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

Dugu Meng couldn't help but think about what would happen if that day really came.

At present, Shen An is indeed the most suitable one.

Thinking of this, Dugu Meng suddenly felt that this matter was not so far away after all.

If she had managed to escape back, and there had been no coup in the palace, she would have had an heir by now, given her age.

If they don't turn to Shen An then, who will they turn to?

"Go away, what nonsense are you talking about! I'm not a gigolo!" Shen An's speechless words interrupted Dugu Meng's thoughts.

However, Dugu Meng did not stop thinking about this.

Instead, she took the initiative to ask Shen An, "If that emperor were truly a woman, and an unparalleled beauty at that, would you be willing?"

"Of course not!" Shen An replied decisively.

Whether in his past life or this one, he never considered becoming a kept man for a high position.

This is not mentioned at all in his life motto.

"You really don't want to? No matter what price the emperor offers you, it's not acceptable?" Dugu Meng pressed.

"She's not willing to pay any price, but if she really needs a man, I can help her find one. She just needs to give me some revenge." Shen An calculated.

Dugu Meng suddenly realized that Shen An's integrity towards women was excessive.

He seemed completely uninterested in women, a stark contrast to her initial impression that Shen An was the kind of lewd person who would take advantage of a situation.

At this moment, she finally realized that she had missed out on Shen An.

She heard it said to be eaten while it was hot, but perhaps she was seriously injured at the time and misheard.

She used to really not want Shen An to be that kind of person, but now she actually kind of hopes that Shen An is...

"Alright, alright, there's no point in talking about this. Let's eat." Shen An ended the conversation.

On the surface, Lonely Dream remained calm, but inwardly she let out a heavy sigh.

While they were eating.

Inside a tavern in the county town.

Liu Wenyuan was sitting with Zhang Meng, who had been beaten twice by Shen An.

"County Magistrate Liu, I wonder why you summoned me here tonight?" Zhang Meng asked, his face filled with apprehension.

They used to be enemies. Zhang Meng used to be protected by Ma Tianming, but now that Ma Tianming is gone, Zhang Meng is really afraid of Liu Wenyuan's revenge.

"Hehe, you got a pretty good beating from Shen An, didn't you? I heard you were also extorted a lot of money by Shen An?" Liu Wenyuan laughed.

Zhang Meng's face darkened: "County Magistrate Liu, if you're here to laugh at me, then there's no point in us talking!"

"Hehe, you're just making fun of me. I'm not. I came here to ask you, are you really willing to be beaten by Shen An?" Liu Wenyuan retorted.

Zhang Meng found it strange.

He remembered that Liu Wenyuan and Shen An were in cahoots, so why was he being asked such a question?

"Magistrate Liu, what is the meaning of this?"

"If you're not satisfied, I can help you get revenge on him!" Liu Wenyuan said, making a startling statement.

"County Magistrate Liu, you're not kidding me, are you?" Zhang Meng asked.

"I'm not kidding, do you really think I'm in cahoots with Shen An?" Liu Wenyuan retorted.

"County Magistrate Liu, it seems that no matter how you look at it, you two are in cahoots," Zhang Meng said, neither confirming nor denying it.

"That was just an illusion. Let me put it this way: they didn't take anything particularly valuable from Ma Tianming's house. The truly valuable items were already in the hands of the patriarch and the registrar," Liu Wenyuan said. "And under these circumstances, I still recommended Shen An to conduct the raid. You should know why!"

Although Zhang Meng was not an official, he had followed these officials for a long time and had come to understand some of the ways of officialdom.

He immediately realized that Liu Wenyuan wanted to drag Shen An into this mess, and that the confiscation of Shen An's property was a way to deal with him in the future.

Liu Wenyuan and Shen An were actually at odds.

Zhang Meng immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Hey, Magistrate Liu, so we're on the same side after all! I thought we were enemies!"

"Enemy my foot! In the past, Ma Tianming and I were indeed enemies, but you were not enemies at all! Now that Ma Tianming is here, we're on the same side!" Liu Wenyuan laughed loudly.

"Haha, yes, yes, we're all on the same side!" Zhang Meng laughed loudly, looking up at the ground.

After the laughter subsided, Zhang Meng asked, "But, Magistrate Liu, you didn't call me here just to say this, did you?"

"Hehe, you're quite a smart man. I'll just tell you straight, I don't want to be your enemy. So, if you want to take revenge on Shen An, I will absolutely not interfere. You can go ahead and take your revenge without worry!" Liu Wenyuan said.

"I see!"

Zhang Meng nodded, then said with a smile, "Well, County Magistrate Liu, that kid Shen An has now taken over all 100+ mass graves for himself. If he's holed up in Qingtian Village, it's really hard for me to get revenge on him."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Hey, aren't you supposed to have a good relationship with him? Can you ask him out?" Zhang Meng asked.

"Of course not!" Liu Wenyuan refused. He had invited Zhang Meng over today only to make Zhang Meng stop worrying and continue to deal with Shen An, forcing Shen An to cooperate with him.

If he were to personally intervene, and Shen An found out, he might retaliate against him.

Therefore, he will absolutely not personally get involved in this matter.

