Chapter 987

Pan Yun and Xue Shao exchanged a glance, thanked the girl, and actually went to Piaoxiang Pavilion.

Piaoxiang Pavilion was merely a restaurant, unlike Ping'an Inn, which offered both lodging and meals; it did not provide accommodation.

For Pan Yun and Xue Shao, money had always been very important; even though Pan Yun now had no lack of funds, she remained frugal.

In Pan Yun's words, a single tael of silver she saved might save a life, so when they saw the size of the inns on either side, they immediately turned their horses into the alley.

As they looked left and right, someone approached them: "Are you three looking for lodging?"

Xi Jin nodded: "Yes, do you know where there's a cheap place to stay?"

"My place—my house is my own, cheap, just fifty cash per night for a guest room."

Xi Jin frowned: "That's still too expensive."

The man's gaze swept over their horses and he stared blankly: "Too expensive? Go ask at Shunlai Inn across the street—second-class rooms cost a hundred cash."

"If we could afford Shunlai Inn, would we be sneaking down alleys?" Xi Jin now had a strong sense of crisis: "We need to see the room first. If it meets the standard of Shunlai's second-class room, then we'll negotiate."

The man glanced at the sky and reluctantly agreed, rising to lead them deeper into the alley.

"Don't worry—my mother and daughter-in-law cleaned it themselves, spotless, no worse than Shunlai's second-class room. Fifty cash—you're getting a steal."

Xi Jin followed behind, pack on his back: "We don't accept that price—we'll see the room first before discussing."

The house stood at the alley's end, with a small courtyard inside. Pushing open the gate, three rooms lined each side, a parlor in the center, and two doors opening off either side of the parlor—splitting the two main rooms into four separate chambers.

In the courtyard, three bare-chested men bent over a well, scrubbing clothes; upon seeing the landlord return with guests, they looked up.

The landlord stepped forward and slapped their bare backs twice: "Put your clothes on, put them on—I've told you a hundred times, don't strip in the courtyard. What if a female guest sees you?"

The middle-height youth with a long face and arched eyebrows wrung out his wet clothes and cast an invasive gaze at Pan Yun: "We have female guests here?"

"Go, go, of course we have female guests—get dressed!"

After scolding them, the landlord rushed back to guide the three, leading them to the two rooms on the left of the parlor: "These two. The ones across are also second-class. Look—each has a bed, a table, a window, and a washing area. Isn't this better than second-class?"

Seeing all three silent, the landlord grew uneasy and hurried to add: "Don't listen to them—we've had female guests before. Miss, you'll be perfectly safe here."

Pan Yun nodded.

Xi Jin muttered: "She's the safest one, honestly…"

Xue Shao glanced at Xi Jin and said to the landlord: "Fifty cash is too much. Twenty."

The landlord: "... Are you trying to slaughter a pig?"

Xue Shao smiled: "I see the side rooms are dormitories—each holds nearly ten people, right? This courtyard is a den of all sorts. You're the ones benefiting by hosting us. This courtyard is a private lodging—unless someone brings you, who'd dare stay here?"

Xi Jin: "Exactly. We want comfort, but safety comes first on the road. In a proper inn, a dorm bed costs just five cash per person."

The landlord sized them up: "I'm impressed—you three wear fine linen, your horses are fat and strong, and still you haggle over a few cash…"

Pan Yun corrected him: "Thirty cash, not 'a few.' And it's for two rooms combined."

Xue Shao sighed: "Landlord, we'd love to be generous, but travel is hard, our pouches are light—otherwise we wouldn't be staying in a private lodging."

The landlord instantly understood, then asked curiously: "Did you run into bandits on the road?"

All three sighed together, silent.

The landlord saw their expression and sighed: "You're from Zhangzhou, aren't you? There are plenty of mountain bandits there."

Xue Shao immediately asked: "Why so many mountain bandits there?"

"Ah, they all came from the sea. After the sea trade ban was lifted, pirates rejoiced—but before they could raid merchant ships or fishing villages, the imperial navy sailed out to hunt them down. With nowhere left at sea, they slipped ashore and took over the mountains as bandits."

Xue Shao and Pan Yun:... So the sea pirates had turned into mountain bandits after all—same profession, just different terrain.

In the end, the landlord agreed to twenty cash per room—but only if paid upfront.

It wasn't that he distrusted them, but since they mentioned bandits, he doubted whether they still had money.

