After being reborn, I went on a killing spree in the imperial court.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

"Ah, Your Highness!"

Fan Qingli stood in front of them, and the arrow grazed her arm.

"Lord Fan, how are you? Are you hurt?"

Cao Yuan opened the door, but there was no one outside.

Cao Yuan inspected the arrow in the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief, "Luckily, the arrow wasn't poisoned."

"Jinzhu, quickly get something to bandage it up."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Jinzhu took the medicine box.

"The people from the Governor's Mansion found out so quickly; it seems they're trying to scare us away. Shall we find an inn to stay in first?" Cao Yuan asked.

"With just a few people like us, why stay at an inn? Let's go straight to the Governor's Mansion."

"Hmm? That's true. Even if something happens, the Governor's Office should take responsibility."

Cao Yuan suddenly realized that Fan Qingli wasn't as spoiled as she had imagined.

On the contrary, he actually has some brains.

Fortunately, she wasn't made the principal wife in my previous life, which caused endless trouble for the Minister's family.

The gates of the Governor's Mansion were wide open.

Cao Yuan and her companion were welcomed in by the guards at the entrance.

Just as I stepped into the courtyard, a man came out of the inner room. He was wearing an undershirt, which was open to expose his chest. His hair was casually tied up, and he had a flower on his head.

"You scoundrel! How can you dress like that in broad daylight!" Fan Qingli shouted.

"Young master, I am Sima! Who do you think you are?"

"These two girls behind you are quite pretty; I'll have some fun with them!"

Just as the man was about to pounce on Cao Yuan, someone behind him shouted, "Insolence!"

"Your Highness and Steward Fan have come to welcome you. Please forgive us, Your Highness and Steward Fan!"

"Who are you?" Cao Yuan asked.

"I am the Chief Clerk of the Governor's Office. My surname is Liu. This is Qin Sima."

Chief Secretary Liu glanced at Commander Qin and said, "What are you standing there for? Come and pay your respects!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Qin Sima bowed unsteadily.

Cao Yuan smelled alcohol on him and turned her head away. "In broad daylight, how can a mere Sima get this drunk?"

"It's like this, Your Highness. Yesterday was his wedding banquet, so he drank a bit too much."

"A wedding banquet?"

Qin Sima looked old, and his age was probably over forty.

"Yes, Your Highness, last night was the day my twenty-eighth concubine entered the household, so I drank too much."

"Twenty-eight!" Cao Yuan and Fan Qingli shouted at the same time.

They looked at each other, their faces full of surprise.

It's true that the emperor is far away and the sky is high; a mere Sima has twenty-eight concubines!

“Back when the Fourth Prince was in the capital, he only dared to keep a few outside his residence,” Fan Qingli whispered.

“Your Highness, taking a concubine does not violate the laws of the Great Wei. It is very normal for people here to take concubines,” said Qin Sima.

"Since Qin Sima is in good health, he can certainly take a concubine, as long as it is voluntary."

Upon hearing Cao Yuan's last words, Qin Sima's face immediately turned somewhat ugly.

"Your Highness, Lord Fan, please come inside," said Chief Secretary Liu hurriedly.

"I wonder what brings Your Highness here?" asked Chief Secretary Liu.

"I am in charge of the Ministry of War on behalf of the Emperor. He ordered us to inspect the situation around the capital. I didn't mean to trouble you, but I was assassinated on my way here. Look, Lord Fan still has a wound on his arm!"

"Who on earth dares to be so audacious!" A furious shout rang out, and Liu Changshi suddenly stood up, his face filled with rage that seemed to set the entire room ablaze.

"How dare they commit such acts on the land of Anzhou! It's utterly lawless!"

"That is why I and Lord Fan had to come to the Governor's Mansion and trouble you all."

Cao Yuan quietly observed Liu Changshi's reaction.

Liu Changshi frowned, his face full of astonishment, seemingly unaware of the matter at all.

However, a hint of doubt arose in Cao Yuan's heart, wondering if she was pretending or genuinely unaware.

A servant walked in from outside and said, "Reporting to the Chief Steward, the room has been prepared."

"You two can go and rest first, and we'll prepare a meal for you when it gets dark," said Chief Secretary Liu.

"Thank you for your hospitality!"

The servants led Cao Yuan and the other person to a room in the backyard.

"How many concubines does your Chief Clerk Liu have in his household?"

The servant replied, "Your Highness, the Chief Secretary has no concubines, only one principal wife."

“Your Chief Secretary and your Sima are quite different. One has dozens of concubines at home, while the other is devoted to only one person.”

At this moment, a woman emerged from a room in the corridor opposite Cao Yuan, her face still bearing injuries.

"Who is that person? Qin Sima's new concubine?"

"She's not newly married!"

"Your Highness will stay in this room, and Lord Fan will stay in that room. I will come to call you when the banquet begins tonight."

"Thank you!"

"Lord Fan, shall we rest for now?"

"We should first plan what to do next!"

"Very well! Come to my house!"

"Why don't you come with me, Your Highness, to have a look around?"

-

There were quite a few foreign vendors on the streets, but something felt missing.

"Does Lord Fan find anything odd about the street?"

"Yes, there are quite a lot of people, but it feels like something's missing?"

The two stopped and stood still, carefully observing their surroundings.

"rouge!"

Fan Qingli suddenly said.

"What?" Cao Yuan asked in confusion.

"I didn't see any rouge for sale; it seemed like there were no women's products available."

Fan Qingli suddenly realized.

"Yeah! I didn't expect a grown man like you to know these things."

"My two concubines at home were fighting fiercely over a box of rouge. Every day when I got home, I had to go to the street to buy women's things for them, so I naturally knew a little about it."

"On the contrary, the prince has been in the military since childhood, so he probably has never been interested in these things."

Cao Yuan found a chestnut vendor and said, "Boss, how much are these chestnuts? Give me two bags."

"Oh, oh okay!" The vendor looked at Cao Yuan as if he had seen a ghost.

"Boss, we just happened to be passing by today. May I ask where you can buy rouge here?"

"Young lady, you're not married yet, are you? Then you'd better leave this place quickly, or you'll be kidnapped by villains."

"Arrest me? What a joke! Who would dare arrest me in broad daylight!" Cao Yuan laughed.

Cao Yuan spoke a little louder, attracting the attention of others. They looked at Cao Yuan as if they had seen a ghost, which made Cao Yuan feel a chill down her spine.

"The soldiers are coming! The soldiers are coming!"

Several shouts rang out in the distance, and the vendors all began to pack up their stalls.

"Girl, I'm not selling to you! Go away!"

How is this going?

Cao Yuan walked towards Fan Qingli, "Come on, let's go take a look ahead!"

Cao Yuan and his companion walked forward and saw several soldiers with knives going from house to house, robbing people of their money.

"Sir, I have no money left," the vendor pleaded, covering his head.

"No money, yet you dare to set up a stall! Smash it!"

"Sir, please don't! You're not leaving us any way to survive!"

"Let me tell you, Commander Qin of the Governor's Office took a concubine yesterday. We've given you several days, yet you still can't pay the fee. Do you think Commander Qin is dead?"

"Sir, I really have no money left. Please, don't drive us to our deaths."

"Die, you piece of trash!" The soldiers drew their knives and began slashing at the old man.