Tianliangyuan

Chapter 309 Wei Xuan

Xu Zhaozhao teased her for a few moments, then stopped joking; serious business still needed to be done.

Pagoda Fruit has a special place in Beijing for receiving customers, which Xu Zhaozhao named Baiweixuan.

This place not only serves customers of Pagoda Fruit, but also houses a private restaurant in the back. You have to pay for a year's worth of food here to be eligible to dine here.

Paying three years' rent upfront qualifies you to reserve a private room and enjoy more exclusive privileges.

This year's money is not cheap.

Therefore, apart from the top elite circles, outsiders have no idea what Baiweixuan is all about.

Occasionally, one might see some merchants or managers coming and going, but one would simply assume they were there to drink tea and discuss matters.

As the behind-the-scenes owner of Baiweixuan, Xu Zhaozhao naturally has the right to enjoy tea and meals here.

Liu Qi never expected that he would be invited by the Princess of Anle.

If you were to ask him if there were any conflicts between him and the Princess of Anle, he could recall them, but if you were to ask if there was any affection between them, that was truly not the case.

"I've met the county lord."

Xu Zhaozhao smiled slightly: "Magistrate Liu, there's no need for such formalities. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Standing beside Xu Zhaozhao were Dingxiang and Zisu, while Maidong stood outside the door. Also guarding the door with him were Liu Qi's attendants.

"I've heard that Magistrate Liu is currently short-handed?"

"The county magistrate is well-informed."

"It's not that I'm particularly well-informed, it's just that I happen to have a relative who meets Magistrate Liu's selection criteria."

Liu Qi felt aggrieved. He couldn't say he had a grudge against Xu Zhaozhao, but they were definitely not people he could sit down and have a nice cup of tea with.

“Princess, the Ministry of Personnel should be in charge of personnel matters in the imperial court.”

Xu Zhaozhao laughed: "So, it seems that Lord Liu in the Chang'an County government has no authority whatsoever? If that's the case, perhaps I should go and ask him?"

Liu Qi was speechless for a moment. He dared not underestimate this Princess Anle.

But considering his relationship with the Duke of Su's mansion, and then thinking about the county princess's position, he really dared not provoke her, nor dared to cooperate with her.

“Magistrate Liu, you are a relative of the Duke of Su, but you are not young anymore. Is a mere county magistrate enough for you?”

This statement already carries a hint of courting.

Liu Qi remained silent, not because he didn't want to talk, but because he genuinely hadn't expected the county magistrate to invite him over to discuss such matters.

He wasn't prepared at all, how should I respond?

“Magistrate Liu, I’m not in a hurry. After all, he’s just a relative to me. If you can’t accommodate him here, I can naturally arrange for him to be placed in Wannian County. However, I have always admired Lord Liu’s talent, so I thought I could recommend him if the opportunity arose. But if Lord Liu’s ambitions are not in the court, then I would be meddling in other people’s business.”

How should I answer that?

Liu Qi looked up at her, his expression as if he had suffered a great injustice.

After a moment of silence, Liu Qi asked, "Was it the county princess who intervened earlier?"

Xu Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow: "Does it matter?"

It was a vague and ambiguous conversation, but both of them knew what the other was referring to and what the other meant.

Liu Qi suddenly sighed: "I never imagined that Lord Xu, such a rough man, would have such a wise and intelligent daughter as the County Princess. I was wrong before, I always thought it would be the Third Young Master. I never expected that the County Princess was the one who was hiding the deepest secret."

"Why does Magistrate Liu flatter me? Magistrate Liu is very talented, and it is not impossible for him to become prime minister in the future."

This is the truth.

Xu Zhaozhao genuinely believed that Liu Qi was a capable person.

He is capable of investigating cases and can always keep a clear head. Even when he is being used by the Duke of Su's mansion, he knows to leave himself a way out.

People like this deserve to be in officialdom.

People like Fu Pei rely purely on their talent, their courage, and their concern for the people.

As for Liu Qi, he has extremely high emotional intelligence and is well-versed in the ways of officialdom. It would be an injustice if such a person did not rise to a high position in the future!

The only pity is that although Liu Qi is related to the Duke of Su's family, his family background is not as good. The reason he was able to catch the Duke of Su's eye is because he thinks Liu Qi is young and needs support because of his family's poverty. It is thought that he can coax Liu Qi to work for the Duke of Su's family by giving him a couple of meat buns.

The Duke of Su handled this matter rather unethically.

“I know the relationship between the Duke of Su’s mansion and the Prince of Zhong’s mansion, but Magistrate Liu may not know it.”

Liu Qi frowned, feeling that Xu Zhaozhao's words had gone too far.

How could he not know?

But when he met Xu Zhaozhao's ambiguous smile, Liu Qi felt a chill run down his spine, sensing that she knew more secrets than he did.

"The entanglement between the Duke of Su and the Prince of Zhong's mansion is too deep. It's not enough to just get rid of Jiang Fu. Right now, if the Duke of Su wants to have his cake and eat it too, he has to see if the other side will allow him to do so, and whether the ship has already been compromised."

Liu Qi understood this time.

The Duke of Su was worried that the Prince Zhong's mansion was unreliable, so he wanted to find another prince to secretly support.

But he only guessed this based on his keen sense of officialdom and some information he had gathered. How did Xu Zhaozhao know this?

In just a few breaths, Liu Qi felt his palms sweating. He hadn't noticed it at first, but now he realized just how capable this county princess was!

"Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

"Tell me first, is it possible to handle my matter?"

"It can be done."

This time, Liu Qi agreed without any hesitation.

"Very well. I won't make things difficult for you."

After Xu Zhaozhao finished speaking, she took out an envelope, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards him.

“Your current county magistrate has been dishonest and has gone too far. How you deal with him is your business. But I hope this position will be reserved for Zhou Shiqian.”

"Very well. Does the county princess have any other requests?"

"The sooner the better."

"I understand."

Xu Zhaozhao nodded in satisfaction: "The deal between us is off the table. I won't acknowledge it once we leave this door, and neither can you. If anything happens, just come back here and leave a message with the steward. Magistrate Liu, I, Xu Zhaozhao, promise you that as long as you haven't committed any heinous crimes of treason or rebellion, I will guarantee your safety."

If someone else had said that, Liu Qi would have thought they were just bragging.

But when Xu Zhaozhao said those words, he actually believed her to some extent.

He had truly experienced this man's abilities when he dealt with the Marquis's mansion before.

If Xu Zhaozhao hadn't revealed it today, he probably would never have guessed that his former opponent was such a young woman.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I will do my best to serve you."

"Your position as magistrate of Chang'an County is temporarily untouchable, but next spring I will give you a big gift. I also hope that Magistrate Liu can understand that I, Xu Zhaozhao, have never been a stingy person."

"Then I shall wait and see."

Xu Zhaozhao left with a smile, and the cold sweat on Liu Qi's forehead only dried in the wind when he walked out of Baiweixuan's door.