The girl traveled through another world and forced the prince to take the imperial examination

Ximei was so happy that she was immersed in her own fantasy, but the owner of the Nantong pawnshop was worried.

"Little girl, come here, please sit here!"

The shopkeeper led Ximei into a private room and asked the waiter to bring some tea and snacks.

"Little girl! If you're not in a hurry, please wait a moment. I'm going to ask our boss to take a look. I'm not sure about your hairpin."

Ximei looked at the exquisite snacks on the table, her mouth almost drooling. Hearing the shopkeeper's words, she was even happier, because this meant that the hairpin was more valuable than the silver fox mask.

"Okay, okay, I'm not in a hurry. Go ahead and invite them! I'll wait here."

After the shopkeeper left, Ximei couldn't wait to grab the snacks on the plate and stuff them into her mouth.

On the second floor of the Nantong Pawnshop, in an elegantly decorated room, two people were sitting opposite each other and drinking tea.

One of them was a middle-aged man, perhaps in his forties, with a square face and a calculating look in his eyes. He wore a brown satin gown and a white jade ruyi pendant at his waist. This man was Shang Yihai, the owner of the Nantong Pawnshop.

Shang Yihai is a branch of the current Empress Shang family. Because of his business skills, he is highly regarded by Shang Jinghuai. He came to Qingle County to do business in order to win over the generals of Nanmen Pass.

The man sitting across from Shang Yihai was also about forty years old, of medium build, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. He had no distinctive features except for his eyes, which were as sharp as hooks. He also had a long sword hanging from his waist, which was as unremarkable as he was.

Shang Yihai: "...Although there's a severe drought this year...as long as the water in the Jiuqu River doesn't dry up, are you worried about not being able to farm? General Chang, don't worry! I can guarantee that the yields of your farms will be no problem."

General Chang's name is Chang Youliang. He is the general guarding this border area.

At this moment, he lowered his eyelids and had no expression on his face. It was hard to tell whether he was anxious or angry.

Shang Yihai suddenly changed the subject: "I heard that things in the mountains have been a bit unsettled lately. Did something happen?"

Chang Youliang curled his lips imperceptibly. "Indeed! I've also heard that a distinguished figure has arrived at Qianlai Mountain and is turning the place upside down. I heard he's even killing wolves. Is he looking for a woman? You know who he is, even without me telling you!"

"Hiss! So this is true..." Shang Yihai took a sip of tea and pretended to be surprised!

Chang Youliang suppressed the barely perceptible sneer on his face. "I can't believe it either. Wasn't it said that this nobleman abstains from women and surrounds himself with men? This isn't like him at all! Your Shangjia is his maternal grandfather's family, how come you don't even know why he's here?"

Shang Yihai smiled awkwardly, "I can't be considered his relative! But I think his visit this time is strange, maybe this is just an excuse! General Chang, please be careful, he's not coming for you, is he?"

Chang Youliang scoffed, "Tsk! Could he possibly bring the Black Armored Army to attack our South Gate?"

"That's hard to say..." Shang Yihai curled his lips and said seriously, "Maybe it's because of the military power in your hands. I heard that the eldest prince has already fought with him, and he was wiped out without even meeting him!"

As expected, the Shang family was afraid that the military power of Nanmen Pass would fall into the hands of the prince.

"Haha! The eldest prince?" Chang Youliang sneered, "How can the eldest prince compare to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? No matter how many people he has, he's not worthy enough to fight him. Isn't this courting death?"

"So! I think he's coming for the military power in your hands. General, don't underestimate the enemy!"

Chang Youliang sneered inwardly. This old fox must be afraid, afraid that he would defect to the crown prince! He must be anxious to stir up trouble.

"What are my mere 50,000 soldiers? Can they really help him fight back to the capital? If he really wants to mobilize troops, he will only mobilize troops from the northern border. After all, those troops are all under the Crown Prince's personal command."

This is exactly what Queen Shang's family fears the most. There are 100,000 soldiers and horses in the northern border, all of whom are the prince's men. If he can win over General Chang, it will be like adding wings to a tiger!

Each of them had their own thoughts. For a moment, no one spoke and the room was silent.

At this moment, the shopkeeper came to the door and dared to knock only after hearing no movement from inside.

Shang Yihai asked him to come in, resting his head on his head. The shopkeeper knew that the boss was discussing something, so he didn't want to waste time. He briefly explained the whole story, even explaining the clothes and the silver fox mask.

Shang Yihai didn't understand what was going on. He was still focused on General Chang's military power.

However, Chang Youliang heard something strange.

A precious floating brocade, a silver fox mask carved by palace craftsmen, and a jade lotus hairpin. These were clearly items only a noblewoman from a prominent family could possess. How could a village girl have gotten them? Furthermore, the clothes were damaged in several places...!

I'm afraid! This is the person His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is looking for?

Chang Youliang immediately stood up and said, "Boss Shang! Since you're busy, I won't bother you anymore. Let's have tea another day!"

"General Chang, are you leaving now? These are just trivial matters, trivial matters..." Shang Yihai tried to persuade him to stay. He was very anxious and blamed the shopkeeper for being so blind and ruining his plans today.

The shopkeeper felt guilty after being glared at, but he had no choice. No matter how Shang Yihai tried to persuade him to stay, Chang Youliang was determined to leave.

After Chang Youliang left, Shang Yihai, with a sullen face, asked the shopkeeper what had happened. When the shopkeeper placed the jade lotus hairpin before him, Shang Yihai fell back into his chair in shock. His lips trembled, and it took him a long time to speak.

“She, she, she’s back?… She’s back…!”

Qingle County Government Office!

County Magistrate Zheng passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi at the age of 35. He did not enter the Hanlin Academy, but was directly sent out to Qingle County where he stayed for seven years. This was the sadness of being an outsider in the court. He also knew that his official career was hopeless, so he was content to stay in this frontier county.

After noon today, County Magistrate Zheng was taking a short nap, reading in his study, when a yamen runner hurried in with the news that the Jiangzhou prefect was outside the yamen, wanting to see the magistrate.

County Magistrate Zheng dropped his book on the table in shock. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Have you made sure it's really the prefect of Jiangzhou?"

The yamen runner brought Fang Xurao's business card. County Magistrate Zheng looked at it carefully and found an official seal on the card.

"Hurry! Follow me to greet the governor."

Outside the county government office, Fang Xurao was wearing casual clothes, a stone-green grey gown and a black mountain crown. He had a pure and elegant temperament, not like a prefect in charge of a place, but more like a scholar.

He was followed by more than a dozen guards, all of whom were strong and sturdy, and it was obvious that they were not ordinary guards.

After meeting Fang Xurao, County Magistrate Zheng dispelled his doubts and believed that this person was indeed the prefect of Jiangzhou.

"Master Fang, I apologize for not coming to greet you and keeping you waiting. I'm so sorry, so sorry!"

Fang Xurao didn't bother to be polite with him and said bluntly: "It's okay, let's talk inside!"

County Magistrate Zheng became even more nervous, and suddenly realized that something must have happened!

The two men entered the study of the county government office, dismissed everyone, and left the two of them alone in the study to talk.