Chapter 161: If Only There Had Been an Elm Tree Bay Back Then

Most people feel socially awkward in many situations simply because they lack thick skin.

Faced with Zhao Hengyi and Xi Ning, who acted like sworn brothers, Magistrate Liu Rui felt as though he were sitting on pins and needles. Throughout the banquet, his movements were rigid and his expression blank. Looking at Xi Ning, he inwardly slandered that the bureaucrats of the Great Yan Dynasty truly needed a thorough cleansing; how could such a dull person manage to serve as the father and mother official of a whole county? The common people of Dangyang County were suffering bitterly!

A seventh-rank county magistrate sounded like a sesame-seed-sized official, but in reality, his position was far from simple.

Take Liu Rui, for instance: the hundreds of thousands of common people in Dangyang County all fell under his jurisdiction. Every major affair and minor detail could be decided by his single word.

Yet in Xi Ning's eyes, a mere county magistrate was truly not worth mentioning.

After all, this fellow had emerged from the palace, and after pledging his loyalty to Imperial Concubine Chen, he had been rising rapidly. Even high-ranking officials of the third or fourth rank had to wear smiling faces and affectionately address him as "Eunuch Envoy" upon meeting.

However, Xi Ning was well-versed in human relations. Although he inwardly despised Liu Rui's dull temperament, on the surface he remained completely composed, which was essentially out of respect for Lord Zhao.

To put it bluntly, Liu Rui did not truly understand how to be an official in the Great Yan Dynasty. If it were his senior martial brother, Prefect Zhang Qicheng of Jiangling, speaking of composing poetry at a banquet was out of the question—if he didn't summon a few popular courtesans to liven up the atmosphere, it would mean Lord Zhang simply lacked worldly sophistication!

By the end of the banquet, the relationship between Zhao Hengyi and Xi Ning had grown even more harmonious, to the point where the two of them felt almost inseparable.

Though ostensibly just eating and drinking, it was actually a process of mutual probing and familiarization between the two parties.

Overall, as long as it didn't involve controversies and rights-and-wrongs, Zhao Hengyi felt that Xi Ning was a rather decent person.

He was sufficiently intelligent, understood how to advance and retreat, and was not nearly as arrogant and despotic as the palace eunuchs in his impression.

In fact, the reason Imperial Concubine Chen continuously re-employed Xi Ning and sent him to walk outside the palace walls was also based on considerations of his personality.

Cautious, loyal to his duties, shrewd, and adaptable—these were the most basic requirements, but understanding one's own positioning was the most crucial factor of all.

Even though Imperial Concubine Chen was riding a wave of unmatched influence, showing a determination to seize the position of Empress of the Inner Palace and relentlessly pressing the current Empress, this did not mean she was a brainless, stupid woman.

On the contrary, Imperial Concubine Chen was extremely intelligent; had it not been so, she could never have played the Emperor in the palm of her hand.

This time, taking advantage of the imperial court's permission to establish local militias, she had pushed out her own younger brother to turn the Black Flag Camp—which enjoyed great renown both within and outside the court—into the private army of the Chen family. The stakes involved here far exceeded a mere official title or even a peerage!

Had Chen Yongzhong not had the experience of commanding the Black Flag Camp, and had his peerage not been earned by leading the Black Flag Camp to resist the iron cavalry of the nomads, Imperial Concubine Chen would truly not have felt at ease letting her own younger brother personally serve as the commander of this militia.

She knew very well how much capability her younger brother actually possessed; she was simply acting out of desperate necessity!

Regardless of how it came to be, since this matter was to be done, it had to be done impeccably!

Therefore, Zhao Hengyi, who had once led the Black Flag Camp to shatter the nomadic army at Yonggu City, became the key figure!

As for whether deliberately downplaying Zhao Hengyi's existence previously—in order to credit her younger brother with the merit of resisting the nomadic invasion along the Yonggu City front line—would cause this Baron of Cangwu County to harbor resentment, Imperial Concubine Chen had also considered it repeatedly.

