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

More than two hundred people were abandoned by the fourth prince, including officials from the Ministry of Works and soldiers from the Ministry of War who came to escort them.

The official ship carried about a hundred of the Fourth Prince's men, while the rest were the ship's own crew of several dozen.

The eighteen shadow guards led by the Fourth Prince were the ones who drove the Ministry of Works officials off the ship; they only obeyed the Fourth Prince.

If the Ministry of War were to face these eighteen people, they could certainly fight them, but the enemy was acting on the orders of the prince, and Minister Wu was not present, so they were unable to respond immediately.

"Lord Wu, it was my fault for failing to protect you gentlemen, and forcing Lord Jiang to jump into the river. Please punish me!"

"Commander Zhang, please rise. This matter is beyond your control. I can only say that I did not expect the Fourth Prince to act in this way."

The rest of the journey will depend on Commander Zhang. As for the other matters, we can discuss them after we return to the capital and report to His Majesty.

"Yes, Your Excellency. So, what should we do next? We've lost the boats, and we don't have enough carriages either."

There were over two hundred people, but fewer than ten carriages. Even if the carriages were empty, they wouldn't be able to hold all the luggage that had been thrown down.

"I have sent someone to contact the local government ships. They will need a few more hours to prepare. Let's stay put and make some adjustments. Everyone should check their belongings to see if anything is missing."

"Yes, my lord!"

Commander Zhang felt a little relieved. As long as there was a boat, that would be fine, although he knew it wouldn't be a big one. At worst, everyone could squeeze in.

The ship that the Fourth Prince took away could carry several hundred people. It is estimated that with Lord Wu's official position, he could mobilize official ships with fewer than a hundred people.

Sigh, at worst we can just give the cabins to the civil officials, and these military men can make do in the cargo hold.

Minister Wu also arranged for people to check luggage and official documents. Clothes and money were minor matters; they had been patrolling the waterways along the way, and many important records were temporarily stored on the boat.

If he's gone, all the work we did before will have been for nothing.

At this time, Jiang Wenqing, Butler Wen, and Mr. Sun had all changed into dry clothes, and Huangfu Zhongwen had also tidied himself up.

The Ministry of Works officials were all searching for their belongings in a jumble of suitcases, while Jiang Wenqing and his two companions, having no luggage, were the most idle at that moment.

They only had one set of wet clothes, and the shoes, socks, and clothes they wore were all taken from Lord Huangfu's own luggage.

This was the first time Jiang Wenqing had ever worn someone else's clothes. Although the clothes looked brand new, she was still a little embarrassed.

After all, he and Lord Huangfu had barely exchanged a few words before, and today was the day they had talked the most.

Huangfu Zhongwen noticed Jiang Wenqing's unease and felt ashamed, thinking that he had previously mistaken him for the Fourth Prince's man.

"Lord Jiang, my servant has prepared some ginger soup. You can all have some together in a bit."

Torches had already been lit along the riverbank, and the night was completely dark. Everyone was waiting for the newly dispatched boat by Minister Wu, and also to start a fire to cook.

Huangfu Zhongwen's attendants dug up some wild ginger on the spot and boiled it into ginger soup to ward off the chill for their master.

"Alright, thank you very much, Lord Huangfu."

"Lord Jiang has said too many words of thanks today. We are officials in the same court and have been serving His Majesty on his behalf. Why be so formal?"

"Yes, yes, Lord Huangfu is right. Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask!"

I am not very talented or capable, but as long as you ask, I will do my best to help.

I won't talk about empty promises like going to great lengths for someone; as long as I have it, and as long as Lord Huangfu needs it, I will certainly give it my all!

Jiang Wenqing is quite talented at saying nice things, but he didn't have much room to use that talent while he was in the Jiang family.

Most importantly, Landlord Jiang wasn't buying it. After all, a father knows his son best, and no matter how nicely Jiang Wenqing spoke, Landlord Jiang wouldn't be moved.

The others didn't need Jiang Wenqing to say nice things. Lin Yueniang, his legal wife, treated him like he was invisible, and the concubines only had to fawn over him.

His daughters respected him greatly but weren't very close to him. As for his son, he did want to say some nice things to get more money from him, but his son only gave money to others, and the amount of money he received throughout the year was fixed.

Whether he tries to please his son or not, his son won't give him more than a few taels of silver, but he won't let him lack anything either, and he will send things back to him from time to time.

Therefore, he had no energy to try to please his son; it was useless, as his son was as hard-hearted as a stone, just like his father.

Huangfu Zhongwen was different. He didn't hold a high position in the Ministry of Works, but his work ability was undeniable, and no one fawned over him.

In particular, he has a very cold personality and doesn't give a good look to those who occasionally try to curry favor with him.

Moreover, he can tell whether other people's words are sincere or insincere. He disdains to listen to lies, no matter how pleasant they are, but he can endure listening to the truth, no matter how harsh it is.

But today, he heard some pleasant truths; the Lord Jiang before him was very sincere and honest.

Having just been thrown off the ship by the Fourth Prince and penniless, it is truly remarkable that he could remain so calm and sincere after losing such a great fortune.

It turns out I was really judging people by their appearance when I was in the Tongzhou County government office; I was too superficial.

"Brother Jiang, please stop calling me Lord Huangfu. We're about the same age, so just call me Zhongwen!"

“Oh dear, that won’t do. Only the Minister and His Majesty can address you by your name directly. After all, you are an official in the Ministry of Works. How about this, we’ll call you Brother Huangfu in private, and you can still call me Lord Huangfu at other times.”

"Alright, Brother Jiang, please feel free to do as you please."

"Master, the ginger soup is ready."

"Brother Jiang, have some ginger soup first!"

"Thank you, Brother Huangfu, please!"

"please!"

Butler Wen and Mr. Sun also accepted the ginger soup brought by the Huangfu family's servants. The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, but expressed some admiration for their master.

If falling into the water while fishing is transformed into someone who is fearless in the face of power and dares to confront the Fourth Prince, then it's quite normal for him to become sworn brothers with Minister Huangfu, the head of the Ministry of Works.

Not long after the group finished drinking the ginger soup, the faint sound of a horn could be heard in the distance.

Everyone perked up, knowing that it was the official ship newly assigned by Lord Wu that had arrived.

It's going by pretty fast; it's not even midnight yet. Tonight, I won't have to sleep under the open sky in the middle of nowhere.

The boats on the river grew larger and larger, getting closer and closer.

At first, everyone thought it was a small official ship, but later it looked like a medium-sized official ship.

Once the ship docked, they discovered it was the largest official ship ever built, even larger than the one the Fourth Prince had stolen.

Minister Wu breathed a sigh of relief as the ship docked and directed everyone to board in an orderly manner.

"Great, what a big ship! It can hold at least five or six hundred people! Even excluding the crew, it can still hold five hundred people without any problem!"

No more sleeping on the floor, no more crammed into the warehouse with the soldiers, hehe~

Commander Zhang's eyes widened in disbelief; he had just been prepared to sleep on the floor.