The Comeback of the Charming Farmer's Wife-Chapter 2201 - 2203: Sending Visiting Cards Again

"This?" The Prefect of Xining Prefecture shook his head, "Having the ladies come for a visit is feasible, but we still need to deliberate afterwards. After all, he is the Lord Marquis, and if anything happens in our Xining Prefecture, the court will definitely launch a thorough investigation. By then, I’m afraid none of us will escape. In my opinion, if he doesn’t investigate us, we should serve him well until he leaves Xining. But if he does start probing, we’ll first try to bribe him. If that fails, then we’ll resort to harsher measures."

"Hmm, not bad, let’s proceed as you suggested, brother."

"..."

Having made the decision, the group set off from Liao City.

Upon hearing the news, Ye Zi’an chuckled, "Didn’t expect them to be quite perceptive."

But he ultimately misjudged these people; sometimes a moment’s perceptiveness is just a precursor to even bolder actions later on.

"Madam, several ladies, including Madam Liu from Ning City and Madam Song, have sent visiting cards."

Yang Chuxia glanced at the cards in confusion, "Visiting me? Who are they? We don’t know anyone here in Liao City. Why are they visiting me?"

A hint of irritation flashed in Ye Zi’an’s eyes; these people are truly pervasive. "Madam Liu is the wife of the Prefect of Xining Prefecture, and Madam Song is the wife of the Prefectural Magistrate. Previously, the Prefect of Xining Prefecture sent me a card. I have no interest in meeting these people, but they are relentless, even sending their wives and delivering the card to you."

"In that case, I won’t meet them," Yang Chuxia tossed the cards aside, uninterested in these ladies.

"With nothing pressing at the moment, my lady, you might as well meet them," said Ye Zi’an, "and also discern their purpose in visiting."

"What else could it be?" Yang Chuxia picked up the cards again, "Either they’re here to build relations or to probe us. By the way, how is the investigation into Xining Prefecture going?"

"Xining Prefecture’s accounts appear clean, no signs of embezzlement or bribery on the surface," Ye Zi’an said with a hint of worry, "I’ve conducted secret visits to the residents of Xining these past few days, and their evaluations of the officials are quite favorable. Xining’s tax revenue is considered normal compared with other prefectures, and given Xining Prefecture isn’t inherently affluent, there won’t be major issues with the accounts here."

"As for potential defections, there’s no evidence, and those few individuals are quite united, making it difficult to investigate."

"United?" Yang Chuxia laughed, "Even the strongest alliance will crumble eventually. Besides, it’s difficult to investigate externally, so it’s better to start from the inside, by placing a few people in their residences. Each of these residences has several masters, surely there are one or two who know something crucial, and I refuse to believe they won’t mention it at all. Statistically speaking, across these residences, there will always be one or two who are blabbermouths."

Ye Zi’an smiled, "We’ve reached the same conclusion; I’ve already sent people to their residences, but no news has arrived yet."

"Is that so?" Yang Chuxia said, "Looks like I do need to meet these ladies. Ming Lan, reply with the message that we’ll host them at Qingfeng Pavilion tomorrow."

"Why choose Qingfeng Pavilion?" Ye Zi’an asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This courtyard of ours is rented; we can’t host guests here," Yang Chuxia replied.

Ye Zi’an nodded, thinking that indeed his lady had thought things through. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The next day, at Qingfeng Pavilion, Yang Chuxia departed early, bringing her people to Qingfeng Pavilion.

Their ears and eyes were quite sharp; they must have been waiting around Yang Chuxia’s courtyard for some time.

Because almost immediately after she arrived at Qingfeng Pavilion, these ladies showed up as well.