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

With just these words, Shen Zheng smoothed Yu Shizhang's hair again.

Yu Shizhang immediately made the decision: "Then it's settled. The county school will cover all the travel expenses for the first three days of the exam. If there is a boat, take the boat. If not, take the carriage."

"The first place winner will receive an extra five taels of silver and a set of brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. The second place winner will receive an extra two taels of silver and a set of brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. The third place winner will receive a set of brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. This is it!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng immediately shouted: "My Lord, you are so generous! I admire you!"

Yu Shizhang narrowed his eyes and chuckled.

In fact, a few taels of silver and three sets of pens, ink, paper and inkstone were not a lot of money to him. He could even afford such rewards if they came dozens or even hundreds of times.

But why didn't he increase the reward to ten taels or even dozens of taels of silver at a time?

"It's not that I'm stingy." Yu Shizhang opened his eyes and said, "A few taels of silver are not a small amount for them. If they use it for household expenses, it will be enough for the whole family to eat for a long time. If they keep it for themselves, it will be enough for them to buy a favorite book or make a nice set of clothes. So I think this reward is just right, what do you think?"

He asked this because he was actually afraid that Shen Zheng would think he was stingy.

Whenever the prestigious academies in the capital held competitions, the rewards were extremely varied.

Although there are rarely cash rewards, those prizes can be converted into silver coins - ranging from dozens of taels to hundreds of taels.

So he was afraid that Shen Zheng would think that he, the Earl of Yongning who came from Shangjing, had become stingy after arriving in Tongan County.

"Do you want to hear the truth?" Shen Zheng teased him intentionally, and her words were full of hesitation.

"Speak directly!"

Shen Zheng smiled at him: "I think this reward is a bit high. Nowadays, ordinary people work hard for a month, and their monthly salary is only a few taels of silver. You are giving several taels of silver, which is really generous!"

Yu Shizhang was very pleased when he heard this, and he said in a fake tone: "It's just a few taels of silver, it's nothing. But... if you say so, then the first place will get one tael of silver, and the second and third place will get no silver reward?"

Shen Zheng immediately shook her head and waved her hands, "No, no, your promise is worth a thousand gold. How can you take it back now that you've said it!"

If those students knew that she was the one who messed with the situation and caused the loss of the reward that was supposed to be hers...

I guess she will no longer be the best Mr. Shen in the students' hearts.

"Look at you." Yu Shizhang nodded at her, "You are the most stingy."

"Yes, yes, yes." Shen Zheng nodded repeatedly, "Of course I am not as generous as you, old man. Please do not take back the reward."

Diwu Tanwei watched the interaction between the old and the young and found it extremely interesting.

She also had a good relationship with her grandfather, otherwise he would not have given her the map that had been passed down in the family for generations, but their relationship was far from being that close.

At this time, Shen Zheng spoke cheerfully with a warm smile on her face.

Diwu Tanwei thought that perhaps only someone like Shen Zheng could do this.

......

After the competition was decided, Shen Zheng began to ponder Pinyin in her mind again.

But...there is nothing to say about this matter, so let's wait until the Fifth Tanwei leaves.

She sat up straight and coughed loudly on purpose to attract Yu Shizhang's attention. After Yu Shizhang looked over, she immediately took out the parchment from her arms and spread it on the table.

"Look at this."

Yu Shizhang glanced at her and chuckled, "Let's talk business now? I want to see... a map? Where did you come from?!"

He had seen maps in the palace, so he knew at a glance what was drawn on the parchment.

Although this map is not as detailed as the one in the palace, both the borders of the Great Zhou and the boundaries of provinces are extremely clear, and it is definitely not a rough map made by the people.

He looked at Shen Zheng, his brows no longer relaxed as before, and his words were full of seriousness: "Tell me the truth, where did it come from?"

As the saying goes, too much care leads to confusion.

He was only concerned that the picture was taken out by Shen Zheng, and was worried that she had fallen into the trap of someone with ulterior motives, giving others an opportunity to take advantage of her, but he completely forgot that there was a Fifth Tanwei sitting next to Shen Zheng.

Before Shen Zheng could answer, Diwu Tanwei stood up and said, "My Lord, this painting belongs to me."

"Yours?" Yu Shizhang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.

Shen Zheng originally thought that he would be angry, but she didn't expect that after getting the answer, he gradually calmed down and no longer had the anxiety he had just had.

I only heard him say: "Just don't involve Shen Zheng. This picture of yours..."

He took the picture and looked at it carefully, curling his lips and nodding, "It has been passed down for several generations, right?"

There are many traces of changes on the map, and many of the boundaries have long been renamed or merged with other boundaries.

Even the northwest border...

It was obvious that the border line was moved a little inward, and two cities that originally belonged to the Great Zhou were excluded - those were the cities paid as compensation when the previous emperor was defeated in a battle.

Yu Shizhang felt that he couldn't bear to look any longer, so he deliberately looked away.

"The Fifth Old Ghost is really brave." He sighed, stroked his beard and said, "This picture has been hidden for many years. Why did you take it out today? Has the Fifth Old Ghost found his conscience?"

This statement was actually a good choice to cover up the lie for the Fifth Family, but Shen Zheng and Fifth Tanwei did not agree.

The yard was quiet for a moment, the leaves and the wind were still, only the mottled shadows of the sun were quietly moving across the ground.

"That's not the case." After a moment, Diwu Tanwei chose to tell the truth: "I took it out because I wanted to show Lord Shen the business base of the Diwu family."

“…” Yu Shizhang didn’t know how to answer for a moment.

He looked at Diwu Tanwei, quite speechless: "Your grandfather must be lucky to have a granddaughter like you. He would wake up laughing at night."

Shen Zheng felt a pain in her teeth when she heard this.

Listen! Listen! What a good bender!

Diwu Tanwei's eyebrows twitched twice, and he lowered his head without saying a word.

Yu Shizhang said the same thing as Shen Zheng: "People in your business hold maps in their hands, which is a well-known secret among merchants. A rough map will not have much impact on the affairs of the Great Zhou. But this map of yours... you should have an idea in your mind, right?"

The Fifth Tanwei nodded silently, "I know this is the fault of my clan. I accept the punishment and am willing to hand this picture over to you and Lord Shen for full handling."

Yu Shizhang had expected this to happen.

Now that this picture has been discovered, can we still pretend that it doesn’t exist?

Neither he nor Shen Zheng can do it.

Even though the Fifth Family had expressed their stance long before, and were now trying hard to get their direct descendants into official careers, he and Shen Zheng were different from them after all.

No matter what the outcome of certain things is, their position must be clear.

"I will send a message to His Majesty to see how he handles the matter." Yu Shizhang put the picture away.

He didn't want to say more, but seeing that Shen Zheng looked as anxious as Diwu Tanwei, he finally spoke: "Don't worry too much. Your Majesty is not as ignorant as you think. To put it bluntly, every blade of grass and every tree in this world can serve as your Majesty's eyes and ears."