Although Han Mo wore only a green robe, the fact was that the Southeast Six Circuits Pacification Envoy Department was the highest authority governing the entire Southeast Six Circuits at that time.
The doorman of the Qian family did not dare to slight Han Mo in the least.
"Third Young Master, an official has arrived at the gate. He says he is a government official from the Southeast Six Circuits Pacification Envoy Department!"
As Qian Lang was enjoying flowers with his newly acquired concubine in the back garden, a servant from the house suddenly rushed in to report.
"Is his name Han Mo?"
Upon hearing the servant's words, Qian Lang's spirits immediately lifted.
Although he was only in his early twenties, he was already an old hand in the world of romance.
He had personally taken under his wing no fewer than twenty renowned courtesans from various parts of the southeast.
While this number might not seem large, the problem was that these were all well-known courtesans, the top stars of the pleasure houses.
To acquire any one of them would require tens of thousands of copper coins, and one shouldn't even think about it otherwise.
Having spent so much time in the world of romance, he had thoroughly learned the art of feigning refinement.
Regardless of whether he truly possessed genuine talent or not, when it came to familiarity with the famous scholars of the Great Song Dynasty, he dared to claim second place among the descendants of the Eight Great Families, and no one would dare to claim first.
He had long heard that Han Mo had been assigned the duty of assisting in the defense of Mingzhou, but by the time he was ready to personally go out of the city to witness Han Mo's demeanor,
This fellow Han Mo had already slipped into Mingzhou City silently, leaving no trace, like a drop of water.
If it were in another city, finding someone might have been a simple matter, but finding a stranger in a city like Mingzhou was incredibly difficult.
After all, Mingzhou City had a resident population of just under fifty thousand, but the daily floating population reached over a hundred thousand.
These included merchants rushing from all over to procure goods, or sea merchants arriving from distant lands.
In this era of such significant population movement, even if he wanted to find Han Mo's whereabouts, it was no simple task.
Of course, he, Qian San Lang, was not one to give up easily.
Although the Qian family had many nephews and grandsons, there were only about seven or eight individuals in total responsible for business affairs in various regions.
Furthermore, these individuals were basically all direct descendants of the Qian family.
Although he ranked third, his mother was the matriarch of the Qian family, making him, in essence, a legitimate eldest grandson.
All matters in and around Mingzhou were essentially decided by him alone. In order to find Han Mo, he had deployed all the manpower he could spare.
Who knew that while he was painstakingly searching for the person, this fellow Han Mo would suddenly pop out on his own, which truly filled him with unexpected joy.
"He seems to be called that, and judging by his appearance, he should not be old, but he is handsome and refined!"
"Quick, invite him in! Invite him in! Come back, I will personally go to greet him!"
"Yes!"
Seeing Qian Lang's excited demeanor, the servants in the house finally let out a long sigh of relief. The person had finally been found.
"Lord Han, are you Lord Han who wrote 'At Night I Lie and Hear the Wind Blowing Rain, Iron Horses and Glacial Rivers Enter My Dreams'?"
Just as Han Mo was pondering how to play his next scene, the gate of the Qian residence suddenly boomed open.
Immediately, a man in his early twenties, wearing a brocade robe and a large palace flower on his head, strode out from the gate and, without a word, grabbed Han Mo's hand.
"Your Excellency are..."
If it weren't for the fact that this was the Qian family's residence, Han Mo would have wanted to kick him directly.
Although he didn't know who this fellow was, based on Han Mo's estimation, this young man should be one of the key figures of the Qian family.
"This is my Third Young Master, he is responsible for all matters in Mingzhou City!"
The old steward of the Qian family quickly stated from the side.
Hearing the old steward's words, Han Mo's awkward expression finally managed to force a smile.
Looking at the fellow's excessively pale face, Han Mo couldn't help but twitch his mouth. This person had clearly applied powder!
Judging by his features, he should have been quite handsome, but with such a thick layer of lead powder applied, along with a palace flower larger than his own head, and a mouth as red as if he had eaten a dead child, managing to squeeze out such a small smile was already Han Mo giving face to the Qian family's ancestors.
"By the way, I am Qian Lang, courtesy name Qionglin! Greetings, Lord Han!"
Perhaps sensing Han Mo's awkwardness, Qian Lang finally let go of his hand, then cupped his hands in greeting towards Han Mo and introduced himself simply.
"So it is Brother Qionglin, I have long admired you!"
Although Han Mo felt a surge of disgust inwardly, for the sake of his subsequent plan, he still suppressed his nausea and cupped his hands towards Qian Lang again.
"Lord Han has heard of me?"
Seeing the excited expression on his face, Han Mo couldn't help but twitch his mouth. Damn it, indeed, what goes around comes around!
In the past, it was always him who disgusted others; today, it was finally the turn of others to disgust him.
"Uh, Brother Qionglin, at such a young age, you are able to manage the affairs of Mingzhou. Such a talented young man, of course, I have heard of you!"
After a dry cough, Han Mo said with some embarrassment.
"No, no, these are merely my business dealings, how can they warrant such high praise from Your Excellency!"
Seeing his beaming smile that hid no eyes, Han Mo truly wished he could grab the fellow by the neck and ask him outright, "Do you not understand what people are saying?"
Was this praise? This was merely a polite remark, why were you so excited?
Before coming here, Han Mo had always pondered that the person in charge of Mingzhou City by the Qian family should at least be a shrewd and experienced individual.
After all, although the Eight Great Families had remained at peace in recent years, the undercurrent of conflict had never ceased.
A place like Mingzhou was not something that ordinary people could handle. If one was not careful, the financial losses could amount to hundreds of thousands of strings of coins.
However, what he never expected was that when he actually visited today, he discovered that the person in charge of Mingzhou City was such a fool.
Even if he were a fool, his aesthetic sense seemed too bizarre...
Although it was true that men in the Song Dynasty liked to wear flowers, and on formal occasions, they did like to powder their faces, you shouldn't have made yourself look like this...
Seeing the powder falling from the fellow's face as he smiled, Han Mo felt a toothache.