Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

After seeing the face of the person outside the door clearly, Jiang Zhiming really hated himself for not being night blind.

It's really a coincidence that I can catch Lord Shen doing his private business in the middle of the night...

When the three powers were at odds, he quietly slipped out through the crack of the door, covering his face and saying, "Oh, why do I have trouble seeing at night? I can't see anything clearly..."

Perhaps his disguise was too obvious, Xu Zhijie's mouth twitched slightly, but he still moved aside to make way for him.

"Sir Shen!" Jiang Zhiming took two steps forward and said with his back to Shen Zheng, "Let's do what we agreed on regarding the matter on the dam. I'll take my own carriage."

He deliberately spoke vaguely, as if he was afraid that Xu Zhijie would find out about the water whistle.

Xu Zhijie looked at their attire and wondered what they were wearing, so he asked directly, "Master Shen, are you going to Huiheba?"

The rain was still pouring down, and Shen Zheng's tone was a bit anxious: "Yes, it's raining so hard, I'm afraid we won't be able to open the sluice gates until tomorrow. The gates are new, and the soldiers guarding the dam are inexperienced. I have to go check the water level myself. If necessary, I will open the gates immediately."

Xu Zhijie knew that opening the sluice gates could not be delayed, so he immediately said, "I will go with you. If Your Majesty asks about it tomorrow, I can also explain it to you and serve as a witness."

"this......."

Shen Zheng hesitated for a moment.

Just as Xu Zhijie said, with him as a witness tomorrow, the matter of opening the floodgates early can be easily exposed, which will be beneficial to Shen Zheng and Jiang Zhiming.

but......

"Master Xu, if someone asks you tomorrow why you appeared at Huihe Dam, how should I answer?"

Could it be that they were secretly plotting at night and whispering to other officials?

Xu Zhijie had already thought of an excuse: "Let's say Yin'er stayed overnight at the Shen residence, and I saw the heavy rain and was worried, so I came to pick her up. How about that?"

With just one sentence, Shen Zheng understood the implication of his words - the Xu and Cui families, the Minister of Personnel and the Prime Minister, were about to have a serious falling out.

This time, Cui Xiang used Cui Jinyin as a hidden chess piece, and Xu Zhijie could no longer bear it.

It is said that nephews resemble their uncles, but think about it from another perspective. If the uncles do not dote on their nephews, how can the nephews resemble their uncles?

With her uncle Xu Zhijie around, Cui Jinyin is not too unlucky.

After figuring it out, Shen Zheng raised her hand and said, "Master Xu, please get in the car."

After Xu Zhijie boarded the carriage, Shen Zheng summoned the Imperial Guards from the dark and whispered, "The gates are expected to open early tonight. Go to the palace and report this first. When you return, tell Doctor Li that their proposal is feasible."

If you don't want to be blamed for something you didn't do, you have to leave a trace.

......

The carriage moved forward in the darkness, and the sound of rain completely masked the sound of horse hooves.

After leaving Yintai Street, the road conditions ahead gradually became worse. It was either flooded or muddy. The journey that was only about two quarters of an hour took half an hour to walk.

When the situation became most difficult, Shen Zheng and Xu Zhijie jumped off the carriage and pushed it for a long time from the back.

After returning to the carriage, the water on the straw raincoat kept dripping onto the carriage board, forming a small stream inside the carriage.

Neither of them was someone who cared about the environment, so they just wiped the water off their faces and continued talking about business.

Shen Zheng said, "I don't know what you are thinking, but I think this is not a good opportunity."

Before, she had never thought of overthrowing Prime Minister Cui. After all, there was no deep blood feud between the two sides. It was just some minor friction in the officialdom.

But after what happened today, she suddenly understood a true saying - being kind to your enemy is being cruel to yourself.

This time, Prime Minister Cui can use the treasure to frame her, next time he can arrest the people of Tongan to threaten her, and the next time, he might even send assassins to kill her.

Neither my uncle nor my aunt can tolerate such a bad behavior.

"That's right." Xu Zhijie agreed after a moment's hesitation. "They're just some treasures of unknown origin. He can't kill you, and likewise, you can't kill him."

Shen Zheng hummed, then suddenly raised his head with a fierce look: "What I want is a kill with one strike."

Meeting his gaze, even Shen Zheng felt uncomfortable for a moment.

Who said that the Cui and Xu families are related by marriage and have a very good relationship?

This is just too bad!

"So I thought I could keep some evidence this time." Recalling today's events, Shen Zheng's expression was calm. "Cui Jinyin's visit to the Shen Mansion certainly didn't escape the eyes of the Yulin Guards, but when she was talking to me, there was no third person in the room..."

All that the Yulin Guards knew was that "Cui Jinyin came to seek medical treatment on behalf of Prime Minister Cui."

Xu Zhijie wasn't surprised by her guessing what she was thinking. Instead, he said, "Thank you very much. Yin'er really shouldn't be involved in this. I'll take note of Lord Shen's favor."

Right now, it is indeed not a good opportunity for them to overthrow Prime Minister Cui.

First, she had not yet ascertained the emperor's opinion and attitude; second, there was insufficient evidence; third, those treasures had passed through Cui Jinyin's hands, and if she was not careful, this girl would be blamed.

When he thought of this, Xu Zhijie became extremely annoyed, until Shen Zheng suggested a "dirty trick".

After hearing this, he looked strange: "Smallpox? Such a serious disease, and he dared to talk about it casually?"

Shen Zheng shrugged.

In fact, she didn't understand why the housekeeper of Cui Mansion was so drunk by Lu Fugong. Otherwise, why would he dare to say such nonsense?

"So, Lord Lu and I thought this was an opportunity. Since the steward is worried that Prime Minister Cui will get smallpox, why not just vaccinate everyone in Cui's mansion with cowpox? Once Lord Lu has observed that there are no problems, we can expand the vaccination program. This way, I'm sure that by the end of this year, everyone in the capital will have been vaccinated."

There was a hint of admiration in Xu Zhijie's eyes.

Letting Prime Minister Cui lose more than he gained by trying to steal a chicken, how could this not be considered murderous?

"The people are already afraid of cowpox." Xu Zhijie looked serious, but his eyes were filled with malice. "As the head of all officials, Prime Minister Cui must lead by example and be a role model for all officials."

Shen Zheng smiled and agreed, "This humble official agrees as well. Your Majesty and the Empress cannot afford any harm to their health. The Prime Minister is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate."

In just a few words, the two of them decided on Cui Xiang's identity as the "representative".

Before we knew it, the carriage arrived at the city gate and slowly stopped.

Hua Duo was driving outside. He quietly reached out and pulled the curtain, then leaned over and whispered, "Master, General Lin is here."

Just as he finished speaking, Lin Fanyun's voice came over: "But Lord Shen? Lord Jiang just left the city gate first and told me that Lord Shen's carriage would be arriving soon."

Shen Zheng lifted the curtain of the car. His figure was a little blurry under the rain, but one could vaguely see that he was wearing an oilskin jacket and leather armor.

This is much more advanced than a straw raincoat.

"General, will you be on guard tonight?" Shen Zheng poked her head out. "To be honest, General, the rain is too heavy. Lord Jiang, Lord Xu, and I need to go to the sluice gate to take a look."

But when she raised her head for a moment, rain splashed on her face and she could hardly open her eyes.

Lin Fanyun hurriedly called her in and said, "I heard from Lord Jiang that the roads are slippery and muddy in rainy weather. Lord Shen, please wait a moment. I will lead the team and go with you to prevent the wheels from sinking and being difficult to deal with!"