Xi Jin pulled out his money pouch, counted out forty cash, and after the landlord left, muttered: "Do we look like people who'd skip payment?"

Xue Shao pushed him into the room: "Get inside and settle in—we'll go to Piaoxiang Pavilion for dinner, earn some money, and learn more about Haiyang County."

They carried all important items on their persons; the pack was just a decoy, holding only two sets of clothes, so even in this place, they could safely leave their luggage behind.

The three left the alley and began wandering the streets.

Haiyang County, though the seat of Chaozhou, was far less prosperous than Quanzhou and other places, and its customs differed greatly.

The entire county had only two main roads; the busiest was the one they now walked—running north-south.

Less than five hundred meters north of Piaoxiang Pavilion stood the county government office; directly opposite it was the Prefect's government office.

The Prefect's government office looked decent, but the county government office was dilapidated. Most county yamens had notice boards in front of a square, but Haiyang's lacked sufficient open space—so the notice board stood alone, with only a dozen or so notices stuck haphazardly on it, missing chunks at the top-left and bottom-right corners.

Pan Yun and Xue Shao curiously approached to read them: of the dozen notices, one announced the Emperor's general pardon due to a wind disaster in Quanzhou; the rest were all wanted posters.

Pan Yun's fingers itched; she tore down one, glanced at the description, and considered returning to her old trade.

Xue Shao seemed to sense her thought: "You're going to catch bandits for the bounty?"

Pan Yun: "If you don't say it and I don't say it, who'll know I'm the State Advisor?"

Pan Yun skimmed all ten wanted posters in one glance and cleanly ripped them all down.

She folded them and shoved them into her bosom, patting them: "The cheapest reward is twenty taels, the highest is a hundred. If I catch them all, not only will this southern inspection be covered, even ten more trips would be paid for."

Xue Shao hesitated, then said: "If you catch them all at once, the county government office won't have enough cash—they'll have to discount."

Pan Yun, who had only done this twice before, stared in disbelief: "Bounties can be discounted?"

Xue Shao nodded matter-of-factly: "Isn't discounting the norm? The more you catch, the bigger the cut."

Pan Yun:...

Seeing her silence, Xue Shao asked: "Still going to catch them?"

Pan Yun grumbled: "Yes! I've seen them—how can I let them go? Letting evil go free is harming the good. What if the karmic burden falls on me?"

Xue Shao laughed heartily: "Then I'll help you." Xi Jin, meanwhile, stood across at the Prefect's government office, utterly absorbed—something had caught his eye, and he kept waving frantically: "Master, come quick—there's a notice here!"

The government office runners at both the Prefect's and county yamens had been watching them; the county runners stayed silent, but the Prefect's runner couldn't hold back—he stepped to the gate, hands on hips, pointing at Xi Jin: "How dare you make noise before the Prefect's door? Looking for a beating?"

Xi Jin resented it inwardly but fell silent, still waving urgently at Xue Shao and Pan Yun.

Xue Shao glanced at the government office Runner, then stepped forward.

The government office Runner merely stared at them from the front gate, not approaching further.

Xue Shao clearly looked like a scholar; the government office rarely wished to provoke scholars, for one misstep could bring trouble upon themselves.

The gatekeeper of the county government office saw this and sneered at the opposite gatekeeper, his eyes filled with contempt.

The Prefect's gatekeeper shot back a furious glare.

Xue Shao walked to the notice board outside the Prefect's government office, raised an eyebrow, and said, "This is quite an interesting notice."

Pan Yun stepped forward to look, and exclaimed, "A martial contest for marriage?"

She leaned in to glance at the Prefect's government office gate, then raised an eyebrow: "This is the Prefect's government office, isn't it? Why is a martial contest for marriage notice posted here?"

Xue Shao shook his head. "I don't know."

If you don't know, you must ask.

Pan Yun directly tore down the notice and approached the gatekeeper: "Brother government office Runner, why is this martial contest for marriage notice posted on the government office's notice board?"

The gatekeeper's eyes bulged when he saw her tear it down; he stared straight at Xue Shao behind her: "You—you tore it down?"

Pan Yun waved the notice in her hand: "I tore it down. Why are you looking at him?"

The gatekeeper grumbled and stepped forward, snatching the notice from her with a sharp *pop*: "You're not a man, and you're not here to become a son-in-law—why are you tearing down this notice? Stick it back up!"

