Rong Zhen stood at the door of the guest house and felt timid, but he soon came to his senses and shook his head for his cowardly mentality, then pushed open the door.

Lu Zheng happened to open the door from the inside.

The two stood face to face for a moment before Lu Zheng asked, "Your Highness, King of Chu, what do you want?" Rong

Zhen paused before saying, "I have received the order and will go to the battle right away."

"Oh." Lu Zheng responded, and it took him a while to react, "I just wanted to tell you that I found Governor Tang and asked him to introduce me to a job as a county lieutenant in Qingxi County. I..."

Rong Zhen's jaw tightened, and he said coldly, "So, are you going to say goodbye to me?"

"If you don't mind..." Lu Zheng touched his nose and whispered.

Rong Zhen took a step forward, but saw Lu Zheng took several steps back as if he was frightened.

"Are you afraid of me?" Rong Zhen stopped.

Lu Zheng said unnaturally: "No... no..."

"Qingxi County is in Nanxia County. Although I have never been to Nanxia, ​​one of my lieutenant generals is from Nanxia. It is said that the climate in Nanxia is humid and hot. You have lived in Yanjing for a long time. I am afraid you will not be able to adapt there." Rong Zhen said lightly, "As far as I know, the Xinglin Pharmacy in Yanjing has anti-moisture and anti-insect medicines. You might as well take some before you leave."

Lu Zheng realized that he had wronged Rong Zhen. His steps were a little hesitant, and finally he raised his head and said, "I'm sorry..."

Rong Zhen curled the corners of his lips lightly: "The term of office of the county lieutenant is three years. After three years, I will wait for you in Yanjing."

Lu Zheng was sitting in the carriage, reading a copy of "Qingxi County Chronicle" in his hand. Liu Zhi was kneeling beside him, pouring water with a teapot. Lu Zheng was still mumbling something. He didn't know much about Qingxi County. This Qingxi County Chronicle was found by Lu Che.

Lu Zheng had complicated feelings towards this elder brother. Unlike the Yun family, Lu Zheng could understand Yun's feelings. No matter whether what Le Chen and the others said was true or not, to the Yun family, he was just a lonely ghost occupying his son's body. Lu Zheng would feel sad, but he could finally let it go. It was just a matter of time, and from now on, they would not interfere with each other.

But for Lu Che, he was probably the first person to know his identity, but he could endure it all the time, which made Lu Zheng feel chilled. However, after he came to the ancient times, Lu Che also gave him a lot of help. For Lu Zheng, this was a teacher and a brother, so he found it particularly difficult to tolerate Lu Che's behavior. It was also because of this that Lu Zheng would rather go to Tang Min, who he did not have a deep relationship with, than to ask Lu Che for help. Tang Min did not reject Lu Zheng because of the relationship between him and Lu Che. Instead, he thought that Lu Zheng was a person who was unwilling to rely on his family background to be self-reliant, and actually admired him very much.

The grassroots officials of the Great Xia Dynasty were divided into two categories. One was a Jinshi, or entered the Hanlin Academy or was sent out of the capital to be the head of a county. This kind of people could be properly called "old master", while the other kind was some candidates who failed in the imperial examinations and some illegitimate children of aristocratic families. These people had no official titles and could only be the county magistrate in charge of warehouses and documents or the county lieutenant in charge of the county's public security and prisons.

Lu Zheng was good at solving cases. Originally, Tang Min wanted him to go to a county to be a prosecutor in charge of solving cases, but this position was fought over by many people. Fortunately, Lu Zheng was not picky. It happened that Qingxi County reported the previous county lieutenant Ding You, and Lu Zheng agreed.

After agreeing, Lu Zheng realized that his action was probably a slap in Lu Che's face, but he had done it and there was nothing he could do. Who would have thought that Lu Che was not angry, but sent someone to give him the "Qingxi County Chronicle" and some gifts.

Lu Zheng wanted to refuse, but in fact, he was already short of money. Not accepting Lu Che's kindness meant that he would have to ask Rong Zhen or Jian Yu for help, but how could he open his mouth to ask for help from these two people?

Jian Yu brought Liu Zhi out, and Rong Zhen helped him get Liu Zhi's indenture. Lu Zheng originally wanted to return the indenture to Liu Zhi, leave some money for her, and let Jian Yu help take care of her, but Liu Zhi was unwilling. In the end, Lu Zheng could only rent a carriage and go to Qingxi County with Liu Zhi.

Liu Zhi handed the teacup to Lu Zheng: "Young Master, you have been looking all the way, drink some tea to moisten your throat."

Lu Zheng took the teacup, thought for a while and said: "Liu Zhi, don't call me Young Master in the future, we are the same."

Liu Zhi smiled: "Young Master, it's just a title, why do you care so much about it?"

The two of them have talked about this issue many times, and Liu Zhi has found a way to deal with him. Lu Zheng had no choice but to drink the tea, and then lifted the curtain: "Driver, where are we?"

The driver turned around: "We have just left the territory of Yanjing, you must be hungry, do you want to have some food in front?"

Lu Zheng looked at the sun, nodded and said: "Okay, let's have a rest after dinner, and stay overnight when we reach the next town."

"Okay!" The driver whipped his whip, "Sit tight, we'll be there in a minute." When they

arrived at the teahouse on the roadside, Lu Zheng and his companions slowly climbed down from the carriage. After sitting in the carriage for a whole morning, their backs and waists were really sore, but the driver drove the horses to the back to eat hay as if nothing had happened.

Lu Zheng and Liu Zhi walked into the teahouse and were about to ask the store owner to bring food when they suddenly heard a voice behind them saying, "Hey, sir in front, I have a question to ask you."

