After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Inside the study of the Cangcheng County Government Office.

Xiao Changqi and Xiao Mingyue were standing in front of the Cangcheng map.

The newly delivered official documents were piled on the desk. Xiao Changqi pushed the documents to Xiao Mingyue's side.

"Godmother, Lord Wang Fang reported the situation in Cangcheng back to the capital before leaving the city, and a letter arrived from the capital today."

He pulled a letter with intact sealing wax from the stack of documents on the table and pushed it to Xiao Mingyue's side.

"The Ministry of Personnel's idea is to directly transfer someone from the current officials in Yunzhou to Cangcheng to take charge, saving the trouble of sending someone from the capital."

Xiao Mingyue opened the letter and quickly scanned it.

"If the dispatch order and this letter were sent from the capital on the same day, it would only take three to five days for the courier service to reach Lancheng and then be transferred down."

Xiao Changqi nodded: "If we depart from Lancheng today, we can arrive in three days."

Once the official in charge takes office, he can relax a bit.

This period of time has really exhausted him. He originally thought that he had traveled all over the country to do business and was already very hardworking.

Who would have thought that being a local official would mean having to manage everything?

From major projects like reinforcing river embankments and rebuilding dilapidated houses, to minor matters like people's daily needs like food, drink, and toileting.

Although the help of the women her mother brought had made things much easier these days, it wasn't a long-term solution.

But Xiao Mingyue was thinking about something else entirely.

The new magistrate who was transferred to Cangcheng is unknown, as to whose side he works for.

If someone in the capital has an informant who sees this group of young women from Qianyuan Village, they could send the news back...

It's likely that a series of traps await her after she returns to Beijing.

She needs to find out more about the new magistrate.

To find out a person's background, the quickest way is probably to start by investigating where they came from.

Xiao Mingyue turned her head to look at Xiao Changqi: "Have you contacted Wang Fang today?"

"Yes, I just received a reply yesterday."

Xiao Changqi pulled out another letter from the pile and placed it in front of Xiao Mingyue.

"Lord Wang has arrived safely in Lancheng, and the disaster relief supplies have been handed over."

"Lancheng is the capital of Yunzhou, so it has a more solid foundation. The disaster was far less severe than in Cangcheng. The local officials treated it quite well, and there were no major problems."

At this point, he hesitated for a moment before expressing his doubts.

"The wife of Liu Tong, the former magistrate of Cangcheng, said that Cangcheng suffered so much because of the inaction of the prefect of Yunzhou. But Lord Wang's evaluation of him this time is that he does not seem to be a cunning and extravagant person."

As he spoke, Xiao Changqi turned to the page of the letter.

The text above shows that Wang Fang has a very high opinion of Cheng Rui, the prefect of Yunzhou.

Diligent and simple, he is neither arrogant nor servile in his dealings with others.

Xiao Mingyue immediately understood what he meant.

If Cheng Rui was truly an incorruptible and honest official, then Liu Tong's wife, Zou, was lying.

But if Zou was not lying, then Cheng Rui is probably a very good at disguising himself.

It's difficult to distinguish right from wrong in a short time.

Xiao Mingyue never expected that Yunzhou, located in the heart of the southwest, would be such a place where talented people emerge in large numbers.

"Cheng Rui".

She repeated the two words softly, her brow furrowing slightly.

Xiao Changqi noticed her unusual behavior and quickly asked, "Does Godmother know this person?"

Xiao Mingyue shook her head.

"I don't recognize him. Do you know who he is?"

Xiao Changqi stroked his chin gently. "Yunzhou is located in a mountainous inland area, and this is my first time here. I don't know much about the officials here. Is your godmother worried that he has someone backing him?"

"That's right," Xiao Mingyue nodded. "If he's just a local bully, that's fine, but if he's someone's informant, I'm afraid they'll send people to monitor us very soon."

If that's the case, we need to plan the relocation of Qianyuan Village's forces as soon as possible.

As they were thinking, the study door was gently pushed open a crack from the outside.

Shen Jingque leaned half her body in and spoke with a smile.

"Mother, Second Brother."

"Did I disturb your important discussion?"

When Xiao Mingyue saw her daughter, the stern expression on her face softened somewhat.

"No, come in."

Xiao Changqi glanced at her, held up a folding fan to his mouth, and teased her.

"Oh, weren't you playing chess with your godfather in the backyard? Have you calmed him down?"

Shen Jingque rolled her eyes at him and made a face at him.

Then he walked to the desk and stopped smiling.

"Mother, there's something I just remembered that I think I should tell you."

Xiao Mingyue raised her hand and pointed to the chair next to her.

"Sit down and talk."

Shen Jingque recounted what Li had told her in the epidemic area that day.

"My daughter thinks that Song Sheng must have known about this 'Lord Cheng's' secret, which is why he was silenced."

"Moreover, according to Li, those people cut off their fingers as evidence after killing someone, which illustrates a point."

She held up one finger.

"They need to verify the employer's identity to prove that the matter has been handled properly."

"This kind of behavior doesn't seem like that of a hired assassin; it's more like that of a hired gangster."

"My daughter thinks that someone who would send assassins to silence someone must have evidence in their possession that could lead to a major case."

"and……"

Shen Jingque looked up at Xiao Mingyue, her tone earnest.

"Mother, Grandma Wang is old and frail. She barely survived the epidemic."

"Her only son is gone just like that, and even her remains were collected by the neighbors."

"My daughter wants to help her find out the cause of Song Sheng's death."

After he finished speaking, the study fell silent.

Shen Jingque was somewhat taken aback. She had originally thought that Xiao Mingyue and Xiao Changqi would be somewhat emotional after she had mentioned such a big matter.

Whether it's anger or excitement, neither should be expressed with such a subtle expression at this moment.

Especially Xiao Changqi.

He listened with a furrowed brow, then slowly turned around.

"Wait a minute." He raised a hand to his forehead. "You just said that Song Sheng died outside Lan City, and those assassins said that they were ordered by a 'Lord Cheng'?"

Shen Jingque was taken aback by his reaction. "Yes."

She had no idea why his expression had suddenly changed.

"What's wrong? Do you know Second Brother?"

Xiao Changqi did not reply to her, but slowly turned his head to look at Xiao Mingyue.

Just then, Xiao Mingyue seemed to have thought of something as well, and at the same moment she raised her eyes.

The mother and son's eyes met in mid-air.

The two of them said the same name in unison.

"Cheng Rui".