Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

The emperor bestowed a marriage upon the divine imperial advisor and the stunningly beautiful princess. On the surface, it was the young emperor's matchmaking that brought the two together. In reality, however, it was a grand scheme orchestrated by Lin Yanzhou based on intelligence.

After the imperial edict announcing the wedding was posted, the entire capital city seemed to be wrapped in a layer of warm red silk.

A new colorful canopy was erected at the city gate, with four pillars painted red and a silk cloth draped on top. More stalls selling sugar figurines and paper cuttings appeared on the streets, and when children ran past with their newly bought windmills, the paper wheels in their hands spun into a blurry, colorful halo in the sunlight.

The corners of the imperial edict with vermilion annotations on the bulletin board had been worn soft by the wind, and the weight on it had been replaced with a larger one.

Lin Yanzhou would go to the hundred acres of official farmland outside the city every morning.

The old farmer was used to squatting on the edge of the field to watch the wheat seedlings grow. Sometimes he would bend down and pull out a seedling that was growing too densely, then use his fingers to separate the roots to check before replanting it in the soil.

When he talked to farmers, he mostly focused on soil moisture, seedling emergence date, and fertilizer melting progress. He appeared relaxed and spoke in a calm tone. Occasionally, when asked about next year's plans, he would answer seriously, showing a state of being fully engaged in farming.

The farmers felt that the national advisor was approachable and would take the initiative to ask him to come and take a look when they encountered pests or soil problems.

On the fifth day, he went to Jizhou.

Zhou Chongyuan waited at the city gate. Upon seeing him from afar, he dismounted and exchanged a few pleasantries about the progress of the water conservancy project. The two walked side by side along the main canal. When they stopped at the branch point, Zhou Chongyuan squatted down and touched the rammed earth of the canal wall, as if checking if the soil was dry. At the same time, he lowered his voice and said, "The troops to the north are already being withdrawn in batches. Each batch is traveling at night, bypassing the prefectures in three routes, without disturbing the post stations along the way. The vanguard has arrived and set up camp in the valley fifty miles north of the capital. The main force will need another half a month to be fully in place."

Lin Yanzhou squatted down beside him and reached out to brush away the remaining fine sand at the bottom of the canal: "After the canal is repaired, if there is another flood season, will the downstream branch outlet be blocked by silt?"

"I have already arranged for people to clean up regularly," Zhou Chongyuan looked up at him. "Currently, all departments are operating smoothly, and there have been no unexpected situations."

Lin Yanzhou stood up, dusted off his hands, as if he had really just been inspecting the canal wall. As the two walked back side by side, Zhou Chongyuan said in a low voice, "The group of men from the north will all be in place by three days before the wedding at the latest. I will personally go to meet them."

Lin Yanzhou didn't reply. He walked a few steps along the canal, stopped at the base of a newly planted willow sapling, and reached out to support the trunk that had been bent askew by the wind. Zhou Chongyuan stood still, not following. He watched Lin Yanzhou's actions and received confirmation from that silence.

After returning to Beijing, Lin Yanzhou went to the North Courtyard.

Zhou Jingshan was loading the last row of grenades into wooden crates. There were two storerooms in the east and west wing of the north courtyard, with straw mats already laid on the floor for moisture protection. After stacking the crates, Zhou Jingshan glanced at Lin Yanzhou, his gaze sweeping from the floor to the windowsill, then back to Lin Yanzhou's profile, as if silently calculating the quantity and time. He then whispered, "Grand Preceptor, all the gunpowder is ready. A total of three thousand grenades, two hundred muskets, and eight cannons have all been secretly test-fired without any problems." Zheng San squatted in the corner, wiping the rifling of a newly assembled musket barrel. After wiping it, he didn't put it back in the crate but set it aside for inspection, then added, "This humble general and my master discussed it and left a crate of spare gunpowder hidden under the stone mortar, in case the first round runs out, we can replenish it immediately."

Lin Yanzhou walked to the corner, picked up a flintlock pistol, and examined the rifling under the light. The inner wall was smooth and straight, and when a flashlight was shone on it, a uniform ring of reflected light could be seen, without any burrs.

"Will the power of these things scare them? Hehe, I'll have to see it for myself."

That evening, Xiaolan brought a new message. She placed the note on the corner of the table, her gaze not lingering on it: "The Heming Teahouse found a batch of purchasing records. Within half a month, several pharmacies and grain shops in the south of the city had people buying large quantities of the same thing—sleeping potion. The buyers weren't concentrated; they were in several batches, each small, but enough to siphon all the well water in the entire capital. Moreover, the purchases were made by different shops at different times, as if someone deliberately split the orders to prevent any shop from noticing the abnormal total volume." Lin Yanzhou finished reading the note, placed it on the corner of the table, paused for a moment, and then said, "I understand. Don't tell anyone for now."

Xiaolan asked, "What if?"

Lin Yanzhou raised his left hand, the ring reflecting light in the candlelight: "I'll take care of it."

That night, he went to the palace's water room. The mineral water stored in his spatial ring was enough for the inner palace and the Imperial Guard camp to drink for at least a month. Taking advantage of the change of night patrol, he replaced the old water vat behind the well with water from his ring, and then walked around the palace wall, doing the same replacement at two water storage points on the east and west sides of the Imperial Guard camp. No one saw him, and he finished all of this before dawn.

The next morning, when the chief eunuch opened the water vat to fetch water, he paused, startled—the water was unusually clear, unlike well water, and showed no signs of tampering, yet its crisp, cool smell was different from usual. He scooped up a ladleful and tasted it; finding no strange flavor, he didn't think much of it and delivered the water to the imperial kitchen and the Zichen Palace as usual. The cooks at the Imperial Guard camp also noticed the same thing, but similarly didn't investigate further, attributing it simply to the recent rainfall seeping into the well veins.

Red ribbons still fluttered in the streets. Wedding preparations proceeded smoothly, with more and more colorful tents appearing each day, and children lining up at the candy stalls stretching to the alley entrance. The guards at the four city gates continued their patrols according to the adjusted shift schedule, appearing somewhat more relaxed than in the previous two months. However, the rotation rhythm had been subtly adjusted, and the gaps between guard shifts had been quietly shortened—a detail no one noticed. While the number of guards inside and outside the city gates appeared to have decreased, the reinforcements had actually been dispersed into several hidden passages within the city walls, making the change invisible from the outside.

In the southeastern frontier, Prince An was secretly discussing the timing and specific plans with three people in the reception room. A grand conspiracy was about to unfold without anyone noticing.