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

The river patrol team was halfway there when they finally switched from land to water.

In the past month or so, it only took Jiang Wenqing seven or eight days to go from being apprehensive at the beginning to relaxing his vigilance later on.

He had seen Lord Wu and the Fourth Prince leading the group from afar. Although they usually traveled far apart, they still met at certain points when they ate or rested.

Zhao Hongsheng? Tong Sheng?

Under Mr. Sun's guidance, Jiang Wenqing learned that the fourth prince, Zhao Hongsheng, was the grandson of Tong Qingyun, the Minister of Rites.

So, this person went to the Tongzhou prefectural government office to find him under the guise of his maternal grandfather's family.

They went there specifically to see him, not to ask for fishing tips.

A prince asking a county magistrate for advice on fishing techniques? Are you kidding me?

There are all sorts of talented people in the palace and the court; even climbing trees to steal bird nests has its specialties.

Oh dear, my son is so prescient. No wonder he told me to stay away from the Fourth Prince.

This person's behavior was very strange before. Could it be that the fourth prince also orchestrated the inclusion of me, a minor county magistrate of the seventh rank, on the list of those inspecting the river this time?

Jiang Wenqing rarely used his brain, and he did indeed think in the right direction.

He shared his thoughts with Mr. Sun, who was traveling with him, and Mr. Sun also felt that this was highly likely.

Although Jiang Xiaoqi did not tell Mr. Sun the whole story of Zhao Hongsheng's strange approach to him, he only mentioned what he could.

Therefore, in Mr. Sun's eyes, Zhao Hongsheng was a pawn with ulterior motives, who wanted to win over the Chiang family to help him seize power.

It's not fair to say this idea is wrong; after all, that's exactly what the emperor thought of his son.

"I see. Oh dear, it's fortunate that I had your help, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to figure out the key to it."

Jiang Wenqing may not have any other skills, but he is quite adept at saying nice things, after all, he has heard plenty of nice things himself.

Now, I'm simply repeating what others have said to me to Mr. Sun.

He didn't think he was being disrespectful by doing this. You still have to beg people to do things for you, and saying a few nice words doesn't cost any money.

Jiang Wenqing found it very easy—no, very easy—to do something that was low-cost and profitable.

"How could the master not understand? He is simply a man of modesty who dislikes showing off and leaves the opportunity to speak to his subordinates."

When it comes to speaking sweet words, Jiang Wenqing is a "bronze" (a term used to describe someone who is skilled at flattery), while Mr. Sun is a "king" (a term used to describe someone who is skilled at it).

This can be seen from the wide grin that almost reached Jiang Wenqing's ears.

Jiang Wenqing floated for a while before quickly landing on the ground. He hadn't forgotten what his son had emphasized many times in his letter.

"Stay away from Zhao Hongsheng! Stay away from Zhao Hongsheng! Stay away from Zhao Hongsheng!"

Yes, Jiang Xiaoqi said it three times; important things should be said three times.

With letters in front of him and Mr. Sun urging and reminding him, Jiang Wenqing was even more determined to stay away from Zhao Hongsheng.

However, now that the land route has been changed to the water route, the distance between the first and last carriages will no longer be a hundred meters.

Large official ships can carry hundreds of people, and their team consisted of four or five hundred people.

They can all fit in one large ship; if they are smaller ships, two or three ships would be needed.

Jiang Wenqing alighted from the carriage and watched as the soldiers and accompanying officials and their entourage unloaded their luggage and supplies. A huge official ship had already been moored at the dock.

Clearly, there was no second or third ship.

So, we need to be prepared to run into each other all the time?

"My lord need not worry too much. Even if he tries to win over court officials, the Fourth Prince's target is Vice Minister Jiang, or even Prime Minister Liu."

They've set their sights on you first, probably because they think you're easier to talk to. But as long as you remain steadfast, they won't succeed.

Mr. Sun imagined the plans that the Fourth Prince would implement the whole way, and felt that the Fourth Prince's ultimate target was Prime Minister Liu.

However, with so many people and eyes in the court, and all the princes trying to build connections, the fourth prince thought of taking a different approach.

Firstly, this trip was accompanied by Minister Wu, a member of the neutral royalist party, and was also escorted by Minister Lin, a member of the Ministry of War who was also a neutral party.

This single assignment has entangled him with two of the ministers of the Six Ministries. Even without receiving any promises, he still has more "face" than other princes.

Secondly, by placing members of the Chiang family in the ranks, they could establish connections with the Liu family, who were related to the Chiang family by marriage.

The Jiang family may not have a prominent background, but they still have value in winning over others. Isn't Jiang Changqing, the Vice Minister, the son-in-law of the Liu family?

Thirdly, although inspecting the waterways is not as important as leading troops into battle, it is still a government matter that the emperor attaches great importance to. As long as the fourth prince does not cause trouble this time and successfully completes the inspection of the waterways and returns to the capital, he will be rewarded to some extent.

This fourth prince seems to be quite extraordinary; he could gain multiple benefits from a single event. He must have a master guiding him from behind the scenes.

Could it be Tong Qingyun, the Minister of Rites?

Probably!

This Minister Tong was also a scholar who came from a poor family and was a top scholar. His knowledge and shrewdness were unmatched by ordinary people.

Mr. Sun put aside his thoughts and comforted his "boss" with a few words.

Then, together with Steward Wen, they instructed their servants to move their luggage. They didn't have much stuff; most of it was what they had bought along the way.

There was food and drinks, as well as local specialties. I bought a little of everything and ate it along the way to pass the time during the boring journey.

Of course, there were also two fishing rods, as well as a fish basket, a small stool, and the like.

However, I never had a chance to go fishing, since most of the places I stayed were post stations with no rivers nearby, and I drank well water.

Now that the land route has been changed to a waterway, there are rivers now, but Jiang Wenqing no longer has the courage or the mood to fish.

What if we run into the fourth prince, who is also "in a fishing frenzy," on the deck?

They were fishing for fish, but others were fishing for the entire Chiang family!

His Majesty the Emperor is in the prime of his life. To side with a prince is like an old man hanging himself—he's tired of living!

The plot of princes vying for the throne is fine to listen to, but to drag it into your own family? That's no fun at all!

One slip and you're in a nine-family annihilation game! My son was absolutely right!

The servants carried all the luggage onto the ship, and the cabins had already been allocated under the arrangement of the Ministry of Works.

Jiang Wenqing, however, followed the last group of followers upstairs, shuffling forward slowly.

"My lord, even on the ship, we won't be too close together. The cabins are allocated according to the rank of the official."

The soldiers and their attendants slept on the lowest level of the dormitory, and the clerks shared rooms with several people each.

Adults of rank each had their own room, but the sizes varied greatly.

"Given your current rank, you shouldn't be too close to the Fourth Prince; you might not even be on the same level."

"Okay, okay, that's good. It's better to stay far away, it's better to stay far away."

Jiang Wenqing didn't care about the size of the room. He'd been scammed before—and, ugh, even been the victim of staged accidents—he'd stayed in a dormitory-style room for just a few cents a night!

I've even eaten spoiled steamed buns and flatbread before. Compared to that, every day I live now is like living the life of a god!

Seeing his master's composed expression, Mr. Sun couldn't help but feel a touch of admiration. This Lord Jiang wasn't as useless as his young master had made him out to be.

At least one advantage is that they are adaptable and can take things as they come.