Qingyan County is sixty miles south of Suizhou Prefecture.

When they arrived at Qingyan County, it was already late, so Qin Shu and the others stayed temporarily in a small inn in the county to rest.

While waiting for the shopkeeper to register, Qin Shu accidentally looked at the street and saw a familiar figure walking past the door.

She gently tugged at Fu Rong's sleeve.

Fu Ying understood, and the two of them immediately left the inn and followed.

In front of us, a young man was carrying a bag of snacks and walking forward excitedly while humming a tune.

He walked all the way to the small corner door in the backyard of the county government office. The servant in front of the door bowed to him and said, "Second Master, you are back? Is this the Izumo snack you bought for Second Madam?"

While the servant was speaking, he saw Qin Shu and Fu Ying behind him and hurriedly tugged at the man's sleeve.

The man turned around and it was Cheng Zonghao.

As soon as Cheng Zonghao saw Qin Shu, his face turned pale and blue, and it was hard to tell whether he was embarrassed or angry.

The gatekeeper's eyes turned and he ran towards the mansion.

After a while, the corner door opened, and Cheng Mao, whose hair and beard were half white, and Mrs. Cheng walked out quickly one after another.

When Cheng Mao saw Qin Shu, he quickly flicked his sleeves, took a half step forward, knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Your humble servant pays respect to Qin Jiezhen."

Qin Shu raised her hand, "Master Cheng, please don't be polite. Please stand up."

Cheng Mao said: "Thank you, sir."

Cheng Zonghao lowered his head and helped Mrs. Cheng up.

Cheng Mao stood with his hands behind his back and asked softly, "My Lord is here, right?"

Qin Shu said, "I was passing by and saw an old friend, so I came to see him."

She smiled slightly, "Will your Excellency invite me in to sit down?"

Cheng Mao suddenly realized it, and quickly stepped back half a step, stepping aside to make way for him, "Please come in, sir."

Qin Shu and Fu Rong were in front.

Cheng Mao looked respectful, bent slightly, and followed Qin Shu half a step behind.

Cheng Zonghao followed behind holding Mrs. Cheng's arm.

Mrs. Cheng signaled to Cheng Zonghao with her eyes, but Cheng Zonghao shook his head at her, indicating that he was unaware of Qin Shu's arrival.

After entering the yard, a pregnant young woman, holding her belly, came up to them with the help of a little girl, "Father, mother... Big, big sister..."

The latter title already carries a hint of fear.

Qin Shu glanced at Qin Baoyi indifferently, then turned to Cheng Mao and said, "Sir Cheng, I have something I would like to ask you to help me with."

Cheng Mao quickly led Qin Shu towards the study, "My Lord, please."

Qin Shu nodded slightly and walked in front.

Behind him, Qin Baoyi's face turned pale and her whole body was shaking.

Mrs. Cheng quickly winked at the little maid beside her. The little maid understood and quickly helped Qin Baoyi back to the room.

Mrs. Cheng asked in a low voice: "Why is she here?"

Cheng Zonghao asked anxiously, "How did my son know? He was also shocked just now."

He thought of his father kneeling before Qin Shu, and his face suddenly became a little ugly. "Could it be that the newly appointed governor of Linbei Road, as everyone is saying, is her?"

Madam Cheng whispered, "She is a woman. The emperor must be crazy to make her an official."

Cheng Zonghao smiled bitterly and said, "Father just knelt down to her and called her Sir."

Madam Cheng was still stubborn, "Maybe it was the imperial envoy..."

She was upset and didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Go and see Xiao Qin. I saw that she looked really bad just now. She seemed to be frightened."

Cheng Zonghao was a little absent-minded and went to the backyard with some snacks.

Madam Cheng stared at the empty yard for a long time before she smiled bitterly, "What a sin."

Ever since Qin Shu asked her for the 150,000 taels of silver in person on the streets of Jinzhou, Mrs. Cheng wrote a letter to her husband.

