Yuan's words were just bluffing.

But he didn't expect that the wish was real and he didn't care at all.

Maybe what Xuyuan is thinking about now is to go home early to eat.

Really... courageous.

Xu Yuan paused as he was leaving and turned back to say, "I thought your son was smart, and you should be smart too, but I didn't expect you to be a bit stupid."

"you……"

Seeing Chen Shan was a little angry, Xu Yuan shrugged and smiled, "I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"

"Yes, you are telling the truth." Chen Shan responded with gritted teeth.

He is a secret guard, and his only advantage is his good martial arts skills.

As for strategy, he is naturally no match for Shen Yichuan and other strategists.

But there are also things that Shen Yichuan cannot compare to him, for example... Shen Yichuan doesn't even know any martial arts.

Every stick has its own strengths and weaknesses, but Chen Shan doesn't think this is a bad thing.

But when he heard Xu Yuan say it like that, he still felt inexplicably unhappy.

"Forget it, since you helped me before, I'll say a few more words."

Xu Yuan walked back, picked up the gravel on the ground, and said, "The highest officials in Sishui County are the county magistrate and the general. Sishui County is different from other counties in Tianqi because it is the northern defense line. Therefore, in Sishui County, the general's power is almost greater than that of the county magistrate. However, the general is stationed outside all year round, so this power naturally falls on the county magistrate."

"According to the laws of Tianqi, the highest position is the county magistrate. Therefore, officials below the county magistrate are appointed and dismissed by the county magistrate, and do not need a letter from the court. The Cheng family is now a township with an order."

Hearing Xu Yuan's words, Chen Shan couldn't help but sneered and said, "I know all these things myself."

"Then listen carefully. What follows is something that you, and perhaps your young master, don't even know."

As he made the wish, his expression became more serious.

Seeing this, Chen Shan couldn't help but hold his breath.

Xu Yuan said, "Your son must know about the Song family's intention to take the concubine back. If I were the Song Taiwei, I would naturally contact the local county magistrate to take the concubine back. But the Taiwei did not contact him. Why?"

Chen Shan said: "Because the county magistrate is the prince's man, Song Taiwei naturally cannot trust him."

"Yes, so the person that General Song contacted was the Cheng family. Why did the Cheng family bother to do this?"

"Take the credit."

"That's part of the reason, but the main reason is that they want power. The Cheng family is rich, but no matter how rich they are, they are only a township magistrate. If you want to be a county magistrate, you have to take the national exam. If you are in other places, there may not be a way, but in Sishui County, there is a shortcut."

Chen Shan pondered the words of the wish and slowly pieced together the answer: "Battlefield."

"That's right. So, this is why Cheng Tiankun tried to curry favor with General Song. Similarly, Cheng Tiankun couldn't let the county magistrate know about this. First, he was afraid that what he did would offend the county magistrate. Second, he was afraid that if this matter was leaked, he would offend the general. Third, you should also know this."

I didn’t say everything in the wish. Some things can only be mentioned briefly.

After saying that, Xuyuan threw away the stone and wiped away all the traces on the ground.

Chen Shan saw this and finally asked, "Then how can you be sure that the county magistrate is the prince's man?"

"Sishui and Tianqi fight a small war every three years and a big war every five years. I guess the imperial court should have sent a lot of food and grass, right? But even so, Sishui County is still poor. Where do you think the food and grass went?"