The first county magistrate in history

In the early hours of the morning, a window on the second floor of the Hongtong County Inn suddenly opened, and a young man in the county magistrate's robes swiftly jumped out, landed easily, and left in a hurry.

In the room, a naked woman with graceful curves was lying on the white bed. She suddenly sat up, looked at the bloodstains on the bed sheet, and a cold murderous intent flashed in her beautiful eyes.

She, the first female emperor in the history of the Daqian Dynasty in the late Xia Dynasty, was actually slept with by a small county magistrate?

The reason they had come to this remote Hongtong County was because numerous nobles and ministers had repeatedly impeached the minor county magistrate, Qin Zheng. They accused him of corruption, accusations of amassing wealth, and a life of extravagance, calling him a local tyrant. They also accused Hongtong County of being impregnable, possessing a fortified military, and possessing wealth comparable to that of a nation, and that they were plotting a rebellion.

But when she got here, she found it was a dilapidated county town, not as bizarre as the memorial had described. Furthermore, although the people were poor, no one was starving to death, and there were no beggars. And everyone praised the county magistrate.

This is strange.

She was a wise ruler who would neither wrongly accuse a good person nor let a bad person go. Knowing that the magistrate, Qin Zheng, was very fond of interacting with merchants, she approached him in the guise of a cloth merchant to further explore the matter.

But this damned county magistrate was so audacious that he drugged her...

Just now, Xia Mochuchu lost her virginity and felt a little scared and confused, but at this moment, murderous intent was overflowing...

Qin Zheng walked on the bumpy street with his brows furrowed.

The people of Hongtong County were like family to him, and the people at the posthouse wouldn't harm him. The only people who could harm him were the people from this merchant caravan. But why would they want to harm Miss Xia?

"Investigate, we must investigate. Damn it, I traveled through time and space, but I didn't want to get married and start a family, I just wanted to be a local tyrant. How dare someone disrupt my plan? Damn it!" Qin Zheng cursed angrily, feeling quite depressed.

But, now, he had no time to investigate this matter, because he had received the news that the empress was going on an incognito visit. Although he had ordered the entire city to be disguised, if there was a mistake and he was discovered, he would be guilty of deceiving the emperor.

The next day, female official Li Qiuhan helped Xia Mochu to wash and dress up, but found that the empress's eyes were a little red and swollen, and she was not in good spirits.

"Miss, what's wrong with you?" Li Qiuhan has been Xia Mochu's companion since childhood. They are like sisters, so she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep well last night." Xia Mochu suddenly asked, "Where were you last night?"

Li Qiuhan's pretty face flushed: "I'm sorry, Miss. I don't know what happened last night. I fell asleep next door."

Xia Mochu's face changed. Damn Qin Zheng, wouldn't he also...

"Is there anything wrong with your body?" Xia Mochu asked.

Li Qiuhan shook his head: "It's nothing, maybe he's just tired from the long journey."

Xia Mochu breathed a sigh of relief. If something had happened to him, Li Qiuhan would definitely not be unaware of it.

"Miss, where are we going to check today?" Li Qiuhan asked.

Xia Mochu gnashed his teeth and said, "Go to the county government office and kill Qin Zheng!"

"Ah?" Li Qiuhan was shocked. "Is he really planning a rebellion?"

Xia Mochu suddenly asked, "I asked you to spread the news. Did you spread it?"

Li Qiuhan smiled: "It has spread out. I guess soon, the county magistrate will reveal his true form when he finds out that we have returned to the imperial capital."

After washing up, Xia Mochu left the inn with a caravan of more than 30 people without even having breakfast.

These thirty or so people were palace guards disguised as merchants.

Xia Mochu had not walked far when he suddenly stopped.

"Qiuhan, didn't you find anything strange?" Xia Mochu asked.

Li Qiuhan was startled: "What's wrong, Miss?"

Xia Mochu looked at the people walking on the dirt road and frowned. "I've always felt something was wrong. Look, they're all dressed in rags, but there are some with rosy faces. Does this mean they're not getting enough to eat?"

Li Qiuhan took a closer look and found that it was indeed the case.

Surprised, "Miss, if you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have cared. Could it be..."

"Sister Qiuhan?" Just then, a girl in patched clothes ran over from an inn.

"Suhong?" Li Qiuhan was shocked: "Why are you here?"

Zhao Suhong is the daughter of the Zhao family, a merchant family in the imperial capital. The Zhao family originally ran a grocery business, but last year they suddenly switched to the cosmetics business.

Cosmetics is a new word, invented by the Zhao family. Originally, the Daqian Dynasty only had rouge, but the Zhao family invented many varieties, such as skin care products, whitening and wrinkle-reducing creams, lipsticks, and false eyelashes... all of which became popular in the imperial capital.

