Before the house is confiscated, the enemy's warehouse is emptied and exiled

County Magistrate Zhang said so much, but he was right about one thing. Xiao Heng's trip was to gain a deeper understanding of his territory and discover problems so that he could formulate corresponding strategies one by one and improve people's livelihood.

He always felt that the real situation in Lingnan was much worse than he had imagined.

As for the corruption hidden behind these officials, it is not his primary concern, and if he were to investigate, it would not be done in such a high-profile manner.

But if he dug something up while patrolling the border, he wouldn't mind dealing with it.

Just do it.

In the evening of that day, Yun Yi took an imperial edict and went to Xishui Street.

He pushed the door open and entered the yard, then read aloud.

The general meaning is: Shen Qingge is beautiful and intelligent, knowledgeable, and has outstanding martial arts skills. She also made great contributions in protecting the emperor during the trip to Lingnan.

Although his crimes could not be pardoned, he was recruited as an unofficial guard of the Lingnan Palace to accompany him on border patrols.

In this way, the neighbors will not be too suspicious about Shen Qingge's departure.

Afterwards, Yun Yi took the imperial edict and helped the kneeling Shen family members up one by one. When he walked in front of Shen Qingge, he was still a little nervous because he didn't know whether Madam Shen was willing to go there voluntarily.

Because this time the king gave her the identity of the young master's wife.

Unexpectedly, Shen Qingge happily accepted the imperial edict and thanked him. She only whispered in his ear:

"This border patrol will probably take more than a month. Please take good care of my family."

Yun Yi agreed immediately, saying that the king had already made all the arrangements.

……

After several days, the day of departure finally arrived.

As soon as the sky was getting light, Shen Qingge said a few words to the Shen family, then packed a simple bag and disappeared into the alley.

She left peacefully this time.

On the one hand, Xiao Heng sent a team of secret guards to guard the Shen family day and night to protect the safety of his family.

On the other hand, the Water Qilin's ability to transform into a human form has also made rapid progress.

Late one night, the master and the spirit beast discussed it together, and Shen Qingge simply released the restriction on it and let it go north to look for its father and brother.

She also took out her father's old belongings from the space - the fake scepter bestowed by Emperor Xiaowen, and a glass gold bracelet of hers as a token of identity.

Add to that a handwritten letter and you have everything.

Therefore, Shen Qingge embarked on this journey without any worries, and was even a little happy to see the mountains, rivers, customs and people of Lingnan.

By the time she arrived at the Lingnan Palace, the group had almost finished packing.

Xiao Heng sat in a low-key and luxurious carriage, dressed like a rich businessman's son.

Cangyu and more than ten others dressed up as servants and guards.

As the only woman, she was also handed gorgeous clothes by the maids in the palace.

After one stick of incense, the group set off.

Their route this time was relatively clear. They would first head east, then circle around the coastline and inland border, and then return to Panyu City.

A group of officials respectfully escorted them all the way from the palace to the city gate with great trepidation. The expressions on their faces were even more "heartbroken" than when they were seeing off their loved ones.

This exaggerated expression and artificial posture made Shen Qingge sigh secretly:

These people have such superb acting skills, it would be a shame if they didn’t join a drama troupe to perform variety shows!

Xiao Heng, who had been observing the surrounding situation, naturally noticed this scene. He and Shen Qingge understood each other and smiled at each other.

Afterwards, Xiao Heng waved his hand and ordered the team to speed up.

In this way, the group rode at full speed and rushed eastward for a day or two. Gradually, they began to notice a strong salty and humid smell in the air, and it seemed that they were about to reach the seaside.

So they arrived at the first destination of this trip - Puhai County.

With full of expectations, a group of people from the Central Plains had not yet seen the magnificent ocean with their own eyes. The first thing that caught their eyes was a dilapidated and crumbling city wall.

The city wall looked to be about the height of an average person and was made of rammed earth.

After years of wind, rain and erosion, this earth wall has become riddled with holes, with a piece missing on the east side and a corner missing on the west side. It is completely a mere decoration with no real purpose and cannot provide any effective defense at all.

Through the gap in the dilapidated city wall, everyone was finally able to get a glimpse of the true face of this seaside county town.

Looking around, you can see that almost all the houses in Puhai County are simple thatched houses. From a distance, it is difficult to find a house with a roof covered with tiles.

Such a scene is really too shabby and desolate for a county town.

It is so shabby that it cannot even be called a county, it is just a small fishing village.

It is so shabby that it cannot even be called a county, it is just a small fishing village.

Seeing this, Xiao Heng hurriedly opened the "Nanhai County Chronicle" in his hand, and saw it clearly written:

"Puhai County is located in the eastern part of Nanhai County and is a well-deserved large county.

This county and several small counties around it rely on fishing and pearl gathering to make a living. In particular, the pearls produced in abundance here are listed as tribute to the Beiling Kingdom.

Because of this, Puhai County is bustling with merchants every day, and the entire county is exceptionally prosperous."

After Xiao Heng finished reading this passage, he slowly closed the book, then turned his head, his gaze fell on Shen Qingge beside him, and asked:

"According to the county annals, merchants and traders here are very active, and the people live a very prosperous life. What are your thoughts on this?"

Shen Qingge looked at the "fishing village" and then at the "Nanhai County Chronicles" in Xiao Heng's hand. After thinking for a moment, he replied:

"In my opinion, either the county annals have not been updated for a long time, resulting in the records not matching the actual situation;

Or maybe there are some unknown problems here! How about we go and investigate it ourselves? "

At this moment, a white-haired old man suddenly walked past.

They were all dressed in rags, carrying tattered shoulder poles on their shoulders. It was difficult to see what was inside the poles.

Seeing this, Xiao Heng winked at Cangyu behind him.

Cang Yu nodded in understanding, then quickly ran towards the group of old people in front of him, shouting in a pure Central Plains accent:

"Elderly people, please stay! I have something to ask you..."

The old people saw that they were strangers, and a trace of vigilance flashed in their eyes, but there were still one or two brave enough to ask, "What's the matter?"

Cangyu quickly ran forward with a smile and said:

"Excuse me, could you tell me the directions? Is this Puhai County? We're merchants from the capital. We heard this place is famous for its pearls, so we came here!"

"Are you here to collect pearls?" the old men asked in surprise.