The group arrived at the Civil Affairs Manor soon afterward. Cloudcenter Commandery’s officials were all present, and even Jian Taiding had been waiting there ahead of time.

Normally speaking, both his master rank cultivation and family background were superior to Sang Hong. And yet he had come out to welcome them outside the city, and had even waited for them there, truly showing a lot of respect to the imperial envoy. He clearly wanted Sang Hong to scratch his back too afterward, and to promote him to the position of Cloudcenter Duke as early as possible.

Cloudcenter Magistrate Zuo Su and Jian Taiding greeted Sang Hong’s group and invited them inside. They introduced all the different officials along the way. They had been in too much of a hurry when they were outside of the city, so only a few individuals could introduce themselves.

“This is Vice Magistrate Sir Xu Yu.”

“I have been looking forward to meeting you.”

…

Zu An carefully observed the other person. Xu Yu was a middle-aged man with a square face. He looked like a much more proper official than the big-bellied Zuo Su.

Apart from assisting the Magistrate, the Vice Magistrate also had the responsibility of supervising the Magistrate Manor and the local officials. Since his status was extremely...