After explaining the matter clearly, An Xin refused Tang Sicheng's attempt to retain him and handed over the two leaders of Qingyun Mountain to them for interrogation and detention.

Tang Sicheng looked at the woman riding on the horse, bowing to him in a heroic manner and saying goodbye, and finally remembered the time when he went to visit his aunt one year.

Old Madam Tang once mentioned to him a woman who was extremely knowledgeable, polite and respectful to the elderly.

At that time, my aunt had said that she wanted to introduce that woman to me. Thinking of this, Lord Tang's ears turned red. Looking at the person who was about to leave on horseback, Tang Sicheng shouted without hesitation: "Are you the female headmaster of Wanhua Academy in Lin'an County, Miss An?"

An Xin's hair was blown by the wind as she rode out on horseback, and she exuded an indescribable elegance and freedom.

I don’t know if he didn’t hear what Tang Sicheng said, or didn’t want to answer, but he raised his eyebrows slightly and rode Dahei without looking back.

Lord Tang stared blankly at the slender figure, with a hint of regret in his eyes.

Yuchi Yi rode on the chestnut horse brought from the bandit's lair and followed closely behind Dahei. When he heard what Tang Sicheng called out, he turned around and gave the old man a cold look.

Yes, old man.

In the eyes of a 15 or 16-year-old boy, there is nothing wrong with calling a man who is much older than him an old man.

Tang Sicheng met the boy's sharp eyes, was startled, and lowered his head with a bitter smile.

Even in such a remote place, he had heard that the top scorer and the second place winner of this year's imperial examination were both from Wanhua Academy in Lin'an County, Jiangning Prefecture, and they were her students.

Now she is accompanied by a young man whose identity is obviously not ordinary.

He was an ordinary Jinshi who failed to even pass the imperial examination and became a Shujishi. He relied on his cousin who was the Shangshu in the Ministry of Personnel and his own efforts to reach the position of a minor official today.

How could I expect to teach such an outstanding student and be looked upon by a woman who is as knowledgeable as a great scholar? It was simply wishful thinking.

After An Xin and the other left, Tang Sicheng reported what happened in Moshan County to the prefect of Xuzhou Prefecture.

Unexpectedly, before Tang Sicheng could finish his words, the two heads of Qingyun Mountain were captured here, and it was known that the current county magistrate of Moshan County was the brother of the concubine who had a concubine's eldest son in Wuchang Marquis Mansion in the capital.

The Xuzhou prefect, who was somewhat timid and cautious, did not want to easily offend the people in the palaces of princes and dukes in the capital. He heard that the officials in Moshan County were suspected of accepting bribes.

He immediately assigned the responsibility of handling the case in Moshan County to his subordinate Tang Sicheng.

A hint of sarcasm flashed across Tang Sicheng's lowered eyes. Originally, he felt sorry that this case, which had been almost revealed by An Xin and others, would be snatched away by the prefect who knew how much benefit there was in it.

Who would have thought that it would eventually return to his hands? He would not be polite.

If someone sees through the secret and wants to snatch the credit from him, it will depend on whether his cousin, the Minister of Personnel in the capital, agrees.

Who in Beijing doesn't have a solid backing?

Anyway, no matter who handles these cases, it will all be just a way to take credit.

If this case of a bully colluding with the county magistrate to forcibly buy the people's land is handled well, it will bring both fame and fortune.

You'd be a fool not to answer.

However, Tang Sicheng raised his head and immediately turned embarrassed. "Sir, this matter seems to be related to an incident many years ago when several deserters from the war between Daqian and the barbarians became bandits."

"There is also this matter." The prefect of Xuzhou frowned and said, "Then I hereby allow you to mobilize the troops in the prefecture city to suppress the bandits while handling this case."

Tang Sicheng suppressed the corner of his mouth that was raised. This was exactly what he wanted.

"Thank you for your hard work." Seeing Tang Sicheng's worried look, the prefect tried to comfort him insincerely.

"It is my duty to share your worries."

"Good, good, good!" The prefect was pleased to hear Tang Sicheng's words, "If Tongzhi Tang encounters any difficulties while handling this case, please let me know."

Tang Sicheng: “…” I’m just listening for now, I won’t take it seriously.

An Xin didn't know that the credit that Tang Sicheng had originally intended to give away for free was ended up being casually given to him by the Xuzhou prefect who was overly cautious.

The two men rode out of the city and headed towards Zhengjia Village in Moshan County.

It was already the beginning of the Si hour when they left the city, and they rode at full speed for two hours before returning to Zhengjia Village.

From a long distance away, one could hear the miserable cries of the women and children in the village.

An Xin and Yuchi Yi rode their horses closer and saw a group of women falling to the ground in a mess, slapping their thighs, crying and cursing.

From their intermittent curses, An Xin pieced together what had happened: the Qian family had indeed taken revenge.

Erhu, who was standing on a tree with one leg unsteadily, turned around and saw An Xin and the other person coming back. His originally dull eyes suddenly brightened up.

An Xin learned from Erhu that at dawn this morning, the villagers of Zhengjia Village were captured by the steward of the landlord Qian Da and officials from the county government.

At this time, the wife of Village Chief Zheng, who was sitting on the ground, saw An Xin leading the horse towards her. She supported her injured waist and was helped to stand up with difficulty by several daughters-in-law who were also injured.

An Xin deliberately thickened her eyebrows, so that even though her facial features now had a hint of heroic spirit, the old village chief's wife could still tell that she was a woman.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"So you are a little girl!"

An Xin smiled calmly, "Yes."

"I'm sorry, you helped us yesterday, but today several of your friends were arrested by the government." The village chief's wife said apologetically with tears in her turbid eyes.

At this time, the people in the village who had not been captured were all looking eagerly at the woman who was leading a tall black horse, with an upright posture and a calm and composed expression.

"Wasn't you a young boy yesterday? How come you've turned into a girl with bright eyes and white teeth today?!"

"Now it doesn't matter that she is a girl or a teenager, because all the men in her family have been taken away.

I don’t know if we can be released, and we, the old, weak, sick, women, and children, are left here. How are we going to survive in the future?”

The words of one of the women made everyone look helpless and sad.

The women began to sob softly again, and the children saw their mothers crying, so they opened their mouths and started crying too.

For a moment, the feeling of sadness spread to everyone, and all the people who stayed here were wiping away tears.

"Those damned beasts, even though they are government officials, came to the village and arrested people without asking any questions. It's really unjust."

The village chief's wife and daughter-in-law also shed tears helplessly, venting their anger and injustice.

An Xin stepped forward and patted the back of Village Chief Zheng's wife in a comforting manner. He looked at everyone and said in a neutral tone, "Trust me, it will be fine."

Although the voice was not loud, the tone seemed to have a soothing power that made everyone stop crying and look up at her again.

There was no trace of panic on her face, and she looked at everyone calmly with a faint gaze.

Everyone's hearts inexplicably calmed down.

An Xin was so arrogant that he could boast to the sky, "It's not a big deal, don't worry about it."

"If the people arrested in Zhengjia Village have not been released by this time tomorrow, I will personally go to Moshan County to tear down the prison cells and rescue them."

Looking at his female teacher, whose expression was comparable to that of a female bandit, Yuchi Yi just wanted to cover his face and remind her: Teacher, your character has collapsed.

(End of this chapter)