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

Whenever Shen Zheng encountered something puzzling, he would write it down on paper and slowly sort it out.

Right now is no exception.

She took out paper and pen, dipped them in tea and ground ink, rolled up her sleeves, picked up the pen, and began to write.

Several known pieces of information appeared on the paper, and different pieces of information were connected by the same ink line.

After sorting out the information, she asked Ah Wu, "Did you find anything else?"

She always felt that...some information was missing.

Ah Wu pursed his lips, a look of struggle in his eyes, "I... do. But Master Shen, I still want to see the files from that year with my own eyes. I want to convince myself first, and then convince Grandma."

In just a few breaths, Shen Zheng had a lot of thoughts in her mind.

For example, the people should cooperate with the court in investigating the case, and Ah Wu should not negotiate conditions or make deals with her.

For example, she is not qualified to access the files of the Ministry of Justice.

For example, she didn't know any officials from the Ministry of Justice.

For example...

"Are you literate?"

This question seems very important.

"I know a few, but Grandma isn't too keen on teaching us to read."

"...Then how do you read the files?" After asking, Shen Zheng suddenly remembered the Ring Society. "Learning to read is very important, otherwise you will suffer a lot of setbacks. You should convince the sisters to join the Ring Society. There are teachers in the society who can teach you to read."

Yesterday's scene flashed before his eyes. Ah Wu lowered his head and said, "Actually... my sisters all wanted to join the Ring Society, but Grandma didn't want to. Grandma gave us our lives, and we can't abandon her. But..."

"I understand." Shen Zheng nodded slightly.

Putting myself in Ah Wu's situation and thinking about it carefully, the hesitation and torment hidden in her eyes suddenly became as clear as a mirror.

She and her sisters had lived through hard times, so they naturally longed for the Xianhuan Society.

But Qiu Yingmu's case was like a huge tree, standing between them and the Xianhuan Society.

The only thing she could do was to bet that the murderer of the assassination had not been caught. She could use what she had seen and heard before as bargaining chips, obtain the files of that year through Shen Zheng, and then convince Qiu Lianqiu with facts, thus achieving the "best of both worlds" she imagined.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Zheng asked her a question.

"If the Ring Society hadn't been established, you would have kept the Tongjin Ferry incident to yourself, right?"

This question is sharp and hits human nature, but it is not ugly.

Even Shen Zheng didn't know what answer she wanted.

"I... I don't know." Ah Wu lowered his head. "I actually thought that since you were able to appear in the capital safely, you must have escaped the disaster. Maybe the murderer has been imprisoned. We are ordinary people... no, we are beggars. It's better to have less trouble than more. I don't want to die yet."

A sigh came from my ear.

As she raised her head, she heard Shen Zheng say, "Logically, you should follow me to the Ministry of Justice and tell me everything you saw and heard that day. Well, I'll see if I can borrow the Ministry of Justice files. If not, you must not conceal anything you saw and heard that day."

After Ah Wu left, Shen Zheng rolled up the carriage curtain and sat in the carriage drinking tea without saying a word.

Her thoughts were like the eight legs of an octopus, scattering in all directions.

After a while, I thought - for Ah Wu and the others, living is just for living. Just living makes them try their best. Life should not be so painful.

After a while, she thought - she had been in Beijing for two or three months, but the real murderer had not been caught yet... Was it because the three courts were incompetent, or was it because the case involved too many people?

Then she thought again—she wasn't familiar with the officials at the Ministry of Justice at all. If she wanted to see the files, she had to ask Ji Benchang for help. Besides that, she had to prepare a gift for the Ministry of Justice, a gift... enough to convince the Ministry of Justice to support her appointment as the Assistant Director of the Six Ministries.

What can I give as a gift?

Shen Zheng called Hua Duo.

Hua Duo held the knife and thought for a while, "Your Excellency is good at making tools. You can give them a set of new torture instruments."

"...Let's not do that." Shen Zheng hesitated and refused.

She is not the King of Hell, so why should she be tortured?

......

Shen Zheng did not make new torture instruments, but he made several new frog-catching tools.

The setting sun shines on the surface of the canal, like broken gold. The canal water flows in a winding manner, and the broken gold becomes silk.

Shen Zheng handed the written letter to You Fu: "Please go to General Lin's residence and give this letter to General Xiao Lin. You don't have to wait for a reply."

You Fu took the letter and looked at the ordinary envelope. He felt like he was being scratched by a cat.

Lord Shen and General Kobayashi have only met a few times, and now they have started writing letters secretly?

For such an important matter, shouldn't he go to the palace first and report to His Majesty?

Will His Majesty summon General Kobayashi directly? Will General Kobayashi be beaten? Never mind. Beat him if you will. The Imperial Guards are under His Majesty's direct jurisdiction; he's not afraid.

Perhaps the confusion on his face was too obvious, which attracted Shen Zheng's attention: "...What are you thinking about?"

"No, nothing." Putting the letter into his arms, You Fu patted his chest and promised: "I will definitely deliver the letter to General Xiaolin!"

Then go to the palace to report to His Majesty!

Shen Zheng thought about it for a while and felt that it was not the case.

She asked tentatively, "Last night at the city gate, I spoke to the young soldiers guarding the city. Did you hear it?"

"I didn't hear it all." You Fu answered quickly: "Your voice was too soft, and the wind was so strong at that time..."

After he finished speaking, he seemed to feel a little guilty and explained, "Your Majesty did not send me to monitor you... It's just that Your Majesty is very concerned about your safety."

"You misunderstood." Shen Zheng looked at the corner of the envelope on his chest. "This letter is about official business. You can go to the palace first and present the letter to His Majesty. After His Majesty has read it, you can give it to General Xiaolin."

In addition to the safety of the little goalkeeper, the letter also briefly mentioned bullfrogs.

Even if the emperor does not read the letter today, the Ministry of Revenue will mention the bullfrog incident when he goes to court tomorrow.

After You Fu left, most people on the dam had also left. Shen Zheng asked Old Qiao to go back home first, and she and Hua Duo were going to the rice fields again.

Knowing that they were going to catch giant toads, Old Qiao and Cheng Yu volunteered and refused to go back home, insisting on following them.

The four of them walked along the path in the country as the sun set.

There are several more figures in the rice fields today, and there are many bamboo cages placed on the ridges.

They are all farmers who come to catch giant toads.

Seeing Shen Zheng approaching, they all made way. Some farmers who had seen her last night bravely asked, "Master Shen, are you here to catch frogs again? The officials from the Ministry of Revenue were here this morning too. It's hard to catch them during the day, so they spent two hours before they caught one."

Shen Zheng stopped and chatted with them: "It's hard to catch that thing during the day. It's more convenient to catch it after dusk."

The farmers didn't expect that the great Lord Shen would actually stop and talk to them.

Excited, he racked his brains and stammered, "Yes, yes, yes. We just arrived not long ago and are catching things from our own fields. Lord Shen, please come to my field and catch them. My rice is good, and those beasts will definitely like it."