After the great bridge was completed, the numerous officials of the Ministry of Works immediately took flight, inspecting the riverbanks in all directions. Qin Mu saw many people holding long iron rods, which they drove into the embankment along the riverbank, placing one every hundred yards.
Next to each rod stood a person. Someone struck a large bronze bell in the middle of the river, and with a resonant clang, the rods vibrated in response. The people beside the rods listened attentively to the tremors they produced.
"What are they doing?" Qin Mu asked, puzzled.
Ling Yuxiu walked over to him and said, "You wouldn't know. The Tu River used to flood frequently, so the State Preceptor sent the Minister of Works to manage it. The Minister spent a fortune, and the Emperor was furious, demanding to know why he had spent so much money and where it had gone. The Minister explained that he had buried a mystic copper wall along both banks of the Tu River—a wall two inches thick, two feet high, stretching for ten thousand miles along the embankment. The wall was covered with rune inscriptions. When checking for hidden cracks in the embankment or thinning from water erosion, they could strike the bronze bell. The sound would stimulate the rune inscriptions on the copper wall, causing it to emit resonance, allowing them to detect hidden cracks and thickness variations using sound waves."
Qin Mu looked at the busy Workshop Hall Master and praised, "What a brilliant idea."
Si Yunxiang stepped forward and said, "The Emperor nearly had his head cut off for spending too much."
Ling Yuxiu glanced at her and replied, "The Minister of Works spent too much. Over the years, he built flying towered boats, water paintings, land-going boats, flying wheel carts, smelting factories for mines, military workshops everywhere, city wall renovations, city sewers, road paving, siege cloud carts, border fortresses, and mechanical manufacturing. I wasn't born yet back then, but later I heard from my second brother that the Minister's spending forced my father and the palace princes, crown prince, consorts, and empress dowager to tighten their belts—they grew gaunt from hunger, the treasury emptied overnight, and officials' salaries went unpaid for months."
Si Yunxiang smiled and asked, "What happened then?"
Ling Yuxiu sighed, "Then the smelting factories expanded, towered boats and painted barges were sold to merchants, the Supervisory Workshop produced continuously, and within two years the treasury was full again, requiring the construction of several more to store the money. My father was relieved, saying it was fortunate he hadn't killed him. The biggest spenders in the Ministry of Works were the Minister himself and the Director of the Water Department, who built water conservancy infrastructure everywhere—water-diversion wheels, flood-release lakes, various dams and bridges, canals—spending money like water, but making the people prosperous."
Si Yunxiang blinked and said, "It seems like only the Minister and the Director spend money. What does the Minister of Works do? It appears that Minister Shan Youxin and the others handle everything, while the Minister of Works doesn't seem to do much."
Ling Yuxiu also blinked, "The Minister of Works supervises their spending."
Si Yunxiang smiled lightly, "The Minister of Works is probably placed there by the Emperor to keep watch over them, since the Minister and these Directors and Assistant Directors are all from the Heavenly Demon Cult. The Emperor knows they are Hall Masters and Fragrance Masters of the Heavenly Demon Cult and doesn't trust them."
Ling Yuxiu's gaze fell on her, "Junior Sister Yunxiang seems very concerned about the Heavenly Demon Cult."
Si Yunxiang smiled sweetly, "This humble sister is the Saintess of the Heavenly Demon Cult, so naturally I must be concerned. Our Cult Master is also our Holy Master and is very interested in these matters. As the Saintess, asking the Princess about questions the Cult Master cares about is only right."
The two women locked eyes.
Qin Mu ignored the two girls and looked into the distance, seeing officials from the Water Department and Land Reclamation Division inspecting farmland irrigation, while the Imperial Household Department checked fruit trees and vegetables. He walked over.
"Cult Master, when the crops are in the lean season, there will likely be an insect plague."
The Assistant Director of the Imperial Household Division, who was also the Fragrance Master of the Agriculture Hall, dug through the soil, inspected it, and picked out some insect eggs. He said to Qin Mu, "Although the winter snow disaster was cold, it couldn't kill these pest eggs. In three to five days, when the weather warms, the eggs will hatch into insects. During winter, the refugees cut down and burned all the vegetation, so the insects will have nothing to eat except the crops. We must take precautions early, preventing the insect plague before the insects hatch, so we can kill them as soon as they emerge."
Qin Mu asked, "Fragrance Master, how do we prevent the insect plague?"
"Have sword masters stationed in the fields, or magic masters perform needle techniques, or have insect-refining experts come and release their insects to eat the pests."
The Assistant Director stood up, patted his hands—both his body and hands were covered in mud—and said, "The disciples of the Sword Hall, Magic Hall, and Gu Hall can all come out to gain experience."
Qin Mu nodded and called Fan Yunxiao over. "Brother Fan, relay my orders to have the Sword Hall, Magic Hall, and Gu Hall each send more than ten disciples here."
Fan Yunxiao called over a bandit and sent him to deliver the message.
The Water Department was tidying up water conservancy, clearing silt from waterways, and replanning irrigation routes to facilitate farmland irrigation.
On the other side, officials from the Land Reclamation Division were measuring land, taking out Heavenshaker Rulers. As their qi was channeled, the rulers unfolded from their collapsed state, growing longer and longer, with measurement markings appearing on them. Nearby, Imperial Academy scholars recorded numbers, their qi forming abacuses that clattered away.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Works led his staff into the sky, standing in midair to survey the road conditions across Jiazhou, noting damaged areas before heading out to repair them.
