"Who's out there eavesdropping on my conversation with the adults? You're asking for it!"
The county magistrate reprimanded him, and just as he was about to go out to see what was happening, a burly man appeared in the doorway.
This person almost completely blocked the door.
He walked in against the light, and only then did the county magistrate notice that he had a fierce face and a thick beard, and didn't look like a good person.
The county magistrate and the county assistant clerk felt a chill run down their spines.
"Guards! Arrest this thief who has trespassed into the county government office!"
However, after he finished speaking, there was silence outside.
Both the county magistrate and the county assistant magistrate sensed that something was wrong.
"Guards! Where have you all been?"
The county magistrate's voice was almost hoarse from shouting.
But the burly man in front of him still smiled and remained calm.
"Shout! I've already taken down all those people outside. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come to save you."
If Fang Qing were here, she would definitely recognize him at a glance as the burly man she had met on the country road a few days ago who had asked her for directions.
The magistrate pushed the assistant magistrate out, and the man fearfully hid behind the table.
The county magistrate cursed under his breath, but he had no choice but to confront the man in front of him.
"You, do you know where you are? This is the back hall of the county government office, and behind me is Magistrate Zheng of An County. This is not a place for a petty thief like you to act so recklessly!"
The burly man crossed his arms and looked around the place before unceremoniously sitting down in a chair.
"You're the ones I've been looking for!"
As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the table next to him.
With a loud bang, the sturdy old elm wood table cracked open.
The magistrate was so frightened that he trembled all over, and the county clerk was no better off.
"Alright, sir, I haven't done anything to offend you, have I?" the magistrate whispered.
"Hmph, you haven't offended me, but you have offended our general!"
General?
The magistrate and the assistant magistrate exchanged a glance and suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter.
The person in front of me is not a thief, but a soldier!
"I don't know how to address you."
"The deputy general under the command of the mighty General of the Northwest, who never changes his name or surname, is here to advance!"
He changed his name to Xiangqian later after he made a contribution.
He used to be a little beggar, without father, mother, name, or surname. He was able to establish himself in the army and get this name thanks to the general who took him in.
Forward, always forward, and beat the enemy to a pulp!
The magistrate didn't immediately recognize the title "Great General of Might" until the county clerk whispered in his ear to explain.
"The Mighty General is a general personally appointed by His Majesty, and he is the person that Prime Minister Gao most wants to recruit right now."
The county magistrate's voice trembled as he spoke.
He wasn't particularly afraid of the mighty general, but the mere mention of Prime Minister Gao sent chills down his spine.
Today, half the world belongs to Sima Yi and the other half to Gao Zhiqian.
Sima refers to the imperial family, while Gao refers to Prime Minister Gao.
The magistrate's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly came out to greet Xiang Qian.
"Greetings, General. May I ask what brings you here?"
He leaned back leisurely in his chair, and couldn't help but snort when he saw their cowardly appearance.
"I dare not give any orders, but the girl my general is so fond of has recently encountered some trouble. I beg Lord Zheng to be lenient."
"No, no, I wouldn't dare. May I ask which family's daughter General Wei Wu is referring to? I will certainly do my utmost to help her."
"Fang Qing, a girl from Fangjia Village."
As soon as he finished speaking, the county magistrate and the county assistant clerk's knees buckled and they almost knelt on the ground.
"Miss Fang, I wonder what trouble you've encountered?"
"Don't play dumb. Putting aside the past, if you dare to cause trouble for Miss Fang regarding road construction in the future, my general has a hundred reasons to take your head!"
"Yes, yes, yes, this humble official would certainly not dare to do that. This humble official will definitely help Miss Fang to repair the road."
The necessary criticism has been given, and there's no need to linger any longer.
After he left, the magistrate could no longer hold on and knelt down with a thud.
"Oh dear, what terrible things have I done?"
As he spoke, he glared at the county magistrate.
"It's all your fault! Why did you have to provoke Fang Qing?!"
The county magistrate felt wronged.
Is this my fault?
You were the one who made me do it.
The county magistrate had a grievance he could not express.
"My lord, things aren't as bad as they seem. You just heard it yourself. Fang Qing is the girl the General has been longing for. They're not engaged or married. The General is a favorite of the court now. Even if Fang Qing is somewhat beautiful, does that mean the General would actually marry her?"
"We don't need to be afraid. At worst, we'll just make sure Fang Qing doesn't cause her any trouble when she's repairing roads."
The magistrate breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"Yes, yes, you're right. Then hurry up and send the documents for repairing the official road to Fang Qing."
"Yes, I'll do it tomorrow..."
"Forget about tomorrow, let's go now!"
"……yes"
*
Road construction is underway, with several villages working on it simultaneously, and money is flowing out like water.
There is no cement or asphalt here; the common road-building technique is to use tamped soil.
Fang Qing specifically searched the system and found that in the era before modern machinery destroyed road surfaces, roads built with rammed earth could last for more than ten years without being destroyed.
Fang Qing was unaware that building an official road required documents from the county government. It wasn't until they were almost at the point of construction that an experienced road repairman reminded her.
Unauthorized alteration of the official road is a serious crime, so Fang Qing had to make a trip to the county government.
Before they could even set off, the county government sent over the official documents.
Moreover, it was personally delivered by the county magistrate.
When Fang Qing and the others saw the county magistrate get off the carriage, their hearts skipped a beat.
Everyone knows that the county government doesn't want them to build the road.
Their first thought was that the county magistrate had come to cause trouble.
Fang Qing was prepared to spend money to bribe officials, but she didn't expect the county magistrate to smile and call her over.
"Miss Fang, this is the document regarding the repair of the official road. Please take a look."
Fang Qing had dealt with the county magistrate before, mainly for business matters, but this was the first time she had ever seen him so eager and attentive.
Fang Qing took the document with suspicion and confirmed that it was stamped by the county government.
"We are sorry to trouble you, Magistrate. We are working so hard to repair the road and have nowhere to entertain you. Please forgive us."
The county magistrate quickly waved his hand.
"No, no, no, how could I dare to accept Miss Fang's hospitality? I've only come to deliver the documents today. Now that the documents have been delivered, I'll be leaving now. I won't disturb you any longer. The magistrate will naturally reward you all once the road is repaired."
The county magistrate's smile froze, and his face turned cold after he got into the carriage.
What kind of creatures are they that deserve his smile?
If it weren't for the sake of the mighty general, he wouldn't have bothered with this group of people.
Fang Qing only came to her senses after the county magistrate had walked away.
"That's strange. He wasn't like this when we went to the county government last time. Why is he acting like a completely different person now?" the village chief said suspiciously.
Fang Qing was also curious.
It gives me a strange feeling, like a weasel paying respects to a chicken.
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