Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

The two men, bound to the execution rack, each with a green, funnel-shaped pattern on their left cheek, remained silent no matter what punishment they were subjected to, even though their bodies were trembling.

Zheng Luoqi, who was standing to the side, also understood and was very surprised. "Father, it seems like they were trained like this."

"Well, we probably won't get anything out of them. Next time, let's not alert them. Let's send someone to follow them and see where they came from," Zheng Yuxiang said.

The two then left the dungeon and went to the study.

"Remember to bring the token I gave you; you might need it in a critical moment," Zheng Yuxiang instructed.

"Father, could it be that Xuzhou has it too?" Zheng Luoqi asked in surprise.

"Yes, it's not just these few. As long as the prefect is one of our men, then there will be our private soldiers in the areas he governs," Zheng Yuxiang said calmly.

"Father, just how many private soldiers do we have?! Father, you don't really want to..." Zheng Luoqi was slapped on the head by Zheng Yuxiang before she could finish speaking.

"What nonsense are you talking about? These soldiers are for special circumstances. Grand Commandant Wen is in charge of the military and political affairs of the Great Xia Kingdom. We don't know how many troops he has. If Grand Commandant Wen makes a move one day, we need to be prepared. Otherwise, do you think that the reason I haven't killed him all these years is just because I can't kill him yet?"

"It's definitely because they can't kill them. Since the Wen family might be descendants of the previous dynasty, they must be waiting for an opportunity to restore their kingdom. Now it's just a matter of when Grand Commandant Wen will make his move," Zheng Yuxiang said calmly.

“The Emperor is joining forces with him; isn’t that digging his own grave?” Zheng Luoqi said.

"Are you hoping that self-righteous idiot can think things through?" Zheng Yuxiang replied.

Zheng Yuxiang looked at Zheng Luoqi and said in a serious tone, "You need to be extra careful on your trip to Xuzhou. Also, I've arranged for someone to go with you." As he finished speaking, a figure slowly walked over.

"Greetings, Master and Young Master!" He Jinyu bowed to the two men and then stood aside.

Zheng Luoqi was startled by He Jinyu's sudden appearance and asked in surprise, "He Jinyu? Father, what's going on?"

Zheng Yuxiang replied calmly, "Jingyu is someone I have been carefully cultivating since he was a child. He was previously placed in the Imperial Academy to monitor the every move of those noble young masters."

Zheng Luoqi asked, somewhat puzzled, "If that's the case, why not let him continue to associate with those young masters?"

Zheng Yuxiang explained, "Those young masters all have family backgrounds and connections, while Jingyu doesn't. After leaving the Imperial Academy, it's hard to say whether he can continue to associate with those young masters. Besides, you only have Boyu by your side, and I'm really worried about you. Jinyu is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also quite intelligent. He can be of great help in critical moments."

"Moreover, the emperor will definitely not send you alone to Xuzhou this time. After the imperial edict is issued, he will probably send someone else to secretly monitor you. Jin Yu is most likely that person."

"Ye Churan likes Jin Yu very much. This time, he will definitely recommend someone to the Emperor to accompany you to Xuzhou, so I'm asking you to prepare in advance."

"There's another reason I called you all here today. There's some progress on the rebel army. The secret agents in the court are Prince Gong's men. Prince Gong probably wants to rebel too. You're going to Xuzhou this time, which is close to Prince Gong's fiefdom. You can find some time to investigate. If you can find evidence that Prince Gong is rebelling, you can get rid of this thorn in your side."

After Zheng Yuxiang finished speaking, he tossed a bottle to Zheng Luoqi, who asked in confusion, "What is this?"

"The antidote, Jingyu's, one pill a month," Zheng Yuxiang replied.

"clear."

..................

A few days later, the imperial edict came down. As expected, the emperor not only sent Zheng Luoqi to Xuzhou, but also He Jinyu and Wen Yixuan.

On the day of departure, the three of them sat together in the carriage, with Zheng Luoqi in the middle and He Jinyu and Wen Yixuan on either side.

On the way, Wen Yixuan kept staring at Zheng Luoqi. Annoyed by his gaze, Zheng Luoqi asked, "Young Master Wen, are you perhaps a homosexual?"

Wen Yixuan smiled, not provoked by Zheng Luoqi's words, and replied leisurely, "I was just curious. If I have offended you, please forgive me."

Zheng Luoqi closed her eyes and continued to rest, but her mind was racing: "Wen Yixuan is a member of the Wen family. It's inconvenient to do anything with him around! Grand Commandant Wen sent Wen Yixuan here, it must be more than just to monitor me. Could it be that they've already suspected the Prime Minister's mansion of Wen Lian's affair?"

But Wen Yixuan was really in the way, and Zheng Luoqi kept thinking about how to get rid of this troublesome person.

Meanwhile, Wen Yixuan kept thinking about the task that Grand Commandant Wen had entrusted to him. He wanted to find some time to investigate Zheng Luoqi. Grand Commandant Wen had a gut feeling that Wen Lian's disappearance might be related to the Prime Minister.

Grand Commandant Wen couldn't believe that anyone in the Great Xia Kingdom could take someone away so quietly right under his nose.

Wen Yixuan's purpose in coming here was mainly to monitor Zheng Luoqi and see if he would investigate matters concerning the previous dynasty. If he did, it would prove that Wen Lian was kidnapped by the Prime Minister's mansion.

After traveling for several days, the carriage arrived in Xuzhou. Xuzhou was not far from the capital, and it had always been a prosperous place because many merchants passed through it.

The first thing Zheng Luoqi did upon arriving in Xuzhou was to secretly order someone to rescue the young grandson and daughter-in-law of Wu Hansong, the prefect of Xuzhou, and then send someone to give them travel expenses and secretly send them away.

The prefect of Xuzhou had served the prime minister's office for many years, but he himself had indeed engaged in corruption and bribery, which he could not escape. No official in the court was absolutely innocent; everyone had some degree of corruption, it was just a matter of the amount.

Zheng Luoqi encountered trouble on her first day in office. Many powerful families in Xuzhou had previously been on good terms with Wu Hansong, and those families were secretly engaging in land annexation.

Wu Hansong clearly knew about these things, but he chose to turn a blind eye.

After some investigation, Zheng Luoqi was surprised to find that most of the farmland was controlled by powerful families, while the farmers had almost no land of their own.

If this situation continues for a long time, the consequences will be unimaginable. How will farmers survive if they have no land to cultivate? Even eating will become a problem. Although they can rent land, the rent is ridiculously high. After a year of hard work, farmers will have almost nothing left after paying the rent.

Those powerful families were probably used to being local tyrants and thought that the new officials were the same as the previous ones, and could be bribed with money.

But they were wrong. Zheng Luoqi had also experienced famine, and she knew exactly what it felt like to be hungry.

Not long after Zheng Luoqi arrived in Xuzhou, the aristocratic families received news of the new official's appointment and began sending out invitations, along with a 100,000 tael silver note.