Qiao Zhao’s face quickly turned red.

How could this man speak such shameless words with such a serious expression at a time like this?

“Sit down, I’ll apply medicine for you.” Qiao Zhao pointed to a chair nearby, avoiding his question.

But Shao Mingyuan didn’t sit down. He lifted his hand to press against Qiao Zhao’s hand, his gaze burning: “Apply the medicine when we return. I need to go exchange pleasantries with Deputy Commander Xiao.”

He turned and walked to the doorway, looking back with a smile: “Zhaozhao, wait for me.”

After that man left, the room suddenly became quiet and empty. Qiao Zhao sat in the chair and stared blankly for a while.

She seemed to increasingly not know what to do with Shao Mingyuan.

Ever since that man learned her true identity, he became bolder day by day, more thick-skinned day by day. His determined attitude made her want to beat him severely whenever she saw him.

What gave him the right?

Just because she had once been his wife, did that mean she belonged to him in life and death, and even after borrowing another’s body to return to life, she still had to be his wife?

How presumptuous of him!

Binglu rushed in like a whirlwind, interrupting Miss Qiao’s blank staring.

“Miss, we won, we won, we won!” The little maid danced with joy, splattering Qiao Zhao with blood.

Qiao Zhao: “…”

Binglu suddenly stopped: “Miss, this servant didn’t do it on purpose!”

Qiao Zhao sighed: “It’s fine, don’t get so excited. Speak properly. What exactly is the situation outside?”

“Many officers and soldiers came and surrounded the people that Governor Li brought. Those people even had bows and arrows, and Governor Li immediately became a coward. Oh right, Miss, Governor Li’s mouth is now almost bursting from being stuffed – it’s so funny.”

“How so?”

Binglu looked admiringly: “It’s all because of our General! When Governor Li said whoever took our General’s head would get ten thousand taels of silver, our General said whoever stuffed Governor Li’s foul mouth would get ten thousand taels of silver, regardless of which side they were on.”

Qiao Zhao pressed her lips together.

Our General? It seemed her maid had been completely won over by Shao Mingyuan after this ordeal.

Wait, ten thousand taels of silver for stuffing Governor Li’s mouth?

Qiao Zhao shook her head.

That spendthrift – did he have silver with nowhere to spend it?

Binglu said with dancing eyebrows: “Miss, don’t you think our General is clever? Those officers aren’t stupid – the Marquis Guanjun’s life is hard to take, but Governor Li’s mouth is much easier to stuff. Later, when our reinforcements arrived, those officers competed to stuff Governor Li’s mouth, taking out handkerchiefs and towels, and quite a few people directly took off their socks…”

Qiao Zhao could already imagine that scene, and suddenly felt those ten thousand taels of silver were quite well spent.

Binglu blinked: “When our General saw the situation was under control, can you guess what the first thing he did was?”

“What?” Qiao Zhao was very curious.

At that time, she didn’t dare distract him, so she naturally followed his arrangements and waited obediently in the room, but actually her heart had been hanging on the outside situation the whole time, suffering greatly.

Seeing her miss also had foolish moments, Binglu covered her mouth and laughed: “The first thing our General did was come back to check on you!”

Qiao Zhao’s face grew hot as she coughed lightly: “Don’t keep saying ‘our General’ – you’re my maid, not his.”

“It doesn’t matter whose we are.” The little maid muttered.

“What did you say?” Miss Qiao asked with a stern face.

But Binglu wasn’t afraid of her. She reached out to pull on Qiao Zhao’s sleeve, smiling: “Miss, this servant has never seen a man as divinely brave, invincible, and intelligent as our General. Please consider accepting our General.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the little maid immediately fled, nearly colliding with A’Zhu at the doorway.

A’Zhu, carrying a tea bowl, quickly dodged to the side, shook her head, and walked in: “Miss, please drink some honey water.”

Qiao Zhao took the honey water and glanced at A’Zhu.

She hadn’t instructed A’Zhu to prepare honey water.

A’Zhu understood and explained: “General Shao said honey water can calm the nerves…”

Qiao Zhao’s hand holding the honey water paused.

So both of her maids had been won over by the brilliant, divine, and martially supreme General?

Qiao Zhao lowered her eyes and calmly took a sip of honey water.

The honey water was very sweet, instantly dispelling the accumulated worry, anxiety, and various other emotions from before.

Honey water could indeed calm the nerves and aid sleep – this was true. That man knew quite a lot.

Miss Qiao held the honey water and began staring blankly again.

A’Zhu stood beside Qiao Zhao with lowered eyebrows, tactfully not disturbing her.

Governor Li’s matter was resolved.

Jiang Wu ordered the Jinlin Guards to escort Governor Li to the capital. With the crime of colluding with bandits and harming the people on his back, the evidence was conclusive – a beheading sentence was unavoidable. Even though he was backed by the great tree of the current Chief Minister Lan Shan, this time even that couldn’t shelter him.

Of course, Governor Li’s advisors and accomplices, like the Jiafeng County Magistrate, who had aided the tyrant, would fare no better. They were all packaged up by the Jinlin Guards, thrown into prison carts, and escorted to the capital.

Those personal guards who had fought the officers that night quietly disappeared again, as if they had never appeared. Disappearing with them was Governor Li’s highly skilled bodyguard, Liu Hu, who had directly attacked the Qiao family.

Walking out of Tofu Beauty’s courtyard gate, Qiao Zhao smelled the bloody scent that seemed to still linger in the air and sighed softly.

Peace was precious, but breaking it was all too easy.

The people of Baiyun Village would probably live in the shadow for a long time.

“If we continue south, we won’t be able to immediately make public the evil deeds Governor Li committed against my Qiao family.” Qiao Zhao sighed.

Although they had witnesses and evidence in hand, with Shao Mingyuan not returning to the capital at this time, it wouldn’t be convenient to immediately reveal the truth about the Qiao family fire to the world.

Shao Mingyuan lifted his hand to gently touch Qiao Zhao’s hair, then quickly lowered it, comforting her: “Don’t worry. It will take some time for the Jinlin Guards to escort Governor Li to the capital, and after arriving in the capital, he’ll still need to be interrogated by the Three Judicial Offices. After the case is closed, he’ll be thrown into the imperial prison, and execution will be next autumn’s matter. The evil deeds he committed against the Qiao family won’t escape justice.”

Qiao Zhao nodded: “I understand. The Qiao family’s great disaster originated with the anti-Japanese General Xing Wuyang. Without his embezzlement of military provisions and collusion between officials and bandits, there wouldn’t have been those two account books, and the Qiao family wouldn’t have suffered this unwarranted disaster. But the most fundamental source is still the current Chief Minister, Lan Shan – Governor Li and others were merely accomplices helping the tyrant.”

Whether Xing Wuyang or Lan Shan, the crimes they committed against the Qiao family were far greater than Governor Li’s. Eliminating Governor Li, who had acted directly, was only the first step. Sooner or later, she would settle accounts with both Xing Wuyang and Lan Shan.

So going south was imperative. Only by reaching there and finding evidence that the coast was already in chaos could that emperor, who wholeheartedly pursued longevity, overcome his fear of trouble and pay attention. Only then could her relatives be vindicated.

“General Shao should rest for a few more days, then we’ll set out.”

Shao Mingyuan looked down at the young woman beside him without saying a word.

Qiao Zhao looked up: “What’s wrong?”

Shao Mingyuan sighed deeply: “Last night, Zhaozhao called me Shao-gege, but after just one night’s sleep, it’s changed?”

Miss Qiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Enough already – where did he learn this act of being abandoned after a night together?