But since he had already called Zhang Meng over, he must have a solution.

He chuckled and said, "If you want him to come out, I don't need to arrange it. In three days, it's the old master's birthday, and as the head constable, he'll have to come to offer his congratulations, right? If you want to make a move, you can wait for him on the only road from Qingtian Village to the county town!"

Zhang Meng's eyes lit up: "Thank you for your guidance, Magistrate Liu!"

"It's not so much about giving pointers, it's just that I also can't stand someone like Shen An, a nobody who dares to be so arrogant!"

Upon hearing Liu Wenyuan say this, Zhang Meng's anger flared up.

What is Shen An anyway?

They actually dared to hit him? Just because they got lucky and became a constable, does that mean they're now his enemy?

We must cripple him, otherwise we simply cannot swallow this insult!

One day later!

Hei Lao Liu handed over a large quantity of beef tendons and deer tendons to Shen An.

From Hei Laoliu, Shen An also learned where these beef tendons and deer tendons came from.

It was because Luo Li found him.

It seems he needs to calcine a thousand catties of blood residue charcoal as soon as possible and hand it over to Luo Li before the agreed transaction time.

Hei Lao Liu also told Shen An that the Fire Phoenix was Luo Li's person, and was now being particularly polite to him, with his words implying flattery.

Hei Lao Liu suggested, "Brother Shen, Fire Phoenix has informants all over the county. With her help, your plan to obtain the grain will be much easier. Should we ask her to keep an eye on those targets? If there's any unusual activity, we'll act immediately!"

"Excellent! Then go and make contact with Fire Phoenix. Remember, have her keep an eye on several targets so she can't figure out what our real purpose is!" Shen An instructed.

"Hehe, okay!"

"By the way, those Western barbarians could attack at any time. Now that we have deer tendons and ox tendons, I must start making large repeating ballistae as soon as possible! Take the deer tendons and ox tendons back with you, I need to go to your place to make them!" Shen An arranged.

Although Qingtian Village was his stronghold, it was a low-lying area in Qingyang County, easy to attack but difficult to defend.

Hei Laoliu's Heishan Village, nestled against the mountains, is situated on high ground, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack; it can serve as his true stronghold.

Moreover, it's closer to the county seat, making it easier for him to transport supplies if he were to defend the city in the future.

"Alright, I'll go back and make the arrangements first, then I'll go to the county town to find the fire phoenix!"

After Hei Laoliu left, Shen An called Zhao Long over.

He was going to make repeating crossbows, so the task of calcining the blood residue was entirely entrusted to Zhao Long.

He learns very quickly, and when he gets to work, his strength far surpasses that of ordinary people.

They're doing it even faster than Shen An!

Just as Zhao Long began to cook, Shen Xiaoqi's voice rang out: "County Magistrate Liu, you've arrived!"

Shen An instructed Zhao Long to continue working, then told Zhao Long to lock the door from the inside before he came out.

Besides Liu Wenyuan, he also brought an old man with a red nose.

"Officer Shen, let me introduce you. This is Li Laoqi, from Qiangbei County. If you want to buy human hair, he can help you buy it and transport it!" Liu Wenyuan introduced.

Shen An felt relieved. With the supply of dead people's hair from Qiangbei County, there would be no shortage of materials for calcining blood charcoal in the near future.

After talking for half an hour, the three made an agreement: one catty of dead people's hair would cost thirty coins, and five thousand catties would be supplied within five days.

After Li Laoqi left, Liu Wenyuan didn't. He asked with feigned concern, "Shen An, have you prepared a birthday gift for the county magistrate? He values ​​this very much. If he doesn't receive a birthday gift, he'll definitely make things difficult for anyone he dislikes!"

Shen An was genuinely unaware of Zhu Shigui's birthday celebration.

As for a birthday gift, Shen An hadn't prepared anything, but he didn't want to break ties with Zhu Shigui at the moment, so he was willing to give him face by saying, "County Magistrate Liu, may I ask when the Magistrate's birthday is?"

"Two days later!"

"Then I've prepared some birthday gifts, and I'd appreciate it if Magistrate Liu could help me deliver them!" Shen An said.

"You should go in person. Zhu Shigui is too vengeful. Anyone who dares not to go will definitely be punished by him. The position of head constable is hard-won, so we should cherish it!" Liu Wenyuan emphasized.

Shen An raised an eyebrow, but quickly regained his composure: "Okay, I'll try my best!"

"Not as much as possible, but definitely."

"Okay, I'll definitely go!"

After receiving an affirmative reply, Liu Wenyuan's lips curled into a slight smile: "I have conveyed what I needed to convey today, so I will not linger any longer. Farewell!"

"I send you!"

Shen An escorted Liu Wenyuan to the village entrance before turning back.

As soon as she arrived home, Dugu Meng came out of her room.

She watched Liu Wenyuan ride away from the village entrance and disappear from sight before she spoke, "Shen An, I think there's something wrong with Liu Wenyuan. He seems very eager for you to attend Zhu Shigui's birthday banquet."

"I can tell too, this kid is definitely up to no good!" Shen An's face darkened.

"Brother, should we arrest Liu Wenyuan and torture him severely?!" Shen Xiaoqi blurted out.