When Qing'er heard An Ke's undisguised defense of her, she was also deeply moved. She wasn't one to judge people by their appearance, but Ziwei's words made it seem as if she had been labeled with that stereotype. No one would be happy about that.

Moreover, she and An'an were right; the local official was not an honest official at all, but a corrupt one.

But what Qing'er probably didn't expect was that An Ke admired her just as much as she admired An Ke.

The magistrate, who had just been all smiles, suddenly turned red like a chameleon. His face became even more ferocious, and the muscles on his face even twitched a few times. Pointing his index finger at the group of villagers in front of him, he said, spitting as he spoke, "You...you bunch of unruly people, I have been kind enough to you. How dare you insult me ​​like this when I am about to leave office."

After saying this, the magistrate pulled his hand back, sneered, and said, "Let me tell you, the new magistrate will take advantage of you all. Just wait and see what happens. Humph!"

Without even looking, one could tell that the master's face must be ashen.

"Emin, immediately arrest this magistrate and throw him in jail. Interrogate him thoroughly and find out how many cases he has on his record. Then report back as fast as you can." The master's hands were behind his back, his eyes cold, as if he were looking at a corpse.

"Yes, sir." E Minchong beckoned to two servants behind him. "Someone come here."

This magistrate was certainly audacious, but also utterly brainless. How could anyone impersonate the emperor in broad daylight? "Who are you? How dare you impersonate the emperor?" Even after being restrained, he still dared to ask this question.

Upon hearing that it was the emperor, the villagers who had gathered to watch the spectacle immediately cleared a path for him.

"My name is Fu Erkang, and I am a guard of the Qianqing Palace. This is..." Fu Erkang was about to show off his status when he remembered that he was no longer an imperial guard and began to feel resentful.

Putting everything else aside, who among them wasn't of higher status than him, this former Imperial Guard? Everyone just treated him like a pawn. An Ke almost burst out laughing when she heard Fu Erkang introduce himself. Feeling the difference now?

"Erkang, why are you still arguing with him?" Xiao Yanzi chimed in. "He doesn't even know Master Ji, Uncle Fu, Princess Yong'an, or even Father Emperor. I think he only knows Lord Qian." An Ke never expected that one day she would be on Xiao Yanzi's lips.

The former magistrate asked, dumbfounded, "Who is Lord Qian?"

An Ke suddenly realized that her sense of humor was really low, but she also blamed the former magistrate. He was already being held hostage, yet he still had the mind to ask Lord Qian questions, and to ask people who had nothing to do with him. He was quite something.

At this moment, Yongqi stepped forward beside Xiaoyanzi, saying, "Lord Qian, that's you. Embezzling and breaking the law, indulging in debauchery and accumulating wealth—isn't that the best description of you? You can't even understand what Princess Huanzhu is saying, what kind of official are you?"

Anke: ? Does understanding her words make someone a good local official? What kind of theory is Yongqi using? Did he go crazy from dancing the waist drum?

Upon hearing that the Emperor and Princess Huanzhu were present, the common people and various dignitaries immediately knelt and bowed. "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Princess Huanzhu!"

Upon seeing this, Fu Heng immediately spoke up, "Take him to the prefect and thoroughly investigate his case. Why aren't you taking him away?"

At this moment, the former magistrate seemed to finally come to his senses. He appeared frightened, pleading, "Your Majesty, I know my mistake! Please spare me!" He kept turning back to shout at the magistrate as he was dragged away.

At this moment, a refined young man stepped forward from among the kneeling crowd and bowed respectfully to the Emperor. "This humble official is Bai Zhenghua, the newly appointed magistrate of Rong County. I never expected to be greeted by His Majesty's incognito tour upon taking office; it is truly an honor for this humble official." His words were heartfelt. "I will take the example of the previous magistrate and strive to be a loving and benevolent official, serving the people and the community with a clear conscience. I will have a clear conscience before Heaven and the people."

"Magistrate Bai speaks eloquently; I hope you can keep your word." The magistrate looked down at Magistrate Bai, hoping that this place would produce a dignified and upright official.

