My lord, spare his life!

Yuan Xie: "I've heard that there are several people from Tianjiang in the county recently. Why don't we start by investigating them and find out the truth?"

They all closed their eyes and suppressed their prejudices.

"That's fine then, but how do we get them to talk?"

These people from Tianjiang are retainers and strategists of a local powerful family, and they possess some skill. Alerting them would be disastrous. Most importantly, there's a possibility of accidentally injuring Xiao Sui. What if Xiao Xiuying finds out that the duck he was about to catch has flown away because of her?

Du Guan had no doubt that he would never have a peaceful day again.

Yuan Xie said, "Leave it to me; they don't need to say a word."

Du Guan was aware of the special abilities of the "person in the ear" and knew that Yuan Xie was the best choice. However, since Yuan Xie was not her subordinate and could not be ordered around by her, she did not mention him directly. Yuan Xie's willingness to speak up was exactly what she wanted.

"In that case, it would be a great trouble for Youzheng to make the trip." Given the integrity and shamelessness of the people in Tianjiang County, it would not be surprising if they did something so unscrupulous, but Yuan Xie, being cautious, did not insist.

Yuan Xie smiled faintly.

"It's all for my lord." Yuan Xie knew Fan You was keeping a close watch on him, but it didn't matter. As his lord's territory expanded, more new people would inevitably join. If he could win over these newcomers, wouldn't Yuan Xie's faction grow?

They all sighed, still worried about the drought.

In this age teeming with ghosts, it's incredibly easy for those with ears to gather information. Yuan Xie merely used a small trick to obtain a few pieces of information: "Tianjiang County did indeed anticipate a water shortage this year, but there's been no recent indication of any water diversion; it's not them."

Du Guan asked in surprise, "Isn't it Tianjiang?"

Zhang Yang, who was not far away, immediately perked up and turned to look.

Strangely enough, as soon as her hand touched the literacy book or her eyes saw the squares on it, she would get so sleepy that her eyelids would droop. But as soon as she closed the book or looked away, hey, her muddled mind would start to clear up again.

"My Lord!"

Fan Shuyan almost pressed the booklet he was carrying right in front of her eyes.

With a snap, Zhang Yang raised his hand and pressed down the booklet that was blocking his view. Even the usually indifferent NPC showed a rare vulnerability: "Forced love is never sweet! Uncle Yan, feelings require mutual affection. Like now, knowledge doesn't like me, and I hate it. Forcing us to get married will only create a resentful couple! Why not let it be and let nature take its course?"

Fan You is practically the kind of Chinese parent one would expect from an observation sample.

Zhang Yang didn't understand it before, but now he does.

Fan You's noodles twitched repeatedly, his face visibly turning red until it turned purple. Trembling, he clutched his chest, his lips moving as he murmured, "Incorrigible... This child is incorrigible..."

"Has the 'Descending Stars' attack struck?" Zhang Yang leaned closer, carefully closing his eyes to sense the situation. There were no unfamiliar desires. "Has he fainted?"

Fan You: "..."

In the end, it was Yuan Xie who came to the rescue.

He said this matter was of great importance and probably couldn't be decided by a few officials; it still required the emperor's decision. These words saved Zhang Yang from his predicament, and Fan You could only angrily close the book. He thought to himself: "Jade must be carved to become a vessel, and a person must learn to know righteousness. Right now, this is just Tianyue County, a small prefecture that can be managed. But when will the emperor truly achieve fame throughout the Three Palaces and Four Symbols…?"

Human nature is complex.

Throughout history, countless powerful rulers with strategic brilliance have fallen victim to the whims of the people. How much more so a naive woman, barely literate yet possessing immense wealth? She'll be deceived and manipulated by her subordinates, forced to take the blame, and die a tragic and bewildering death without even realizing it. Doesn't Yuan Youzheng understand this?

Now that you understand, you should cooperate with him to correct your lord!

At this moment, Fan You was not looking at Yuan Xie as a childhood friend, but as a despicable, cunning, and sycophantic minister.

This treacherous minister was at odds with him at every turn.

Just as I was thinking this, I felt a force on my shoulder.

He and Yuan Xie were both held captive by Du Guan and forced to sit at adjacent seats. Above them came Du Guan's gloomy, impatient voice: "Save your schemes for later. This is duty time, not a time for you to plot and scheme!"

These two wouldn't be thinking of trying to bewitch or bewitched, would they?

Yuan Xie couldn't hear Du Guan's threat, but he could hear the sinister gloating of the mad ghost inside Du Guan. He chose to be pragmatic and only glanced at Fan You with a resentful look.

The lord is naturally quick-witted and intelligent, not dull or stupid. Her inability to learn is due to Fan You's flawed teaching methods. Fan You is inflexible and insistent, forgetting the proper order between ruler and subject; he deserves the warning from Du Guan. She herself did nothing wrong and suffered an undeserved calamity.

"Why not Tianjiang?"

Zhang Yang also asked, "Yes, yes, why not Tianjiang? Jiu Si told me before that Tianjiang County and Tianyue County have a long-standing feud, and Tianjiang often uses its trade routes and waterways to hold Tianyue hostage, selling water at exorbitant prices. If it's not Tianjiang, then who could it be?"

