Fix Smile Order Chapter 10
Translated by Pure
Edited by cookiecrunch
Chapter 10: Arrival
Tang Tianyuan had not been idle these days. He carefully studied the situation of the county government and found that all the people who might have known about the missing gold case were gone. They either died, escaped, or were replaced; the rest were all people who were clueless about the whole matter.
Once one left, another one would arrive. Tang Tianyuan looked at the two people present: Zhou Zhengdao was, needless to say, someone he needed to be vigilant against; Tan Lingyin was hard to understand. Even a "sick mind" couldn’t explain her behavior from last night. Tang Tianyuan speculated that she either wanted to molest him or she came for the gold. Either way, he didn’t look forward to either.
While Tang Tianyuan was wondering, Zhou Zhengdao was also puzzled. He had never heard of a county magistrate recruiting a female head commissioner. The county magistrate was too arrogant. This female head commissioner looked quite pretty. Could it be that the county magistrate took a fancy to her? It's normal for a man to be romantic, but how can he hand over the position of the head commissioner to a woman? What a troublemaker!
In any case, the new leadership of the county government was officially formed. On the surface, the three of them were harmonious, but it went without saying that each of them had their own ulterior motive.
Tan Lingyin was exhausted after dealing with the magistrate and the county deputy. She walked out of the gate and saw two groups of people bickering at the Shenming Pavilion.
Shenming Pavilion was a place dedicated to mediating disputes. The county was so big, so there were many disputes happening every day. If every trifle had to be interrupted by the county magistrate, then the magistrate would be buried with work. Therefore, some civil disputes would be first mediated at the Shenming Pavilion.
This was not Tan Lingyin’s responsibility, so she didn't interfere. She just sat to the side and drank herbal tea while watching the show. When it came to writing a book, it was necessary to draw inspiration from life experiences, such as quarrels. There was already a ready-made example in front of her, so she should observe and learn.
While she was vigorously watching, a carriage passed by outside. The wheels rolled on the brick road, creating a crunching sound that harmonized with the clacking of the horses' hooves. Tan Lingyin's ears were very good. When she heard the sound outside, she ran out and saw a group of four or five carriages parked at the gate of the county government office.
Strange. With so many people… They weren’t here as a team to complain, right? Tan Lingyin leaned forward again, trying to see more clearly.
Two pretty girls, both around eighteen years old, alighted from the first carriage. The taller girl with dignified eyebrows saw Tan Lingyin looking at them. She frowned because the latter was leaning too close, "What do you want?"
I should be asking you this. Tan Lingyin replied with another question, "Are you here to make a complaint?"
The girl lowered her eyes, covering up the contempt in her eyes, and smiled, "We are not here to complain."
The other girl who was even more beautiful, bluntly retorted, "You are so stupid, why are you asking people if they are filing a complaint?"
Tan Lingyin touched her nose and thought to herself: As two girls, what else were they here for, other than complaining to the county government?
"We are the maids from the county magistrate's family." The girl answered her doubts.
These maids are pretty good looking, it seems the new county magistrate was indeed a lecher. Tan Lingyin was about to speak when she saw two servants walking out of the county office to welcome the two girls.
It turned out that when Tang Tianyuan had left that day, he only brought along servants. Upon learning that her son was going to stay in Tongling for a while, Tang Tianyuan’s mother was afraid that the servants would not be meticulous enough, thus, she decided to send some maids along with various supplies. Tang Ge Lao repeatedly instructed not to be too ostentatious, so Madam Tang streamlined and simplified, and only let the two most reliable maids come with the most important things.
The two maids were carefully selected by Madam Tang from the maids who usually served Tang Tianyuan. They were both born in the Tang residence and were named Xianggua[1] and Xueli[2]. Tang Tianyuan was quite eccentric: most scholars liked to give their maids and servants elegant names, such as "Saoxue", "Siqi", etc. Despite being articulate, Tang Tianyuan considered such naming practices redundant and casually assigned them names related to some type of food. The maids were all fruits while the servants were all vegetables, which was convenient and easy to remember.
Xianggua and Xueli initially served the Madam, but later, the Madam felt sorry for her son, so she gave these two maids to him. Xianggua was not the best looking, but she was very mindful and prudent. Xueli was beautiful, but she lacked the intention of using her looks. She had a very straightforward personality, which assured the Madam.
In fact, Madam Tang also chose these two maids for her son with other intentions. Tang Tianyuan was already of age, and although he hadn’t married yet, there should always be a few people in his room.
Even though Tang Tianyuan had been surrounded by so many different maids all these years, he was always focused and never ‘bitten onto the bait’.
Tang Tianyuan was not Liu Xiahui[3]; he had no unmentionable illness, nor was he a cut sleeve. His disposition stemmed from an accident eight years ago…
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Footnotes:
[1] Xianggua- Cantaloupe
[2]Xueli- Snow pear
[3]Liu Xiahui- An ancient Chinese politician. He was a man of eminent virtue, and was said on one occasion to have held a lady in his lap without the slightest imputation on his moral character.