Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  Ah Da and Ah Er are the names given to them by Yang Jingjing, their original names were not these. As Jiang Xia guessed, they came from a military background and were originally the guards of the Grand Governor.

  The position of Grand Coordinator was somewhat special in the Ming dynasty. After the Hongwu Emperor unified the country, he abolished the Branch Secretariat to weaken and divide local power, dividing the original provincial powers into three parts: the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Provincial Military Commission were responsible for administrative, judicial, and military affairs respectively, collectively known as the Three Commissions.

  The three departments do not belong to each other, and they are responsible to the imperial court separately. As a result, military and administrative affairs are often delayed due to conflicting orders from different sources. In order to handle urgent matters in the provinces in a timely manner and strengthen the control of the imperial court over various regions, the imperial court would often appoint high-ranking officials as governors-general or governors to oversee the three departments.

  For example, "Governor of Shaanxi Sanbian Military Affairs" and "Governor of Canal Transportation and Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs and Governor of Fengyang River Management" are generally in charge of multiple jurisdictions and heavy affairs, known as "Governor". The governor can uniformly dispatch and command the local military, civilian, financial and other aspects of work within a designated area, which is equivalent to being in charge of that designated area. However, this position was initially limited to individual affairs that required temporary suppression due to complexity, and was immediately withdrawn once the matter was handled.

  However, after the mid-Ming period, due to the increasing frequency of border conflicts and coastal wars, the repair of the Great Wall, strengthening of maritime defense, as well as water transportation and irrigation affairs became more frequent. The establishment of the position of Governor-General became more regular, roughly during the Chenghua period it became a fixed institution. In order to facilitate the Governor-General's leadership and supervision of the provinces under his jurisdiction, including military and civil affairs, as well as river and canal transportation, the court often granted him additional titles such as Minister of War or Vice-Minister of War, concurrently serving as Censor-in-Chief or Vice-Censor-in-Chief, or Assistant Censor-in-Chief. Later, this also gradually became a fixed institution.

  In short, the governor is the top leader in a local area and belongs to the high-ranking officials of a province. He is a dignified and respectable official who can be called a territorial officer. However, he is also a high-ranking official of the central court in name, so he has a very high status in the capital.

  It was precisely because of this that Yang Jing dared to be so arrogant and willful in the capital. However, Yang Jing did not think that she had just thrown a tantrum and kicked an iron plate, encountering someone who didn't need to buy her governor's mansion account at all.

  Rather than saying it's a person, it would be better to say it's their department - the Brocade Guard.

  In the Ming Dynasty, the two most special departments were the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot. Both were directly responsible to the Emperor and had the power to supervise all officials in the country, so any official could not be underestimated by them.

  Ah Da and Ah Er have been working together for many years, and their experiences on the battlefield have fostered a high level of tacit understanding between them. When Ah Er gave him a certain look, Ah Da immediately knew that things were not simple. He then whispered to Yang Qingqing beside him: "Miss, this is the capital, not our Shaanxi-Gansu Governor's Office. If we make a big deal out of this here, I'm afraid we'll be scolded by Lord Yang when we get back. Do you think it's better to endure for now and let Ah Er investigate that person's residence later...?"

  Ah Dai's words were quite skillful, and Yang Jingjing's expression, which had refused to back down even a little, also slightly relaxed. She turned her head to look at Jiang Xia, saying with indignation: "A big man like you, competing with a woman for something she loves, really has no magnanimity at all."

  Jiang Xia smiled, and with Zhong Bin by his side, he was even more fearless. So, subconsciously, he said with a flowery tone: "Right, I'm definitely narrow-minded, but I can see that you, miss, have a broad mind... and a really big chest."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia deliberately glanced at Yang Jingjing's chest.

  Yang Jing's chest is not considered big, and she was wearing a jacket with a horse face skirt, so the bulging degree looked indeed a bit...

  Yang Jingjing couldn't take such teasing and immediately shouted: "You rascal, how dare you tease me, your elder sister? You're asking for death!"

  After finishing speaking, Yang Jingjing kicked Jiang Xia with one foot.

  Jiang Xia didn't expect Yang Jing to be so quick to act, fortunately he had been practicing the footwork of "Eight Steps Chasing Cicada" for the past two days, and when he saw that swift kick coming his way, Jiang Xia immediately slipped away with a quick movement of his feet.

  A'Da and A'Er were about to lay hands on their own young lady, when they suddenly prepared to join the battle array. Zhong Bin sprang up in an instant, flipping over in mid-air before landing on the ground, accurately using his body to block A'Da and A'Er.

  "Your Excellency should not be too arrogant," Ah Er said in a low voice. "Our Governor's Mansion is not afraid of anyone."

  "Nonsense." Zhong Bin uttered these two words calmly.

  A'Da and A'Er exchanged a glance before making their move on Zhong Bin. The reputation of being the number one master of the Brocade Guard was not undeserved. As soon as they made their move, A'Da felt his wrist being slapped, while A'Er felt something pressing against his throat.

  Ah Da lowered his head and only then discovered that Zhong Bin was holding a sword in his right hand and the scabbard in his left, with one pressed against his own neck and the other against Ah Er's throat. With Zhong Bin's strength, the scabbard only needed a slight exertion of force to snap Ah Er's throat.

  Yang Jingjing did not find out that Ah Da and Ah Er had been subdued, she was still entangled with Jiang Xia.

  Although Yang Jingjing had learned some boxing and kicking from many masters in the army, her kung fu was far inferior to Cui Ruxue's. However, it was precisely because of this that she did not pose a threat to Jiang Xia, so he didn't have to force his true qi back into his dantian.

