In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

Shen An took out his hidden knife and walked step by step toward Ma Tianming.

Soon, the two sides were only one step apart.

If attacked by surprise, he won't be able to react in time, and it will take less than two breaths to kill him!

Just as he was about to make a move, Dugu Meng suddenly appeared and stopped Shen An, shaking her head vigorously to signal him not to do it.

At this moment, the other constables also arrived.

Shen An was shocked to realize that he had almost made a terrible mistake!

Even if you were a special forces soldier in your past life, it's impossible to always keep a clear head!

Feng Guaizi was a corpse carrier, so his death was no big deal. But Ma Tianming was the head constable of Qingyang County, equivalent to the captain of the county public security bureau's security brigade in modern society! His death was a major event for Qingyang County. The county magistrate would not let it go, and the higher-ups would definitely send people down to investigate. They would definitely be able to find him!

All the plans made will be in vain!

After Ma Tianming and his men rode away, Shen An looked at Dugu Meng gratefully: "Thank you for this!"

Dugu Meng felt a little embarrassed. Shen An had saved her life, so what did it matter if she stopped him?

She quickly shook her head, indicating to Shen An that there was no need for this.

"Let's discuss how to proceed when we get back. If his threats aren't dispelled, things will be very difficult for us!"

Dugu Meng's reminder just now made Shen An realize that she was quite useful, and it was always better to have more people to discuss things than to have him alone!

Dugu Meng felt a little better. She had always wanted to do something for Shen An, and now the opportunity had come!

As an emperor, she was still adept at political intrigue and power struggles.

Shen An also needs to uncover the spies that Ma Tianming planted in the mass grave, otherwise everything he does will be restricted!

Before returning, Shen An arranged for Old Zhao to secretly investigate who was Officer Ma's informant.

Old Zhao readily agreed, and even invited his grandchildren to come along.

Shen An shook his head. Among the corpse carriers, Old Zhao was the only one he could trust. He only needed to instruct Old Zhao and not to tell anyone else about this!

As night fell, Shen Angang returned home and sat down in the courtyard.

Dugu Meng then spoke up: "Shen An, I heard from Old Zhao that Ma Tianming is related to the county magistrate's concubine, and he is also a constable. You think you can use money to buy an official position from the county magistrate to deal with Ma Tianming? That's not going to work."

But the enemy of my enemy is my friend; you can unite with Ma Tianming's enemies to deal with him!

Shen An suddenly understood!

The image of Liu Wenyuan, the county magistrate, flashed through his mind.

This person and Ma Tianming were at odds, and the two had been fighting openly and covertly for many years.

Although the county magistrate had an official rank, Ma Tianming had been in Qingyang County for many years, and his connections and wealth were far beyond what Liu Wenyuan could match. Neither of them could do anything to the other.

"I know what to do!"

"So what do you want to do?"

"Selling blood residue charcoal, finding new sales channels!"

"Huh? Shouldn't you try to win over Liu Wenyuan?" Dugu Meng asked.

"I'm just a lowly foreman at a mass grave now. Would Liu Wenyuan even give me a second glance?"

His disadvantage in fighting Ma Tianming was that he didn't have the money to cultivate relationships. If I had more money, he would naturally be willing to cooperate with me!

As for finding sales channels, it's because Deng Donglai sent people to follow me last time, and continuing to do business with him is too risky. I need to cooperate with others.

Dugu Meng suddenly realized.

Although she was adept at political maneuvering, she was in a high position and all the conditions were readily available, which was completely different from Shen An's situation.

She wasn't displeased by Shen An's words; on the contrary, she felt that the two complemented each other well!

"Then where do you plan to find sales channels?" Dugu Meng asked again.

"Of course I want to leave Yangnan Prefecture to find the Helian Merchant Alliance, but Yangnan Prefecture won't let me out now, so I can't get an official travel permit."

They had no choice but to settle for Qingping County next door. It wasn't the center of the battlefield; it had been a major commercial town in its early years and still retained some of its former prosperity. The pharmacies there had a wider network than here.

"You can leave Qingyang County? Then can you take me with you? Maybe I'll be safe once we leave here!" Dugu Meng asked excitedly.

Shen An shook his head: "Leaving the county requires an official travel permit, and Li Huaiyi is searching the whole world for you. Every major checkpoint is conducting thorough searches. If you're searched, you'll be immediately exposed!"

Dugu Meng was greatly disappointed: "It was my oversight."

"But I believe you will be free sooner or later!"

Shen An changed the subject: "After what happened with Deng Donglai, I need to impersonate a real prominent family in order to keep them in check."

You come from a big city, do you know what kind of person I should impersonate?

This is Dugu Meng's forte: "Since you're selling medicine, it would be best if you came from a family with a long history in medicine."

The imperial physician Sun Zhengqing was from the Sun family of Hebei. The Sun family traded medicinal herbs in all seven kingdoms, and their branches were scattered in various places, so no one could recognize them all.

If you mention that you are from a branch of the Sun family and claim that the blood residue charcoal is made using your own recipe, no one will suspect anything.

Their family's reputation is such that ordinary people wouldn't dare to mess with you.

"Alright, tell me in detail about the Sun family in Hebei."

"it is good!"