But before Pan Yun could even move to reattach it, he ran back to stick it up himself.

Pan Yun followed him, and seeing how carefully he handled it, asked: "Is this family so terrifying that no one dares to tear down the notice?"

She spoke right behind the government office Runner's ear, making him jump; he turned aside, irritable: "This is about becoming a live-in son-in-law. Would you do it, if it were you?"

Pan Yun stroked her chin: "If the family is wealthy, the bride is beautiful, and her character is excellent—why not?"

"But the Feng family doesn't want just anyone—they need someone who can fight, who knows literature, and who isn't too ugly. With such talents, who would become a live-in son-in-law?" The gatekeeper glanced again at Xue Shao, sizing him up: "Young Master, you're quite good-looking. Even if you can't fight, the Feng family might still be delighted to offer their daughter to you—but…"

The gatekeeper turned back to look at Pan Yun and asked: "What is your relationship with him?"

"I have no interest. Goodbye." Xue Shao cut him off, pulling Pan Yun away.

Pan Yun's curiosity had just been stirred, and she was reluctant to leave.

Xi Jin was equally reluctant: "Young Master, aren't you interested? Who would post a marriage notice on the Prefect's notice board?"

"Yes, yes, aren't you interested?"

"I'm interested, but no need to waste time with him," Xue Shao glanced at the two of them and asked: "Do you plan to bribe him with money to get answers?"

Pan Yun: "A handful of copper coins can solve this—just ask casually. How much could he possibly demand from us?"

"Exactly! I already had the coins ready, waiting for Young Master's signal."

Xue Shao: "We're going to Piaoxiang Pavilion. You can find this kind of gossip there—why waste money?"

Pan Yun realized he was right; seeing Xue Shao quicken his pace, she hurried after him and asked: "Should I change my clothes to get better information?"

"No," Xue Shao said. "The further south you go, the looser the restrictions on women. You don't need to dress as a Daoist Priest to sit with us."

Xue Shao was right—there were women at the poetry gathering at Piaoxiang Pavilion, and many of them.

Young, unmarried ladies mostly occupied the second floor, leaning on the railings above to watch the scene below.

Married women mostly came with their husbands, or with sisters or sisters-in-law, just to watch.

They were more lively, gathering in small groups, watching and gossiping about the scholars coming and going.

As soon as Pan Yun and Xue Shao entered the tavern, they were watched—by women.

The two scanned the room and immediately sat in a corner on the first floor; Xi Jin stood behind Xue Shao, about to call a server for tea and snacks, when a server immediately approached with a tray, placing down a pot of wine and two plates of snacks.

Xi Jin hurried to say: "We haven't ordered yet."

The server pointed upstairs: "This is a gift from the Young Lady and Young Mistress of the Lin family."

All three looked up to the second floor, where a cluster of girls were giggling; one young woman with her hair pinned up waved her round fan at Pan Yun and Xue Shao, smiling and nodding slightly.

Xue Shao said nothing; Pan Yun smiled, bowed in return, and asked the server: "Who is the Lin family?"

The server, recognizing them as outsiders, chuckled: "The Lin family is the Prefect's household here in Chaozhou."

Pan Yun understood, told the server to thank them upstairs, and once the server left, asked Xue Shao: "Which Lin?"

"Lin Xian, from Guizhou Province. He's been serving as Prefect of Chaozhou for five years, but his performance has been mediocre, so he's never been promoted."

"Mediocre performance?"

Xue Shao: "He's neither outstanding nor disastrous. Since taking office in Chaozhou, he's achieved no major accomplishments, but also committed no major errors. The Ministry of Personnel once evaluated him—he received a 'Good' rating—so he's remained in post."

As a Censorial Inspector, Xue Shao was required to know something about every official under his inspection.

But his knowledge was mostly official.

Yet even official records revealed many problems.

Pan Yun looked up at the second floor, her gaze thoughtful: "This place is fascinating. I like it."

Xue Shao smiled: "The south lacks the rigid rules of Jingcheng, and the haughtiness of Nanjing and Jiangnan—it's livelier, more casual. When you said you wanted to come here, I knew you'd like it."

"Have you been here before?"

Xue Shao: "I visited Liuzhou Prefecture during my scholarly travels. I came south from Chaozhou all the way to Guangzhou, then entered Liuzhou via Pingle Prefecture."

Pan Yun: "No wonder when you ordered fish balls, you picked up a bit of their accent."