The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

When it comes to acting skills, everyone seems to be a master at this moment, each one more impressive than the last, all calmly going about their business.

That night, unable to find a place to stay, they rested in the wilderness. Du Mingxian and Ling Silang rested in the carriage, while the others found their own places.

The people who came out with them were also resting in the trees not far away.

The people who followed them disappeared when they entered Ping County the next day.

Ling Silang couldn't sense whether anyone was following him, but he could glean some clues from other people's faces.

"But the person is gone?"

"Hmm, I can't sense it anymore. The other party didn't deliberately hide their presence. They probably aren't afraid of us knowing, or they're testing how skilled we are."

Ling Silang didn't care. "Luckily, we left two people in the shadows. Otherwise, they would have been watching us like the back of their hand."

Considering the situation in Ping County, they entered the city separately in the prefectural city. So of the four people given by the Crown Prince, only Xia Yu was in the open, while Chunfeng, Qiushu, and Dongmo were all in the shadows.

Ping County is not large, not particularly dilapidated, nor very prosperous. It is just an average town. The people don't have enough to eat, but no one starves to death.

In short, we're not the best, but we're better off than most.

Upon entering Ping County, they headed straight for the county government office, only to be stopped at the entrance.

"Who goes there? This is a key location for the county government. If you have nothing to do, leave quickly."

Xiang Guang stepped forward and handed Ling Silang's appointment document to the gatekeeper who was speaking, "This is our master's appointment document, the magistrate of Ping County."

Because of the name of the martial arts-skilled servant given to her by Lord Wen, Du Mingxian often disliked Ling Silang.

The two of them, she named him Xiangyang (meaning "facing the sun"), and Ling Silang named him Xiangguang (meaning "facing the light").

Of the four people the Crown Prince gave her, she named them Spring Breeze and Summer Rain, while he named them Autumn Book and Winter Ink.

That's really annoying.

The yamen runner was illiterate, but he knew that a new magistrate was coming to the county, sent from the capital, and that his wife was the daughter of a high-ranking official, so she was no ordinary person.

Upon hearing that he was the new magistrate, he immediately stepped forward. His previous impatient expression turned into one of obsequiousness. "Sir, I am Feng Si, a yamen runner."

Ling Silang glanced at him but didn't say anything. "Find someone to take Madam and the others to the backyard for accommodation. You come and tell me what the situation is like at the county government office now."

Feng Si was usually at the lowest level, otherwise he wouldn't have been assigned to guard the gate. He was overjoyed to hear that he was being given an important position. "Yes, yes, I'll go right away."

As Feng Si spoke, he ran inside and found Chen Dong, who was usually his closest friend. He asked Chen Dong to take Du Mingxian and the others to the backyard, while he eagerly followed Ling Silang.

Chen Dong was very happy and did not dare to neglect Du Mingxian and the others. He introduced them in great detail as he led them inside.

Behind the county government office were houses for family members to live in.

The previous magistrate died suppressing bandits, dying for the public good and receiving many benefits, so the matter became a big deal, and the emperor also learned that Ping County was still short of an official.

Later, Prince Ming, in order to avenge the officials in his jurisdiction, submitted a memorial, then led his men to suppress the bandits and successfully turned the tables.

The previous magistrate had renovated the backyard very well, and it was... very large. I heard that the previous magistrate had worked here for more than ten years, and had never been transferred to another post, which is quite puzzling.

An said that it was impossible for a county magistrate to stay in one place for so many years unless someone had connections. Under normal circumstances, after three years, if the performance evaluation was average, he could not continue to stay in Ping County, but would be transferred to another county to serve as a county magistrate.

“This backyard is quite big,” Du Mingxian remarked casually.

Chen Dong immediately explained, "Our county magistrate has a lot of family members, so some new ones were built behind the residence."

"Since you're going to build a new one, why not just move it out from the backyard of the county government office?" Xiangyang asked on behalf of Du Mingxian.

"It's not that the adults don't want to, but that they don't have the money."

Everyone stared at Chen Dong with suspicion. Chen Dong glanced around and saw that no one was there. He was also eager to please the new magistrate's wife, so he said in a very low voice, "Sir, there are many women in your backyard. With many women, there are many children. With a large population, expenses are high. Buying another house is unaffordable, but expanding it is barely possible."

"In this courtyard, each woman has only one room. Some women need several to share one room. When there is no room left, the less favored women end up sharing a room with one other woman."

Du Mingxian: "..." So the previous magistrate was a lecher, with so many women in his harem that there wasn't enough room for them all.

Seeing that Du Mingxian remained silent, Chen Dong assumed she didn't believe him and quickly explained, "I'm telling the truth. Everyone in our yamen knows about this, but no one dares to talk about it outside."

Du Mingxian agreed. After all, that was gossip about her superior. Who would be so eager to die if they didn't want to keep their secure job? Besides, in this dynasty, being able to work as a yamen runner was quite a good job.

"Our master is in very good health." Xiang Yang had been instructed by Du Mingxian before he came, so he was eager to find out more information.

Chen Dong smiled subtly upon hearing this. In the past, when the county magistrate was in a good mood, his confidants could even sleep with women the magistrate didn't like.

However, he was not so fortunate. He used to think that one day he would be favored by the county magistrate and sleep with the magistrate's woman, but he never thought he would have the chance again.

Since the county magistrate passed away, his wife has been a ruthless woman. She dealt with all the women directly. Those with children were kept to work, while those without children were sold into brothels.

Du Mingxian had a sharp eye. As soon as she saw Chen Dong's expression, she sensed that he had something left unsaid. However, she didn't rush to ask. "Find a good cook for us. We'll pay her a monthly salary. We came in a hurry and didn't bring many servants with us."

Chen Dong's eyes lit up instantly. "Madam, could I have my husband come? He's a very good cook."

“Okay, go back now and have her come over and try it out. If she does, she can stay and take care of our meals. Your monthly salary will be the same as hers.”

Chen Dong's eyes lit up, and his face flushed with excitement. "Yes, yes, yes, I'll go home right away and tell her to come over. Thank you, Madam, for giving my wife this opportunity."

"go quickly."

Just as Chen Dong was about to leave, Du Mingxian called him back, "I'm short a few men for odd jobs in my yard. Ask around and see if any family members are willing to come. I need... five."

"Three rough-working old women and two second-class maids, but none of them should be hired. You must keep an eye on them."

Chen Dong nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, I will definitely take care of it for you."