A moment later,
Lin Xuankong, accompanied by several servants and the junior steward Miao Youren, headed toward the western side courtyard.
After Lin Xuankong, Miao Youren, Miao Wan'er, and the others had left the main hall,
Ma Nanfeng, seated upright in a grand chair, frowned at Miao Yunhu beside her, her face full of disappointment at his failure to live up to expectations.
"Two days ago, I told you that a great figure capable of stirring the winds and clouds across the Northern Three Prefectures would be staying at Qinghu Residence for a time, while also learning about Jizhou Prefecture's war against the Poisonous Tribe!
"Even County Magistrate Huang of Qingyuan County knows nothing about this. My elder sister, who serves as the Director of Military Intelligence in Jizhou Prefecture, secretly told me. Yet you actually failed to seize the opportunity to spend more time over there?
"Do you know that if you could meet that great figure living in seclusion at Qinghu Residence, exchange a few words with him, or gain his favor, your position as Director of the Patrol Bureau would surely soar straight into the sky? If all went well, perhaps in ten or twenty years, you might even sit in my father's seat!
"And yet, these past two days, you kept going to the Patrol Bureau to handle petty matters like catching thieves and bandits. Today, you even went all the way to the tavern to receive some ruined down-and-outer. Do you think you can accomplish anything great, or become some high official, by doing trivial things like catching thieves and currying favor with such down-and-outers?"
Miao Yunhu frowned deeply at her words and sighed.
"I am the Director of the Patrol Bureau in Qingyuan City. Naturally, I must preserve the city's peace and oversee all