After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Lin Yueniang and her daughter rode in the carriage, while Wenbin, Li Haisheng, Li Mo, and A Niu took turns sitting on the carriage shaft to drive the carriage southward.

There were six people in the carriage, but fortunately none of them were overweight, so the carriage could barely accommodate them all.

Upon returning to Qianzhou, Ouyang Zheng drove the carriage, while Jiang Xiaoqi felt dizzy and disoriented inside, as if the dry rations in her stomach were about to be ejected at any moment.

Thanks to the carriage, the return trip to Qianzhou took only one day, and they entered the city before nightfall.

With a pale face, Jiang Xiaoqi was dragged out by her master and finally couldn't hold it in, so she leaned against the wall and vomited violently.

This is the first time he's ever gotten motion sickness in a carriage; it seems he'll have to look into motion sickness medication in the future.

After vomiting, Jiang Xiaoqi felt much better. Looking back at her calm master, she felt wronged.

"Master, you're not driving fast, you're just flying too low."

Ouyang Zheng waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. Your physique is still lacking in training. You're not used to the carriage going a little faster."

Jiang Xiaoqi nodded and said, "Yes, Master, it's all because I'm too weak, it's definitely not because the car was too bumpy."

Ouyang Zheng tapped his apprentice's forehead and drove off again toward the county government office.

The soldiers outside the county government office had withdrawn, and the gates were tightly shut. I wonder what the scene inside is like.

"Master, what should we do now?"

Ouyang Zheng got out of the car: "You wait here, I'll go and scout it out. Don't follow me, and don't wander off."

Jiang Xiaoqi nodded obediently, deciding this time she really wouldn't follow him anymore. She couldn't repeat herself a third time, as the situation was still unclear and she didn't want to cause any more trouble for her master.

Ouyang Zheng used his lightness skill to quietly leap onto the roof of the county government office. He saw that the office was in a mess, with tables and chairs overturned and documents scattered all over the ground.

Strange, there was no seal on the main gate of the government office. Were they all detained, or did these people escape?

"Master, how is it?"

"Something's not right. It seems we'll have to go to the government office."

The Qianzhou Prefectural Government Office is not far from Chuanling County. There is no curfew yet, so we should be able to get there before the city gates close.

This time, Jiang Xiaoqi refused to sit in the carriage as a "Yuanxiao" (a traditional Lantern Festival custom) even if she were beaten to death. Instead, she sat on the carriage shaft, her hands tightly gripping the carriage frame.

"I'm ready! Let's go, Master!"

"Giddy up!" Ouyang Zheng cracked his whip, and the carriage shot out like a cannonball. Jiang Xiaoqi fell backward, flipped 360 degrees, and stuck to the rear wall of the carriage like a gecko.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt dizzy and it took her a long time to sit up. Watching her master's back as he rushed to catch the carriage, she felt like crying.

Baby is suffering, but baby won't say it!

In less than an hour, the master and his apprentice arrived at the entrance of the government office.

Ouyang Zheng parked the carriage aside and continued to investigate alone.

This time, Ouyang Zheng was a little slow to come out. Jiang Xiaoqi waited in the carriage for a quarter of an hour before he finally emerged from the government office.

"The magistrate of Chuanling County and all the yamen runners and officials of Chuanling County have been detained, but the prefect of Qianzhou has not been implicated at all for some reason."

There's definitely something fishy about this prefect of Qianzhou; I just don't know how he cleared his name from the governor.

"Master, could it be the Earl of Chengen? The Prefect of Qianzhou and the Magistrate of Chuanling County are both his men."

Now that they've been surrounded and arrested by the governor's men, they've resorted to the tactic of a gecko shedding its tail—sacrificing the pawn to save the king—leaving all the blame on the fake magistrate.

“What you said is not impossible. If the Marquis of Chengen intervenes, Gao Xuan will indeed be in a difficult position, since the prefect’s identity is genuine and he is not a bandit.”