Lu Zheng showed a surprised expression and turned around quickly, "Brother Bao!"

"Hey! Stop! I don't have such an ungrateful brother!" Bao Zheng waved his hand seriously.

Lu Zheng hurriedly asked, "Why are you here?"

Bao Zheng ignored him and pulled open his collar while shouting, "Shopkeeper, bring me some tea. My horse is almost dead from running all the way!" He took two steps forward, felt something was wrong and turned back. He pulled Shi Hu, who was standing there in a daze, over and said, "What are you doing standing there? Have some tea and eat!"

Lu Zheng ignored his pretending to be unfamiliar and said repeatedly, "It's my fault. I thought..." After what happened with Lu Che, Lu Zheng was a little disheartened. Now seeing Bao Zheng and the others coming to see him off on horseback, he was moved.

Bao Zheng chuckled twice: "Okay, I don't blame you. Everyone has their own secrets. I, Bao, am not that kind of person."

Shihu looked at Lu Zheng and then at Bao Zheng, and finally squeezed out a sentence: "Me too...yes."

"Me too, what?" Bao Zheng patted Shihu's head, thought for a while, and then touched his nose and said to Lu Zheng, "Brother Lu, you see, you are about to take office. As a county lieutenant, the responsibility is so heavy. You must have your own team. I, Bao, you also know your abilities. Oh, by the way, this kid, his skills as a coroner are first-class. It's not bad for him to make a living under you, right?"

Lu Zheng widened his eyes: "What!"

Shihu bit his lip and looked at Bao Zheng embarrassedly: "Brother Bao, otherwise... tell me... the truth..."

Bao Zheng scratched his head and said, "Actually, we did have some trouble. You know Zhao Jin, the eldest son of the Zhao family... Forget it, you don't need to know this scum. He is the newly appointed Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. This man is too narrow-minded. As for me, I lost my job after offending him a little, and even Xiao Shitou was in trouble. I was worried that he would have more tricks up his sleeve, so I just came to you for help."

Lu Zheng digested his words. In fact, Lu Zheng still felt very welcome to Bao Zheng and the others coming. After all, they were going to an unfamiliar environment, and having their own people to help would indeed make things much smoother.

Since it was settled, Bao Zheng did not consider himself an outsider: "You are an official now. From now on, we will call you Sir. You can call me Lao Bao, and this is Xiao Shitou. It's settled!"

Lu Zheng was also at a loss for words: "I haven't even taken office yet!"

"It's too late! Hey! Why hasn't the restaurant served the meal yet~"

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Bao Zheng naturally rode a horse and drove Shihu into the carriage. He admitted very straightforwardly that his savings were enough to buy the horse. If he hadn't caught up with Lu Zheng and the others, he would have to sleep in the open with Shihu tonight.

Lu Zheng was speechless. He felt that he was blind to think that Bao Zheng was reliable. This guy was so unrestrained by nature. Could he really be trusted?

The few people were on the road with such a lot of noise, but before they had walked far, they heard shouts from behind.

The shouts were far away, and if it weren't for Shihu's sharp ears, he would have missed it.

The few people stopped the car, and soon saw a skinny man being carried by a gray donkey not far away, and a dark and strong boy was following him. The boy had a bag on his back, and he was not thrown off the donkey. On the contrary, the man was sitting on the donkey and looked breathless.

"Slow down, slow down, my waist!" The man climbed down from the donkey tremblingly, his eyes narrowed, and his face was wrinkled like a dried orange peel. It was You Xiaowu.

Lu Zheng didn't think that he and You Xiaowu were that close, but seeing him come all the way to see him off, he was surprised and a little moved. However, after what happened with Lao Bao, he carefully controlled his emotions.

"Brother You, what are you doing?"

You Xiaowu came over limping, leaning on his waist, and said rudely, "Master Lu, this is your fault. I took the news to the Duke of Ying's Mansion to find you this month, but the doorman said you were going to Qingxi County. Well, let's not talk about anything else, you have to give me this month's salary."

Lu Zheng looked at the donkey behind You Xiaowu and the bag on Tiedan, and said with a smile, "For five taels of silver, you are willing to buy a donkey to catch up with me, and you also bring all your belongings. You are really stubborn."

You Xiaowu coughed guiltily, "This... there is nothing I can do. As the saying goes, a thousand-mile horse needs a Bole. Only you can see my skills. Of course I have to follow you. Isn't there a saying... what is it?" He asked Tiedan.

Tiedan was speechless: "I can never repay your kindness."

You Xiaowu nodded: "Yes, yes, this kindness... wait, who said it can't be repaid." He looked at Lu Zheng with a flattering smile, "You still have to pay, right?" Seeing

his money-obsessed look, Lu Zheng couldn't help rolling his eyes: "Look at me, I'm not the third son of the Duke of Ying now. The monthly salary of a county lieutenant is only five taels. I can't afford to support you."

You Xiaowu said with a pained look: "How about... three taels?"

"Goodbye."

"Wait! Two taels! Two taels! It can't be any less, I have to save it for Tiedan to get married!"

"Old Bao, let's go."

"Okay, okay! No money! Food and accommodation are provided, right!"

"Get in the car."

"Not even meals! This is too bullying!"

"...I want you to get on the carriage, otherwise your hairy donkey will drag you along until next year and you won't be able to reach Qingxi County."

The carriage "grumbled" forward, accompanied by You Xiaowu's complaints and Bao Zheng's hearty laughter. Passing the boundary marker of Yanjing, the scenery gradually changed from large plains to towering mountains. They seemed to be following the spring breeze, gradually greening the scenery along the road.

Volume 4: Red Thief