Chapter 4: Giving You a Hundred People

Could it be that while the title is County Magistrate, the actual task is to go to war?

Could it be that the Emperor intends for Changqing to die on the battlefield as well?

Compared to Madam Wen’s shock, Meng Changqing was completely bewildered; she didn’t know what this object was, nor had she ever seen it before.

"His Majesty ordered me to hand this to you. With this token, you may go to the Liangzhou military camp to select one hundred soldiers to serve as your personal guards."

Now it was Meng Changqing’s turn to be shocked.

She knew what personal guards were; princes and high-ranking officials all had them, but the numbers were usually only twenty or thirty, or at most fifty or sixty.

Yet the number the Emperor gave her was one hundred.

Furthermore, she had never heard of a County Magistrate being assigned personal guards!

And he even told her to go to the military camp to pick them herself.

With treatment like this, is she really being sent to be a County Magistrate?

Could it be that she’s actually a captain of a suicide squad?

"Magistrate Meng?" Chu Mufeng looked at this child who only reached his chest. At such a young age, because of the merits of her father and brother, she had received such great trust from His Majesty.

He wondered if she could truly shoulder the weight of the Emperor’s trust.

Meng Changqing reached out and took the token. "Many thanks to His Majesty, and many thanks to Lord Bai and the brothers of the Imperial Guard."

Back inside the carriage, Madam Wen explained the ins and outs of this token to her.

Madam Wen had changed her mind by this point. "His Majesty appears to be punishing you, but in reality, he is trying to protect you.

The current Crown Prince is the son of the Imperial Noble Consort. You have had contact with her in the palace, so you should know what kind of temper that woman has.

You dealt such a heavy blow to the Crown Prince; she will never let you off.

Even if she makes no move on the surface, she will strike in the shadows.

His Majesty sending you to Liangzhou is likely to find a place where you can be protected."

Liang Jiujiu said, "Liangzhou is located at the border; people from the palace cannot reach that far. But that place is inherently dangerous, with foreign enemies invading at any time."

Madam Wen said, "Liangzhou is vast. Not every county is directly facing the enemy; it depends on where Beishan County is located."

"Madam, in your opinion, Beishan County shouldn't be a dangerous place, right?"

Madam Wen shook her head. "We won't know for sure until we get there."

Meng Changqing crawled back into her bedding, her mindset remarkably good. "Even if it is dangerous, there are soldiers guarding the border. It won't be our turn to go to the front lines to kill the enemy, so don't worry, Mother."

At worst, if the enemy comes, she’ll just run.

She might not be good at being a virtuous official, but she was excellent at being a corrupt one.

Madam Wen also said, "Worrying is useless. Let’s just treat this as going out for a trip and make plans once we arrive."

The voice of Bafang came from outside the carriage, "Madam, breakfast is ready."

Liang Jiujiu leaned out to receive it.

"Auntie, Doctor Hu said two more herbs need to be added to the young master's medicine; it won't be ready to drink for a while."

"Alright, go eat your breakfast. Tell everyone that we will depart once the young master has finished her medicine."

"Auntie, there is one more thing," Bafang asked. "That team of Imperial Guards that arrived earlier, will they be eating with us from now on?"

This was indeed a problem.

Twelve grown men would require quite a lot of rations.

"I will ask Madam first."

The carriage cabin was not soundproof, and the door was still open.

When Madam Liang returned with the food containers, Madam Wen had already made a decision.

"Regardless of whether they eat or not, we must prepare their portions," Madam Wen said. "We will cover their food, clothing, housing, and transportation for the journey."

"But this way, our expenses will increase significantly."

"Although they have their own salaries, they are here to protect Changqing after all, so we should naturally treat them well."

"You say they are here to protect Changqing, but looking at them just now..." Madam Liang frowned. "When you went up to speak to them, except for the leader, the others all stayed on their horses.

They didn't seem very respectful to you, let alone to Changqing, who is just a child."

Madam Wen didn't mind this. "The Imperial Guards are mostly descendants of nobility. In terms of background, they are inherently more noble than us. They are merely following the Emperor's orders to stay by Changqing's side for the time being.

We don't need their respect; as long as they remember their duties, that is enough."

While they were talking, Meng Changqing had already opened the food container and started eating.

One bite, and she knew this wasn't made by her family's cook.

Her family's cook had excellent skills, but unfortunately, the cook was a native of the capital, and with his whole family there, it was impossible for him to follow the Meng family to Liangzhou.

She could understand that.

But really, who made this breakfast?

If the rice knew it would be cooked into porridge this terrible, it wouldn't have wanted to grow in the first place.

It was bitter, salty, and had something like eggshells in it.

Madam Liang noticed her expression of wanting to spit it out. "What's wrong? Is your stomach uncomfortable?"

Meng Changqing swallowed with difficulty. "My stomach is fine, but my tongue is suffering. Who made this breakfast?"

Madam Liang picked up a bowl and tasted it.

Who was wasting food like this?

"If I had known, I would have gone to check on them."

Madam Wen didn't believe it. "It looks fine; it can't be that bad, can it?"

"Try it and you'll see."

After one sip, Madam Wen said, "Eat the flatbread. The flatbread was brought from home."

The three people in the carriage endured it, but the people outside could not.

Bafang was yelling outside, "I told you that you didn't peel the shells clean! How could you have the nerve to let me take this to the masters to drink!"

Laicai immediately roared back, "You have the nerve to talk to me? You were the one who started the fire; you didn't even notice the bottom of the pot was burnt!"

Meng Changqing knew it was those two. If anyone else had cooked, they would have at least tasted it first.

"Those two children," Madam Liang said. "Arguing in front of outsiders is truly unsightly. I'll go over and persuade them."

"Wait!" Meng Changqing's previously relaxed expression changed.

"What's wrong?"

Meng Changqing softened her breathing, ignoring the noise outside, and listened carefully to the sound of approaching hooves—urgent and chaotic. "Don't get out of the carriage yet."

Her intuition was correct; the people on horseback were heading straight for them.

"Who goes there!" This was Chu Mufeng's voice.

"Whoa."

It seemed the newcomers had been intercepted by the Imperial Guard.

"And who are you? How dare you kidnap the son of General Meng!"

Hearing this voice, Madam Wen pushed open the carriage curtain and stepped out immediately. "Dongwen."

Several men on horseback already had their hands on the hilts of their swords.

The middle-aged man in the lead was the very Dongwen that Madam Wen had just called out.

He was full of vigilance and asked Madam Wen, "Madam, who are these people?"

"They are the Imperial Guards sent by His Majesty to protect Changqing." Madam Wen walked over quickly and said to Chu Mufeng, "Lord Bai, they are family from our household; there is no need to block them."

Chu Mufeng then sheathed his sword and stepped aside.

The men on horseback dismounted one after another, separating Madam Wen from the Imperial Guards and shielding her as they walked toward the carriage where Meng Changqing was.

"What happened?" Madam Wen asked in a low voice.

Dai Dongwen was the steward of the Meng household. According to Madam Wen's arrangements, he should have stayed in the capital to guard the Meng family's residence and properties.

"Madam, three masked men snuck into the manor early this morning. We tried our best, but we only managed to kill one of them.

That man had no markings on him, and his weapon was a high-quality steel blade—the kind of material that ordinary blacksmith shops don't have. I don't think their martial arts were self-taught; most likely... they came from the palace.

Someone in the palace wants to kill the young master."