"Shan Youxin is a capable man!" Qin Mu truly admired the Ministry of Works officials for handling matters systematically—it truly benefited the country and the people.
At the City Lord's Mansion, the Jiazhou Prefect reported the situation within the prefecture. Ling Yushu listened through the night, then summoned the chief clerk to check various records, working through the night without sleep.
The next day, both Ling Yushu and the Jiazhou Prefect were somewhat exhausted. Just as they stepped out of the City Lord's Mansion, the Minister of Works and Qin Mu were already waiting outside. Minister Shan Youxin presented several scrolls and said, "Your Highness, the issues with Jiazhou's water conservancy, transportation, and produce have been handled. Only the Land Reclamation Division remains for Your Highness to address."
Ling Yushu was surprised and blurted out, "Already?"
Shan Youxin said, "Once Your Highness has reviewed these, you can prepare to execute people."
Ling Yushu's expression turned grave. "Is the land annexation really that severe?"
Shan Youxin nodded.
Ling Yushu summoned the Jiazhou Prefect, placed the scrolls in his hands, and said with a stern expression, "Don't go to sleep yet, and I won't sleep either. We'll review together! We'll arrest and execute as we go—arrest who needs arresting, execute who needs executing! In times like these, we must use harsh laws and severe punishments!"
The Jiazhou Prefect's face turned ashen.
Qin Mu called Shen Wanyun and the others over. "Your work has arrived. Later, you'll go with the officials to make arrests."
Shen Wanyun stammered, "Cult Master, didn't you say there would be no danger? Those who can annex land in these chaotic times are all local strongmen and powerful families—their strength is considerable!"
Qin Mu laughed, "You are all elite students of the Imperial Academy. Surely you wouldn't fear local strongmen?"
Wei Yong, Yue Qinghong, and the others were eager to try.
Shortly after, the Crown Prince and the Prefect ordered arrests. Wei Yong and the others immediately went with the soldiers, returning at noon covered in blood, having evidently fought several fierce battles.
Ling Yushu spent two days resolving Jiazhou's affairs and continued eastward, managing the Tu River along the way. That day they arrived in Hezhou. Hezhou faced the eastern sea, far from the capital, with developed waterways and a major port. Merchant ships here connected not only to ports across the country but also traded with other nations, even reaching foreign lands.
Everyone was already familiar with the routine. Upon arriving in Hezhou, they began their investigations without needing instructions from the Minister of Works. After finishing Hezhou's affairs, seeing that everyone was truly exhausted, Ling Yushu said, "You've all worked hard. Why not rest in Hezhou for a few days before continuing?"
Everyone cheered.
Qin Mu was dragged out shopping by Ling Yuxiu. "Hezhou has thriving trade with many strange new things from foreign lands. Let's go check out the market!"
"I'm coming too!"
Si Yunxiang followed. Ling Yuxiu glanced at her and thought, "Fox spirit!"
"Little flirt..." Si Yunxiang thought with a smile.
Their gazes crossed, but Qin Mu seemed oblivious. The market in Hezhou indeed had many peculiar items, but what attracted him wasn't these odd commodities—it was the foreigners.
He saw many foreigners in strange clothing, different from the Yankang people. Some were cyclopses—instead of having two symmetrical eyes, they had a single eye in the center of their forehead that grew vertically.
There were also four-armed people and two-faced people.
He also saw several sea-dwelling girls, elaborately dressed but with octopus-like eight legs, moving swiftly. Looking closely, they had gills at their ears.
"They came from the sea."
Si Yunxiang leaned close to Qin Mu's ear and whispered, "They're merchants from the sea clans. I heard they've built cities and nations on the ocean floor."
Qin Mu was surprised. The items the sea clan sold were also quite strange. He stopped before a blue coral tree that automatically emitted water vapor, forming a water sphere that enveloped it. Within the mist, a three-inch-tall girl rode a seahorse back and forth, singing an unintelligible song.
Then several more girls riding seahorses descended from the tree, and there were also men dancing and singing around the coral tree in the water.
This coral tree actually had a small tribe.
Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu were also fascinated when a tall girl in a dark green dress approached, looked at the blue coral tree, and exclaimed, "What a strange species! Xiao Hong, don't you think?"
Qin Mu turned his head and saw that the girl's jade-like earlobe held a red jade earring. The earring suddenly unfurled—it was actually a small red snake, opening its mouth and hissing at Qin Mu with its flickering tongue.
"Long Jiaonan!"
Qin Mu's heart lurched, and he was about to draw his sword when Long Jiaonan laughed, "Cult Master Qin, you'd better not move. My Little Red is at the Seven Star level. With one gulp, it could swallow all three of you whole. Cult Master, my father wants to see you."
Qin Mu's scalp tingled with dread as he said in a low voice, "The old Dragon King is here too?"
Long Jiaonan giggled, "My father is called the Dragon King—how could he not have influence in Hezhou? But thanks to you, Cult Master, my Dragon Taming Gate was wiped out, forcing me and my father to flee to the Eastern Sea!"
Si Yunxiang blinked happily and said, "Congratulations, Sister Long, on capturing the Heavenly Demon Cult Master and the Sixth Princess of Yankang. This doesn't concern me, so I'll be leaving!"
Long Jiaonan sneered, and the small red snake suddenly slithered onto Si Yunxiang's neck, extending its tongue to lick her throat. "The eldest miss of the Si family, the Saintess of the Heavenly Demon Cult—your value is no less than the Sixth Princess of Yankang. Did you think I hadn't investigated you?"