“To earn your praise, Uncle, is truly remarkable. You have a clear conscience before Heaven and the people. What a weighty statement.” An Ke walked to the master's side and said with a smile. “What Magistrate Bai should do is to remain true to his conscience, never forget his original aspirations, and always be loyal to his principles.”

Magistrate Bai's eyes lit up when he heard An Ke's words. However, he didn't know the identity of the person in front of him, and there were very few people who could address the Emperor as their uncle. "Thank you for your guidance, Princess. I have learned a lot."

"Hahaha, well said, wonderfully!" The old man patted An Ke's shoulder, his eyes overflowing with satisfaction. His niece had given him so many surprises along the way. If only she were his own daughter! How could his younger brother be so lucky?

First there was the virtuous and beautiful princess, and then there's An'an, a daughter with both literary and martial talents, and extraordinary brilliance. What incredible luck did this imperial brother have in his past life? The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

Then, as if remembering something, the master glanced at the young men behind him and said, "Ertai, bring me paper and pen. I want to present this new magistrate with the Four Great Heavens and Earths."

Erkang, standing to the side, was utterly incredulous, his eyes widening considerably. He was so close to the master, yet the master hadn't even thought to call him, instead calling his good-for-nothing brother? Had he already made a deep impression on the master? No, certainly not.

Fu Erkang is brainwashing himself!

Fu Lun nodded to his second son, confirming his suspicions. But seeing Er Kang's expression, Fu Lun also felt remorse.

Ertai remained unperturbed by the honor or disgrace, and directly retrieved a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the carriage. The ink was even already ground.

Magistrate Bai was completely stunned, standing on the ground, when he heard the words, "The Four Great Heavens and Earths!"

Fu Erkang felt his chance to shine had come again, so he flicked his braid, bit it in his mouth, and used his back as a table for the master. The master glanced at him but said nothing, and did as he was told.

After all, there wasn't a table at the scene; they couldn't very well expect the master to be bent over on the carriage to write for them. The image was too surreal to conjure.

Yongqi and Anke held the Xuan paper up to ensure it remained flat. After all, this was a piece of calligraphy bestowed by the Emperor himself, and it even had his seal on it.

When Yongqi saw that his father had finished writing, he held the Xuan paper in both hands and handed it to Magistrate Bai.

Magistrate Bai respectfully raised his hand to accept it, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Immediately afterwards, the lord called up Magistrate Bai, saying, "Magistrate Bai, I hope that you will be an upright and honorable person in the future; that you will eradicate evil with earth-shattering force; that your people will be filled with joy; and that Rong County will become a blessed land."

"Thank you for personally inscribing this calligraphy, Your Majesty. I will hang these four treasures in the main hall of the yamen as a constant reminder, encouragement, and reminder to myself," Magistrate Bai solemnly assured him.

"It is Your Majesty. I wonder if I have the honor of inviting Your Majesty and everyone to dine with you?" Magistrate Bai said.

Upon hearing this, the lord immediately shook the folding fan he was holding. "No need, no need. We are about to set off. Eating here would be disturbing the peace. We happened to pass through this place and not only witnessed the Five Great Realms, but also gave away four of them. If Rong County can truly become a blessed land in the future, then my trip will not have been in vain. Magistrate Bai, farewell."

Then the group of people headed towards the carriage in a grand procession, with a large group of people kneeling behind them to bid farewell to the emperor, chanting "Long live the emperor!"

Little Swallow skipped and hopped, saying goodbye to the villagers behind her. Then she walked up to Benjamin and asked, "I was just a spectator, but what you did, sir, was truly earth-shattering."

Little Swallow nodded in agreement, and before getting into the carriage, the master waved to the people behind him.

Afterwards, the group resumed their journey and finally found an inn that evening. Anke and Qing'er walked behind; they had no choice, since their lodgings were so close and they had to take the same route. But Qing'er and Anke didn't want to get involved in their troubles.

