Xiao Shengrui caught her in his arms. Her body was alarmingly light, her eyes closed, brows furrowed tightly, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
“Imperial Physician! Summon the Imperial Physician!”
When Lin Shuying woke, it was already dark. Xiao Shengrui was keeping watch by her bedside. Seeing her open her eyes, he leaned in quickly: “How do you feel?”
“I…” Lin Shuying tried to sit up, but her limbs gave way.
“Don’t move.” Xiao Shengrui pressed her gently back down. “The physician said you’ve overexerted yourself, combined with acclimatization issues—you need rest.” He paused, his voice rough. “Why do you push yourself so hard? What difference would one more day make for those fields?”
“It would save many people,” Lin Shuying said softly. “One acre of cabbage can yield two thousand catties—enough to feed a hundred people for a month. If I plant ten more acres, I can save a thousand more.”
Xiao Shengrui looked at her in silence, his gaze complex.
“But what about you?” he asked. “If you collapse, who will save even more people?”
Lin Shuying was speechless.
“Promise me,” Xiao Shengrui took her hand, “get some proper rest. Leave the field work to Uncle Chen and the others. You’ve already done more than enough.”
His hand was warm, with light calluses on his palm. Lin Shuying tried to pull her hand back, but she had no strength.
“Your Highness—”
“Call me by my name,” Xiao Shengrui suddenly said.
“What?”
“When no one else is around, call me by my name.” He looked at her. “My name is Xiao Shengrui.”
Lin Shuying’s heart missed a beat.
“Sheng—Shengrui…”
“Mm.” The young man smiled, his eyes soft. “Sleep now. I’ll keep watch.”
Lin Shuying stayed in bed for three days.
During those three days, many things happened outside. Zhao Di’er led her escort agency people on night raids of several grain merchants’ storehouses, “borrowing” five thousand piculs of grain. Lao Honghua’s rumor about “a million piculs of grain coming south” had taken effect—the merchants panicked and began offloading their hoards, driving grain prices from five taels per picul down to two taels. Xiao Shengrui seized the opportunity to buy up grain at low prices and replenish the official granaries.
Wei Fuyu’s food-for-work program was also showing results. The levees had been reinforced, silt cleared, and hundreds of simple shelters built.
On the morning of the fourth day, Lin Shuying was finally able to get out of bed. The first thing she did was go to the fields.
The ten-acre test plot was a lush green—cabbages already forming heads, radishes pushing up through the soil. The victims were busy working in the fields. When they saw Lin Shuying, they dropped to their knees and kowtowed.
“Great kindness from the Country Lady!”
“A living Bodhisattva!”
Lin Shuying helped the nearest elderly person up: “Please get up—this is the result of everyone’s hard work together.”
She walked to the edge of the field, crouched down, and touched the cabbage leaves. They were thick and healthy, growing well. The nourishment from her Wood Spirit Root, combined with the spirit-gathering formation, had produced even better results than expected.
“Uncle Chen,” she asked, “when can we harvest?”
“Another seven or eight days,” Forester Chen said, his face beaming. “At least three thousand catties per acre!”
The surrounding victims erupted in excitement. That meant they would soon have fresh vegetables to eat!
Lin Shuying knew in her heart that the output of ten acres was just a drop in the bucket for three hundred thousand victims—they still needed to expand planting and accelerate the pace.
“Uncle Chen, select a group of victims who learn quickly and train them as ‘agricultural technicians.’ They can go teach even more people.”
“Alright!”
Just as she was speaking, the sound of hooves came from the distance. It was Lao Honghua, who dismounted in a hurry with a grave expression: “Your Highness, Country Lady, something’s wrong.”
“What happened?”
“Someone sabotaged the test fields. Last night, the new radish plot in the west was doused with saltwater.”
Lin Shuying’s heart sank. Saltwater would ruin the land—nothing would grow there.
“Did you catch anyone?” Xiao Shengrui asked.