Her husband asked her to sell her property and return 20,000 taels of silver to Qin Shu, then he took his family north.

Go to Qingyan County to meet your husband.

The Cheng family’s current situation cannot be blamed solely on Qin Jingchang.

If Qin Baoyi is not brought back, Haoer will have to arrange a new marriage.

Given their family's current situation, this marriage will probably be difficult.

Moreover, there was no extra betrothal gift to the woman’s family.

After much thought, before leaving, Mrs. Cheng sent someone to the farm to bring Qin Baoyi back.

Not long after arriving in Qingyan County, the thirty-year grain embezzlement case and the spring examination fraud case of Hongtai suddenly broke out.

Cheng Mao's greatest supporter and hope, his mentor, Grand Tutor Wei, was arrested and thrown into prison overnight.

Most of the disciples of Grand Tutor Wei in the court were involved.

Because Cheng Mao was far away in Qingyan, he luckily escaped this disaster.

Although he was not involved in that devastating case, the best outcome for Cheng Mao's future official career would probably end here.

When we meet again now, Qin Shu’s influence is still there.

When Mrs. Cheng heard the servant's report, she was completely frightened.

She didn't have the courage to go to the study to find out what was going on, so she could only hide in the backyard, anxious like an ant on a hot pan, running around in circles.

In the study in the front yard.

Cheng Mao let Qin Shu sit at the upper seat, and he stood at the lower seat with his hands behind his back.

Seeing his respectful look, Qin Shu was deeply moved and gestured, "Master Cheng, please sit down and talk."

Cheng Mao responded softly, leaning half way forward and sitting precariously on the brocade stool at the bottom.

In front of Qin Shu, Cheng Mao no longer dared to look down on her.

Almost everyone in the entire Great Zhou believed that Qin Shu donated all the wealth of the Qin Mansion to King Jin, which enabled her to be attached to King Jin and be valued by him.

But Cheng Mao knew it was not the case.

Because he knew Qin Shu's methods better than anyone else.

In the great earthquake in the officialdom two years ago, he saw the shadow of Qin Shu.

He had already experienced how scheming and cruel this woman was when he received the fake banknote that had turned into ashes and sent it back by his mentor.

Having been in officialdom for decades, he had no intention of resisting when he learned the truth.

Just want to escape!

The further away you can get, the better.

But he didn't expect that after so many twists and turns, he still fell into Qin Shu's hands.

In recent years, Linbei Road has not been restricted by the Jiedushi, and the officialdom has formed an impenetrable network.

Qin Shu, who was parachuted here, had just arrived and might not be able to find a way in a short time.

Now that Qin Shu can take the initiative to find him, it means that she is giving himself a chance to surrender.

The moment Cheng Mao saw Qin Shu for the first time, he quickly made a decision in his heart.

Qin Shu took out the small seal from her sleeve pocket and handed it to Cheng Mao, "Master Cheng, take a look. Do you recognize this seal?"

When Cheng Mao took it and looked at it, his expression changed immediately.

Qin Shu knew that he must know this thing, so she asked, "Does the lord know it?"

Cheng Mao stood up, handed the seal back to Qin Shu with both hands, and replied softly: "Yes, this seal is the private seal of Cai Changshi of Longzhou Governor's Office."

Qin Shu took the seal and nodded softly.

Cheng Mao thought for a moment and asked, "Since you have obtained this private seal, you must have known that it was stolen by a thief."

Qin Shu smiled slightly and said, "Not bad."

"Now, all the government offices in the eight prefectures and sixty-seven counties of Linbei Road have received the reward notice." Cheng Mao smiled bitterly, "I have a copy here too."

He stood up, rummaged through the pile of documents, took out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to Qin Shu with both hands.

Qin Shu didn't unfold it to read, but just glanced at the big word "Confidential" on the folded surface of the notice.

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