Little Swallow continued walking ahead, glancing back at the people behind her and saying, "Today was truly earth-shattering!" Seeing that Yongqi had been completely silent the whole way, she skipped over to his side. "Hey, you young master, why are you always frowning? Why do you always look so miserable? I'm in a good mood today and don't want to get angry with you. If you do get angry, it's pointless, because I have no idea what you're angry about."

An Ke and Qing'er exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes—it was simply beyond words!

Erkang glanced behind him, then at Princess Yong'an and Qing'er, and gave Ziwei a meaningful look. Ziwei immediately understood and pulled Xiao Yanzi towards them.

Xiao Yanzi had been talking quite enthusiastically, but she was a little confused when she was suddenly pulled. However, since the person pulling her was Ziwei, Xiao Yanzi gladly went along with it.

"An'an, can I call you that?" Ziwei asked, blinking her big eyes as she pulled Xiaoyanzi along.

Anke: God, didn't I just confront them today? How did they manage to talk to me calmly again in such a short time? If I'm guilty, please let God strike me dead with lightning, instead of making me watch them perform in front of me.

"No," Anke replied decisively, giving them no hope. She knew that once they showed her even a glimmer of hope, they would cling to her like glue, impossible to shake off. (￣?^￣??)

Ziwei was stunned by this answer. She had assumed Anke would be more mindful of her image in public and maintain her kind persona. (Because in the palace, she had heard many servants praise Princess Yong'an for her kindness, saying she was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.) Moreover, this was among the younger generation, so she thought Anke wouldn't refuse her.

“Let me make things clear to you all at once.” An Ke didn’t like to drag things out. “In the palace, I am Princess Yong’an, and you are a servant. You have no right to call me by my name. Outside the palace, I am a young lady, and you are still a maid. You still have no right to call me by my name. Rules are rules. Without rules, there is no order. I am not Yongqi, and I am not that familiar with you.”

"Princess, have I offended you in some way?" Ziwei asked cautiously, her eyes filled with tears.

An Ke was utterly speechless. Did Ziwei not understand human language? She didn't want to immediately break ties with them while traveling. Even if she wanted to teach them a lesson and bring them back to the palace, they would be like fish on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.

"Where did you get this misconception? Do you think I'm that familiar with you? And what's this about offending you? Everyone in the Forbidden City knows that I'm naturally cold-hearted. Didn't Miss Ziwei find out?" An Ke said coldly.

When Yongqi heard his cousin call him Yongqi instead of Fifth Brother, he knew something terrible was about to happen. He couldn't help but feel annoyed that he hadn't reflected on his actions these past few days. At the same time, he wondered if his cousin would always call him Yongqi from now on.

Benjamin couldn't understand it. They seemed to have had a minor argument today, and besides, with Anke and Qing'er walking behind, why did Ziwei insist on dragging Xiaoyanzi to Anke's side to cause trouble? When they were confined to Shufangzhai, Anke frequently visited his Ruyi Pavilion and discussed painting with him. He felt Anke wasn't someone who abused her power; he thought the palace's description of Anke as cold on the outside but warm on the inside was accurate.

At the Ruyi Pavilion, she would even help Red, Green, and Blue by carrying their paint buckets when they couldn't manage. How could such a considerate princess be the person others described as abusing her power? Benjamin, for one, didn't believe it.

Ertai stared coldly at Ziwei and Xiaoyanzi. Since leaving Shufangzhai, he felt as if he had regained his senses, and the things he had done before could only be described as foolish. Going to school and covering for Xiaoyanzi—things he would never have bothered to do before. Even before this incident, when he heard their unpleasant remarks at Shufangzhai, he had tried to stop them. But his words and suggestions were always ignored.

Fu Erkang felt that his beloved Ziwei was being insulted, and that Anke and Qing'er before him were utterly repulsive. He kept his father's instructions in mind and suppressed the raging anger burning within him. He couldn't afford to offend the princess again, or his career would be ruined.

But seeing Ziwei's red eyes, he seemed to be driven by lust again, and strode forward to pull Ziwei behind him in a protective posture. Standing in front of An Ke, he loudly questioned her.