Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Fearing that Zhao Lian might have noticed something amiss, Song Wenjie turned his face away and said in a rough voice, "Time is running out. We only have half a day. You'd better hurry up and practice. I'll teach you how to ride a horse!"

Without another word, Song Wenjie roughly picked up Zhao Lian and lifted her onto his horse, then mounted himself.

Zhao Lian was startled when he suddenly hugged her like that, and then a strong smell of male hormones filled her nostrils.

A pair of warm, large hands grasped hers and taught her to hold the reins tightly. Zhao Lian's face immediately turned red to the roots of her ears.

Feeling herself wrapped around his chest, Zhao Lian struggled awkwardly for a moment.

Suddenly, she swayed, startling her. She heard Song Wenjie's magnetic voice beside her: "Danger! Don't move if you don't want us both to fall."

Zhao Lian didn't dare to move at this moment. Two red blushes appeared on her face, and her heart was pounding like a deer.

Song Wenjie also felt something was off. Watching the shriveled little bean sprout sitting in front of him, wriggling and fidgeting, unexpectedly, it made his heart race.

Song Wenjie shifted back, trying to avoid physical contact between them. He then took a deep breath and began instructing Zhao Lian on the precautions. With a powerful push, the horse galloped off.

I've ridden in many carriages, but I've never tried riding a horse.

Unexpectedly, the horse was quite fast. Watching the scenery rush past, Zhao Lian dared not be careless at all, gripping the reins tightly with both hands, her palms sweating.

"Don't be nervous, relax!"

Sensing Zhao Lian's tense body, Song Wenjie spoke up to remind her.

Gradually, Zhao Lian relaxed and stopped feeling afraid.

Seeing this, Song Wenjie slowly loosened his grip, letting Zhao Lian hold the reins and control the horse herself.

Seeing that she could control her speed flexibly and freely, Song Wenjie leaped and landed steadily on the ground not far away.

Zhao Lian was completely focused on her work and didn't notice that Song Wenjie had dismounted. It wasn't until she circled the open space and saw Song Wenjie that she realized he had already dismounted.

Although slightly panicked, she was still able to keep the horse under control. Zhao Lian was no longer afraid. She circled around a few more times and finally came to a steady stop.

In just half an hour, Zhao Lian had become very skilled at riding a horse.

By this time, Liu Yu had already fed all the horses. Seeing that Zhao Lian could ride a horse all by herself, she clapped excitedly, which earned her another angry glare from Song Wenjie.

He had never noticed before that Liu Yu was so troublesome!

As the sun rose higher and higher, it was already noon. After lunch, considering that Zhao Lian's horseback riding skills were not very proficient, Song Wenjie told Zhao Lian to practice again in the afternoon and continue their journey the next day.

That afternoon, Zhao Lian honed her horseback riding skills to perfection.

The next morning, after breakfast, the group set off early. It was already September, and the morning was quite cool.

Although these imperial guards were dressed in civilian clothes, their every move exuded a chilling aura that kept people at a distance.

This large group of people was particularly conspicuous on the road, and many people automatically avoided them.

Because they were all top-notch martial arts experts, they could travel more than 200 li (approximately 100 kilometers) in a day, staying at inns when they found them and setting up tents where there were none. Zhao Lian was already used to this.

She has survived even the most difficult circumstances; nothing can defeat her now.

After traveling at breakneck speed, they finally arrived in Changting County half a month later.

Zhao Lian had expected to see a desolate scene with hardly anyone around, but to her surprise, Changting County had returned to its former bustling state.

Because of the special purpose of this trip, Song Wenjie carried an official document with him, which was personally drafted by the Emperor and stated that the magistrate of Changting County must fully cooperate.

Upon arriving in Changting County, before they even reached the county government office, the head constable of the county office approached them.

Today happened to be his patrol day, and he saw this large and impressive procession walking on the streets of the county town.

Dozens of men riding tall horses immediately drew everyone's attention. The one in the lead looked imposing and didn't seem like a bad guy.

Officer Gao quickly sent someone to report the news to Magistrate Feng, and then followed them, wanting to find out who this group was and what their purpose was in coming to Changting County.

"Officer Gao!"

Upon seeing a familiar face, Zhao Lian immediately shouted excitedly.

The head constable was taken aback. The voice came from a short boy in the group.

"Officer Gao, don't you recognize me?" Zhao Lian dismounted.

"you are?"

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Looking at the young man before him, his large, bright eyes and handsome features seemed somewhat familiar.

Officer Gao couldn't immediately recall who the other person was, but felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them somewhere before, though he couldn't quite place it.

Zhao Lian smiled and raised an eyebrow: "Officer Gao, you really have a bad memory. Think about it again."

Looking at the boy's quirky and clever appearance, Officer Gao was reminded of someone.

"You're not Zhao Lian, are you?" Officer Gao asked tentatively.

"Officer Gao, you've finally remembered!"

To everyone's surprise, it really was Zhao Lian. Officer Gao was immediately filled with excitement: "It really is you, Zhao Lian! I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime."

At this point, Officer Gao paused, then looked puzzled: "But speaking of which, why are you dressed like this!"

"Cough cough~"

Seeing the two people in front of him talking so enthusiastically, leaving him standing aside, Song Wenjie coughed twice, successfully attracting the attention of Constable Gao.

"Zhao Lian, who is this?"

Zhao Lian pursed her lips: "Him? He's the newly appointed Commander of the Nine Gates."

What!

Officer Gao was startled!

Song Wenjie's lips twitched: "Officer Gao, is it? We're here on official business."

"Officer Gao, let's go! Let's go back to the yamen first."

Zhao Lian didn't mount her horse this time either. She had been traveling non-stop for a while, and her buttocks were so sore from the constant jolting.

……

Changting County Government Office

Magistrate Feng read through the official document with a solemn expression, carefully examining the jade seal at the end of the document, and repeatedly confirming whether it was genuine.

The official document did not specify what he was to do; it only instructed him to assist and cooperate with Song Wenjie at any time.

After looking at it for a while, Magistrate Feng carefully folded the official document.

Magistrate Feng looked Song Wenjie up and down: "You are the newly appointed Commander of the Nine Gates, Song Wenjie?"

"That's right!"

"Is your father okay?"

Upon hearing Magistrate Feng say this, Song Wenjie was taken aback: "You know my father?"

Magistrate Feng nodded: "We're old acquaintances!"

Song Wenjie nodded: "My father is well, thank you for your concern, Magistrate Feng."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two finally got down to business.