By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 239 Arrival in Jiangnan

While Pei Rujing was plotting to build the county magistrate's mansion, Wen Zongji was still adrift on a boat.

Since there were many of them, to avoid trouble, they chartered a boat, and their destination was Yangzhou Prefecture in Jiangnan.

Although the crew was all their own people, Yu Yu was used to being cautious and still arranged for people to patrol every day. Seeing this, the captain did not dare to slack off, and the journey was peaceful.

When the ship docked at Yangzhou Wharf, Wen Zongji and his party disembarked.

"Third Young Master, shall we go into Yangzhou City?"

Wen Zongji nodded: "Since we're here, we should naturally go. Besides, we've been on the ship for so long, and everyone is a bit exhausted. We should rest for a few days in Yangzhou this time."

"Thank you for your understanding, Third Young Master."

Yangzhou, located in the Jiangnan region, was a very prosperous city. People came and went at the city gate. Although Wen Zongji had several carriages, they were all luggage, not goods. He quickly passed the inspection at the city gate and entered Yangzhou.

"Third Young Master, shall we go to the post station first or the Yangzhou branch office?"

Wen Zongji glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Let's stay at the post station for now, have dinner, get a good night's sleep, and head to our branch office tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Yu instructed his men to go to the post station to make arrangements.

When Wen Zongji arrived at the post station, the officials were already waiting at the entrance: "Lord Wen, the courtyard is ready. Are you satisfied?"

The son of the dignified Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, and the husband of the Princess of Anhe County, has actually come to Yangzhou City.

The post station officials almost thought they had misheard. After confirming it was a real person, they quickly arranged for a large courtyard.

Wen Zongji said, "We'll only stay in Yangzhou for a few days. We just need a place to stay. Please prepare some meals for us."

After saying that, Wen Zongji glanced at Chang Dong.

Changdong took out a silver ingot and placed it in the official's hand.

The post station official quickly declined, saying, "This is what we should do; how could we accept your money?"

Wen Zongji said gently, "This money isn't given away for nothing. We're new here and don't know much about Yangzhou, so we need you to go to the restaurant and buy some good food and wine."

The post station officials only accepted the money after they heard it was for buying wine and food.

Wen Zongji and his party then entered the post station.

As Wen Zongji entered the post station, news of his arrival began to spread.

The government office was the first to receive the news.

The yamen runners patrolled the streets every day and were very well-informed. When they learned that a group of people had checked into the post station, they immediately inquired about who they were.

Wen Zongji never deliberately concealed his identity, and the yamen runners quickly learned of it.

Wen Zongji was too powerful, so the yamen runners dared not hide it and immediately reported it to Lin Chaozhe, the prefect of Yangzhou.

Lin Chaozhe nodded calmly: "I know, there's no need to pay attention to it."

After the constables left, the clerk said, "Sir, that man is, after all, the husband of the Princess of Anhe County. Won't ignoring him like this upset him?"

Lin Chaozhe said, "He came to inspect the Yangzhou branch of the Imperial Gazette Office. The Imperial Gazette Office and the prefectural government are not subordinate to each other, so I have no need to get involved. I am just the prefect of Yangzhou, and I have nothing to do with such important figures, nor do I want to, so as not to cause trouble for myself."

The advisor had no choice but to shut his mouth.

Lin Chaozhe made it clear that he didn't want to have any contact with Wen Zongji, so no matter what he said, it would be useless.

……

Yangzhou Post Station

After dinner, Wen Zongji took a bath and changed his clothes. He had been adrift on the ship for half a month and was feeling quite depressed. A bath helped him wash away his fatigue.

Chang Dong walked in and said, "Congratulations, the chief clerk of the Yangzhou branch requests an audience."

Wen Zongji said, "Let him in."

A short while later, a tall, thin young man walked in: "Your humble servant Lu Yiyang greets Your Excellency."

"No need for formalities. Lu Yiyang? I remember you. Yao Maofang has praised you many times, saying you are quick-witted and capable. Assigning you to Yangzhou is a testament to his belief in your abilities."

The Jiangnan region is prosperous, and if you were to take charge of a branch of the Imperial Gazette Office here, you could make a fortune in just a few years. However, the situation here is also complex, with all sorts of people from all walks of life. It is not easy to establish yourself here; you need a capable person to take charge.

Lu Yiyang cupped his hands and said, "This humble official thanks Lord Yao for his appreciation and for giving me this opportunity."

Wen Zongji raised his hand: "Sit down. You've been in Yangzhou for quite some time now, what have you been doing?"

Lu Yiyang said, "Yangzhou is indeed prosperous and wealthy. We made a fortune just from selling the quotas. Later, we printed and sold the Beijing Gazette, and the branch office was well-off just from selling the Gazette. In addition, I have been keeping track of the people's livelihood in Yangzhou and the opinions of the common people."

"You've also cultivated an informant network?"

Before these people left, Wen Zongji instructed them to learn more about the local people's lives.

After establishing themselves, these people all chose to cultivate informants.

No wonder they're from the same place; their methods are pretty much the same.

Lu Yiyang nodded: "I was able to learn of your arrival, sir, because someone informed me that a group of people had arrived at the post station... Sir, the government office is better informed than I am. If I can find out your identity, they should know as well."

What kind of person was the Prefect of Yangzhou?

"I haven't been here long. I only met Prefect Lin on the very first day I arrived. The two government offices are not subordinate to each other and have no regular contact, so I haven't had many opportunities to meet Prefect Lin and naturally don't know much about him. However, the people have a very high opinion of Prefect Lin, saying that he is a good official who is wholeheartedly for the people."

"A good official?"

Wen Zongji asked casually, "Last year, the Tongzhou dike breached, flooding dozens of villages and leaving countless victims. Yangzhou is right next to Tongzhou. If Prefect Lin is truly a good official, shouldn't he have done something about it?"

Lu Yiyang said, "When I heard that there were disaster victims flooding into Yangzhou, Prefect Lin immediately ordered relief for them. It was not because they were from Tongzhou that he refused to help them, nor did he forcibly send them back to Tongzhou."

"In that case, he was indeed a good official... After so many days of heavy rain, the dam in Yangzhou remained completely undamaged?"

Lu Yiyang shook his head: "This humble official does not know. What you wish to know, sir, this humble official can inquire about."

Wen Zongji waved his hand: "No need."

He hasn't figured out how to investigate this matter yet, so there's no need to involve the branch office now.

"I will be going to my post tomorrow. We can discuss anything else tomorrow. You should go back today."

Lu Yiyang stood up: "This humble official takes his leave."

After pondering the matter of the Tongzhou dike breach for a while, Wen Zongji went to bed.

Let's finish inspecting the Yangzhou branch first. Now that we're in Jiangnan, there will always be opportunities for investigation.