The playboy county magistrate

There was no trace of morning languor in his eyes, only clarity. All the tenderness and indulgence of last night were an act; his true feelings remained unchanged.

He turned his head to look at the gentle and serene woman beside him, a warm and faint smile returning to his lips. He gently reached out to straighten her clothes, his movements tender and delicate.

"Awake?" Li Xuanzhi's voice was slightly hoarse from waking up. "It's chilly in the morning, don't catch a cold."

Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at him, her eyes filled with tenderness, and nodded shyly. Completely immersing herself in the role of the beloved, she softly replied, "Thank you for your kindness, sir."

She thought she was pressing her advantage, but little did she know that from the moment she took the initiative to embrace him and beg for his favor, she had completely fallen into the gentle cage that Li Xuanzhi had tailored for her.

After a brief moment of tender intimacy, Li Xuanzhi excused himself and left, citing official business.

As soon as the door closed gently, shutting out the warm light and tenderness from the room, all the shyness, tenderness, and gentle emotion on Fu Xiaoxiao's face vanished instantly.

She stood there, the warmth in her eyes completely gone. To her, the tender affection of last night was nothing but a performance.

She raised her hand and took out a thin silver blade from her sleeve, her fingertips tracing the cold blade, her gaze deep and intense.

"A soft heart makes one unfit for great responsibilities. Such a person, who is so indulging in romance and tenderness, will ultimately find it difficult to achieve great things, no matter how talented they may be."

She murmured to herself, "It's time to send a message back to the capital. Li Xuanzhi's stay in Jinling is truly due to his lack of interest in the court. He spends his days indulging in pleasure and living a leisurely life, without making any secret plans or cultivating any power. The capital's fears can be dispelled, and there is no need for excessive defense."

Beneath the corridor of the post station, Li Xuanzhi walked slowly forward, all the tenderness and doting on his face vanished, and his aura instantly turned cold and sharp.

He suddenly transforms from a leisurely censor indulging in sentimentality into a shrewd and cunning strategist.

Tang Zheng, who had been hiding in the shadows, quietly appeared, bowing deeply.

"You know about the message she's going to deliver?"

Li Xuanzhi's voice was cold and emotionless, devoid of any tenderness or affection, only cold and deep.

"Yes," Tang Zheng replied in a deep voice. "Once the fake letter is released, the nobles in the capital will surely relax their guard and will not send any more spies into the game in the short term, much less dare to make a move against you rashly."

Li Xuanzhi's eyes narrowed slightly. "Only by putting them completely at ease can I play my chess game in Jinling City in peace, undisturbed by anyone."

"I hereby issue my secret order: Su Wanwan must take advantage of the capital's lack of preparedness to thoroughly eliminate any remaining powerful spies and cronies within Jinling City. Investigate them one by one, remove them secretly, and leave no hidden dangers."

"I also ordered Lei Biao to consolidate all the financial resources of Guiyunfang, gather all recent revenues, and secretly absorb all scattered merchants and wharves in the surrounding counties of Jinling City to expand his private reserves. At the same time, he was to clean up the bad apples in the casinos and regulate the underground order."

"At the same time, don't forget to order Zhou Dechang to do everything in his power to block news from the main north-south routes, cut off the old forces in Nanjing from external communications, and sever communication between the capital and the remaining private factions in Nanjing. All suspicious persons should be secretly monitored."

Li Xuanzhi still couldn't figure out how much ability Fu Xiaoxiao had.

However, if the three people under his command cooperate with each other, they can manage to catch the ones who slipped through the net.

From then on, any news from within Jinling City, and any information that Li Xuanzhi did not want others to know, would be kept secret from everyone.

All the information they want must be filtered by Li Xuanzhi, and only information that he wants them to know.

Meanwhile, Fu Xiaoxiao was not idle either.

At this moment, she stands in front of the table, brewing tea.

The fire in the stove was gentle, and wisps of steam rose from it. The movements of her fingers as she twirled the teacup were elegant and skillful.