"Alas, as expected, we only caught the small fry and let the big fish go. However, at least it proves that the Marquis of Chengen has a problem, which can be regarded as a reminder to Lord Gao. He should pay more attention to the officials under his jurisdiction in the future."

"Since things have come to this, we can only go back to the inn first." Ouyang Zheng invited Jiang Xiaoqi to get into the car.

Jiang Xiaoqi climbed into the carriage and sat down obediently. She then naturally pulled out a rope and tied herself to the rear pillar of the carriage to secure herself.

They traveled in silence and arrived back in Chuanling just before the city gates closed, returning to the inn where they had stayed earlier.

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't go back to her room. Instead, she went to the backyard of the inn to check on the horses. Fortunately, the horses were still there and hadn't gone hungry. She would go and give the waiter in charge of feeding the horses some money as a thank you.

"Rest for the night, and we'll set off to catch up with your senior brother and the others tomorrow." Ouyang Zheng turned and went back to his room.

Jiang Xiaoqi stretched and yawned as she went back to her room.

Although Yang Guozhong protected the prefect of Qianzhou, this man was already on the governor's list and would be transferred sooner or later. How could a provincial official tolerate such a lapdog under the nose of a powerful official?

The next morning, Jiang Xiaoqi and Ouyang Zheng first sold the carriage in Chuanling, then gave a generous reward to the innkeeper and waiter, and successfully retrieved the horses.

One person rode on one horse, with three more horses tied to the back of each person.

The two men urged their horses on, eager to catch up with the six people continuing south. The six people in one carriage probably couldn't outrun them on horseback.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt that the matter in Qianzhou was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. Was it really only involving the Earl of Chengen?

Why would a provincial governor give face to a duke who has no real power and is not close to the empress?

I have a feeling it can't be that simple. Is Chuanling County really the only place with fake county magistrates like this? I don't even want to think about it if this kind of thing happens all over the country, and someone is using it to make money.

Ouyang Zheng saw through his disciple's thoughts: "Don't overthink it. We are just ordinary people. We have done everything we can. Those big things should be left to the big shots to worry about."

Jiang Xiaoqi nodded obediently, but his doubts were not dispelled. He hoped that the Great Zhou might not be a rotten tree root, otherwise, if he passed the imperial examination one day, he might choose the same path as his master, retire to the mountains and forests, and grow flowers and raise chickens.

The master and apprentice sped along and finally caught up with Li Haisheng and his group of six in Yunzhou City.

Looking at the somewhat familiar city gate, Jiang Xiaoqi suddenly remembered that this was A Niu's hometown. It was at the Yunzhou Wharf that he disembarked from the official ship and chose A Niu as his porter.

After going to the pharmacy to buy medicine, he was tricked into selling himself to Ah Niu, a seemingly simple-minded porter. He didn't know if his two older brothers had already used the money from selling himself to get married.

Maybe they already had a child? After all, that was almost three years ago.

Ah Niu has been living alone in the North for the past two years and hasn't written a single letter home.

We can stay in Yunzhou City for two days, allowing A Niu to go back and visit his family and see how they are doing.

Jiang Xiaoqi explained the situation to his master and senior brother, and the two agreed to stay in Yunzhou for the time being.

Ah Niu was extremely grateful. He never expected to have the opportunity to go home and visit his family. His young master was truly the best master in the world!

"Alright, I was just about to take my mother and sister around Yunzhou City anyway. Letting you go home to visit is just a side thing. Here, take this and bring some gifts for your family." Jiang Xiaoqi handed ten taels of silver to A Niu.

"Young Master! No! This is too much!" It's already a blessing to be able to go home and visit, how can we take the young master's money!

"Take it. It's an employee family visit benefit; every servant in the Jiang family gets one!"

Before A Niu could refuse, Jiang Xiaoqi led the group to stay at the largest and most luxurious inn in Yunzhou.

The horses, worth hundreds of taels of silver, have all returned, so the small amount of money spent on accommodation is no longer a concern!

P.S.: There will be another chapter a little later, I'm not sure when. If you're sleepy, don't wait, go to sleep early and don't stay up late!