The whole affair had actually begun operating in secret when Xi Ning traveled to Jiangling City last time.

Xi Ning's impressions and views of Zhao Hengyi, along with his evaluation of this Lord Zhao, were the sources that ultimately enabled Imperial Concubine Chen to make up her mind.

Thus, Xi Ning's evaluation of Zhao Hengyi was extremely high. At least in the view of this Eunuch Xi, when the interests and demands of both sides were aligned, this Lord Zhao was a fellow who could be trusted and relied upon.

And by the end of the banquet, Zhao Hengyi had already devised numerous countermeasures in his mind.

After the feast, Zhao Hengyi directly invited Xi Ning to reside in Yushu Bay, using an excuse that was naturally impeccably grand.

The entire Black Flag Camp numbered nearly three thousand men, and settling such a force required far more than just ensuring they had a bite to eat.

Since they were going to organize a militia, they needed encampments to live in, drill grounds to train on, and adequate logistical supply guarantees... along with a whole series of complicated matters and supporting facilities.

Although Xi Ning had secretly put in a lot of effort before coming, upon facing all these miscellaneous and complex matters mentioned by Zhao Hengyi, he was still filled with admiration!

Her Ladyship did not choose the wrong person this time!

This humble servant's suggestion was spot-on!

This Lord Zhao is truly an expert who understands troops and knows how to train them!

As for Zhao Hengyi's decision, Liu Rui looked at him completely with the expression of someone watching a fool!

Faced with a eunuch who had come out of the palace, everyone else would avoid him like the plague, yet Zhao Hengyi actively went out of his way to invite him to stay at his own home. Was there a screw loose in his head?

Usually, this Lord Zhao did not seem like the type of person keen on currying favor with powerful nobles.

Though he could not see through it clearly, Liu Rui still secretly rejoiced in his heart. If Zhao Hengyi had not invited Eunuch Xi to Yushu Bay, and such an envoy had stayed in the county town of Dangyang, he, the magistrate, probably wouldn't have been able to sit in peace!

Thinking of the misdeeds committed by eunuchs who went to the provinces that he had heard about, Liu Rui felt an even greater lingering fear!

Lord Zhao was truly a righteous hero willing to bear the burden—sacrificing himself to protect the other common people of Dangyang County. Such noble character and integrity were rarely seen in this world!

Upon arriving at Yushu Bay, Xi Ning was given the identity of a traveling scholar, with the explanation that he had some early years of affection with the clan of the female chieftain Miao Xiaoyu and had specifically traveled to seek refuge.

Aside from the security guard and a few important figures in the village who were informed in advance, everyone else paid no mind to this scholar who looked wide-eyed and astonished at everything.

After all, these times were turbulent; first came natural disasters, then man-made calamities, and the Great Yan Dynasty was in such a chaotic state that countless people fled and sought refuge with relatives. This little scholar was lucky, and his ancestors had accumulated virtue, since he happened to be an old acquaintance of the mistress's family. Coming to Yushu Bay meant he could at least live out his days properly.

Although Xi Ning grew up in the palace, he had already been four or five years old when he entered, retaining some fragments of childhood memories.

He, too, came from a impoverished background; in this world, if life hadn't become completely unlivable, who would bear to send their child into the palace to become a eunuch?

After latching onto the coattails of Imperial Concubine Chen, Xi Ning had also traveled outside the palace walls several times. Although most of those trips were just skimming the surface, he truly understood the sufferings of the mortal world.

Everything he saw in Yushu Bay completely shattered Xi Ning's worldview!

The common people here were busy and bustling; everyone had work to do, and even the elderly and children had no idle moments.

Yet this sort of busyness was not oppression or exploitation; rather, it was an energy injected with vibrant vitality—a wonderful thing that allowed everyone to eat their fill and dress warmly!

Especially after learning of the existence of night schools, Xi Ning hid in his room and wept bitterly.

If back then there had also been a Yushu Bay, and a master like Zhao Hengyi, and he had happened to be born in Yushu Bay... then would his destiny have been rewritten?

Most certainly!