After traveling through time, I rely on force to survive

Zhou Yimo showed a hint of doubt on his face. He asked Yun Ying uncertainly, "Are you saying that you want to thank the county magistrate for giving me the betrothal money?"

As soon as the words fell, Li Qingqing suddenly laughed. She couldn't help but ask, "Thank you, County Magistrate, for actually giving my husband a betrothal gift?"

Did you hear me wrong?

Li Qingqing: Sir Xie is indeed a man of discerning eyes. Is he attracted by my husband’s beauty?

Yunying: What did I just say? I can actually explain a little bit.

Zhou Yimo: Wife, you are being naughty again!

Zhou Yimo's ears felt a little hot from Li Qingqing's words. He tried to remain calm and looked at Yun Ying: "Xie County Magistrate, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Yunying nodded and replied:

"Young Master Xie said that everything he wanted to say was written in the letter. You two only need to read the letter and you will naturally understand what he meant."

Li Qingqing tried hard to suppress the upward curve of her lips and said, "In that case, please wait a moment. We have something to convey to County Magistrate Xie."

County Magistrate Xie sent someone just in time!

Later, let Zhou Yimo write a letter to inform County Magistrate Xie that they are willing to help eliminate the bully Liu Yuanwai, which will save the time of running to the town.

Yunying nodded, indicating that she understood. "Yes, I'll be waiting at the gate of the courtyard, ready to take your orders at any time."

Ever since Yunying had a fight with Li Qingqing, his admiration for her has grown stronger, and he speaks to her with great respect.

Li Qingqing pulled Zhou Yimo to the study. They looked at each other and quickly slipped into the space.

The space was as bright as day, perfect for reading letters.

Li Qingqing carefully opened the envelope and took out a thick stack of letter paper. She handed it to Zhou Yimo without even looking at it.

Hmm! These traditional Chinese characters, with layer upon layer of clothes, all look the same, making them a little hard to recognize. I'd better let Zhou Yimo read the letter before telling her the content.

Li Qingqing found two more silver notes in the envelope. When she looked at them, she saw that they were really two hundred taels. She thought to herself.

Since Xie Xuan'an is a supporter of Mu Yunjing's consortium, he has many businesses under his name, and the restaurant is one of them.

According to Xie Xuanan's approach, in order to avoid becoming a target of public criticism, Zuiyuexuan Restaurant should only rank behind the top restaurant in terms of specifications and layout. With such a scale, even if it has branches all over the country, except for those in remote and desolate areas, there will be no more than twenty of them at most.

Taking the average of the twenty restaurants, the total net profit is 900 taels per month. Based on a 20% calculation, she can get 180 taels of profit share every month.

What about the remaining twenty taels of betrothal money?

Li Qingqing turned her gaze towards Zhou Yimo, only to see that his brows were furrowed and his face was solemn, and it was obvious that he had finished reading the letter.

"What did County Magistrate Xie say?" Li Qingqing was a little curious.

Zhou Yimo glanced at Li Qingqing, thinking of the contents of the letter, and was at a loss for words. "Thank you, County Magistrate, for wanting me to take over your duties."

Zhou Yimo: County Magistrate Xie, do you know that I am just a student now?

Xie County Magistrate: Brother Zhou, I am acting as the county magistrate regardless of your origin.

"So this betrothal fee is the remuneration for hiring you to act as the county magistrate?" Li Qingqing raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard this.

Not bad, high-income class! No wonder scholars all choose the path of imperial examinations, which has a bright future.

Zhou Yimo was a little helpless. This is not the point, my lady!

Zhou Yimo read the contents of the letter to Li Qingqing. The beginning of the letter was full of complaints:

"As a county magistrate, I truly feel overwhelmed and worried day and night. Yesterday, I was attacked by ambush, but fortunately, I was able to escape with the help of my shadow guards. However, dangers are everywhere, and I am terrified..."

The opening line doesn't mention misery at all, yet every word is filled with sorrow and misery.

Li Qingqing: Why do I suddenly feel a sore nose?

I never thought that being a county magistrate is also a high-risk job!

