"What business does an Outer Prefecture Elder like you have attending a Council of Elders meeting?" Tu Qianqiu happened to hear this and immediately began sneering.
"Exactly. I've never heard of an Outer Prefecture Elder being qualified to attend," Wu Zi said with a nod.
"Just how many elders does the City Lord's Residence have?" Tang Wen couldn't help asking.
"You think you're something special, do you? They give you an elder's title and you forget which way is north. Let me tell you, the City Lord's Residence has plenty of elders. Add all the assorted ones together, and there must be several hundred," Tu Qianqiu said with a laugh.
"That many?" Tang Wen was dumbfounded.
"Of course. Anyone with a little standing is an elder.
"Most of them are Outer Prefecture Elders, naturally. The title costs nothing, anyway, so they slap it on you to make you happy.
"In reality, it doesn't mean shit. As for Inner Prefecture Elders, there are probably only forty or fifty. They're still of some use.
"Of those, only a dozen or so qualify to attend the Council of Elders, such as the deputy city lords and the masters of powerful halls.
"They're the ones who truly hold power in the City Lord's Residence.
"Take you, for example. You're the master of the Second Medicine Hall. If you were the master of the First Medicine Hall, that would be a different story.
"Controlling medicinal supplies, controlling patients, and all the assorted interests involved-that makes you a figure of some standing.
"But your position as master of the Second Medicine Hall is purely for cadging handouts," Tu Qianqiu said.
I'm just here to buy soy sauce...
Tang Wen was rather speechless.
That afternoon, Tang Wen arrived at the City Lord's Residence.
He found numerous luxurious