"I -" His thin lips trembled. He originally wanted to answer firmly, but he didn't know what he thought of and finally didn't say it.

He changed the subject stiffly, "Where are we going now? Are we going back?"

Qiao Xuan saw his hesitation and did not ask further, "Let's go to the county."

Surprise flashed in Xi He's eyes, "County?"

"The wool comes from the sheep. Didn't the county magistrate ask us to build the road? Then he has to provide the money. How can fifty taels of silver be enough?" Qiao Xuan smiled brightly, swaggering forward with his hands behind his back.

Xi He's lips curled up into a smile.

At the gate of the county government office.

"Go quickly! Go quickly! Don't stay at the county government office gate unless you have anything to do." As soon as Qiao Xuan and Xi He approached the government officials standing on both sides of the door, they started to chase them away.

Qiao Xuan stepped forward with a smile and gave each of the two government servants a tael of silver. For the sake of the money, the expressions of the two men softened a little.

"Please tell the county magistrate, please, and tell me——" She glanced at the street in front of the county government office and whispered a few words in the ear of one of the government officials.

"Really? Are you kidding? This is no joke." The officer's expression became very serious, and he looked at Qiao Xuan and Xi He up and down several times.

"Don't worry! Just go, if anything happens it's my fault and it won't affect you two."

Xi He stood behind Qiao Xuan. He didn't know what Qiao Xuan had just said to the yamen servant. When he asked Qiao Xuan on the way here, he knew it after she said it mysteriously.

The yamen officer took a deep look at Qiao Xuan, then turned around and went in to report.

After the two of them waited for a while, a fat man in official uniform walked out quickly. He looked like a white and solid steamed bun. As he moved, his face and the flesh on his body trembled.

He has a pair of mouse eyes, thick lips, two eyebrows so light that they are almost non-existent, a double chin, and his skin is so white and smooth that even Qiao Xuan is jealous.

"Can you save my mother?" He glanced at Qiao Xuan and Xi He and walked towards Xi He without thinking. It was obvious that Xi He was older and more stable and reliable.

"It's me!" Qiao Xuan pointed at himself.

This county magistrate seems to be a big rat. He has eaten himself up to the point where he is fat and has no image at all, giving people a strong sense of discomfort.

"You?" The county magistrate frowned, his brows almost gone, "Where did this yellow-haired girl come from to tease me?"

He waved his big, plump hand and said, "Come here, pull me down and beat her hard? Two? Throw it out after ten big boards."

Xi He blocked Qiao Xuan behind him and stared at the official dog official with a defensive expression. Qiao Xuan's calm voice sounded: "Is the old lady getting sleepy?"

"Do you often have nightmares about someone trying to take her life?"

"Did you dream that your Excellency was about to——"

As she asked questions one by one, the county magistrate's expression became unbearable. He waved his hand to signal those who wanted to arrest Qiao Xuan to step back.

"Can you really save my mother?" He narrowed his small eyes and asked doubtfully.

"Can you give it a try and you'll find out? Your Excellency, you won't lose anything."

Qiao Xuan did not pay attention to the official power of the person in front of him, his expression was as usual and he spoke calmly and generously.

The county magistrate pondered for a moment and then said: "Follow me!" They came to the door themselves. If they can't be cured, they will come and go.

The backyard of the county government office is exquisitely and luxuriously built. All kinds of precious flowers and plants are in full bloom in the garden behind the rockeries. An independent small courtyard appears at the end of the carved corridor when you turn a corner.

In the yard, the maids and mothers-in-law were busy with their own affairs. When they saw the county prince, they all saluted, "Sir."

Qiao Xuan and Xi He looked at each other and saw the contempt in each other's eyes. Gou Guan was really a local emperor in Gupo County and made countless money.

I had heard before that he was greedy for money and lustful, but today I saw that he was really like this. Coupled with the domineering daughter of the county magistrate who oppressed the people, the entire family was evil. Qiao Xuan secretly complained in his heart as he walked.

"Is the old lady awake?"

The county magistrate looked at a very beautiful little maid, and his words were serious, but his eyes were unabashedly greasy.

"The old lady has been awake for a while. She ate a bowl of porridge and is currently copying scriptures." The little maid replied with a low eyebrow. Her cautious look made the county magistrate look at her with a darker look.

"Yu Ming is here, come in!" An old and weak voice came from inside the house. The county magistrate's surname was Li and his given name was Yu Ming. The old lady called him Yu Ming.

"Come in with me! There will be a reward if you cure him, but if he can't be cured..." Li Yuming's meaning was self-evident, and his fleshy face was full of threats.

Qiao Xuan grinned. The dog officer was almost in danger and yet he threatened her, hum!

Qiao Xuan and Xi He almost couldn't hold back their laughter when they saw the old man in the room.

My son is as fat as a pig, but my mother is as skinny as a stick. The contrast should not be too obvious.

The story is that all the delicious food went into the son's mouth, and the old lady became so thin from hunger.

Although he was about to faint with laughter, Qiao Xuan and Xi He bowed to the old lady steadily without showing any signs of it on their faces.

"They are-" The old lady looked at her son.

"She said she could cure my mother's disease, so I brought her to see my mother," Li Yuming explained after sitting on a chair and taking a sip of tea from the little maid.

The old lady glanced at Qiao Xuan warily, and the beads in her hand turned faster than before.

Qiao Xuan caught her little movement, raised the corners of his lips, and the mocking look in his eyes disappeared briefly.

"Did you see anything?"

"Please let the unimportant people go out first," Qiao Xuan said calmly, sitting on the chair next to the old lady in a calm manner.

Seeing this, Xi He found a seat and sat down without hesitation.

Li Yuming felt displeased when he saw the two of them being so rude, but he still suppressed his anger and said: "Everyone get off first!"

As soon as the maids in the room went out and the door to the room was closed, he urged impatiently: "Can we talk now?"

The old lady said nothing, her eyes were lowered, and her fingers were playing with the beads.

"Has the old lady ever killed a black cat?" Qiao Xuan spoke slowly, his dark eyes locked on the old lady beside him.

The old lady's fingers froze for a moment and she said calmly: "No!"

Qiao Xuan asked again: "Have you ever heard a cat meowing in the middle of the night?"

Li Yuming's expression changed. He once bought a black cat as a birthday gift for his daughter. Her daughter liked it very much and hugged it all day long, but he didn't know when he never saw the cat again.

He asked his daughter about the whereabouts of the cat, but she vaguely said it was missing.
Chapter completed!