Strictly speaking, today’s visit to Linglong Manor was supposed to be just a routine inquiry—hardly important enough to warrant the presence of the county magistrate himself. Yet strangely enough, Shu Qiu came in person.
Inside the hall, Steward Fu served tea. Shufeng smiled lightly. “I’ve heard, Lord Shu, that you came from the capital. I’m afraid I have no fine tea to offer—please forgive the humble hospitality.”
“It’s quite all right,” Shu Qiu replied, taking a sip. “I’m not a difficult man to please. They say it’s nearly impossible to set foot inside Linglong Manor, yet here I am, sitting and drinking tea. That alone is something worth boasting about.”
“You flatter me, my lord.”
Shu Qiu smiled. Shufeng smiled as well—one graceful, the other gentle—but neither smile reached the eyes.
Then suddenly, Shufeng’s expression changed. His gaze trembled slightly, as though he were waiting for something—or someone—precious to appear.
Following his gaze toward the doorway, Shu Qiu saw what had caught his attention. Light footsteps echoed in the hall, and a young girl in red came running in. She looked no older than seven or eight, delicate as a carved jade figurine. She had clearly run all the way here; her breath came in quick gasps. Yet she didn’t stop to rest—she ran straight up to the man in white and grabbed his hand.
“Are you all right?” she asked anxiously.
“I’m fine.” In contrast to her panic, Shufeng’s tone was calm. He took out a white handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, smiling faintly. “Why were you running in such a hurry?”
“Because I was worried about you!” The words slipped out before she could think, revealing every bit of her concern.
“And why were you worried about me?” he asked softly.
“I heard the magistrate’s men came to question you! You’re not in good health—what if they tortured you?” She clutched his hand even tighter, her eyes filled only with him, as though no one else in the room existed.
Shu Qiu gave an awkward cough. “Young lady, I can assure you—whether interrogations were harsh before my time, I can’t say. But since I took office, I’ve never allowed torture in my court.”
“And you are?” Fengguang asked, eyeing him up and down.
He wasn’t bad-looking, but far too refined for her taste—almost too polished, like one of those handsome young dandies.
“You mean you don’t know who I am?”
“Should I?”
Shu Qiu almost choked. Impossible. In Tong County, from the elderly to toddlers, every woman knew his name! And yet this girl clearly wasn’t pretending. She was far too sincere—and far too pretty—for him to be offended.
He stood, smiling with deliberate charm. “My name is Shu Qiu, current magistrate of Tong County.”
“The magistrate of Tong County?” Fengguang blurted out, startled. “That’s impossible!”
“And why is that?” he asked.
Because, according to her memory, the county magistrate was supposed to be the heroine Chen Hongdou’s father, meaning his surname should be Chen, not Shu. And certainly not such a young man!
Shu Qiu assumed the girl was simply being argumentative. With a graceful flick of his wrist, he opened his folding fan, looking every bit the elegant scholar.
“I was born into a family of scholars,” he began proudly. “By age three, I’d mastered the Thousand Character Classic. By six, I could recite the Book of Songs. At seven, I was already writing essays that earned His Majesty’s praise. I passed the imperial examination at sixteen, won top honors at eighteen, and when the previous county magistrate retired, His Majesty personally appointed me to take his place here in Tong County.”
“In other words,” Shufeng interjected coolly, “unlike most top scholars, Lord Shu did not remain in the capital to serve at court—but came here instead… to serve as a county magistrate.”
A subtle jab hung in the air. In other words, he’d been quietly demoted.
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 12