“Caught one—a local thug. But he’s stubborn. He only said someone paid him a tael of silver to do it. He won’t say who hired him.”
The group went to the western radish plot. The ten acres were a mess—white crusts of salt covered the soil surface, and the radish seedlings that had just sprouted were wilted, clearly beyond saving.
A few victims sat at the edge of the field crying: “What a sin… such good land…”
Lin Shuying crouched down, scooped up a handful of soil, and tasted it—bitter with salt. The land was ruined for now.
“Your Highness,” she stood up, her gaze turning cold, “this was aimed at us.”
“I know.” Xiao Shengrui’s voice was cold too. “Cutting off someone’s profit is like killing their parents. We’ve taken a bite out of the grain merchants’ pie—naturally, they’d hit back.”
“Then what do we do?” Wei Fuyu said angrily. “We can’t guard it every single day, can we?”
Lin Shuying thought for a moment: “Two approaches. First, increase patrols, especially at night. Second, lure the snake out of its hole—spread word that we have a ‘miraculous water’ that can neutralize salt-alkaline soil and restore ruined land. Those people will surely come again to sabotage it, and we’ll be waiting.”
“Good.” Xiao Shengrui nodded.
The plan was set, and they split into action. Lin Shuying returned to her quarters and began mixing the so-called “miraculous water”—which was actually just ordinary water with some plant ash and a specially formulated nutrient solution added. She had A-Gua buy several large wooden barrels, paste red paper on them, and write the words “Salt-Neutralizing Miraculous Water” in large characters.
Word spread quickly. The victims were skeptical, but seeing how confidently the Country Lady spoke, they came to believe.
And sure enough, those lurking in the shadows couldn’t sit still.
On the third night, the people lying in ambush at the test fields caught three men in black. They were carrying buckets, preparing to pour something onto the fields—this time it wasn’t saltwater, but limewater, even more toxic than salt.
“Who sent you?” Wei Fuyu brandished her staff, her eyes fierce.
The three men stubbornly refused to speak.
Lin Shuying walked over, examined what they were carrying, and suddenly smiled: “Lime powder… this isn’t something ordinary people can get their hands on. There aren’t many places in Jiangnan that produce lime—only the ‘Wu Family Lime Works’ north of Jiangning Prefecture carries it.”
She looked at one of them: “There’s lime powder on your hands, and in your fingernails too. You’ve been working at the lime works recently, haven’t you?”
The man’s expression changed.
“The Wu Family Lime Works…” Lao Honghua narrowed his eyes. “That’s Prefect Wu’s family business.”
Everything fell into place. Prefect Wu had colluded with grain merchants to profit from the national disaster. When the imperial envoy arrived and cut off his source of illicit gain, he resorted to sabotage, trying to make the relief efforts fail.
“Arrest him.” Xiao Shengrui ordered. “To the prefectural office.”
At the prefectural office, Prefect Wu was sound asleep. He was still dazed when the imperial guards pulled him out of bed.
Xiao Shengrui threw the seized account books in front of him: “Wu Decai, what do you have to say for yourself?”
The account books clearly recorded: on such-and-such date, accepted five thousand taels of silver from grain merchant Wang; on such-and-such date, conspired with grain merchant Li to falsely report a grain loss of twenty thousand piculs… the evidence was ironclad.
Prefect Wu collapsed, his face ashen.
“Throw him in prison, to await execution after the disaster,” Xiao Shengrui said without mercy. “Confiscate his assets—they’ll go toward relief funds.”
“Your Highness, spare me! Spare me!” His cries faded into the distance.
Lao Honghua expressed some concern: “Your Highness, the Wu family has connections in the capital…”
“So what if they do?” Xiao Shengrui sneered. “Profiting from national disaster is an offense against heaven. Whoever pleads for him can be investigated along with him.”
Lin Shuying couldn’t help but steal an extra look at him. The young man stood in the candlelight, his features sharp and cold.
After dealing with Prefect Wu, dawn had broken. Lin Shuying returned to her quarters and collapsed into bed—her body hadn’t fully recovered, and the night’s ordeal had exhausted her again.
