The room grew increasingly quiet, and the expressions on Song Jinzhao and Song Qiming's faces became more and more serious.
Song Qiming's mind was racing like a raging storm.
After a long moment of deep thought, he asked, "What is the story behind the repeated assassinations of the Suining Prefect?"
A mocking smirk tugged at the corners of Feng Yi's mouth, almost as if he took pleasure in the news of the assassinations.
"It can be considered bringing it upon themselves. The people who assassinated the Suining Prefect were actually commoners forced into becoming bandits. Some of them have never even robbed civilian homes; they specifically target officials. The officials in Qingxia County and Yanshan County have faced even more assassination attempts than the Suining Prefect."
"The magistrates of those two counties send out their runners to arrest these people en masse, while they themselves hide in their county offices all day, too afraid to step outside. It is no exaggeration to say that the people in these two counties live in precarious times, constantly suffering in deep waters and scorching fire."
Having found out about this situation, Feng Yi truly felt a sense of panic for Song Qiming.
This was more than just a mess; calling it an eternal cesspit would not be an overstatement.
Song Qiming's brows furrowed deeply into three distinct creases. For a moment, he felt as if a massive mountain was pressing down on his head. Yet, at the same time, a part of him was eager to try his hand, wishing he could rush to Suining Prefecture immediately and do something great.
A hint of sarcasm appeared on Song Jinzhao's lips.
"The situation in Suining Prefecture is so terrible, yet when we met Gu Zhongxun today, he showed absolutely no sign of it."
Suining Prefecture was located in the Southwest Province and fell under the jurisdiction of the Southwest Provincial Administration Commissioner. If one were to claim that Gu Zhongxun was unaware of these circumstances, not even a ghost would believe it.
Song Qiming clenched his jaw. "It seems that Lord Gu has not been very responsible in his position as the Southwest Provincial Administration Commissioner."
At least in his eyes, it was an absolute disaster.
To avoid sparking conflicts in the southwest, he yielded at every turn; calling it groveling would not be an exaggeration.
But this approach would only feed the growing appetites of the foreign tribes in the southwest, while simultaneously losing the hearts of the common people.
Hearing Song Jinzhao and Song Qiming blatantly criticize Gu Zhongxun for his inaction, Feng Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he silently kept his mouth shut.
For a moment, the private room fell silent once again.
After a long while, Song Qiming seemed to have made a resolution. With a determined look in his eyes, he said to Song Jinzhao, "Sister, I want to head to Suining Prefecture to take up my post as soon as possible."
The former Suining Prefect had left at the beginning of the year, and there was no telling how much official business was waiting to be handled at the government office. He could not wait to go and see the situation for himself.
Song Jinzhao nodded. "We will rest for the night and set off tomorrow morning."
The more difficulties there were, the more time was needed to solve them. She was not afraid of failing to solve them; she was only afraid of running out of time.
By the time Song Shixue and Song Anhao returned to the relay station, it was already late afternoon.
She widened her eyes in surprise. "We are leaving tomorrow? Didn't we say we were going to rest for two days?"
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "The situation in Suining Prefecture is not looking good, and your brother wants to take up his post as soon as possible."
Song Shixue nodded and recounted the details of her afternoon shopping trip with Gu Baozhu to Song Jinzhao.
"Judging from what Miss Gu said, Lord Gu indeed intends to have his son succeed him."
Song Jinzhao sneered. Initially, she had thought Gu Zhongxun had some capability and had managed the Southwest Province well, but she never expected it to be just a facade. The hidden dangers had already been buried hundreds of meters deep.
If she were him, let alone having a son succeed him, she would not leave a single Gu family descendant behind. After retiring, she would definitely take her entire family and hide far away, lest the situation erupt one day and the imperial court behead them all.
Early the next morning, Song Qiming went to the Gu residence to bid his farewells.
Gu Zhongxun asked in surprise, "Leaving so soon? Wouldn't it be better to stay and rest for a few more days?"
Song Qiming cupped his hands in apology. "After receiving your guidance yesterday, My Lord, this humble official wishes to take up the post in Suining as quickly as possible. I presume a great deal of official business has piled up there."
Gu Zhongxun smiled and stroked his beard.
"It is truly a blessing for the people of Suining that you think this way."
Based on their official ranks, Gu Zhongxun did not need to be so modest and polite to Song Qiming, but who could ignore the fact that his sister was County Princess Linghui.
With a powerful backer, one's status was always different from that of ordinary people.
