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

The food brought by the Xue family father and daughter was completely devoured.

After the meal, the county soldiers helped clear the tables and chairs. Xue Li lingered by Shen Zheng's side for a long time before finally mustering up her courage to say, "Lord Shen, my father and I both believe in you and Lord Xu... What happened today must be a misunderstanding. Please don't take those people's words to heart."

Xu Yunyan looked over upon hearing this.

Looking into Xue Li's sincere eyes, Shen Zheng smiled and nodded, then took something out of her pocket and handed it to her, "This is for you."

Before Xue Li could even see what it was, she shook her head repeatedly, saying, "I cannot accept it. My father and I came here not to curry favor with you."

"I know." Shen Zheng took her hand and placed the item in her palm. "It's just a small trinket, a token of my appreciation. Take it carefully, and don't drop it."

Xue Li subconsciously withdrew her fingers and held the object in her palm.

Just then, gasps of surprise came from inside the museum.

Madam Wang's voice was the loudest: "Husband! You're finally awake! I was so scared... Waaah, thank goodness you're awake..."

Wang Huai'an woke up.

Shen Zheng's eyes narrowed, and Xue Li immediately said, "My lord, you are busy. Your father and I will return now!"

Shen Zheng nodded to her, sent someone to the government office to report the news, and then turned around and went into the clinic with Xu Yunyan.

Inside the clinic, Li Shiyuan was writing a prescription, with several doctors standing behind him, practically shoving their faces into the paper.

Madam Wang held Wang Huai'an and wept bitterly, her cries filled with joy.

Madam Wang sat on the couch, holding Wang Huai'an's hand and silently shedding tears.

Upon seeing Shen Zheng enter, Wang Huai'an subconsciously averted his gaze. After a while, he struggled to sit up and coughed, saying, "This humble official, Wang Huai'an, greets Lord Shen."

"Lord Wang, there's no need for such formalities. Please lie down." Shen Zheng pretended not to notice his averted gaze and asked Li Shiyuan, "Doctor Li, how is Lord Wang?"

Li Shiyuan immediately understood her meaning, stopped writing and said, "Lord Wang is no longer in danger of death. He can go home to recuperate and take medicine for a few days."

"Yes, yes, let's go home, let's go home first..." Madam Wang struggled to help Wang Huai'an up, and looked at the old lady, saying, "Mother, let's go home quickly, there are too many people here..."

The old lady secretly glanced at Shen Zheng.

She could vaguely sense that Shen Zheng seemed to be suspicious of something.

But her son never talked much about official matters with the family, so even if she wanted to guess, she couldn't. She could only say, "Then... let's go back."

The carriage headed towards the Prince's Palace in the darkness.

Wang Huai'an was anxious the whole way. Madam Wang wanted to ask, but considering that her daughter-in-law was also there, she said, "Huai'an, go home and rest for a couple of days. As for what's wrong... wait until you're better before you go to the government office and talk to the officials."

Should we speak frankly?

Wang Huai'an gripped the cushion tightly with both hands, his mind in turmoil.

Can he say it outright?

Does he dare to say it outright?

If he tells the truth, what will happen to him? What will happen to his wife? What will happen to his son?

With a heart full of conflicting emotions, we arrived at the Prince's Mansion.

He was afraid that Shen Zheng would talk to him directly, so he didn't dare to get out of the car for a long time.

But what's coming will come.

"Lord Wang." Shen Zheng's voice came from outside the carriage.

Wang Huai'an trembled involuntarily, but tried his best to keep his voice steady as he said, "This humble official will come down immediately. Please, Lord Shen..."

“No need.” Outside the carriage, Shen Zheng interrupted him directly: “Now that Lord Wang has arrived home safely, I will not stay any longer. However… I have something I would like to say to Lord Wang.”

A word?

Wang Huai'an was both puzzled and frightened. He was helped off the carriage by Madam Wang. Under the dim yellow light, his face was shockingly pale.

His lips moved slightly, as he was about to send Madam Wang away, when Shen Zheng said, "Lord Wang has just escaped danger. He should go home and rest for a couple of days. The day after tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), I hope Lord Wang will come to the government office on time to hand over the duties to Lord Xu. As for today's events... I hope Lord Wang will tell me the truth."

After saying that, Shen Zheng turned around and went back to the carriage.

Wang Huai'an stood there, stunned, watching her retreating figure.

He couldn't understand why Shen Zheng would give him two days to catch his breath.

Was it an intentional attempt to temper his character, or was it to avoid making a big fuss and damaging Xu Yunyan's reputation?

However, Wang Huai'an found Shen Zheng's actions very strange. He even felt that Shen Zheng was not in a hurry at all, as if today's events were just like being pinched by a small ant, causing her no pain or itch.

As Shen Zheng's carriage drove away from the street, Wang Huai'an's jaw trembled. Under Madam Wang's anxious questioning, he slowly came back to his senses.

“Husband…” Madam Wang shook his arm, her face full of worry, “Are you still feeling unwell? Should we call Doctor Li back and have him take another look at you?”

Looking at Madam Wang's naive yet foolish face, Wang Huai'an sighed heavily.

Life.

Everything is fate.

One step wrong, step by step wrong.

“It’s alright…” Wang Huai’an released her hand and walked slowly toward the palace.

Upon entering the mansion, he looked at the silent Old Madam Wang and said in a hoarse voice, "Mother, I have something I want to say to you..."

As if sensing something, Madam Wang's face aged considerably in an instant.

......

The government office was brightly lit.

When Shen Zheng arrived, Yu Zhengqing was in the Jia Ku (甲库), flipping through Wang Huai'an's Jia calendar.

When each official came to the government office to take up his post, he would submit a "Jia Li" (甲历), which recorded his past experiences in great detail.

Yu Zhengqing flipped through Wang Huai'an's calendar several times, but he still couldn't find anything strange about it.

Shen Zheng pushed the door open and entered. Yu Zhengqing pinched the bridge of his nose and asked without looking up, "You're back? Did Wang Huai'an say anything?"

“He avoided my gaze once, and I didn’t give him another chance to speak.” Shen Zheng pulled up a chair and sat down, rubbing her temples. “Whoever attacked him probably didn’t expect him to survive. They will definitely make a move before tonight. I had Su Yan and the others keep watch. Once they can’t help but make a move and leave solid evidence… then we can make our move.”

"No wonder you sent someone to tell me I didn't need to go..." Yu Zhengqing put down the military calendar, his eyes full of admiration: "Compared to a little over a year ago, you have truly grown a lot. Only by entrusting this vast Liuyang Prefecture to you can I leave with peace of mind..."

Shen Zheng smiled wryly: "I encountered this on my very first day in the prefectural city... I wish you were always here, so I could just stay in Tongan County."

If the people of Tongan County were of one mind, there wouldn't be any of these roundabout and scheming things.

Instead of wasting time scheming and plotting, it would be better to think about how to cultivate the land well.

“That’s always been the way of officialdom.” Yu Zhengqing looked out the door. “Some people are unworthy of their positions, their minds are full of scheming against their colleagues, and they can’t sleep at night at the slightest disturbance, fearing that someone will take away their power. As long as such people are in officialdom, the other officials will never have a moment’s peace. You should have seen all of these kinds of people when you came to the capital.”