Peng Youzai said, "Elder Niu's words are as good as gold. Peng is all ears."
Hearing him speak so humbly, Guan Fangyi could not help feeling sentimental. She still remembered when she had first followed Niu Youdao to Qingshan Commandery. Back then, Tianyu Sect had been so overbearing. Now the tides had turned, and even Sect Master Peng had learned to bend and stretch.
Feng Entai, seated beside them, also felt a faint pang of melancholy as he thought back to those days.
"No need for empty courtesies between us." Niu Youdao waved a hand. "I invited Sect Master Peng here this time to ask about Northern Province. I heard the situation there is somewhat chaotic. Is that true?"
Chaotic? What chaos was there? Peng Youzai was filled with doubt and cautiously asked, "Which aspect does Elder Niu mean?"
Niu Youdao said, "The governance of Northern Province's commanderies and counties. I heard it is far less stable than when Shao Pingbo was in charge."
"Well..." Peng Youzai hesitated slightly. "In terms of governance, it is not necessarily worse than when Shao Pingbo was there. Back then, Northern Province stood independent and was not bound by Han Kingdom or Yan Kingdom. Officials great and small within Northern Province were all under Shao Pingbo's control, and Shao Pingbo believed in using harsh laws in troubled times. He had always wielded a heavy hand in setting things straight. After Northern Province returned to Yan Kingdom, too many officials of every rank were planted there from all sides. More or less, all of them had ties to the Three Great Sects. Not to mention Tianyu Sect—even Governor Shao Dengyun can only keep one eye open and one eye shut."
"Of course, this is not limited to Northern Province. Many prefectures and provinces across the