It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

In the middle of the night, Jiang Yan tossed and turned in bed, and the words "newly built house" kept echoing in her mind.

She thought of the people from Dongshan Village who were sent here to do forced labor. Could these brand new courtyards have been built by them? Could they go home now?

At the same time, Zhou Li carefully avoided the patrols in the mansion, climbed into the mansion next door, and after confirming again and again that there was no one around, he walked into the study in the front yard.

"Greetings, General Song." Zhou Li saluted with his fists clasped.

The middle-aged man with a long beard at the head asked in a dignified voice, "Song San has sent word that something unusual has been discovered about Governor Fang. What progress has been made so far?"

In mid-July, Zhou Li reported to the emperor through a secret agent stationed in Heding Prefecture that Governor Fang had sent his private guards to search everywhere.

At the end of July, Zhou Li reported that Governor Fang had targeted the area surrounding Qinshan Mountain in Rongcheng County. He also mentioned that to conceal his activities, Governor Fang had intentionally sent his cousin to Rongcheng County to visit relatives and had purchased the forests in that area in her name.

Soon, an undercover agent went to investigate and brought back news that the disaster victims from several villages in Rongcheng County had been taken away by the government office for resettlement and had disappeared without a trace.

Afterwards, Zhou Li followed Fu Nulang to Rongcheng County for nearly half a month. Since he was hired by the governor's office and had some relationship with Fu Nulang's father's family, he had no choice but to stay with Fu Nulang to provide personal protection. The governor's office's private guards also kept bypassing him and took secret actions, and ultimately gained nothing.

It was not until mid-September that a group of 100 people in ragged clothes and armed with weapons appeared outside the city of Heding Prefecture. The news that the governor's office quickly sent private guards to conduct a large-scale search attracted the attention of several informants, including Zhou Li.

Perhaps due to a shortage of personnel, or because the operation was so high-profile that there was no need to conceal it, Zhou Li was also transferred out for inspection for nearly a month.

The few words that were inadvertently leaked during this operation, as well as the information discovered by other secret agents, made Song San, the head of the Heding Prefecture's secret agent, convinced that he had discovered a major secret.

The governor of Fang was illegally mining in Qinshan, and the magistrate of Rongcheng County provided him with some labor. The previous several pursuits were probably to capture people who had escaped.

As for the specific location of the mine, it requires the joint efforts of Zhou Li who has infiltrated the governor's office.

Although General Song came here to accept the emperor's invitation on behalf of his father, he came more to personally follow up on the progress of the Fang governor incident so that he could present the results to His Majesty on the same day and bring him to justice in a timely manner.

The Song family had been stationed on the northern border for a long time, and from time to time they could hear about Governor Fang's flattery and money-making practices, making him a national pest.

Compared with the soldiers' lack of food and clothing, General Song became more and more displeased with Governor Fang.

Zhou Li hadn't made any new progress. It had been only ten days since his last report, and he had been traveling south with Governor Fang's convoy, driven by Miss Fu all the way, leaving him no room for personal movement.

However, sensing the general's unconscious depression due to disappointment, he added hesitantly, "Miss Fu in the governor's mansion took in a new maid two months ago. She's from Dongshan Village on the outskirts of Qinshan in Rongcheng County. She might know something."

"How can it be 'maybe'? It's been almost two months and you haven't tried it yet?" General Song was puzzled. The person in front of him knew the clue but didn't go to inquire about it. Did he leave it for him to go in person?

Zhou Li always actively explained to his real boss: "In the only encounter we had before, the maid was timid and impulsive, and didn't seem very smart. I was careless and assumed she knew nothing."

"But after interacting with her for the past few days and observing her words and actions, although I have no concrete evidence, I instinctively feel that she is dissatisfied with the governor and the county magistrate."

Zhou Li paused and asked General Song, "She has noticed that I am observing her. Should we continue to test her as usual?"