Yuan Xie: "It could be Dongxian."

Zhang Yang frowned, recalling the location on the map.

"Dongham County?"

Dongxian Commandery is located in the northeastern part of Fang State, facing Xixian Commandery across the river. Originally, Fang State belonged to the powerful state of Qinglong, but it was later established by enfeoffing its sons, similar to the rise of Dou State. However, Fang State did not last as long as Dou State, and it was destroyed twenty or thirty years ago.

After its destruction, the territory of Fang Kingdom was plunged into a long struggle.

The warlord forces led by Dongxian County were among the more powerful, but according to the local chronicles of Tianyue County, they suffered a severe blow a few years or more than a decade ago, which greatly weakened them. Since then, they have become much more subdued and have always kept a low profile.

"Dongxian County wants to interfere with us? Even if they do, they'll start by targeting Tianjiang. Or are we just unlucky collateral damage?" She clearly remembered the direction of the mountains and rivers on the map. Dongxian County was upstream of Tianjiang County, far away from Tianyue County.

Yuan Xie said, "Judging from the information obtained from those Tianjiang people, it is not yet possible to determine whether Dongxian is planning to take military action. However, it is certain that Dongxian experienced a flood two years ago, which submerged the plains and fertile fields within its territory. As a result, the idea of ​​remediation and diversion was conceived."

Zhang Yang: "???"

Traffic management and rerouting?

Then they just ignored the plight of those downstream?

"Dong-Ham once sent people to extort money from Tian-Jiang and also demanded that they send conscripted laborers to control the floods. Their attitude was extremely hostile. Tian-Jiang felt offended and resolutely refused, also being certain that Dong-Ham did not have the manpower or financial resources to drastically alter the river course."

Flood control?

Do those bumpkins from Dongxian know anything about flood control?

They've been extorting and hustling from everyone every day, they've become so spoiled!

Zhang Yang: "And then?"

Yuan Xie sighed, "And then he ignored Dong Xian."

Zhang Yang: "..."

The negotiations between Dongxian and Tianjiang this time were completely handled by two amateur thugs. One was trying to extort and blackmail, wanting both sides, while the other thought the other was poor and arrogant and couldn't afford to undertake a large project, so he ignored them.

Now it's all good—

Dongxian may have actually pulled off a major operation upstream.

They secretly shut off the sluice gates before the dry season arrived.

The game designers are really lazy.

Zhang Yang said, "This is far too hasty. Just because you're certain the other party has no money, you ignore them. Couldn't you have given a more perfunctory reason?"

Yuan Xie, however, thought it was perfectly normal.

Zhang Yang felt something was wrong, so wrong that it gave her a headache: "If the root cause really is in Dongxian, then the current situation is that Dongxian is secretly closing the sluice gates to divert water from Tianjiang, and Tianjiang, in order to protect itself, might also divert water from us... No, is that right?"

Let Zhang Yang's side join if they can't win.

They also took action to keep the water in their own territory, creating a pit downstream?

Zhang Yang had a headache, and the more she thought about it, the worse it got. She had the illusion that Guan Si was hitting her on the head with a hammer. After a while, she said, "No matter what, let's prepare for both possibilities. First, have someone observe the cloud formations. After gathering the warriors of the Azure Dragon Seven Constellations, try artificial rainmaking. Also, prepare a large amount of salt powder. Later, have Zhang Dagu fly up into the clouds to try scattering the salt powder... Then send a message to Xiu Ying."

Let Xiao Sui negotiate with Tianjiang County to test the waters.

Xiao Sui has already seduce Tianjiang's "Painted Skin Ghost" to the point of infatuation, so sending her to negotiate with Tianjiang is the safest course of action. If it's not Tianjiang County but Dongxian County causing trouble, then adjustments will be made. In short, Zhang Yang will absolutely not sit idly by and wait for her doom!

Several people bowed and accepted the order.

"Sigh, if only Xiuying could have an external form."

Xiao Sui was dispatched to Chesi County, one of the mountain prefectures, on a business trip to expand his business empire. The progress is unknown. Recalling him now might have a significant impact. If only Xiao Sui could have two separate entities, one in Chesi County and the other in Tianjiang County.

Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

"I, Xiao, am not a donkey that pulls the millstone; I truly do not know fatigue."

When Xiao Sui and Lü Yuan were joking around, she had just finished her work when the steward told her that Lü Yuan wanted to see her. This time, Lü Yuan looked serious and mentioned that the prefectural government was hosting a banquet, and the prefect had given Xiao Sui a banquet invitation for Lü Yuan to pass on. Her intuition told her that this banquet was going to be anything but pleasant.

Xiao Sui declined without much thought.

She hadn't slept for two days straight—the situation in the mountain counties was complex and complicated, and it was exhausting to sort it out—others saw her looking radiant, but she always felt that her skin was much drier and rougher, and she was very worried that her unhealthy lifestyle would accelerate the aging of her skin.

