Tang Qiqi directly asked the question, then calmly looked at Zhao Shijie.

Zhao Shijie gritted his teeth and said, "I will not agree to that! I will never become a lackey of the imperial court!"

Tang Qiqi clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Very good, you have backbone. Then I'll find a new lackey to take over Qingtan, and Young Master Zhao can continue to enjoy his life in prison!"

Tang Qiqi spoke casually, as if she were talking about grabbing any random cat or dog.

"Incompetent official! Everyone says that Lord Lan is devoted to the people, but it turns out that's just hearsay. Indeed, if a mere child can be made regent, then the lord is probably even more debauched and tyrannical than the Qin traitor. This world is beyond saving!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Shijie was kicked to the ground on the straw mat by Li Liang: "How dare you, a mere coward, speak ill of my city lord's reputation!"

Tang Qiqi hurriedly stepped back. Li Liang never lost his temper unless someone disrespected his city lord. Zhao Shijie was in serious trouble this time.

Tang Qiqi said with a face full of disdain: "Zhao Shijie, haven't you always felt that you have a lot of ambitions but nowhere to use them? Now that the opportunity is given to you, you still act like a coward. I came here today to tell you not to think too highly of yourself. After all, you don't even have the courage to go up!"

"Alright, Li Liang, this spineless coward can only manage to hurl insults at our city lord; he has no other skills. Let's go!"

As Zhao Shijie watched Tang Qiqi's white-clad figure disappear into the distance, he suddenly shouted, "I'm willing to be the magistrate of Qingtan County!" Tang Qiqi smiled faintly, not turning her head, and said nonchalantly, "Then hurry to the county office to see me. If you're late, I might just assign any Tom, Dick, or Harry to this position!" With that, he strode away!

Zhao Shijie stood there stunned for a while before he snapped out of his daze. He ran barefoot to catch up with Tang Qiqi, but he couldn't catch up with her. Tang Qiqi, wanting to dampen his spirits, had already slipped away with Li Liang!

Li Liang asked, puzzled, "Sir, what do you mean? Do you want Zhao Shijie to become the county magistrate or not?"

Tang Qiqi narrowed her eyes and said, "This Zhao Shijie has a high reputation among the people of Qingtan. He is an upright person with the pride of a scholar, making him the most suitable person to take over Qingtan!"

"Was our attitude just now not good enough?" Li Liang asked again!

Tang Qiqi glanced at the bewildered Li Liang, suppressed a laugh, and said coldly, "It's not just not good enough. I think you used at least 50% of your strength in that kick just now."

Li Liang hurriedly bowed and apologized, "This subordinate deserves to die; I almost ruined your important plans, sir!"

Tang Qiqi raised an eyebrow: "Not bad, you've improved. You don't kneel down so easily anymore. This time, I won't hold you responsible!"

Li Liang was extremely puzzled. He was only spared from being held responsible because he didn't kneel down, but wasn't this an even more serious offense?

However, Li Liang knew that even if time could be reversed, he still couldn't help but kick the city lord, since he had insulted him!

Zhao Shijie escaped from the prison in one breath, and no one made things difficult for him.

Once on the street, they saw Tang Qiqi nimbly board the carriage, and there was no way to catch up with her.

The orphans on the street seemed to have regained some color in their faces, but when they saw him, they didn't run over as usual; instead, they looked at him with strange eyes.

"Xiaoying, it's me, Uncle Zhao!" Zhao Shijie waved to a little girl.

The child, his eyes filled with wariness, took a few steps back and then ran away.

Zhao Shijie then realized that he was now dressed in prison clothes, disheveled, and emaciated. Not to mention these children, even his own mother would not recognize him.

Zhao Shijie went into a clothing store he frequented, bought a new outfit on credit, and took the opportunity to listen to what the regent had been doing since arriving in Qingtan.

He found it hard to believe that the regent had done some good things; was he perhaps a rare and excellent official?

When Zhao Shijie arrived at the county government office, the entrance was already packed with people in prison uniforms. He wondered if the regent had recruited all the prisoners to compete for the position of county magistrate. Wasn't that ridiculous?

Although these people are not particularly wicked, managing this rotten county of Daren Qingtan is a nightmare. With such a motley crew, things will only get worse!

Zhao Shijie squeezed his way in with all his might. Tang Qiqi was lounging in a chair, leisurely eating fruit. She looked like a playful child.

Zhao Shijie coaxed him like a child, saying, "Let me tell you, kid, there are tens of thousands of people in Qingtan County. You can't just act arbitrarily and randomly pick someone to be the magistrate. I'll be the magistrate!"

Tang Qiqi put a sweet date in her mouth, chewed it slowly for a while, and then said, "You want to be the county magistrate? Fine, these people were all arbitrarily imprisoned by Cui Zhirong. I've already released them, and I promised to give them a job. So, this job is yours. If you do a good job, I'll hand over the county magistrate's seal to you and teach the people of Qingtan to you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shijie categorized the crowd at the door: farmers, peddlers, craftsmen, farmhands, apprentices... but he didn't know what to do next.