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

Fang Xurao did not hide anything and directly told him what happened to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on Qianlai Mountain. This matter could not be concealed.

"This matter must not be spread to anyone else. Just keep it to yourself. If anything happens to His Royal Highness, we will all be implicated."

County Magistrate Zheng suppressed his panic, but his legs refused to obey his command. "I will obey your orders, sir!"

Fang Xurao sat at the head of the group and nodded in satisfaction. "Your Highness is leading the Black Armored Army in the mountains, searching for someone. I was worried that the villagers might see us and cause panic, so I came down the mountain to ask you for something."

County Magistrate Zheng became even more panicked. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the prefect couldn't do it, what could a small county magistrate like him do?

"Please tell me, sir, if it is something I can do, I will do it to the bitter end, even if it means death!"

Fang Xurao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Master Zheng, there's no need for this. You really don't need to die heroically. All you need to do is issue a notice!"

"Notice?" County Magistrate Zheng refused to believe that they had to ask him for such a simple matter.

Fang Xurao explained the ban on going up the mountain: "We'll use the excuse that there are wolves on the mountain. Then His Royal Highness will kill a few wolves to cover it up."

County Magistrate Zheng was filled with suspicion. He wondered what the Crown Prince was doing in the mountains. Was he hiding troops for rebellion? But this place was thousands of miles from the capital. What was the point of hiding troops here?

Uh, ahem! This wasn't something a mere county magistrate like him should worry about.

County Magistrate Zheng was not particularly curious and did not want to know anything that was beyond his reach. "Don't worry, sir. Leave this matter to me. I will write a notice and send people to each village to convey the ban."

Magistrate Zheng left his study and hurried to the lobby to call the legal advisor, clerk, chief clerk and all the yamen runners.

He did not dare to reveal the whereabouts of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and only said that the wolf pack on Qianlai Mountain had injured people, and the prefect of Jiangzhou personally organized people to go up the mountain to encircle and suppress the wolves.

County Magistrate Zheng said: "These wolves are too ferocious. It's time to clean them up. For the safety of the people, please don't go up the mountain for the next few days."

The prefect is currently at our county office, specifically recruiting people to come to the mountain and kill the wolves. The Qingle County Office must cooperate with the prefect. All we need to do is issue a prohibition notice, forbidding the villagers from ascending the mountain.

Later, you will take the notice to the nearby villages and make sure to inform everyone."

As soon as County Magistrate Zheng finished speaking, someone became anxious!

"Sir, this won't do! Our Fangjia Village is suffering from a drought. The wells in the village have dried up and we have to go up the mountain to fetch water. If we are not allowed to go up the mountain, where will our entire village get water? Isn't this going to drive us to death?" The speaker was one of the yamen runners.

When County Magistrate Zheng saw it was Fang Heming, he quickly comforted him, "It's just these two days, just these two days! It's not going to be a year or two, Heming! Go home in person and tell your father to have everyone stock up on water in advance so they can endure these two days. Once the...prefect's men leave, we'll lift the order!"

"Sir, you don't know. When I came here this morning, our village had invited a master to discuss diverting water down the mountain. What if we miss the opportunity and the master leaves?"

"Divert the water down the mountain?" County Magistrate Zheng was intrigued. "How do you divert it? Tell me."

Fang Heming was a little embarrassed: "I don't know about this! I came to work early in the morning, and I don't know what's going on in the village."

County Magistrate Zheng thought for a moment and said, "This matter cannot be delayed any longer. How about you come with me and ask to see Lord Fang to see if you can grant us a day or two of extra time?"

So, County Magistrate Zheng brought Fang Heming to see Fang Xurao.

Fang Xurao was surprised when he heard him mention Fangjia Village: "Are you from Fangjia Village? Who is your father?"

Fang Heming saw that the man looked very friendly and was not timid. He replied politely, "I am from Fangjia Village, and my father is the village chief, Fang Shuli!"

"Oh my! What a coincidence! You're Heming, right?" Fang Xurao excitedly stood up, walked up to Fang Heming, and patted his shoulder. "I didn't expect to meet you here! Don't you recognize me?"

Fang Heming was completely stunned. This gentleman actually knew his name, but he really didn't know him. Moreover, he was the prefect! How could his family possibly have such a high-ranking official?

Seeing his confusion, Fang Xurao hurriedly explained, "It seems you really don't remember. No wonder. Our branch split up from your grandfather's generation and moved to Yicheng.

Come to think of it, I lived in our ancestral home for a while when I was little. Your father wasn't married yet! Speaking of rank, I'm your second cousin!

I remember that year I passed the imperial examination and it was the last time I returned to my hometown to worship my ancestors. You were only a few years old at that time, and you certainly didn’t remember me.

Later, I went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, passed, and became a Hanlin scholar. I stayed in the capital for many years without having the chance to return.

Recalling the past, Fang Heming also remembered that he had heard his father say that their Fang family had produced a high-ranking official who was extremely powerful. He thought his father was just bragging, but he didn't expect it to be true.

"Heming! Are your parents in good health?"

"Hmm! Okay, okay...!" Fang Heming was so shocked that he couldn't even utter a complete sentence. It was County Magistrate Zheng who helped him explain the situation in Fangjia Village.

"I didn't expect the village to be hit by a drought. How could I not know about such a serious matter? Didn't you report it to the court?"

"Yes, we reported it. We just reported it two days ago. You should not have received it yet, sir! We are already taking measures to solve the drought problem." County Magistrate Zheng hurriedly explained that he would not take the blame.

Fang Xurao nodded approvingly: "Since we are here, let's go back to the ancestral home and take a look."

Fang Heming quickly agreed: "That's great, that's great! My father has been thinking about you all these years! If you could go back and visit, it would be a great honor to return home!"

"Yes! It's been almost thirty years. I'm old now. It's time to go back and take a look... Let's go home."

Fang Xurao took Fang Heming's hand and walked out. County Magistrate Zheng hurried to follow. This was the prefect of Jiangzhou, so he had to serve him well. If something happened on his territory, his career as an official would be over.

There are also the ancestors in the mountains. If something happens, all nine of his clans will be enough to kill them. Just thinking about it makes him shudder. It’s better to follow closely.

In the evening, the group finally arrived at Fangjia Village. Mrs. Lin had received the news early and had already waited at the village entrance with Fang Xueyun and her sister.

When the two sides met and exchanged pleasantries, the topic returned to the issue of drought.

The project to divert water down the mountain in Fangjia Village was in full swing. Therefore, the news of the arrival of a second cousin in the Fang family did not cause any commotion among the villagers.

A large pit was dug in the open space in the village at the foot of the mountain. The bottom of the pit was rammed, and a layer of clay was laid. After ramming, a layer of lime was laid, and then flat stone slabs were laid. A mixture of lime and clay was poured into the gaps between the stone slabs to reduce leakage.

It was already dark, but it couldn't stop the villagers' enthusiasm.

Fang Xurao walked around the reservoir, deeply interested. Hearing that his eldest cousin was up the mountain, he wanted to go up there and take a look. Seeing that they couldn't stop him, everyone followed him up the mountain.