After Qi Anze stayed at another inn for a few days, he asked Qiao Xi to notify Magistrate Wen to pick him up.

"Your Highness, Wen Youcai, has met His Highness the Crown Prince. May His Highness be blessed and safe."

"No gift."

Qiao Xi glanced at Qi Anze and said,

"County Magistrate Wen, there are floods in the south of the Yangtze River. Hundreds of names are worthless. Your Highness does not want to be extravagant and wasteful, so he decided to stay in your government office during this period. All expenses can be reimbursed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"This..." Magistrate Wen, who had been hunched over, immediately turned to look at the person next to him.

"Do I need Master's permission to live in the county magistrate's residence?" Qi Anze's voice was not loud, but it was so majestic that the people present immediately knelt down in fright.

County Magistrate Wen: "I dare not, but my residence is in disrepair for a long time, and I am afraid that you will not be comfortable living there."

"Since there is no inconvenience, let's prepare as soon as possible. We will stay here now. Please send someone to inform us when we can go."

Josie said deliberately, wanting to see their reaction.

"I will immediately ask my wife to clean up the best room in the house, and I will retire."

Qi Anze narrowed his eyes. What on earth does this Yuncheng government office have that would make a county magistrate rush back and destroy it even if it offends the prince?

"Slow down! Just let the servants pass this on."

He then motioned to the two people who were kneeling on the ground to get up, "I heard that you two are very good at chess. I happen to have some itchy hands right now. How about you accompany me to relieve my boredom."

"Your Majesty..." Before Magistrate Wen finished speaking, Qi Anze's sleeve was pulled by the master next to him, and he stopped talking.

The next day,

The two people who played chess with Qi Anze all night looked at the chess pieces on the board with confused eyes. When County Magistrate Wen picked up the white piece on the opposite side for the third time, Qi Anze clapped his hands with satisfaction.

"Okay, it's been such a long time. Magistrate Wen, go and ask your wife if the room is ready?"

"Okay, okay." An old man over fifty stood up dizzy, staggered and saluted, and asked his servants to go back and take a look.

Josie folded her arms and hid in the back corner, snickering.

She added the dry eye powder Qi Anze gave her to the candle, causing the Wen County magistrate with a military background to be defeated overnight.

…

Looking at the somewhat poor county magistrate in front of him, Qiao Xi turned to look at the man next to him with a puzzled expression.

Isn't this a bit...poor?

Who would have thought that the Yuncheng County government, which is said to be able to build a palace with merchants' customs clearance money, would be so poor.

According to observations, they should be staying in the only suite in the house, but it should not be Magistrate Wen's bedroom.

The mottled spots on the wall looked like they had just been patched yesterday, and there was still a faint sheen of water.

This shook their previous firm belief that Magistrate Wen and his master would enrich themselves.

Qi Anze did not take a break but directly asked for their account books.

Magistrate Wen, who had been reluctant to accept the prince's entry into the government yesterday, happily handed over his account book.

"Your Highness, Yuncheng's account books for the past ten years are all here. Please take a look at them." Magistrate Wen said with cupped hands.

"Okay, you can go down, I will be here to look at the account books these days."

Qi Anze waved his hand and stopped looking at them. Instead, he seriously picked up the account book and started reading it.

Qiao Xi also drove away the maids and guards from the house.

Only after he was sure that everyone was gone and no one was eavesdropping around, Qi Anze put down the account book in his hand.

"My dear host, this Magistrate Wen doesn't look like he's going to line his own pockets."

"What is it based on? These account books or the dilapidated wall?"

Qi Anze smiled and said.

"I sneaked into the mansion yesterday to take a look. Although it was dark at night and I couldn't see the specific scenery, I could clearly see where they had gone. Everyone was decorating the room we were going to live in."

Qiao Xi pointed to the bedding on the bed and the ornaments by the window.

"In the past few years, I investigated several corruption cases with the Minister of Household Affairs. Some of them put gold, silver and jewelry in rice vats, and some of them were built behind walls."

Qi Anze knocked on the wall and then said, "What's more, a cellar was dug in the ancestral hall and filled with mechanisms."

Qiao Xi had only read about traps that trapped people and made them invisible in story books, so she was very curious and touched here and there.

Qi Anze smiled and said, "No matter how brave County Magistrate Wen is, he can't hide a secret room in the room where I live..."

Looking at the slowly moving wall, Qiao Xi didn't know whether to let go of his hand on the ink cartridge, and smiled awkwardly.

The two of them walked to the entrance of the darkroom one after another.

Looking at the aisle that was so narrow that only one person could pass through, I stopped.

Because of her petite stature, Josie volunteered to explore the way ahead, and soon she returned the same way.

"What's inside?" Qi Anze asked.

"There is nothing, just a dark corridor, the walls are solid, and I didn't find any switches."

Qiao Xi patted the dust on his clothes and said in disgust.

I originally thought I had found a new clue, but it turned out to be a mistake.

Qi Anze felt that things were not that simple. Who would build a darkroom at home for no reason but only have one aisle.

"Is it possible that there are still mechanisms that we haven't found?"

Qiao Xi guessed, but then denied it, "No matter what, the walls on three sides are solid, I can be sure."

"Only petite people can enter this secret passage. However, Magistrate Wen is so fat and Master is also very strong. None of the family members I saw yesterday are tall enough to enter this secret passage."

"Maybe it's really a mistake." Qi Anze said in disappointment, rubbing his brows.

Looking at the man's pale face, Qiao Xi consoled him, "Host, please take a rest first. Maybe if you're full, your brain will work better?"

Qi Anze nodded.

——

on the other side,

"You are too courageous, how could you let someone clean up that wing?" Magistrate Wen said with eyes wide open.

The young man sitting on the chair was not only not annoyed but also explained with a smile,

"The only wing room in the whole house is a suite. If you don't let them live in it, it will definitely be the focus of their inspection later.

But if they live there, their own suspicions will be reduced by half, who would have thought that something is right under their noses?"

"What if they discover the secret room?"

"It's better to find it and completely dispel their doubts. I have already decorated that place. If they ask about it later, you can explain that it is a toy room for children."

"Is this okay? Will they believe it?" Magistrate Wen was filled with doubts.

——

The next day,

Josie, who had slept well and had eaten well, found that no one came to say hello, so she opened the door in confusion.
Chapter completed!