Pan Yucheng blinked. "Want me to call him out?"

Ning Chen waved a hand. "Forget it. He doesn't know we're back... Ning Mao's in his mid-twenties now. It's about time he got married.

Come on. Let's go back to the residence first."

They went back to the city lord's residence.

Qi Yuanzhong and Jiang Zhengyang were already waiting at the gate.

Wu Tiezhu's two hundred Ning'an Army soldiers had gotten there first, so they knew Ning Chen was back.

The moment they saw him, the two of them hurried forward and bowed.

"Greetings, my lord prince!"

Ning Chen stepped up and raised them both. "We're all friends here. No need to stand on ceremony!"

These two, one civil and one military, worked hand in hand. That was why Xuanwu City was thriving the way it was.

"Brother Qi, it's been a long time. How's your health?"

Qi Yuanzhong smiled. "Thank you for asking, my lord prince. I'm fine!"

"And Lord Jiang?"

Jiang Zhengyang smiled. "I'm fine too. My days are even fuller than they were in Lingzhou."

Ning Chen smiled. "Good. Let's go talk inside."

They went inside to the front hall.

They all took their seats, and a maid served tea.

Ning Chen took a sip. "Anything happen while I was away?"

Jiang Zhengyang shook his head. "With the Great Xuan trading with the Wu Kingdom, Xuanwu City has a pretty mixed crowd, and that makes it a little hard to manage... But those are small matters.

Right now Xuanwu City is growing fast. At this rate, the city's taxes this year will match a whole prefecture of the Great Xuan."

Ning Chen was surprised. "That much?"

Jiang Zhengyang said, "We took a count a while ago. Xuanwu City has reached two hundred and twenty thousand people... and it grows every day.

The farmland inside the city has all been cleared and planted. I'm about to draw up plans to open up land outside the walls."

Ning Chen smiled. "Bringing you here was the best move I ever made. Lord Jiang, thank you for all your hard work!"

Jiang…