When Jin Feng came to Xichuan, Guan Xiaorou wanted to let Runniang follow him.
However, Jin Feng had to join military operations at that time, so he refused.
Unexpectedly, Runniang still came.
Now that the war had ended, Jin Feng did not want to make things difficult for himself.
Since she had come, so be it. It just so happened that he had grown tired of the army’s communal cooking, and with Runniang here, she could improve the meals.
“How is Xiaorou?” Jin Feng asked.
On the night before he left, Guan Xiaorou had tormented him quite a bit, and it coincided with around her ovulation period, so Jin Feng had just been wondering whether Guan Xiaorou was pregnant.
But Guan Xiaorou would definitely not tell Mancang about such a matter, so asking him would be pointless.
Runniang spent every day with Guan Xiaorou, so if Guan Xiaorou were pregnant, she would certainly know.
“Sister Xiaorou is doing well. It was just that when sir first arrived, she worried about sir a great deal and could not sleep night after night. Later, when she learned that sir had won the battle, she was fine.”
Runniang said, “Sister Xiaorou misses sir very much and also wanted to come to Xichuan, but Sister Dongdong has been going to Guangyuan city frequently lately for business, and the village really could not spare anyone, so they could only send me.”
“You have had a hard journey, travelling so far.”
From Runniang’s tone and expression, Guan Xiaorou was probably not pregnant.
Jin Feng felt a little relieved, yet also a little disappointed.
In both his previous life and this one, he had never had children, nor was he prepared to become a father, so he had always insisted on contraception.
Yet he also harboured some anticipation and longing for a child.
“What would sir like to eat tonight? I will go and prepare it shortly,” Runniang asked.
“Steam a pot of rice, then see what vegetables there are and prepare some. That will do.”
Jin Feng said, “Cook enough for several people. I expect some will come to scrounge a meal.”
“Understood!” Runniang smiled and returned to the kitchen.
“Mancang, you said earlier there was one more matter. What is it?”
Jin Feng turned to Mancang again.
“Oh, both the prefect of Guangyuan and the magistrate of Jinchuan county have been replaced,” Mancang replied.
“The princess nearly died at the hands of river bandits in their territory, so they were bound to be replaced.”
Jin Feng asked without much concern, “Who have they been replaced with?”
“The prefect seems to have come from the capital, called Xie Xiguang. The magistrate is a jinshi from Jiangnan, called Cai Liuyang.”
“Have their backgrounds been investigated?” Jin Feng asked.
“Xiaoyu probably sent people to look into it, but I do not know the results,” Mancang shook his head. “I did not ask.”
“Do you know how old they are?” Jin Feng asked.
“I heard Xiaoyu mention it. They seem to be fairly young. The prefect is not yet fifty, and the magistrate appears to be only in his thirties.”
“I see.” Jin Feng nodded slightly, his voice becoming a little lower.
Xihewan fell directly under the jurisdiction of Jinchuan and Guangyuan, so maintaining good relations with the local officials was very important.
The previous prefect had no great ambitions and only wished to retire peacefully.
The magistrate had also been suppressed for years by Instructor Zhou, so his foundation was unstable.
Neither wanted to provoke Jin Feng, so the three sides had always maintained a tacit understanding.
Unfortunately, disaster struck from the heavens, and the old prefect did not manage to hold on until a peaceful retirement after all. He was still removed.
Once the prefect was removed, the Jinchuan magistrate naturally could not escape either.
Both were quite innocent, but their luck was truly terrible.
The newly appointed prefect and magistrate were both in the prime of life, and to smoothly fill such substantial posts as prefect and magistrate, their families must certainly have connections.
People like this generally would not be content to remain idle like the old prefect. They would definitely aim to climb higher.
For officials in the Dakang dynasty to advance, it was not about achieving real accomplishments or competing on governance performance, but about whose backing was stronger and who spent more silver lobbying in the capital.
Therefore, many officials desperately amassed wealth while in office, then went to the capital to pull strings.
Jin Feng was the biggest financial backer in both Jinchuan and Guangyuan, and he was unsure whether the other side would target him.
However, Jin Feng had just achieved great merit, and he was very close to the Ninth Princess, so ordinary people would not dare provoke him.
Moreover, since Tang Dongdong and Xiaoyu had not sent any message through Mancang, the situation was probably not serious.
So Jin Feng worried briefly, then stopped fretting and asked Mancang about other recent developments.
His guess was correct. Just as Runniang finished preparing dinner, Qing Mulang and the Ninth Princess came together to scrounge a meal.
They did not treat themselves as outsiders at all.
“Sir, will you be stationed in Xichuan permanently from now on?” the Ninth Princess asked casually after sitting down.
“Being stationed in Xichuan permanently would be good!” Qing Mulang’s eyes lit up. “Xichuan city is so lively. Bring Xiaorou and Xiaobei here, settle in Xichuan, then I would not have to travel so far to Xihewan.”
“If you do not go to Xihewan, you still cannot escape the military punishment you deserve!”
Jin Feng glanced at Qing Mulang. “Now that the fighting has ended, find some time soon and go to Damangpo to receive your punishment.”
“Understood!” Qing Mulang sighed and nodded in agreement.
Being trapped on Wulang Mountain had indeed been her fault.
Now that the fighting was over, it was time to accept the penalty.
Seeing the Ninth Princess looking at him, Jin Feng realised he had not yet answered her question.
Without thinking, he shook his head directly and said, “I have no intention of staying in Xichuan. Once the matters with the bank are arranged, I will return to Xihewan.”
Xichuan city was the Qing family’s territory. At present, relations with the Qing family were very good, but such great clans always put interests first. It was not advisable to become too deeply involved.
Unless he could marry Qing Mulang, otherwise, if interests ever conflicted, the Qing family would abandon him without hesitation.
Qing Mulang’s status, though not equal to the Ninth Princess, was still far too high for her to become his concubine.
Asking Jin Feng to divorce Guan Xiaorou to marry Qing Mulang was simply impossible.
If he invested too much in Xichuan under those circumstances, he would surely find himself constrained in everything.
Rather than falling out later, it was better to maintain the current relationship.
Xihewan was remote, far from the emperor’s oversight. How comfortable it was to be beyond anyone’s control.
Why willingly come to Xichuan city to be constantly watched?
The reasoning Jin Feng understood, the Ninth Princess, this adept player in court politics, naturally understood as well.
In fact, she also felt that the current triangular relationship between the Qing family, Jin Feng, and herself was the best. Seeing that Jin Feng had recently been opening kilns and building factories, she had worried a little that he might put down roots in Xichuan.
She had only probed earlier. If Jin Feng truly had such intentions, the Ninth Princess would have found an opportunity to remind him.
Now receiving a negative answer, the Ninth Princess breathed a sigh of relief and directly changed the subject. “Is sir really going to open a bank?”
“I want to try. If it does not work, we will see.”
After all, Jin Feng was not very familiar with Dakang, so he did not dare to speak too confidently.
“After sir mentioned it, I have thought about it these past few days. I feel that if sir truly opens a bank, charging no handling fees at all would not be appropriate.”
The Ninth Princess said, biting her chopsticks.
This was something one would never see in the palace.
But now she had grown accustomed to eating and talking with Jin Feng.
Moreover, her speech had become increasingly casual.
Her self-address had changed from the original “this palace” or “Wuyang” to “I”.
These changes all showed that her relationship with Jin Feng had become much closer.
“Why would it not be appropriate?”
Jin Feng put down his chopsticks and asked.
He was not familiar with the financial industry, so listening to others’ opinions was quite beneficial.