She wanted to rest for a while and catch her breath, but the county government was holding some ridiculous banquet and wanted her to go, which annoyed her.

Lu Yuan said, "In that case, I will refuse on your behalf."

Meetings and meals were always a source of caution for these martial artists; who knew if someone would smash a glass or if armored axemen would suddenly appear from all directions? But since the old man was hosting a banquet, she, as a dutiful daughter who had just received two beauties as a reward, couldn't refuse.

Xiao Sui thought for a moment and then changed her mind: "Never mind, let's see."

Perhaps we can find a few buyers during the banquet.

Compared to the turbulent outside world, the mountain counties were much more stable and prosperous, and even an ordinary banquet exuded luxury and wealth. As the nominal envoy of the Eastern Frontier, Xiao Sui naturally received much courtesy from the Prefect of Chesi County, laying the foundation for future transactions between the two families.

In his delight, he even had some fine wine brought to him.

Prefect Che Si said, "Lady Xiao, please try this wine. It is Jiuqi, one of the three most famous wines in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, and it is priceless."

Zhuque has three famous wines.

The places where these three fine wines—Sake Flag, Heavenly Vessel, and Sekisui—are brewed are named after them. It is said that the brewing conditions for these three wines are extremely demanding; they must be brewed when the corresponding stars in the sky are bright, otherwise the taste will not be right.

The wine from that region was transported to the mountain kingdoms, and the already expensive wines multiplied in value many times over, giving the prefect ample reason to boast.

Xiao Sui had tried it before.

She sniffed the air: "This vintage... isn't new."

It was far more mellow and fragrant than anything she had tasted before, with a faint, exotic aroma mingling within. Just a couple of sniffs brought a blush to her cheeks, and she felt a subtle intoxication. Xiao Sui had always loved wine, but in the past, she had been hesitant to drink much or even abstain from it due to her human skin. Now, encountering such fine wine, her eyes lit up: "Excellent wine!"

Prefect Che Si was also surprised that Xiao Sui could smell it: "Your Majesty has good insight. This wine jar has been sealed and treasured for thirty years."

A wine flag that's been around for thirty years is indeed a rare find.

Xiao Sui took a small sip and squinted. Prefect Che Si was generous and shared the wine with everyone at the table. Besides the wine flag, he also had other fine wines in his collection. Lu Yuan, as his most beloved adopted daughter, received quite a few, which made the other adopted sons and daughters and guests envious.

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

These were no ordinary wines; even the most skilled martial artist could easily become drunk if they drank too much. The Prefect of Chesi arranged for everyone to stay overnight at his residence. Xiao Sui, not wanting to get drunk and lose control, excused herself and was assigned a guest room. Next door was Lu Yuan's room, but Lu Yuan hadn't returned for a long time. Xiao Sui frowned at this.

I plucked a few willow leaves from the willow branch that was blowing into the latticed window.

I cast a divination on a whim.

Xiao Sui: "This is not good."

Although they appear to be out of danger, there are still unexpected twists and turns.

She cooled herself off and prepared to take a look.

It would have been better if we hadn't looked for it; once we did, we stumbled upon a huge scene.

Slightly tipsy, Lu Yuan was led astray into the side room where the prefect of Chesi was resting. The latter was clearly fast asleep, completely unguarded, sprawled out with his collar slightly loose, revealing a large expanse of his flushed chest. His snores rose and fell, oblivious to the world around him.

The effects of the alcohol in Lu Yuan's eyes gradually dissipated.

She stared at the prefect not far away, her expression inscrutable.

As Lu Yuan's gaze fixed on the other man's greasy, thick, and unguarded neck, his hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched into fists. Today's banquet even included guards; the guards were still drinking, and only a few ordinary people with no martial arts skills were watching over the door.

If we kill him now—

The alcohol had dulled Lu Yuan's senses, making her reactions somewhat sluggish, but amplified her desires. She moved forward unsteadily, the short distance of a dozen steps feeling like an eternity. Until she stopped in front of the other person's bed.

Quiet.

It's very quiet inside.

Only the oil lamp on the lamp occasionally made a crackling sound.

"Godfather?"

Lu Yuan's every breath was filled with the strong smell of alcohol.

She gently shook the prefect's arm and softly called to him.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

The other person was still sleeping like a log, snoring loudly.

Just before her fingers were about to touch the other person's neck, Lu Yuan changed the trajectory of her fingers, instead pressing on her drowsy brain, muttering, "Where have these lazy servants gone to drink and slack off? They didn't even send anyone here to serve them..."

She swayed.

He awkwardly covered the prefect with the quilt.

Afterwards, with her eyes half-open and slightly hazy from the alcohol, she staggered out of the side room, cursing and kicking anyone she could find. After a while of drunken rage, she bumped into Xiao Sui halfway there. She smiled and reached out, wiping Xiao Sui's face with her fingers, as if she were one of those beauties.

The two reflections overlapped and merged.

Lu Yuan's voice was calm but weary: "Thank you."

??|??w?`)

Happy Lunar New Year's Eve! ヽ(°▽°)ノ

They've gone to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year.