Every move she made exuded the air of a beautiful woman content to live peacefully with her husband, undisturbed by the passage of time.

She had just sealed the secret letter and sent it to the capital through the clandestine channels of Jinling merchants.

Every word in the letter was carefully chosen, vividly depicting Li Xuanzhi's leisurely lifestyle while he remained in Jinling.

Disgusted by court intrigues, he spent his days indulging in poetry, tea, romance, and the warmth of his bedside.

As Li Xuanzhi's footsteps drew closer, a gentle light appeared in Fu Xiaoxiao's eyes. She walked lightly forward and gently straightened his clothes.

"My lord, you're back. You must be tired after a long day out. The tea is freshly brewed; let me serve you a cup."

Delicate, considerate, and gentle, she perfectly embodies the image of an orphaned beauty captivated by love, willing to serve others without a single flaw.

Li Xuanzhi lowered his eyes to look at her beautiful features so close to his, a faint smile playing on his lips, his tone languid and indulgent.

"With you here, I have warm tea to keep me company every day, which has made me more and more lazy."

Fu Xiaoxiao looked up at him, her eyes full of tenderness, and smiled shyly.

"Being lazy is not necessarily a bad thing. Adults are busy all day long and deserve to rest."

Li Xuanzhi raised his hand, his fingertips gently brushing against her temple, the movement tender. A soft tenderness flickered in his eyes, seemingly genuine, as he sighed softly:

With you by my side, my life is undisturbed.

Fu Xiaoxiao's heart trembled slightly; even her usually frozen state of mind was almost shaken by this extremely gentle illusion.

But in an instant, his years of experience as a killer quickly suppressed all his unusual behavior.

She smiled gently as she bowed and offered him a teacup: "Please enjoy your tea, my lord."

The two sat facing each other, drinking tea in a quiet and gentle atmosphere.

……

A thousand miles away, in the capital city.

Inside a secret room of a mansion, a secret letter had just arrived, the ink still wet.

Several veteran nobles sat around the table, all with tense expressions, reflecting their fear and anxiety about the situation in Nanjing over the past few days.

Since Li Xuanzhi arrived in Jinling, everyone has been unable to sleep at night. They fear that Li Xuanzhi is secretly amassing power and will one day return to the capital to settle scores and overthrow the entire court of nobles.

If this had happened a few months ago, and someone had said that Li Xuanzhi had driven them to this point, they would have just laughed and expressed their disdain.

Yet this young man, whom they had never taken seriously, had already brought down two prime ministers since entering officialdom.

Nowadays, in the imperial court, the position of Left Chancellor is no longer seen as the head of all officials, but rather as a guillotine.

Whoever becomes the next Left Prime Minister will be seen as the next person to die.

The position of Left Chancellor has become an unlucky post that everyone avoids.

"The secret report from Mei is absolutely accurate."

The person who opened the letter breathed a sigh of relief, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Li Xuanzhi had no intention of scheming or plotting anything. He spent his days composing poems, drinking tea, enjoying the pleasures of nature, and strolling leisurely with beautiful women. He was so immersed in the world of romance that he had long lost his former sharp edge."

Upon hearing this, the people present, though still disbelieving that Li Xuanzhi would actually do such a thing, relaxed considerably when they remembered that Li Xuanzhi had been one of the most notorious playboys in the capital. Their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense for days, finally settled.

"So that's how it is! We've been worried for nothing all these days."

"A young man who achieves early success is indeed prone to instability. After making great achievements, he becomes complacent and craves comfort and wealth. In the end, his vision is limited, and he is unlikely to achieve great things."

"In truth, it's all the fault of the Earl of Chengen and his son. If they hadn't gone too far, Li Xuanzhi would still be the same纨绔 (spoiled brat) he used to be, and we wouldn't have suffered so many losses. Now Li Xuanzhi must have proven that he is more capable than Li Xuanjing, and that's why he has returned to his true nature."