Volume One, Chapter 43: The Strange Boat at the Edge of the River

Shen Xiao turned her head at the words, and when she saw Wen Xuyu, a smile immediately appeared on her face.
“Xuyu, you’re here?”
The other students craned their necks to size up this unfamiliar woman who had suddenly appeared, curiosity piqued.
The ever-stern Professor Shen was showing such a kind expression?
So, Jun Xian and Jun Qing, after Jun Wuxie left, departed immediately, not intending to let Jun Wuxie know about the matter.
After speaking, without waiting for them to make any arrangements, he called for Situ Liufeng and left the inn ahead of the others, heading straight for the night market street.
Nian Yiqian understood well that this was not the time to discuss it, and knew her stubbornness, so he could only give up, peeking out to check the situation outside the door.
Wu Sheng was someone she kept close to her heart—an important person, confidant, friend, and savior; each role she valued with sincerity.
Some wore expressions of contempt, others were half-believing, but as the maids confirmed with certainty, their skepticism slowly gave way to acceptance.
Yet, thinking that power could not overcome a mere merchant, they wondered if money was truly omnipotent. However, Nian Yiqian’s actions were already cold and indifferent.
In the South Central region, he did nothing but build roads, build roads, build roads, then pacified the natives, set up official bureaus, built hospitals and schools, and promoted trade. It was said that Zheng Zhiyong profited greatly from this, as he brought in many merchants to buy medicinal herbs from the natives, hired locals to mine and log, and made a huge fortune.
Prince An, Murong Zhu, squatted in the vegetable patch, carefully dumping some earthworms into the soil, then took up the shovel to loosen the earth and fertilize it.
Each family, regardless of age, was allotted two hundred acres per person. If a household had six or seven members, they’d have over a thousand acres. But it was impossible to cultivate so much land, so most of it lay fallow.
Xi Qin’s heart tightened; she moved aside, drawing closer to the steps, giving way before she lifted her gaze to the figure in blue ascending the stairs.
Now, Da Tian Er realized, even without thinking, that he had only made matters worse this time. The wind urged him to flee.
But now, this plan would likely be utterly foiled under the sharp beak of the crystal raven.
“Balang, squat down!” The direction of the jagged star attacks was all around, but none targeted the unmoving Balang. As Balang ducked, he managed to dodge all the serrated stars.
Never before had anyone seen Han Feng behave like this. Nengkun darted out, watching Han Feng cursing angrily, finding it remarkable, and couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
“Ugh—” An angry fox cry sounded from behind. Ah Zhi turned around to see Luo Ke and Nine-Tails glaring furiously at him, clearly displeased that he had barged into the room uninvited.
I said nothing, for I couldn’t yet discern what was truly going on. I only knew that was a unit from a secret agency—let’s say, a team dedicated to handling supernatural incidents.
“Um… could you let me deal with my wound first?” Tomoyo Ryu Sho removed his right hand, revealing a bloody left arm before Aoi; it seemed his artery had been pierced by a kunai.
Four-Eyes cheered when he saw Zhao Ziyue, grabbed him, and introduced him to several new members of the YY gang. Everyone exchanged the usual pleasantries about having long heard of his famous name.
Liu Yan slowly fished a delicate box out of his pocket, then handed it to Xu Qing with a bright smile.
“Yan Yan, when are you leaving? Let me see you off!” Liu Yan’s voice carried a hint of helplessness. Although he was reluctant for Shen Mo Yan to leave, it was, after all, her family affair, and Liu Yan could only resign himself to it.
“Hmph, to impeach a high-ranking court official without solid evidence—Song Qingyang, you’re bold indeed.” Emperor Longqing’s tone was stern. Rather than rebuking Song Qingyang, it was more a warning to the other ministers: if such practices weren’t curbed, the court would soon descend into chaos.