"Is that so? He seeks to employ delay tactics." Ye Ziāan then rapped his fingers on the table and said, "He wants us to wait three days, so we shall wait three days. It will be the perfect opportunity to use this time for you to do some things. Ye Yi only gathered some information last time, but he didnāt investigate deeply."
Upon hearing this, Ye Er immediately understood what Ye Ziāan intended to do and nodded in agreement.
When Peng Lide heard that someone from the inn had come, he initially didnāt want to meet with them. Only after hearing that a group of people dressed as officials had checked in, insisting on charging their expenses to his account, did he call for the innās waiter. After questioning him carefully, he found out it was Ye Ziāanās party who had moved in. This put him in a foul mood, still asking to charge to his account, what a miser.
However, he didnāt think much of it and waved the person away.
By the time afternoon came, Ye Ziāan and his group went to the governmental office again, and, as expected, the office staff told Ye Ziāan that the County Magistrate was out on official duties and would not return until three days later.
Ye Ziāan didnāt say much and simply returned to the inn.
But Ye Er and Ye Wu didnāt return to the inn with him. One headed off to several other towns, while the other went undercover into various mansions.
No one knew what they were up to, just that the two men didnāt return to the inn until three days later, arriving simultaneously.
"Did you get the stuff?"
"Young Master, we got it," replied Ye Er.
Meanwhile, Ye Wu took out a piece of paper with a name signed on it.
"Hmm, next Ye Liu needs to take this item to the prefecture and when he sees the Prefect, say that this is my early Mid-Autumn Festival gift to him."
Ye Liu nodded, took the item, and set off on horseback.
The innkeeper, seeing two of the men return all of a sudden and another leaving just as abruptly, felt something odd was happening and sent word of the goings-on at the inn to Peng Lide.
Peng Lide found it strange upon hearing this but didnāt give it further thought.
Yet that Ye Ziāan lad sure had patienceāhe wasnāt leaving, indicating he was gearing up for a waiting game.
If that was the case, hiding away and refusing to meet him wouldnāt work. He couldnāt stay away from his office forever.
After thinking it over, he discussed it with his steward and went to the office in the afternoon.
But just as he entered, he found Ye Ziāan and his party already sitting inside.
Before he could speak, Ye Ziāan beat him to the punch.
"Lord Peng truly manages myriad affairs; seeking an audience with you is akin to scaling the heavens," remarked Ye Ziāan.
Ye Ziāanās face showed no emotion, betraying neither joy nor anger. He continued, "If Lord Peng fails to show himself, this official would have to presume Lord Peng has gone missing or been harmed. Today, had Lord Peng not appeared at the office, I would have had to ask Lord Prefect to dispatch a search party throughout the prefecture. Lord Peng has been so dedicated to Fushui County, putting his heart and soul into his work; we canāt have him missing or murdered without anyone being the wiser. We must ensure Lord Pengās remains are allowed to return to his ancestral home."
"Alas, to think Lord Peng actually came today."
Ye Er and Ye Wu, standing behind Ye Ziāan, struggled to contain their laughter, especially upon seeing Peng Lideās face turn from blue to red to greenāa truly colorful spectacle.
The others in the office, the Principal Clerk, archivist, stewards, and the like, listened to the County Magistrate from Mianyang and collectively mourned for Peng Lide in silence for a half-moment.
The Mianyang County Magistrate was too sardonic, too biting.
His words were a mix of ridicule and sarcasm, yet he also paradoxically cursed someone with genuine concern about their disappearance and murder. Especially that last lineāit almost seemed that he regretted not having the chance to mourn Peng Lide as missing.
Lord Peng took several deep breaths before the corners of his mouth finally twitched up into a semblance of a smile.