Otherwise, how could this new prefect dare to co to the Hundred Flowers Mansion without bringing a few thousand soldiers?
"Let him go."
Li Xuan thought for a mont and said, "Tell him, no one is born wanting to be a bandit; you only took up arms because you couldn’t survive, and all you seek is a full al.
If there were more good officials in the world, you wouldn’t have to resort to this, so you won’t kill him.
Hmm, use that as your reason."
"Yes, master."
The carriage passed by, paused briefly at a dark alley entrance, where the shadow swiftly darted down again. The carriage continued forward, slowly stopping at a sowhat lively tavern.
Li Xuan stepped off the carriage, and after only a few steps, two scholarly-looking n inside the tavern stood up, cupped their hands, and said, "Master Li."
Li Xuan looked over and saw that it was two familiar faces from when he first ca to the Hundred Flowers Mansion and participated in the Yanzi Dock gathering.
His exceptionally strong mory, attributed to his Spirit Attribute, allowed him to rember everything about them with just a glance. He cupped his hands and said, "Brother Ruoxi, Brother Laixiu, amidst rain and wind, I hope you’ve been well."
The two scholars were quite pleased that Li Xuan rembered them, but as they thought of their current situation, they sighed deeply.
The three shared a table, and as the wine flowed, the two scholars, with reddened eyes, loudly spoke of "serving the king, for the country and the people," angrily denouncing those "rebels causing chaos and harming the world." They stood on the moral high ground, fiercely berating those bandits but said nothing about the fact that crops had failed due to the pandemic, and the court had not provided tily aid, or if they did, the relief was intercepted above and never reached the people’s pockets. They lanted that "people’s hearts are not what they used to be" and criticized "acting out of profit."
"A bunch of bookish fools!"
After the al, even Rose couldn’t help but scold.
Li Xuan tapped his attendant gently on the head and said, "What do you know."
Rose stuck out her tongue and said, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."
Li Xuan said, "But didn’t your master also say the sa thing as them?"
Rose said, "Master’s words, deceiving ghost."
Li Xuan laughed, "It’s not deception, you don’t understand... There’s no weapon more useful than righteousness and virtue in this world."
Rose didn’t quite understand.
Li Xuan said, "Using righteousness and virtue to kill soone is not called murder, it’s called eliminating harm. After killing them, everyone will applaud, fools will applaud, and even villains will applaud. Isn’t that terrifying?"
After explaining, he sighed lightly and said, "But... that was the prosperous era.
And the chaotic tis... are almost fully upon us."
An era of chaos for the dynasty...
An era of chaos for demons and monsters...
Which will arrive first?
...
...
Not long after, Li Xuan t the new prefect of Hundred Flowers Mansion.
He was an old man who seed frail but had extraordinarily sharp eyes.
From what his subordinates told him, Li Xuan knew that when this old man was captured by bandits, he faced death with resolve, righteously pointing and cursing at the bandits, showing remarkable courage.
The old man’s surna was Liu, and his na was Baiqing. He led a donkey and walked past the street with his Scholar’s Attendant, heading majestically towards the prefecture. After presenting his credentials, he went straight into the prefecture.
After entering the prefecture, Liu Baiqing began handling affairs.
As ti passed, the previously chaotic Hundred Flowers Mansion gradually started to restore order.
Backlogged cases were cleared, and there were finally patrol soldiers on the once-deserted streets.
Spring plowing also comnced in the fields outside, but with that ca taxes...
Taxes were set by the court, and officials were responsible for collecting them, with no authority to reduce or waive them.
However, there were instances where taxes couldn’t be collected.
This Liu Baiqing never intended to collect the taxes either.
In just a month, this old man had organized the Hundred Flowers Mansion.
A capable official, indeed.
After exhibiting his basic skills, Liu Baiqing began inviting influential local families, including those from the prefectural city and surrounding counties.
But despite sending out invitations, he never really expected all of them to co.
With bandits rampant, many roads had beco dangerous, and the influential families stayed at ho, not daring to travel recklessly.
Yet to Liu Baiqing’s surprise, the Li family from Xiongshan County ca.
The Li family brought several carts of grain and cloth.
The person who visited was a familiar na to Liu Baiqing—Li Xuan.
Liu Baiqing had naturally heard of Li Xuan.
"Respect for teachers" is always a virtue.
And an impassioned "Eulogy for ntor Cao Shuda," not only honored his ntor but also mourned those who died in the pandemic.
A heart that mourns the world was evident in the text.
Even though Cao Shuda was considered a follower of the Pri Minister, it didn’t stop Liu Baiqing from appreciating this eulogy, or the young scholar who wrote it.
Apprentices and ntors, Liu Baiqing knew these concepts well. Yet, at the level of the provincial examination, such a so-called "teacher-student relationship" was not enough to determine soone’s allegiance.
So, in his heart, Li Xuan was just soone who respected his teachers, without any association with the Pri Minister.
Although Liu Baiqing had never t Li Xuan, reading his writings was like eting him. So, when he saw the young man in white leading several carts of supplies, his stern face cracked a smile, as if welcoming a friend from afar.
He smiled and said, "Li Xuan, you finally ca."
Li Xuan bowed, maintaining composure, "Junior pays respects to Prefect Liu."
Liu Baiqing smiled, "You didn’t co sooner, do you not know this old man?"
Li Xuan appeared slightly apprehensive and embarrassed, "Please forgive , Prefect Liu..."
Liu Baiqing laughed heartily, "Whether I am greedy or clean, you needed to see for yourself first. If I were a corrupt official, you should not have co to visit; in this, you did nothing wrong."
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