Qianlong immediately ordered someone to bring a blunderbuss and set up a target in front of the palace.

"Ji Xiaolan, you are asking for trouble. I am an imperial guard, and I have also played with firearms." He Shen said proudly.

Qianlong was also somewhat proud. He also played with firearms since he was a child and was quite accomplished in this area.

"Your Majesty, you come first~" Qianlong raised the blunderbuss, took aim, and hit the target with a bang. However, it was a little off the target.

But even so, He Shen still cheered loudly, "Okay, Long live your shot is really perfect, every shot hits the mark."

"Okay, He Aiqing, it's your turn." Qianlong also said quite proudly, hitting the target with one shot, which is quite impressive.

He Shen took the gun, aimed at the target, and fired.

The lead shot flew out and also hit the target, but it missed the target even more sharply than Qianlong's.

"Okay, the fight with Aiqing was not bad." Qianlong clapped his hands and smiled.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment. I was born as a palace guard. Although I am now a senior minister, I have never forgotten my roots. I still continue to practice bows, swords, stones, horse steps, arrows, firearms, etc." He Shen boasted.

"Okay, okay." Qianlong saw that he did not forget his roots despite his wealth, and praised with a smile, "Ji Xiaolan, it's your turn."

"Ji Xiaolan, can you shoot? Do you need me to teach you?" He Shen said with a smile.

Xiang Nan pretended to ask him for advice, then raised the blunderbuss, and the shot hit the target.

"..." Qianlong and He Shen were dumbfounded.

Who would have thought that Xiang Nan, a civil servant, could be so good at playing with guns?!

"Your Majesty, I actually hit the bull's-eye. It seems that God has foresight and wants us to go south." Xiang Nan said with a smile.

Qianlong and Heshen had no choice but to nod.

As a civil servant, Xiang Nan should have never played with a shotgun, but he shot so accurately. There is no other explanation other than God's will.

Since God wanted them to go south, they had no choice but to go south.

…

Xiang Nan immediately left the Forbidden City and walked south with Qianlong and He Shen.

And just as they were setting off, people sent by Shang Rong, the governor of Zhili, also hurriedly followed them.

…

After leaving Yongding Gate, Xiang Nan and others did not take the official road, but walked along the country road.

Firstly, there are people coming and going in the official circles, and if the secrets are revealed, the emperor may be put in danger; secondly, there are many people in the official circles and there are many things to do, and if anything happens, the trip may be delayed.

Therefore, Xiang Nan did not take the official road, but took a shortcut to Quyang.

After walking like this for more than an hour, Qianlong could no longer walk.

"Lao Ji, He Er~" He took off his coat and sat directly on the grass by the roadside.

When He Shen saw him, he quickly came over and said, "Sir, are you tired?"

"I'm tired." Qianlong panted, "Old Ji, can we hire a car?"

"Car, car..." He Shen looked around and saw farmland all around. Not to mention cars, there were not many people around. Hiring a car was really a pipe dream.

"Third Master, we have only walked less than forty miles, and you are starting to cry out that you are tired." Xiang Nan said speechlessly, "When you sent me to exile in the Western Regions, I had to walk hundreds of miles a day. You walk slowly.

Yes, the officer still scolded me."

"Old Ji, you are wrong. Why do you keep mentioning your exile? Are you remembering the emperor's grudge?" He Shen scolded, "Aren't you afraid that the emperor will give you little shoes to wear after you return to Beijing?"

"Afraid! But no matter how scared we are, we still have to leave." Xiang Nan insisted, "Although there are no officials holding water and fire sticks now, I do have the royal fan given by the emperor..."

Xiang Nan held up a fan cover. Inside the cover was a fan, but it was not the emperor's royal fan, but a paper fan he bought casually from the street.

"Okay, okay, okay, you are awesome!" When Heshen saw it, he was worried about being beaten, so he quickly backed away and said, "Third Master, let's go, I'll help you!"

Qianlong had no choice but to stand up and walk forward with the help of He Shen.

"Tell me, why did you give him this fan in the first place? If you had given it to me, I could beat him now..." He Shen complained as he walked.

"You're right, why didn't I give it to you?" Qianlong also regretted, "But you didn't say anything at the time."

"Hey, Third Master, how can I be as bad as him?" He Shen said to Xiang Nan in front of Qianlong.

"Oh, I have a good comparison. As for ordinary people, they have to dig holes and bury them themselves!" Qianlong said depressedly.

"Appropriate, too appropriate." He Shen lost no time in flattering him.

"Okay, stop praising me." Qianlong said angrily, "Old Ji, I'm hungry!"

"If you're hungry, come to the front and eat." Xiang Nan waved his hand.

…

All the way to a farmhouse.

Xiang Nan knocked on the firewood door and asked, "Is anyone home?"

Seven people emerged from the low thatched house, four adults and three children. They were all dressed in patches, and they didn't look very wealthy.

"Hello, fellow countryman, we are passing by. We passed by you and wanted to excuse ourselves for a drink of water." Xiang Nan said with a smile, "Also, if your family has food, let's buy some. You see, we have money~"

As he spoke, he discharged a few copper coins.

When the farmer saw it, he quickly scooped up water with a ladle and brought some black cornstarch.

"Third Emperor, please drink first." Xiang Nan handed the ladle of water to Qianlong and said.

Qianlong walked all the way and was already tired and thirsty. He couldn't wait to take a big sip, and then vomited it all out.

"What kind of water is this? Why is it so astringent?" He stuck out his tongue and said, this water made his tongue numb.

"Is it astringent? Let me try it." He Shen also tasted it and spit it out.

"Our village only has one well with bitter water. We don't have money to build a well with sweet water, so we have to make do with drinking water." The fellow explained.

"Fellow, how much does it cost to dig a well? I see your village is not small. If each household pays for it, isn't it enough to dig a well?" Xiang Nan asked.

"It costs ten taels of silver to dig a well. There are many people in our village, but in recent years, we have paid too much money, and no one is rich." The fellow frowned and said, "This year I just said that I would build a well for the emperor."

For the garden, we counted each person’s head and donated ten cents each.”

He Shen's face suddenly fell.

"Huh?!" Qianlong was shocked when he heard this, "The emperor is repairing the garden, how much do you pay for it?"

"We don't know, the landowner asked us to hand it over. If we don't hand it over, we will rob it. I even robbed two of my chickens." The fellow said with resentment, "His emperor has such a big Forbidden City to live in, and he still wants to

Gardens are being built everywhere. Our family of seven lives in this thatched house, and we don’t have the money to build another one.”

Qianlong was quite embarrassed when he heard this.

"Fellow, don't be angry, our emperor is still wise, but those corrupt officials are too shameless." Xiang Nan said with a smile, "Here, I'll give you this money, we'll keep these cornucopias. Third Master, let's go."
Chapter completed!