However, when Li Qingqing heard the rest of the letter, her expression became increasingly solemn.

She looked at Zhou Yimo and said slowly:

"Mr. Liu bribed Governor Qian and learned the whereabouts of County Magistrate Xie from him, so he sent someone to assassinate him at night?"

Li Qingqing thought to herself: Fortunately, Mu Yunjing left a group of shadow guards for Xie Xuanan, otherwise, if he relied on Xie Xuanan’s eight guards, he would be in great danger!

Zhou Yimo glanced at her and responded:

"I speculate that Mr. Liu may have believed that it was Magistrate Xie who had his sixty thousand taels of silver stolen.

Fortunately, neither Mr. Liu nor Governor Qian realized that County Magistrate Xie was actually the young master of Zuiyuexuan, otherwise Zuiyuexuan would be in trouble.

Li Qingqing blinked her eyes. In this case, it was actually she who implicated County Magistrate Xie.

She thought to herself: If I don't do something for Mr. Liu, what if he causes trouble for Zuiyuexuan in the future? Then, won't the monthly profit be much less?

"The letter said that Mr. Liu secretly sent someone to the academy to look for someone. Could he be looking for you?" Li Qingqing continued to ask.

Zhou Yimo nodded and shook his head, his eyes deep: "To be precise, I want to find Xier."

He paused, then continued, "Someone instructed Mr. Liu to capture Xier in order to threaten the Minister of Revenue and prevent him from sending grain to the Southern Protectorate. That Minister of Revenue is Xier's father."

"So, you are actually a branch of the Zhou family in Kyoto, and Xier is your cousin?"

Li Qingqing was a little dumbfounded. The girl she rescued casually was actually a relative of hers.

No wonder Xier mistook him for her father. It was probably because Zhou An looked somewhat similar to the Minister of Revenue. Xier was extremely panicked and subconsciously thought Zhou An was her father.

"Do you want to contact the Zhou family in Kyoto?" Li Qingqing asked.

Zhou Yimo pursed his lips and said nothing. He had not yet fulfilled his father's last wish, so it was not appropriate for him to meet with the Zhou family in Kyoto.

Seeing Zhou Yimo remained silent, Li Qingqing thought that he might have something to hide. She stopped asking and continued:

"When we discussed assisting County Magistrate Xie, it was originally to help Grandma Zhao, but we didn't expect it would end up being for ourselves."

Li Qingqing paused, then continued:

"From the current perspective, it's urgent to eliminate the bully Liu Yuanwai. Otherwise, it will be troublesome for you, me, and Xier. Moreover, after you pass the imperial examination, you will still want to be an official. There's no telling where the court will assign you. Why not agree to thank the county magistrate and adapt yourself now? If you govern well, you can smoothly serve in Yuntai County in the future. Wouldn't that be the best?"

Instead of benefiting the people in other counties, it is better to benefit the people in Yuntai County first. After all, Lihua Village, Xiaqiu Shui Town, Yuntai County is my hometown!

Zhou Yimo frowned slightly when he heard this, and after pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke:

"My lady, you are quite right. However, the post of acting county magistrate is no small matter. Although I am willing to eliminate harm and benefit the people, I have never been involved in officialdom before, so I am afraid I am not up to the task."

Li Qingqing smiled and said:

"It's just a deputation. County Magistrate Xie is in the open, and you're in the dark. Just focus on your work. County Magistrate Xie will handle the red tape and officialdom. Besides, you'll eventually have to adapt to it, so it's not a bad thing to experience it early."

Seeing that Zhou Yimo was still hesitating, Li Qingqing continued to persuade him:

"Didn't County Magistrate Xie also say in his letter, 'I care deeply about the people and am deeply concerned. I beg Brother Zhou to temporarily take over my duties to alleviate this urgent need.' He spoke with such sincerity. You should agree to this immediately. Yunying is still waiting outside."

Li Qingqing: Young man, stop worrying! I'm very optimistic about you!

Zhou Yimo: My wife and County Magistrate Xie have placed so much trust in me, how can I let them down? Bring me the pen!