South of the city, the Suspended Mirror Agency’s Shu State branch.
The Great Ning Empire had a total of thirty-six states, with the Suspended Mirror Agency establishing a branch in each state. However, the scale of these branches varied depending on local conditions.
Some had over a thousand people, while others had only a hundred or so.
Moreover, their main work content also differed.
Some states had numerous sects and factions, so the number of plainclothes guards was higher; some states had severe demonic infestations, so the number of people from the Willow Leaf Agency was higher; some states had complex religious affairs, so the number of people from the Religious Secrets Agency was higher…
As for the internal guards and flower feather guards that were divided to protect Wei Changtian’s life, these branches didn’t think it was important.
The internal guards were responsible for protecting the imperial palace’s safety, and the local branches didn’t have such a setup.
The flower feather guards mainly monitored the officials in the capital, and their restraining power over local officials was limited.
So, when Ning Yongnian took control of these two guards, although it greatly reduced the Mirror Agency’s influence in the capital, it didn’t have a significant impact on their strength in the local provinces.
At least, the Sichuan branch was like this.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, the place is quite big, but it feels like a gangster’s den.”
Wei Changtian looked up at the familiar “Mirror Agency” characters on the black signboard, clicked his tongue, and stepped into the open side door.
If he were in the capital’s main government office, someone would definitely come up to question him, “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
But now, Wei Changtian had been standing inside the door for a while, and only two runners came out from the doorhouse, shouting loudly, “Who goes there?!”
Glancing at the two, Wei Changtian casually tossed over his token, saying calmly, “Call the prefect out to see me.”
“Just a lowly flag bearer…”
One of the runners looked at the token and was about to say something, but the other suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
This person was clearly more clever, and after stopping his colleague from speaking out of turn, he immediately bowed and asked, “Is the flag bearer Lord Wei Changtian, Young Master Wei?”
Wei Changtian didn’t respond, only shaking his sleeve.
This single movement directly made the other person’s legs go soft.
“Lord Wei, Lord Wei… ah!”
“Little, little servant didn’t recognize the great mountain, please, please spare me this once!”
“Alright.”
Wei Changtian was used to people being terrified just by hearing his name, and he waved his hand, saying, “I didn’t say I’d do anything to you.”
“Thank, thank you, Young Master, for sparing my life! I’ll go notify the prefect right away!”
This person was afraid Wei Changtian would change his mind, stammering as he finished speaking and quickly ran off.
The more clever runner, however, didn’t follow him, instead slightly bowing his body and respectfully saying, “Please, Young Master, take a seat in the main hall for a moment.”
“Okay.”
Wei Changtian walked towards the main hall, asking casually, “What’s your name?”
“Replying to Young Master, my name is Chu Xianping.”
“Good name.”
Wei Changtian’s footsteps paused, and on the surface, he praised the name, but in his heart, a wave suddenly rose.
Chu Xianping!
The strongest assistant of Xiao Feng in the original novel!
The second-in-command of the “Dawn” organization!
The only male supporting character in the entire book with a solo storyline!
According to the plot, he should have met Xiao Feng by chance next year and become friends.
And he had a beloved woman who, coincidentally, was about to be taken as a concubine by a wealthy merchant.
Chu Xianping was desperate, and Xiao Feng found out and did something familiar – took him to “steal the bride.”
The woman was rescued, and the wealthy merchant died.
Chu Xianping was moved by Xiao Feng’s “justice” and, for self-protection, eventually joined the newly established “Dawn” organization, displaying astonishing strategic abilities and gradually becoming Xiao Feng’s right-hand man.
The plot developed normally until then, but the author somehow got afflicted with “literary disease” and created a “terminal dog-blood” plot – Chu Xianping’s beloved woman fell in love with Xiao Feng!
This woman was a green-tea b*tch who only looked down on Chu Xianping, using him as a backup.
Chu Xianping and Xiao Feng’s sudden marriage was too abrupt, and they didn’t even give her a chance to refuse before taking her away, even killing her wealthy merchant husband.
Although she was extremely unwilling in her heart, since things had already come to this, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and follow Chu Xianping.
Later, she fell in love with Xiao Feng, who had the protagonist’s halo.
As a upright character, Xiao Feng couldn’t possibly “steal someone’s love,” so he chose to tell Chu Xianping about it.
Chu Xianping was heartbroken, but he chose to… forgive.
He only sent the woman away from Shu Province and even handed over all his family assets.
As for Xiao Feng… he naturally gained Chu Xianping’s loyalty due to his “noble” behavior.
The original author wrote this section, and the subscription rate dropped by half immediately.
Even Wei Changtian still remembered that he had written a comment back then ——
【The King of Boot-licking】
……
In the main hall.
Wei Changtian sipped his tea while looking at the “King of Boot-licking” standing beside him, already planning how to make Chu Xianping his own.
Although he had the attribute of a boot-licker, this person’s strategic abilities were top-notch, and he still had system points to earn, making him worth the effort.
“Brother Chu.”
Putting down his teacup, Wei Changtian smiled and asked, “How many people are in the Shu Province branch of the Suspended Mirror Agency?”
Chu Xianping was slightly surprised by Wei Changtian’s address, but he still bowed his head to answer, “Over a thousand people.”
“A considerable number.”
Wei Changtian nodded and asked again, “I saw that colleague of yours seemed to be very afraid of me… why aren’t you afraid?”
“Lord…”
Chu Xianping didn’t answer directly, instead slightly raising his head to respectfully say, “I never believe rumors, only what I see with my own eyes.”
“……”
Look, look!
This level of speaking is just different!
Sorry not sorry, Xiao Feng, this kind of talent will be mine in the future!
From noble mtl dot come
Wei Changtian nodded in satisfaction, about to say something else, but suddenly, a hurried footsteps sounded from outside, and three middle-aged men appeared before him.
“Lord Wei!”
The leader stood in front of Wei Changtian, his face full of anxiety: “We didn’t know you were coming today and didn’t come to welcome you. Please forgive us, Lord!”
A national character face, a long beard, and a missing finger on his left hand.
Although Wei Changtian hadn’t seen this person before, Wei Xianzhi had shown him his portrait.
It was none other than Chen Bo, the Governor of the Shu Province branch of the Suspended Mirror Agency.
The name was too unusual, making it hard to forget.
“Governor Chen.”
Unlike his polite attitude when meeting Shao Ying’an in the afternoon, Wei Changtian’s expression now had a hint of playfulness.
He didn’t stand up or invite Chen Bo to sit, instead twirling his fingers on the cup rim twice before asking calmly:
“When did I arrive in Shu Province City, do you know?”
“Lord, you arrived yesterday evening…”
“Ah, since you know…”
The originally calm tone suddenly turned cold.
“Why didn’t you come to see me on your own initiative?!”