  Fortunately, Jiang Xia had obtained the Eight Steps of Hurrying Cicada Method. With this exquisite footwork, he dodged and weaved beside Yang Jingjing, making it impossible for her to touch even half a sleeve of his clothes.

  "Slap!" Suddenly, Jiang Xia turned around and flashed behind Yang Jingjing, then heavily slapped Yang Jingjing's buttocks.

  "You're so stubborn and unruly, you deserve a beating." Jiang Xia said with a smile.

  As soon as he finished this set, Jiang Xia suddenly felt extremely comfortable in his hand. He couldn't help but joke: "I didn't expect that you don't have meat on your chest, all the meat has grown on your butt! What's going on? Has the position of the meat changed?"

  Such blatant flirting completely set Yang Jingjing off, and she loudly shouted: "Bastard, if I don't kill you today, I swear I'll never be a human being."

  "Come on." Jiang Xia smiled slyly and dodged Yang Jingjing's full-force kick again.

  "Slap!" Unnoticed, Jiang Xia slapped Yang Jingjing's buttocks again.

  "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

  Jiang Xia couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with his mind, how could he be so addicted to fighting? The shop assistants and the boss had already been frightened stiff. Especially when they saw Zhong Bin actually draw out a shiny weapon, and when Ah Da wanted to make a move, Zhong Bin even shook his sword, cutting a small slit in Ah Da's throat. It was clear that if Ah Da really dared to make any sudden movements, Zhong Bin would definitely dare to kill him.

  The slapping sound kept ringing out, and finally, a sudden "ah" was heard. Yang Jingjing suddenly covered her buttocks and squatted on the ground, starting to wail. She cried more and more sorrowfully, and her crying voice grew louder and louder.

  Jiang Xia was stunned. He wasn't afraid of women being coarse or unreasonable, but he was afraid of women crying, especially when it was a young and beautiful girl whom he had made cry himself.

  "Hey, what's wrong... don't cry?"

  "Wooo... Wooooo... Woooooooooo..."

  Jiang Xia's words made Yang Jingjing cry even harder.

  Jiang Xia suddenly became a bit flustered, and he tentatively approached Yang Jingjing, saying: "Don't cry, okay? I'll just give the piano to you, alright? Don't cry anymore."

  "Waaah... you hit me... you're so... stupid..."

  Yang Jingjing couldn't say the word "gu" (stock) anymore, so she became even more ashamed and wronged, crying even harder.

  Jiang Xia suddenly panicked, and he couldn't help but persuade: "Hey, who told you to be so stubborn and arrogant at first, so I thought of teaching you a lesson. Don't cry, no big deal if my butt gets hit a few times to vent your anger."

  "Who wants to spank your butt......Waaahhhh......" Yang Jingjing said, and suddenly remembered that she was spanked so many times in front of everyone, under the watchful eyes of the crowd. She became even more heartbroken and cried even harder.

  Jiang Xia was flustered. As I said before, when he encounters a woman like this, his combat strength instantly drops to less than five.

  "Let me think for a moment," said Jiang Xia. "How about this? I'll tell you a joke, and if it's funny enough, you won't cry anymore."

  "I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it..."

  Jiang Xia ignored Yang Jing's words and continued to say: "In the past, there was a person who liked to wear his clothes inside out when riding a horse-drawn carriage, thinking it would block the wind. One day, after drinking, he drove the horse-drawn carriage into a stone and the carriage overturned, causing him to fall headfirst onto the road. Two bailiffs arrived at the scene, Bailiff A said: 'Wow, what a serious car accident.' Bailiff B said: 'Yes, his head is even facing backwards now.' Bailiff A reached out to check the man's breathing and said: 'Hmm, he still has breath, let's help him turn his head back around, maybe there's still hope.' Bailiff B said: 'Okay... I'll count, one, two, let's use our strength together to turn his head back!' And with a loud grunt, they turned the man's head back. Bailiff A shook his head and said: 'What a pity, he's already stopped breathing...'".

  From the moment Jiang Xia started telling jokes, Yang Jingjing's crying gradually subsided. By the time he finished, Yang Jingjing fell silent for a moment. Jiang Xia suddenly felt a bit flustered - could it be that this joke wasn't funny?

  Yang Jing suddenly burst out laughing twice.

  But this smile made her feel embarrassed and anxious, and in an instant she began crying again.

  But just as she was about to cry, she remembered the joke Jiang Xia had told her, so there she went "hahaha..." and then again "waaahhh..."

  Jiang Xia was completely speechless, while Ah Da and Ah Er were also stunned. Even Zhong Bin was a bit distracted - what's going on? How did it end up like this?

  "Alright, alright, don't cry anymore. Brother was wrong, and I'll treat you to candied hawthorn as compensation another day, okay?"

  Yang Jingjing raised her head with tears in her eyes and sobbed: "A promise is a promise, the one who deceived people is Xiaogou'er."

  "Alright, it was a small dog that deceived us." Jiang Xia nodded and said.

  Yang Jing stretched out her right little finger and said: "Pull a hook."

  Jiang Xia didn't say a word, this was basically just a child, and then stretched out her right pinky to hook with Yang Jingjing.

  Yang Jing's face turned red with rage as she grabbed Jiang Xia's hand and dragged him over, before biting down hard on his arm.

  A sharp pain made Jiang Xia yell loudly, he quickly broke free and lifted his clothes to see that Yang Jing had bitten through his skin.

  Yang Jingjing smiled triumphantly and said, "Hmph! Is this young lady's butt so easy to hit? Now we're even, next time I meet you, just wait and see if I won't beat you until you're picking up your teeth from the ground."

  "Ah Dai, Ah Er, let's go!"