Xiao Shengrui watched over her for a while, and only left when he saw she was sleeping soundly. As he stepped out, he ran into Lao Honghua, who looked as if he wanted to say something but held back.
“Speak freely, Master Lao.”
“Your Highness,” Lao Honghua said quietly, “your concern for the Country Lady… seems excessive.”
Xiao Shengrui paused mid-step: “She’s a meritorious official—is it not proper to care?”
“Proper, yes.” Lao Honghua smiled wryly. “But your servant believes Your Highness should know where to draw the line.”
Xiao Shengrui turned to look at him, his gaze sharp: “What capacity do you speak in, Master Lao? As deputy imperial envoy? Or something else?”
Lao Honghua was at a loss for words.
“I know where to draw the line,” Xiao Shengrui said flatly. “Focus on your own duties, Master Lao.” With that, he strode away.
Half a month later, the disaster situation finally stabilized.
The porridge at the distribution stations grew thicker—you could even see grains of rice. The first harvest of cabbage from the test plots came in, and though it wasn’t much, every victim received a small handful. Just that small bit of fresh greens brought many to tears—they hadn’t eaten any vegetables in months.
Lin Shuying’s health slowly recovered as well. She no longer dared to overuse her Wood Spirit Root, only going to the fields at dawn and dusk to gently nourish the crops with a faint flow of energy.
One evening, Lin Shuying and Xiao Shengrui took a walk along the river embankment. The sun was setting, casting golden ripples across the river. In the distance, the victims were finishing their work and heading home, with wisps of cooking smoke rising from the camp.
“Look,” Lin Shuying pointed at the shelters, “there’s the smell of cooking fires now.”
“Yes,” Xiao Shengrui nodded. “You’ve done it.”
“We’ve done it.”
Xiao Shengrui smiled and didn’t argue. The two walked side by side, their shadows stretching long along the embankment.
“Shuying,” Xiao Shengrui suddenly asked, “after the disaster is over, what do you want to do?”
“Go back to the estate and grow melons.” Lin Shuying didn’t hesitate. “Take what I’ve learned in Jiangnan back with me, improve the cultivation techniques in the north. And the grapes—I need to set up the trellises…” She spoke with enthusiasm, her eyes sparkling.
Xiao Shengrui looked at her, his heart soft.
“And Your Highness?” Lin Shuying asked in return. “After returning to the capital, what do you want to do?”
“Me?” Xiao Shengrui thought for a moment. “Continue building the Listening Wind Pavilion, gather news from all over. Help Father with state affairs. And also…” He paused, looking at her, “and also, visit your estate often to eat melons.”
“Melons aren’t free—you’ll have to pay.”
“I’ll pay double.”
The two smiled at each other.
Just as the mood was perfect, the urgent sound of hooves came from the distance. It was an imperial messenger.
“An imperial decree—”
The two quickly knelt. The eunuch unrolled the decree and read aloud in a shrill voice: “By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The imperial envoy Xiao Shengrui and the Directorate of Agriculture Advisor Lin Shuying, for their meritorious service in Jiangnan relief, have deeply pleased the sovereign. You are hereby ordered to return to the capital immediately, for other important appointments. Respect this decree.”
Return to the capital? Lin Shuying was taken aback. The disaster hadn’t been fully resolved yet—why…
“Eunuch,” Xiao Shengrui asked, “did Father say why?”
The eunuch lowered his voice: “Something’s happened in the capital. The spring examinations… caused a huge laughingstock. His Majesty requests your immediate return.”
Spring examinations? Lin Shuying’s heart gave a jolt. Third Brother!
She looked sharply at Xiao Shengrui, and she saw a flicker of worry in his eyes as well.
“Prepare yourselves,” he said to her, “we leave tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
The sun sank fully beneath the river.
Night fell over Jiangnan.
And a thousand miles away in the capital, an even greater storm was waiting for them.
Leave a Reply