Wan Boping chuckled inwardly. Though Hu Xiaotian was shrewd and crafty, he was still young. From what Wan Boping had learned, Hu Xiaotian had run into a brick wall soon after arriving in Azure Cloud. Even a mighty dragon could not subdue the local snake. However capable Hu Xiaotian might be, he might not be a match for the officials who had spent years entrenching themselves here. Xu Qinglian and his crowd were seasoned old hands, every last one of them. Wan Boping deliberately asked, "Have you run into some trouble, Lord Hu?"
Hu Xiaotian nodded. "Overnight, everyone in town started treating me like an enemy. Tell me, I've only been in Azure Cloud a few days. What on earth could I have done to outrage heaven and anger the people, until everyone's baying for my blood? Isn't that unjust?"
Wan Boping could not help smiling. He was not gloating over Hu Xiaotian's misfortune; he had actually discovered a youthful innocence in him. Shaking his head, he said, "I heard you're asking every household to donate five taels of silver to repair Azure Cloud Bridge?"
Hu Xiaotian snapped, "Which bastard's been spouting that nonsense? Isn't that just setting me up?"
Though Wan Boping had not started the rumor, Hu Xiaotian's foul-mouthed tirade still made his old face flush. The young fellow's manners really were cause for concern. However low his rank, he was still an official. How could an official let anything fly out of his mouth?
Hu Xiaotian said indignantly, "Brother Wan, do I look like an idiot to you?"
Hearing him affectionately call him Brother Wan at every turn, Wan Boping felt he was intent on latching onto him. He smiled wryly. "Of course not. You're a fine-looking, accomplished young man, Lord Hu. Only a blind man would