The Zhao family also made a lot of money and became the richest family in the imperial capital.

Is this, down and out? Li Qiuhan looked at Zhao Suhong's patched clothes in surprise.

Zhao Suhong doesn't know Li Qiuhan's true identity.

Li Qiuhan was a customer of her store, and over time they became good friends.

When you meet an old friend in a foreign place, you will naturally feel close to him.

"I'm here to buy some goods!" Zhao Suhong took Li Qiuhan's hand and lowered her voice, "Don't tell anyone. My family is the exclusive agent of Imperial Capital Cosmetics. It would be bad if others knew that the source of goods is here."

"Those cosmetics are produced here?" Li Qiuhan was shocked and subconsciously glanced at Xia Mochu.

She understood Xia Mochu's look.

"Suhong, this is my daughter Xia Ling, who is in the cloth business. Miss, this is my good friend Zhao Suhong, the daughter of the Zhao family, the richest family in the imperial capital." Li Qiuhan introduced.

Zhao Suhong smiled generously: "Hello, Boss Xia."

Xia Mochu smiled and asked, "Boss Zhao, this is our first time here. You are very familiar with Hongtong County. Can you introduce it to us?"

Zhao Suhong was very happy: "Okay, are you here to buy goods or to sell goods?"

Xia Mochu thought for a moment: "Originally, I came here to sell goods, but, as you can see, they can't afford it!"

Phew!

Zhao Suhong laughed out loud: "Boss Xia, Qiuhan, can you please excuse me for a moment?"

Once she was away from her entourage, Zhao Suhong lowered her voice and said, "If our businesses weren't different and Qiuhan and I weren't sisters, I wouldn't have said anything. To be honest, what you saw was all an illusion!"

Xia Mochu and Li Qiuhan looked at each other in surprise.

Li Qiuhan asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Suhong pointed at the thatched houses around them and said with a smile, "This is all disguise, you know? In fact, there are beautiful things hidden inside. To tell you the truth, Hongtong County is richer than the imperial capital. The houses here are all made of red bricks and glazed tiles, and even the city walls are covered with ceramic tiles."

"What? Red bricks and glazed tiles, the city walls are tiled?" Xia Mochu exclaimed.

"There are red bricks?" Li Qiuhan was also surprised.

You should know that the buildings nowadays are all made of blue bricks cut from stones.

Zhao Suhong was not surprised at the two people's surprise. She smiled and pointed at the bumpy dirt road: "And this dirt road, there is asphalt road underneath."

"What is asphalt road?" Li Qiuhan asked.

Zhao Suhong scratched her head and said embarrassedly, "I'm not sure. It seems to be a mixture of something called asphalt and something called cement. It's very flat. When I first came here, I even slept on it. It was more comfortable than a bed."

"Then why disguise?" Xia Mochu asked.

Zhao Suhong looked around and lowered her voice, "County Magistrate Qin is a peculiar man. He has invented many new things, like the cosmetics my family sells. There are many more, too many to count. I heard that soap and perfume were recently invented, and my father is planning to obtain the national distribution rights."

Soap perfume?

Xia Mochu and Li Qiuhan had never heard of it. But they knew Zhao Suhong's last words were meant for them, so they didn't want to compete with her.

Xia Mochu smiled and said, "Boss Zhao, can you help me? I also want to change my career. Don't worry, I won't steal your business."

Seeing that Boss Xia had understood, Zhao Suhong blushed. "Hey, thank you! Aren't you in the cloth business? As far as I know, County Magistrate Qin just invented a kind of cloth called silk, which is smooth and beautiful. He also added a lot of trendy clothing designs."

silk?

Trendy clothing design?

Xia Mochu and Li Qiuhan felt it was so fresh.

Zhao Suhong continued, "If my money wasn't so tight, my father would have gone to fight for it. You don't know, but County Magistrate Qin's products are of the highest quality. As long as we get the agency rights, we'll make money. I heard that many merchants have come from not only the imperial capital, but also from all over the country. You better hurry."

Xia Mochu was speechless. The richest man couldn't even make ends meet. How big could this business be?

Li Qiuhan asked, "Suhong, why are you wearing such tattered clothes?"

Zhao Suhong smiled mysteriously, "County Magistrate Qin isn't after fame, he's only after profit. He just wants to be a local tyrant here. He recently heard that the Empress was coming for a secret visit, and he was afraid of being exposed, so he disguised himself. We're all old customers, and we've been notified, so we're just cooperating."

Xia Mochu's face looked grim. Were those impeachment memorials true?