Jin Zuo's face was tense as he met Qin Wang's gaze, and immediately looked away.

  "What do you mean by this? Are you also suggesting that I should be like... familiar with government affairs, interfering in local matters?" Qin Wang trailed off, avoiding the two words "the crown prince".

  Jin Zuo Yan nodded with his head down.

  "What are you hiding from me?" Qin Wang keenly sensed something and stood up, staring intently at Jin Cuyan who was clearly not right.

  "No." Jin Zuoyan shook his head and replied stiffly.

  "Nothing?" Qin Wang let out a hearty laugh, and Jin Zhenyan's neck twisted to the side again, twisting into an awkward position.

  The King of Qin took a step aside and stood in front of Jin Xuyan, stretching out his hand to press against Jin Xuyan's forehead, "What is this called?"

  "The prince is still underage, but he's almost there." Jin Zhenyan turned his head to the other side, "If it were up to me, I'd tell the prince everything he should know. But this matter is not for me to decide, I asked Father and he said it was the Empress Dowager's idea."

  "What's going on?" King Zhuang's words made Qin Wang's back feel cooler and cooler.

  "I dare not speak." Jin Zhiyan twisted his head and did not look at Qin Wang, "This is the empress dowager's order."

  "Learning governance is also an order from the empress dowager." The voice of King Qin was a bit hoarse.

  "You've thought of it too, right?" Jin Zeshi heard the dryness in Qin Wang's voice, turned his head back and stared straight at him. "You've sensed it long ago, but you didn't dare to think about it, didn't dare to believe it, did you? Me neither."

  The King of Qin stared at Jin Xianyan, pursing his lips tightly, his face turning whiter and whiter, without saying a word.

  Jin Zheyen exchanged a brief glance with him, looked away, "I'll go first." After saying that, he didn't wait for Qin Wang to speak and turned around to leave.

  The King of Qin stood there for a long time, then turned around and rushed out the door, heading straight for Empress Dowager Jin's residence.

  ………………

  Hengshan County government office, Li Xia and Fifth Brother Li Wenshan sat shoulder to shoulder on the steps of the second gate. Li Wenshan held half a pomegranate in one hand and a small bamboo bowl in the other. Li Xia was peeling a piece of pomegranate, occasionally sticking her head out to spit pomegranate seeds into the small bamboo bowl in Li Wenshan's hand.

  "Ah, Xia, now I feel relieved, finally able to read with a peace of mind." Seeing Li Xia finish the pomegranate in her hand, Li Wenshan hands her another one, occasionally shrugging his shoulders, looking very relaxed and comfortable.

  "Hmm." Li Xia stuffed a pomegranate seed into her mouth, "That Guo Sheng, needs to be looked at carefully, but he was recommended by Zhu Canyi... What you said is right, at least for the next two or three years, it'll be easy going."

  In his position in Hengshan County, Ah Tie had Commander Luo looking out for him from above and Councilor Zhu's nephew taking care of things below. This term was quite easy-going... afterwards... hmm, she'd better take a good look at Ah Tie; she always felt that Ah Tie wasn't cut out to be an official...

  The next day, Li Wenshan rushed back to the Wan Song Academy. Li Xia took Little Jiu'er with her and whenever she had a chance, she would run to the front hall to watch her father handle official business and see the two new teachers who had just arrived.

  ………………

  As soon as Li Xia slipped into the front courtyard, Guo Sheng quietly paid attention to her every move.

  She took that little girl called Xiaojiez to wherever she went, the two little girls were not annoying and had good eyesight, they came and went in the front hall, never hindering anything.

  Such a young girl... it's about time she became sensible, after all, she comes from a family of scholars, the children have been taught good manners...

  For the time being, he can't see anything different, but intuitively, he always feels that this Xiaxia girl is not ordinary...

  ………………

  Li Xia watched for a while and had some idea in her mind.

  This small county, with less than a thousand households, can be easily managed from above. After checking the granary, there's almost nothing to worry about. This County Magistrate of Hengshan, Ah Fa, is truly carefree.

  Two masters, Da Bo sent Chen Dingde who was good at finance and taxation, while Guo Sheng took charge of the penal system.

  Li Xia looked at him coldly for half a month, Chen Dingde was a man of limited ability and honesty, but as the financial officer of Hengshan County, he was still more than enough.

  Guo Sheng was the talent that Mr. Qin had arranged for Wu Ge, temporarily placed in the county government to take care of his father. Such a person, Li Xia didn't expect to see through him for the time being, on the contrary, she was always careful to avoid him.

  The person who can make Mr. Qin admire her must be extremely clever, she is a person with great secrets.

  ………………

  Although the county is small, there are still a few things going on. After being quiet for more than half a month, a lawsuit came.

  A large crowd of people came to make a complaint, old and young, men and women, crying, shouting and scolding together, squeezing onto the public platform. The bailiffs on both sides pounded their clubs on the ground, shouting "Order!" several times, but still couldn't calm them down.

  Li Xia took Little Jiu and hid behind a row of solemnly retreating signboards to watch the excitement.

  This position allowed her to see both her father and the two masters, as well as the yamen runners opposite and the plaintiffs and defendants wailing on the platform.

  Taking advantage of this case, she wants to take a good look at her father and that Guo Sheng, Master Guo.

  The county magistrate was scolded by the cries, wails and accusations on the platform, his brows tightly furrowed, he slapped the wooden ruler seven or eight times, and finally the platform quieted down a bit, at least when he spoke, everyone could hear him.

  "What are you people doing?" The county magistrate's voice was stern and authoritative, but before he could even finish his sentence, the hall erupted into a cacophony of wails and shouts again. Everyone was talking at once, crying out in protest and grievance.

  Magistrate Li subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed his face.

  Li Xia looked at her father and sighed repeatedly in her heart.

  Guo Sheng's attention was all on the group of people in the hall, and County Magistrate Li couldn't control the scene. He seemed to have not noticed anything unusual.

  Magistrate Li again struck the alarm plank, this time striking it seventeen or eighteen times before the hall below gradually quieted down a bit.

  "Who is the plaintiff? Going forward..." County Magistrate Li's words were not finished, when the people in the hall shouted together, "...Great Judge of the Blue Sky, the humble commoner is the plaintiff..."

  The whole hall knelt down, it was the plaintiff.

  "Stop it! Stop it all!" County Magistrate Li's face turned as big as a bowl, he didn't even use his gavel, both hands slapped on the desk at once, slapping the inkstone on the desk into a mess.

  "County Magistrate's order! Anyone who dares to cry out or shout again will be beaten with ten sticks!" Several wooden signs jumped out of the bucket, and Guo Sheng suddenly shouted loudly, his voice and expression both stern.

  The bailiffs on both sides were well-trained and immediately slammed the water fire sticks in their hands to the ground, shouting in unison: "The county magistrate has an order!"

  The hall immediately fell silent.

  Li Xia sighed and couldn't sigh anymore.

  "Which of you is the plaintiff and which is the defendant?" Magistrate Li let out a long sigh, straightened up his desk, and asked the people below.

  The words had barely fallen when a commotion broke out again in the hall.

  "Oh great sir, I am the plaintiff, accusing him..."

  "County magistrate is small, the common people are the plaintiffs, he is the defendant..."

  Everyone on the dock claims to be the plaintiff, pointing at this one and that one, saying they will sue him, sue them.

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