The daughter of a noble family is reborn, and she is doted on by her godmother.

A familiar voice came from around the street corner. Everyone looked towards the source of the voice and saw that it was Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu.

Zhu Ling was still dressed in the same simple outfit, but she walked confidently from the street corner.

Yuan Chen and Yun Qingjin exchanged a glance. The direction Zhu Xing and the other person came from should be the back door of Yunji Trading Company.

Seeing that the two did not come out of their shop, the two were shocked, but they both realized that they could not say anything at this time.

"Who are you!" Officer Li's face darkened as he was interrupted by a young man, and he asked sternly.

"Who are you waiting for?" Zhu Ling did not answer directly.

"You?" Officer Li stared at Zhu Ling intently for a while, then, as if suddenly realizing something, he shouted sternly.

"I'm waiting for the new prefect, of course! What are you doing, woman, causing trouble!"

Only then did Officer Li realize that the person was a woman, and he couldn't help but feel contemptuous. He scolded her, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly remembered something else and opened his mouth wide.

"Captain," a constable whispered, "I remember there was an announcement a month ago saying that His Majesty had granted special permission to several female scholars who had passed the imperial examinations. They had been granted official ranks after passing the Ministry of Personnel's assessments, and would be assigned corresponding positions according to their abilities..."

"Could this be the female scholar who passed the imperial examination back then?"

The surrounding merchants also heard the police officers' discussions. Some of them had seen some of the announcements from that time, and some seemed to recall the official announcements they had seen before.

Yuan Chen and Yun Qingjin knew that Zhu Ling was indeed one of the female scholars who passed the imperial examination that year, but they never expected that she would be assigned to a post in Changgan City.

The two received glances from Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu, signaling them not to make a big fuss at this moment. Therefore, they blended into the crowd and did not participate in the discussion.

"Even if the female scholars were granted official positions, it doesn't prove... it doesn't prove that you are one!" Officer Li was still being stubborn.

"That's right! These days, scammers are even pretending to be government officials!"

Zhu Ling's lips curled up, while Xing Xiaoyu pulled out a document and an object wrapped in bright yellow cloth from her bag.

"I am Zhu Ling, the first woman to pass the imperial examination. I am hereby appointed by imperial decree as the prefect of Changgan, a fifth-rank official. I will take up my post immediately upon receiving the decree."

At the same time, Zhu Ling took the yellow cloth bag, opened it, and inside was a gold-inlaid jade tortoise-shaped tally, which was the mouthpiece worn by officials at the time. Underneath it was a small book, which was her official document.

"Officer Li, no, Officer Li Dali, why aren't you receiving the imperial decree?"

Before coming here, Zhu Ling had already investigated the names of all the people in the government office and their personal circumstances. Although there were no corresponding pictures or portraits, Zhu Ling still knew several of the leaders.

For example, the official document sent by Constable Li specifically outlined the basic characteristics of these people.

He likes to smoke a pipe.

Zhu Ling could tell just by looking at the object in the man's hand and his skillful movements.

Xing Xiaoyu showed the contents of the official certificate to Constable Li and the others. The official seal of the Ministry of Personnel was clearly visible on it, and these were things they had seen before.

"It seems to be correct..." a constable whispered.

When Officer Li heard the other person address him by name, he was pretty sure that the person in front of him was the official he was supposed to receive. He just hadn't expected that the other person had already entered the city and had overheard his complaints. He broke out in a cold sweat and didn't know what to say.

"Officer Li, I would like to ask you, what are you doing here?"

Zhu Ling did not directly inquire about the layout of the surrounding shops. Instead, she pretended not to know these details and acted as if she was completely unaware, wanting to hear how the other party would explain the situation.

“This…these…” Officer Li was used to being fierce and ruthless, but he was not so eloquent as to be able to speak fluently, and he was momentarily speechless.

A junior constable behind them chimed in, "Sir, Constable Li is leading us on a patrol. He said you'll be arriving soon and he's worried we might not be prepared enough to leave a good impression. Our Changgan City will need your management in the future."

“Ah, right, right, Xiao Sanzi is right,” Officer Li seemed to have suddenly regained his senses and continued following the words of the person behind him.

"I didn't expect you to come incognito, sir. I'll take you to the government office..."

Zhu Ling waved his hand, refusing the offer. "You are right. I have received the Emperor's grace, so I should naturally share the Emperor's burdens. Since we are already here, I would like to trouble Officer Li to introduce the current business situation of each merchant."

Before Officer Li could react, Zhu Ling spoke directly, "These shops—Liuchunfang, Yanchunge, and Changchunyuan—have very similar names, and all have 'Yunji' in their names. So they seem to be from the same company? Who owns them?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen quickly stepped forward. Since the other party had not spoken, Yuan Chen naturally did not reveal anything. "Replying to your question, sir, I am the accountant of Yunji. The shop owner has been away for the past few days."

"okay."

Zhu Ling didn't say much. She looked around at the door for a bit. After all, it was just an act, and she had already checked it beforehand, so there weren't too many problems.

"Yunji's accountant, this is your consultation fee, right?" Officer Li wasn't sure what the other party was thinking, but he still followed the previous plan, instructing his servants to collect the silver at the entrance of Yunji.

"What's the situation regarding the consultation fee?" Zhu Ling asked in a deep voice, without looking at Officer Li.

"Oh, Lord Zhu, didn't you just give some pointers on how Yunji operates? This is the rule in Changgan City: every consultation fee paid to the prefectural government is recorded."

Officer Li turned around and called his men over.

"Little Sanzi, you have a good memory. We left in such a hurry this time that we didn't have time to bring an accountant, so you'll be in charge of keeping track. Don't make any mistakes!"

The constable, nicknamed "Little Sanzi," nodded.

He glanced at the silver at the entrance of the Yun residence and said, "Officer Li, I have remembered it."

Xiao Sanzi knew the rules that had always governed the situation, so he didn't report a specific number.

“Oh, the rules.” Zhu Ling still didn’t turn around, but just looked at the embroidery displayed at the entrance of Changchun Garden. “Xing Wenshu, why don’t you borrow some paper and pens from us merchants? We can also make some notes.”

Xing Xiaoyu accompanied Zhu Ling this time as a clerk, ostensibly responsible for basic clerical work, but secretly responsible for protecting Zhu Ling's safety.

"I'll go get paper and pen." Yun Qingjin called out to Teacher Zhu. Since she learned that her teacher Zhu was actually the new prefect, she couldn't contain her excitement. Hearing that the other party wanted paper and pen, she hurriedly rushed in to prepare them.

"Qingqing, slow down." Yuan Chen saw through the child's thoughts, but not knowing her own body, she only verbally stopped the other's actions.

Yun Qingjin quickly came out of the house, carrying a stack of blank papers under her arm, along with an inkstone and several pens.

"My lord, is this enough?" Yun Qingjin asked with clear eyes, handing over the pen and a stack of paper she had brought, while holding an inkstone in her hand.

"Okay, thank you, little sister."

Xing Xiaoyu didn't stand on ceremony and directly picked up the paper, counting the silver coins displayed at the entrance of the Yunfu shop while speaking loudly.

"Yunji's three shops, consultation fee, sixty taels of silver." Just like a waiter in a restaurant loudly announcing the names of dishes, the voice was extremely loud, and everyone around could hear it.

"Hey, sir..." The man brought by Constable Li looked somewhat anxious, since there had never been a case before where the consultation fee was announced so loudly.

"What? Since it's a consultation fee for me, can't I know the exact amount?"