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

"Sending a concubine?" Upon hearing Liu Jie's words, both the woman and Yun Yuke were a little curious.

"Yes, what I was thinking was that if the Marquis had people around him, someone to whisper sweet nothings in his ear, perhaps I would be more at ease when I'm out there."

The woman paused, "I'm not particularly close to this cousin. At least, I haven't seen him much since we got married. It's mainly my family who keeps in touch with him..."

“You mean sending a concubine… Hmm, I haven’t met my cousin’s wife yet. She’s been helping us take care of the children, so I’ll go ask her.”

The two voices faded into the distance, while Zhu Ling and the Marquis began their conversation, so Yun Yuke could only focus her attention on one side for the time being.

"My lord, I am truly sorry. I have just arrived here and am very busy with many matters. I have only come to pay my respects today."

"You flatter me, Lord Zhu. As a young talent of this dynasty, you are truly a woman who is no less capable than men. The Empress Dowager once praised several female scholars to me, saying that they have devoted themselves to the country. It is a blessing for Changgan to have such a talent."

"Your Majesty flatters me. I am deeply grateful for the Emperor's favor. I have not yet accomplished anything significant and must wait for the future."

"Hey, don't say that. I've heard that since Lord Zhu came to Changgan, he has done many great things for the people, benefiting all the common people and sharing in their kindness."

Zhu Ling paused slightly, picked up the tea that had been served to him, took a sip, and gave Xing Xiaoyu a look.

“Lord Marquis, we have come here today to ask you some questions.” Xing Xiaoyu spoke up as Zhu Ling lowered his head to drink his tea.

"This must be Physician Xing. I've heard of him before, and it's an honor to meet you today. Is there anything I can help you with?" Marquis Ankang asked.

“Um…yes.” Xing Xiaoyu paused slightly before continuing.

"As you, my lord, surely know, Changgan City is a strategic location in the southeast of our dynasty, serving as a fortress against the Uro to the south. You have been here for a long time, my lord, I wonder if you have any information about the situation in Uro?"

Uro is a country to the southeast of this dynasty. About fifty years ago, the current dynasty's Changhong and several neighboring countries, Uro, Runan and Hanchuan, formed an alliance and cooperated. For the past fifty years, they have generally lived in peace.

But fifty years have passed, and there have been changes of dynasties in various countries. There has been some friction in the process, and the new successors may not be able to fully uphold the so-called alliance. Therefore, countries have basically maintained some military forces in the border areas.

Changgan City is located at a key position on the southeastern route from the capital.

When the Marquis of Ankang was first granted his fiefdom in Changgan City, there was also a certain consideration of deterrence.

Therefore, Marquis Deng Jixiang of Ankang naturally had to deal with the surrounding garrison and officials.

"Hmm... As for Uro, their young emperor recently ascended the throne, and domestic affairs are basically being managed by the Senate, which is composed of several senior ministers. Those senior ministers, well, they're not united, so I don't think they'll cause too much trouble for a while."

After a moment's thought, Marquis Deng Jixiang of Ankang delivered the information that hit the nail on the head.

"So, what's the situation with the troops stationed near Changgan?"

"I'm not so sure about that. After all, the army has its own regulations. The commander of the southeast border is General Li Zheng, who was known for his strict military discipline back then. Putting aside other things, at least in terms of military discipline and regulations, General Li Zheng would not have any problems."

Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu nodded in agreement; there was indeed nothing else going on.

What followed was a brief exchange of pleasantries between Zhu and Xing and the Marquis. There wasn't much of a focus on that.

Seeing that the opportunity was ripe, Xing Xiaoyu took out a piece of paper she had prepared earlier. "My lord, we have come today to find someone in your residence. Please take a look at this..."

Deng Jixiang took a piece of paper from the other party and studied its contents.

This is a confession, and it also has a handprint on it.

"Confession? What does that mean?"

"Look, it was mentioned above that Ding, the gardener in the prefectural government, claimed to be a middle-aged man of about forty years old who carried a Marquis's waist token and claimed to be Steward Wang of the Marquis's mansion. He gave him poppy seeds and asked him to plant them in the prefectural government's courtyard."

After locking up Ding the gardener, Zhu and Xing naturally conducted a secret interrogation.

Ding the gardener revealed a lot of information, but Xing Xiaoyu did not write everything down in her testimony. Ding the gardener knew about this, so in order to save his life, he cooperated.

Moreover, this time when they left the city, Zhu and Xing disguised Ding the gardener as a constable and handed him over to the people left behind outside the city.

Of course, this is a story for another day.

The statement before us is a flawed, updated version that the group had agreed upon.

"My lord, I apologize for my intrusion. Are you aware of this matter?" Xing Xiaoyu asked directly, not giving the other party a chance.

Deng Jixiang did not answer immediately, but instead looked at the contents of the statement again carefully. "How do I know this statement is credible? It's hard to say."

"Please enlighten me, Your Excellency."

"Old Deng, come and take a look. Tell me, do we have anyone in our household described as this so-called middle-aged man surnamed Wang?"

The steward who had just received them stepped forward, looked at the contents of the statement, and shook his head, "The Marquis's residence does not have such a person."

"But... that gardener Ding specifically emphasized that the man was wearing a badge from the Marquis's mansion, and he even drew a picture of the badge."

Xing Xiaoyu took out another piece of paper with an exquisite pattern drawn on it. The pattern on the paper was exactly the same as the pattern used in the Marquis of Ankang's mansion. The steward was wearing a wooden waist tag with the exact same pattern.

“Sigh, Xiaoyu, I said back then that the Marquis is loyal to the emperor and loves his country, how could he do such a thing? Have you checked it in detail? Is this testimony really true?” Zhu Ling played the good cop from the side.

"Lord Zhu, I confirmed it repeatedly during the interrogation. After all, it involves the Marquis's residence, and I dared not draw any conclusions lightly. I did confirm it repeatedly."

Zhu and Xing looked at the Marquis of Ankang and his steward. The two men didn't show much emotion, but the Marquis of Ankang looked concerned. "Old Deng, go and ask if anyone has lost their waist token?"

After giving his instructions, Marquis Deng Jixiang of Ankang said with a solemn expression, "I don't know who this gardener Ding is, but my people are willing to cooperate. After all, this involves assassinating an official of the imperial court. If it is true that my household is not properly managed, I am willing to take responsibility."

Deng Jixiang's face was calm and composed, seemingly not faking it, and then he spoke.

"Lord Zhu, rest assured, if a face-to-face confrontation is necessary, all one hundred members of my household are willing to cooperate with the government's investigation; however... there is no more concrete evidence at the moment, and it's just a waist tag, so it's hard to say whether it was made by someone from my household. People from my household also frequently travel to Changgan City, so it's hard to say whether someone outside has made enemies and is deliberately framing us."

Zhu and Xing nodded and put away the two testimonies. "Since the Marquis has vouched for us, our government office still needs to investigate further. Once we have more evidence, we will come back to the Marquis to confirm it."

"We will not disturb you any longer, Lord Marquis, farewell."

Having asked all the necessary questions, Zhu and Xing, along with Yun Yuke and the other constables, quickly left the Ankang Marquis's mansion outside the city.

When they left, the other carriage was still parked there.

"How is it, Sister Yun? You're listening from the side. How do you feel?" On the way back to the city, Zhu Ling, Xing Xiaoyu, and Yun Yuke rode together in a carriage to discuss matters.

"I learned a lot of interesting things. This Marquis's mansion has connections everywhere."