According to the news, Wang Yongan was assigned to Qi City, which is two hundred miles away, under the tutelage of Prefect Gao.
At first, Prefect Gao treated him as an ordinary adviser. However, he gradually took a liking to him.
After all, Wang Yongan had an impressive appearance and a very pleasant way of speaking; his social conduct and manners were truly remarkable.
Gradually, Prefect Gao entrusted Wang Yongan with many responsibilities, signaling his intent to groom him.
This angered someone, namely the First Master, who served under Prefect Gao. Initially, it was he who introduced Wang Yongan to Prefect Gao, but later he found that Prefect Gao was becoming increasingly appreciative of Wang Yongan.
How could this be acceptable? Everyone depended on Prefect Gao for their livelihood; favoring you would surely mean neglecting me.
The First Master was also a capable man. He kept a calm face and still referred to Wang Yongan as a brother, but behind his back, he was always looking for something to use against Wang Yongan.
Just then, the words that Wang Yongzhu had spread through the Escort Agency finally reached Qi City.
The First Master immediately recognized this opportunity and, furthermore, Wang Yongan was about to meddle in a very urgent matter—a task that could only be entrusted to a confidant. If Wang Yongan managed to take this task, the First Master himself might have to step down.
Therefore, seizing on a slip-up by Wang Yongan and combining it with the words spread by Wang Yongzhu, the First Master conveyed the matter to Prefect Gao’s ears.
The First Master had a niece who was married as a concubine to Prefect Gao and was greatly favored by him. With a little pillow talk, Wang Yongan was dismissed by Prefect Gao.
Of course, the pretext was polite, and he even provided dismissal silver.
Someone else might have simply taken the dismissal silver and returned home, or sought out another position and been content with that.
But not Wang Yongan. He had spent his entire family fortune to obtain this opportunity, and although he had followed the County Magistrate for only a few months, he had already caught a glimpse of what he had once longed for—power and wealth.
How could he let go so easily, especially after realizing the vastness of the world outside and that a Scholar was nothing at all?
He didn’t have any significant connections either; without Prefect Gao’s favor, he would struggle to secure another position.
So, clinging to his dismissal pay, he refused to leave and stayed in Qi City, often treating the advisers he used to work with to meals, hoping they would speak well of him and help him return to his post.
Truth be told, some of these advisers didn’t like Wang Yongan’s high-profile behavior and were afraid of getting into trouble. Speaking well of Wang Yongan could antagonize the First Master, and they could lose their own positions.
Besides, even on regular days they were not as favored as Wang Yongan. Seeing that even Wang Yongan, who had been favored by the County Magistrate, was ousted by the First Master, what chances did they have?
They didn’t dare to speak up for Wang Yongan.
Then there were those who would show up every time Wang Yongan invited them for a meal, eating and drinking their fill, and would verbally agree to look for an opportunity to speak well of him to the County Magistrate.
But that opportunity never seemed to come.
Until Wang Yongan almost ran out of silver without any improvement in his situation.
Especially as he occasionally encountered the Master, who would be surrounded by a crowd as he left his home, looking at Wang Yongan as though he were an ant.
Wang Yongan was a man of deep cunning and calculation; though it didn’t show on his face, he expended much effort and finally, after getting an elderly confidant of Prefect Gao drunk, he learned that the niece of the First Master was, in fact, the beloved concubine of the County Magistrate.
No wonder the First Master is so arrogant.
Wang Yongan felt as if he had discovered the key; with handsome features, he carried himself with a graceful presence. Speaking gently and amiably, he lowered his status and conversed with a few of the County Magistrate’s ladies a few times, extracting key information.
Prefect Gao had a passion for beauty, from young girls about ten years old to the delicate and beautiful aged fifteen or sixteen, and even those seventeen, eighteen, or above twenty—as long as they were beautiful, he wouldn’t refuse any.
This habit was unknown to outsiders, for he had married the niece of an important official from the Capital City, and usually he kept it well hidden, appearing to be a paragon of virtue.
This time, having been exiled to Qi City, far from the Capital City, combined with mingling with the local elites from the start, one influential figure sent him a young child prostitute about ten years old, whom he was tremendously fond of. It was said that he even held this young concubine in his arms, showering her with excessive affection during his daily work.
However, the man’s fondness for beauties was short-lived; within a few days, the favoured concubine was cast aside.
As the parental official of a whole county, many people kept their eyes on him, and some, noticing the trend, sent him a beauty too, who after being doted on for a few days, was similarly discarded.
It was later discovered that Prefect Gao preferred the daughters of respectable families, especially the unsophisticated beauty of a modest family. When on official duties outside, if he fancied a pleasing and beautiful woman, he would insist on taking her as a concubine. Those who were willing were fine, but for those who were not, he would directly reveal his identity, throw down a few taels of silver, and forcibly abduct them.
Madam Gao surely knew about it, but being far from her family, with all the people around her belonging to Prefect Gao, how could she intervene?
Furthermore, no matter how much Prefect Gao loved beauty, he wouldn’t undermine her status as the Eldest Wife. Moreover, he changed his beauties so quickly that they never posed a threat to her position.
So, she simply turned a blind eye.
The First Master knew about this and secretly had his own distant, beautiful niece brought over, and had her delivered to the County Magistrate’s residence in a small sedan.
Now, it was said that this Concubine was the most favored in the household.
Wang Yongan couldn’t be clearer.
For him, Prefect Gao’s love for beauty wasn’t a fault; if Prefect Gao had a fondness for men, perhaps he would have volunteered himself already.
Unfortunately, he did not have a beautiful niece to offer to the County Magistrate as a Concubine.
He remembered having a niece back in his hometown who was only eight years old and had not yet blossomed. The last time he visited, the little girl had dark skin and hair like straw; she could hardly be called a beauty.
Although he had acquired crucial information, Wang Yongan felt increasingly hopeless. Was he really about to give up?
When Wang Yongan returned home, he happened to see his daughter coming out of the house.
Wang Yongan had been married to Lady Qian for many years, and they had only this one daughter named Jinchai, who was ten years old that year and had grown up pampered like a precious pearl.
Wang Yongan himself was naturally handsome, and with Lady Qian also not lacking in looks, Jinchai was a beautiful little girl. She was brought up delicately and, under Wang Yongan’s tutelage in reading, developed an air of being above the mundane concerns, looking down on girls of lesser family backgrounds with disdain.
Jinchai, while in the Wang Family, was placed on a pedestal; except for her parents, she looked down on everyone, especially the family’s old cousin who was both fat and ugly. On an ordinary day, she wouldn’t even spare her a glance.
Yet each year during the New Year’s visit to the Wang Family home, she would see everyone doting on that fat and ugly cousin, and even her father would treat her particularly gently. If she misspoke, she would be reprimanded.
In her heart, she thoroughly despised Wang Yongzhu.
Ever since she followed her parents to Qi City, the girls she mingled with were all delicate and gentle, adorned with gold and silver, far superior to the rustic counterparts.