In the farmlands on both sides of the road, peasants bending over their work raised their heads one by one to watch the large group of people and horses pass by, their eyes filled with curiosity.
After traveling in a straight line for an hour, the city walls finally came into view.
The twenty-foot-high walls were entirely constructed of dark cyan bricks. Yamen runners stood guard at every gateway along the wall, looking as heavily guarded as if an enemy attack were imminent.
Song Qiming puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
"Now this is a proper city wall. It actually looks quite similar to the one in Songzhou City."
Seeing their large numbers, the yamen runner in charge of inspections immediately waved over three of his companions to block the gate.
"Take out your travel permits one by one. You guys, go over there and check the items on their carts."
As he spoke, he took the travel permit from Lan Xi's hand and opened it. A few breaths later, his expression changed drastically.
He suddenly jerked his head up, his urgent gaze quickly finding Song Qiming's face behind Lan Xi, and dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
"This lowly one, Liu Hucheng, head of the yamen runners of Suining City, greets the Lord Prefect!"
For a brief moment, the city gate fell dead silent. Once the others realized what was happening, they instinctively dropped to their knees and shouted, "Greetings, Lord Prefect!"
The voices rose and fell. The yamen runners had loud, booming voices, while the commoners were generally much quieter; from their tones and expressions, it was clear they were afraid.
Song Qiming straightened his spine, swept his gaze over the crowd, and then withdrew his eyes.
He spoke in a calm tone, "All of you, rise."
Liu Hucheng slowly stood up and raised his head, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his chest.
He hadn't expected the newly appointed Lord Prefect to be so young; he looked like he hadn't even reached his twentieth year.
"The prefectural office has already been prepared. This lowly one will lead Your Excellency there right away."
He took hold of Song Qiming's horse reins to lead the way, signaling his companions with his eyes to hurry back and report the arrival.
"Liu Hucheng, when I entered the outer city earlier, there were also people inspecting travel permits. They claimed to be militiamen, but they didn't seem to know how to read."
Liu Hucheng's Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes darting around rapidly in slight nervousness.
"There is something Your Excellency might not know. These so-called militiamen are just commoners living in the outer city. Most of them have never been to school, so they know very few characters."
Song Qiming frowned and pressed further, "If they can't read, how do they check the travel permits?"
The man from earlier had barely even looked at it.
Liu Hucheng took a deep breath and continued explaining, "Some of them can recognize a few words, but they mostly rely on asking questions."
"This is a spontaneous initiative by the commoners of the outer city. The local government felt it brought more benefits than harm, so we simply allowed it. However, the inner city strictly follows the regulations."
Song Qiming continued to ask, "When did Suining City get an outer city?"
Liu Hucheng tilted his chin up, thought for a moment, and then shook his head blankly. "It has been there since this lowly one was born. As for exactly when it was built, I do not know."
Compared to the outer city, the inner city truly looked like what a proper city should be.
The ground was no longer full of potholes; instead, it featured flat roads paved with rammed earth, flanked by drainage ditches.
Both sides of the streets were lined with shops. At a glance, the shelves were stocked with a dazzling array of goods, and customers could be seen shopping inside.
From entering the inner city gates to arriving at the entrance of the prefectural office, it took about half an hour of slow horseback riding.
As Song Qiming dismounted his horse, a man in his fifties wearing official robes hurried down the steps.
"This lower official, Co-Prefect of Suining Prefecture Shi Simian, greets the Lord Prefect."
Song Qiming wore a smile and slightly raised his hands in a gesture to help him up.
"From now on, you and I are colleagues. There is no need for such excessive formalities."
Shi Simian looked up and observed Song Qiming.
He was truly young, arguably about the same age as his own grandson.
"Your Excellency has reached the high position of Prefect before even being crowned a man at twenty; this lower official is left far behind in the dust."
After speaking, he noticed Song Jinzhao standing in the back.
Was she a female family member of the Song household?
She looked to be a bit older than Prefect Song.
Noticing the other man's gaze falling behind him, Song Qiming took a step back to make room.
"This is my older sister, the imperially bestowed County Princess Linghui."
Shi Simian's pupils dilated. For a moment, he froze in place, his breathing coming to a complete halt.
He knew that Song Qiming had a sister who was a County Princess, but he never expected she would come to Suining with him.
County Princess Linghui held a noble status and should have remained in the capital. Why would she come to suffer in a remote, impoverished backwater like Suining?
Lord Gu hadn't mentioned this in advance either. This was truly catching them completely off guard.