The next morning, Shen An arranged for Shen Xiaoqi to protect Dugu Meng, and if Ma Tianming came to ask, he would say that he had gone to collect the hair of the dead.

He then went to the county town to obtain an official travel permit.

The travel permit needed to be processed by County Magistrate Liu Wenyuan, and this was the first time the two had met.

Liu Wenyuan had a rather respectable appearance, but he looked at him with hostility, even though he was ostensibly Ma Tianming.

Only after Liu Wenyuan slipped him two taels of silver did he agree to process the request.

This trip to Qingping County was merely a reconnaissance mission. Shen An only brought ten catties of blood-residue charcoal and rode a fast horse there.

There were five checkpoints along the way, and each one involved a body search. Shen An was glad he hadn't brought Dugu Meng with him, otherwise he would have been exposed.

We arrived in Qingping County at noon.

This place is completely different from Qingyang County. The streets are wide, shops are lined up one after another, and it is bustling with people.

It is truly remarkable to see such a scene in these chaotic times.

He walked along the main street for a while, and just as he was about to turn into the alley where the pharmacy was, he suddenly saw a large group of people gathered in front of him, making a lot of noise.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Ten taels of silver! If no one can write a poem that satisfies me, I'll take the money back!"

Is there a reward of ten taels of silver for writing a poem?

Shen An's eyes lit up.

Although he wasn't a top student, after nine years of compulsory education, he could recite Tang and Song dynasty poems off the top of his head.

Even ten taels is still meat, so he squeezed in.

A long table was set up at the entrance of the teahouse, behind which stood a middle-aged man who looked like the manager, smiling as he watched the onlookers. Next to him was a silver ingot.

"I'll give it a try."

The crowd parted to make way for a woman in red.

This woman had a face with sharp, angular features, eyebrows like swords, thin lips slightly pursed, and eyes that never blinked when she looked at people, exuding a sharp and piercing aura.

If Ma Tianming were here, he would definitely recognize her as Luo Li, who had been searching for someone to sell her blood residue!

She appeared here because she couldn't find anyone selling blood residue charcoal in Qingyang County. If that person were allowed to expand his business, it would affect her godfather's secret business. She had to find him!

She came to Qingping County to investigate and try her luck, but found nothing. Seeing the poetry she was writing piqued her interest, so she stayed.

"Oh, a young lady. Today, I'll give you a quarter of an hour to ponder your thoughts on the topic of serving your country," said the shopkeeper, Xu Nian.

"It won't even take a quarter of an hour, you can recite it off the cuff!" Luo Li blurted out: "Ten years of war have illuminated the cold banners, the horses have trampled the yellow sands without stopping."

If we can sweep away the chaos of the world, what harm is there in staining the old banners with blood?

"What a wonderful poem!" Applause erupted from the crowd.

"Shopkeeper, what do you think of my poem?" Luo Li asked.

Xu Nian was a retired civil official who, despite ten years of seclusion, still possessed considerable skill: "The poem has the spirit; the first two lines depict the hardships of the battlefield, and the last two lines are also of high ideal. However, the transition in the middle is a bit abrupt, the connection is not smooth enough, and the final line seems somewhat contrived. It doesn't meet my standards!"

"If even my poem doesn't meet your standards, then I'm afraid no one can answer your question." Luo Li shook her head and said.

"Girl, we must believe that the Great Liang is full of talented people." Xu Nian waved his paper fan.

"Then I'll take a look." Luo Li stepped aside and leaned against the table.

Several more people joined in, but none of them were as skilled as Luo Li.

"I told you, no one can do it!" Luo Li chuckled.

Shen An looked at this woman and found her quite interesting. She wasn't angry or upset after being rejected, nor did she leave. She just stood there waiting to see others make a fool of themselves. She had a rather stubborn personality.

Although he didn't want to cause trouble, he still wanted the ten taels of silver that were given to him for free.

He took a step forward: "I'll give it a try."

All eyes were on him.

Luo Li noticed that he was wearing a blue cloth robe, which made him look like he had studied, but his clothes were ordinary and he was young, so he didn't seem like someone who could write good lyrics.

Xu Nian cupped his hands in greeting: "Please, young master."

Shen Anqing cleared his throat and began to recite Li Bai's "Frontier Ballad": "Snow falls on the Tianshan Mountains in May, no flowers bloom, only cold remains. The sound of willows breaking is heard in the flute, spring's beauty has yet to be seen. At dawn we fight to the sound of drums and gongs, at night we sleep embracing our jade saddles. I wish to use the sword at my waist to directly slay the Loulan."

"Excellent! This is a good poem!"

Xu Nian's eyes widened suddenly: "With just a few strokes, a patriotic spirit bursts forth! The flow of energy is seamless, executed in one breath, without a trace of artifice! It deserves to be called a masterpiece!"

An uproar erupted in the crowd.

The disdain in Luo Li's eyes vanished, replaced by surprise, scrutiny, and barely suppressed shock.

She asked herself honestly, she couldn't have written that poem.

How could anyone write such a poem in a place like this?

She became very interested and stepped forward to greet Shen An: "May I ask your background, young master? Which renowned teacher are you a disciple of? I... I would very much like to befriend you!"

This woman is so proactive!

This was the first time since Shen An transmigrated that he had ever met a woman who took the initiative to ask him to befriend her on their first meeting.