By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

On the carriage

Wen Zongji's gaze cleared again: "Tell me again about your contact with Prefect Huang."

Shan Zengnian said, "From the moment I arrived in Guangyang Prefecture, Prefect Huang was very kind. From recruiting people to publishing the Beijing Gazette, everything went smoothly. The prefectural government helped a lot."

"Did he interfere in the affairs of the Beijing Gazette Bureau branch?"

Dan Zengnian shook his head: "No...Sir, is there a problem?"

Wen Zongji shook his head: "It's always better to be cautious. We can't completely trust those people who were entertained by the branch office yet; let's observe them for a while first... Don't you have informants? Have them keep an eye on Guangyang Prefecture for anything suspicious."

He was used to being cautious, and when Prefect Huang asked him today if he was on a secret mission, regardless of whether he was just curious, Wen Zongji had to investigate him out of caution.

After all, he really did have a secret mission.

Dan Zengnian nodded: "Your humble servant obeys."

……

The next day, Wen Zongji spent the day at the branch office, looked at the Beijing Gazette published by Guangyang Prefecture, checked the branch office's account books, and asked the people of Guangyang Prefecture about their opinions on the Beijing Gazette.

After confirming that Dan Zengnian had done a good job, Wen Zongji planned to leave.

"Are you leaving so soon, sir?"

Wen Zongji said, "You've done an excellent job going to other places. Just continue as before."

"Thanks to the guidance of adults."

"There's no need to be overly modest. Coming to this unfamiliar place alone and accomplishing all this in such a short time is a testament to your abilities. Continue to manage your post well and don't disappoint the Crown Prince."

"Yes."

The next day

Early in the morning, Wen Zongji and his party packed their things and left the inn. Shan Zengnian saw them off as they left Guangyang City. They had just returned to the branch office when they encountered Prefect Huang.

"Why is Prefect Huang here?"

Prefect Huang glanced behind him and asked, "Has Lord Wen left?"

Dan Zengnian nodded: "That's right. Your Excellency still needs to inspect other prefectures."

"What a pity, I was planning to have a drink with Lord Wen."

Shan Zengnian smiled and said, "My lord asked me to thank Prefect Huang on his behalf for his support of the Guangyang Prefecture branch. Thanks to Prefect Huang, everything in the Guangyang Prefecture branch has gone so smoothly."

"Lord Wen, you flatter me. I was merely helping out with a small matter... Since Lord Wen has already left, we can only wait for another opportunity to meet."

After saying this, Prefect Huang left.

Dan Zengnian narrowed his eyes as he watched Prefect Huang's retreating figure.

He didn't know if it was influenced by Wen Zongji's words, but he always felt that Prefect Huang cared too much about Wen Zongji.

This shouldn't be the case.

Wen Zongji was merely inspecting the various branches of the Beijing Gazette Office, and had absolutely no connection with the prefectural government. Prefect Huang could completely ignore Wen Zongji.

Prefect Huang not only invited Wen Zongji to the banquet, but also cared so much about Wen Zongji's departure; he was really too concerned.

When Shan Zengnian returned to the yamen, he thought about it and decided not to rush things. He would stay in Guangyang Prefecture for too long, so he could investigate slowly. If Prefect Huang really had something fishy going on, it would be bad to alert him.

This is Guangyang Prefecture, their territory. Dan Zengnian can't be too cautious.

However, in the future, the branch offices can no longer recruit people only in the prefectural city; they will have to look at the various county towns below.

……

In the following days, Wen Zongji visited several more prefectural branch offices, but they were not so lucky. The prefectural offices treated them lukewarmly, neither helping nor hindering them, leaving them to handle everything themselves.

Fortunately, they were able to obtain their first funding by selling slots. With money, things became much easier; otherwise, the branch office might not have been able to recruit any staff.

The progress is roughly complete; the Beijing Daily has already been published, and things are on track.

Half a month later, Wen Zongji led everyone onto a boat to Jiangnan, where there was a waterway to go.

……

Meanwhile, Pei Rujing had received several letters from Wen Zongji. She knew that Wen Zongji was going to take a boat to Jiangnan and she wouldn't receive any more letters from him for several days.

But because Wen Zongji was constantly reporting his whereabouts, Pei Rujing wasn't too worried.

Zuo Mingxuan clicked her tongue: "The county princess is quite adept at managing her husband. Even when Lord Wen is away from the capital on official business, he has to report to the county princess all the time."

Pei Rujing glanced at her: "Looks like you're getting married next month, so I won't need to help with your wedding preparations."

Zuo Mingxuan immediately admitted her mistake: "I was wrong."

Pei Rujing sneered, "The wedding is almost here, why aren't you at home preparing for it? What are you doing here looking for me?"

She remembered that when she was about to get married, she didn't leave the Princess's residence for a single step, despite the influence of public opinion at the time.

Zuo Mingxuan leaned back on the couch: "I'm so bored. I don't have to do anything. My mother has arranged everything. I'm not very good at needlework. I only had two symbolic stitches on my wedding dress. It was mainly made by the embroiderers in the manor."

Didn't your mother teach you how to manage a household?

The eldest princess once taught Pei Rujing, but she didn't listen to a word of it.

"I've been taught. I started teaching last year, and I learned it a long time ago. Besides, Fang Sichu is only the second son of the legitimate wife. Before the family was divided, I couldn't possibly manage the household. I could only manage our small courtyard like the county princess, which is much easier than managing a mahjong club."

Having honed her skills through a mahjong club, managing a household was not a difficult task for Zuo Mingxuan.

After saying that, Zuo Mingxuan looked around the room and said, "Your Highness has been married for over a year. Are you used to living here? Is it too small?"

Every time she came to Yunguang Courtyard, she felt that it was quite remarkable that Pei Rujing could stay here without any complaints.

Pei Rujing, on the other hand, was used to it: "What's there to be uncomfortable about living here?"

The period when she was most likely to complain was at the beginning of her marriage, but at that time she had too many things to complain about, and Yun Guangyuan was not even on the list.

By the time she started to care about Yunguang Courtyard, she had already gotten used to it.

Zuo Mingxuan said, "It's alright now, but what if we run out of rooms after the county princess gives birth? We'll have to prepare rooms for the baby, as well as rooms for the wet nurse and the servants who take care of the young master and young lady. Besides the main house, Yun Guang Courtyard only has east and west wing rooms, so there aren't many rooms available."

Pei Rujing pondered for a moment after hearing this: "That makes sense. But a noble mansion like ours can't even handle something this simple. We can always connect it with the neighboring courtyard, since no one lives there anyway."

"But if they are connected, wouldn't the size of Yun Guang Courtyard exceed that of the Crown Prince's Courtyard?"

Pei Rujing looked at her: "You've said so much, but what good ideas do you have?"

Zuo Mingxuan chuckled: "Of course, I'll move out. It'll be both comfortable and free."

Pei Rujing rolled her eyes: "Always spouting nonsense."

As the saying goes, the family doesn't separate while the parents are still alive!

As long as they remain in the same household, Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing have no reason to move out.

Otherwise, it would be a great act of filial impiety.

If Wen Zongji wanted to have a long career in officialdom, his reputation was extremely important, so he certainly couldn't do anything foolish.