Chapter 12

Of course, Qingyun himself said it was a latrine, because the room was so small that it could only fit a bed and a table, and the kitchen was in another room. Speaking of which, the toilets here were all dry toilets, and with the hot weather, the smell was truly unforgettable.

She always held her nose when she went in, and the toilet paper she used could rub a person's buttocks flat like a wall.

Song Chaohua also heard the commotion in the hall. She seemed to be trying to comfort Qingyun, saying that since she could cure her own illness, her sister would definitely believe her.

Hearing this, Qingyun felt uncomfortably comforted, as she herself was not very confident and was incomparable to those people.

The little princess didn't care about her mood and kept pulling her to play leaf cards with her. Qingyun had never played this before, but she felt that it was probably similar to mahjong. Song Chaohua kindly offered to help her, pressing his warm body tightly against Qingyun's back, and his slender, white jade-like fingers stroked the cards, helping her to straighten them out.

As she moved, her breath hit Qingyun's neck, making him feel itchy. Suddenly, Song Chaohua spoke softly, "You and Wanjun have been getting along very well lately?" The person in front of her visibly flinched, then froze, too afraid to move. Song Chaohua smiled but didn't speak, waiting for the other person's reply.

Qingyun wondered if they were going to confront her. After all, she had fought to save Lin Wanjun on her very first day, which had disrupted their plans. She calmed herself and said, "Yes, sir, you actually know her?"

The incense emanating from Song Chaohua, carrying her body heat, lingered around Qingyun's nose. It was an indescribable scent, yet it inexplicably made his heart flutter.

Just like Song Chaohua.

Upon hearing this, Song Chaohua stood up, the hairpin making a crisp sound with her movements. She smiled and sat down again. "She and I are old acquaintances." As she spoke, she met Qingyun's gaze, raised an eyebrow in surprise, "I just didn't expect that you would know her as well as you, young lady."

Qingyun chuckled, automatically putting quotation marks around the phrase "old acquaintance," and said with a smile, "I see."

So she immediately pretended to be troubled, wondering what card to play next. Compared to her sister, Song Chaohua was much prettier, and compared to Song Chaoyun's plainness, she had an air of being spoiled.

With bright eyes and white teeth, almond-shaped cheeks and a peach-like face, her eyes, which resembled those of a snow fox, stared straight at people. Instead of making them feel warm and comfortable, they felt a chill, as if they were being treated as prey. At this moment, she was looking Qingyun up and down with this kind of gaze.

"Since you're with her, you should also take care of her for me." The other person withdrew their gaze, which relieved Qingyun. However, she was still a little confused by the sudden remark.

Seeing the other party studying the cards, Qingyun could only quickly agree.

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard a report from outside that Song Chaoyun had arrived. She looked exhausted and didn't even speak to Qingyun. As soon as she sat down, the maids filed in to massage her legs. Before long, she was sleepy and yawning.

Qingyun was extremely nervous and dared not breathe loudly. Only Song Chaohua kept urging her to play her card quickly. Then, a maid brought in a plate of snacks and placed it in front of the two of them, along with two hollowed-out celadon orchid-shaped stemmed ceramic cups.

"Good heavens, they even have afternoon tea!" Qingyun complained to the system in his mind.

However, it was clear that she was entitled to a share of the snacks. A cup was placed in front of her, and the bright green tea soup, like a pool of emerald water, reflected the tea leaves, creating a pleasing scene.

Qingyun had no interest in drinking tea; her attention was entirely focused on the plate of steamed rice cakes. She smacked her lips and then realized that she hadn't tasted anything sweet in a long time. Would humans feel happy without consuming sugar?

But when Qingyun looked at his unwashed hands, with dirt between his fingers, he felt a little embarrassed. People in this place have hands like this. Some have chapped hands that feel rough to the touch, while others have even shed blood and mud to ensure their descendants' happiness.

Pretending to sip her tea, her small eyes darted around, finally spotting the silver fork on the corner of the table. As the sweet taste melted in her mouth, she immediately felt much lighter, as eating dessert really did lift her spirits. Before she knew it, she had devoured the entire plate of pastries by herself.

"Finished eating?" Song Chaoyun, who was standing to the side, opened her half-closed eyes and asked lazily.

The refreshing tea slid down her esophagus and into her stomach, feeling incredibly comfortable. Qingyun swallowed the last sip, wiped her mouth with satisfaction, and then remembered that she hadn't bowed when Song Chaoyun came in. But to be honest, she hadn't paid attention to her own address when she was debating with the scholars earlier. So Song Chaoyun decided not to hold it against her now and just asked her why she wanted to dig the canal.

"These trees not only have longhorn beetles, but some also have powdery mildew. When I came back, I found that the workers had been watering them three times a day. I know they were worried that the sand underground wouldn't hold the water, but that's actually made things worse. The large temperature difference and the stagnant water are bound to cause them to get sick."

Moreover, digging canals not only improves drainage efficiency, but irrigation is also something that will be needed sooner or later. It's not feasible to carry buckets of water up by hand, and uneven irrigation is still possible. Digging canals can also improve the utilization rate of water resources. In short, it has no disadvantages.

After saying this, Qingyun secretly glanced at Song Chaoyun's expression. Seeing that the other party was thinking, she continued, "Moreover, we cannot rely solely on the government to provide seedlings. I also have this plan. If we can cultivate seedlings ourselves, not only will the government's annual expenditure be halved, but we can also be self-sufficient and won't have to wait anxiously for seedlings to be supplied."

The seedling cultivation definitely requires irrigation ditches, and she didn't believe Song Chaoyun wouldn't be tempted by this reason. Besides, seedling cultivation itself wouldn't actually cost anything. If the seedlings were successful, that would be fine; if they weren't, it would just be a waste of a few seedling buds. Moreover, with the system at her disposal, she didn't think it was impossible for it to fail.

"In short, there are many benefits. The medicine made by the slaves is not only used on the seedlings, but also on the seedlings that have not yet been planted, in order to avoid disaster. They must also be soaked in the medicine before planting. The medicine is mixed into the canal source, and the medicine can be sprayed when the water is released, which can also save a lot of effort."

Qingyun had said all the nice things, but Song Chaoyun didn't utter a single word, making her heart pound with nervousness.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The whooshing sound of the maid fanning herself echoed throughout the side hall, mingling with Qingyun's heavy breathing.

Hearing this, Song Chaohua praised her suggestion highly, "How come your little head is full of so many ideas?" She smiled at Qingyun, but then changed the subject, "How do you know we haven't thought about digging canals?"

Upon hearing this, Qingyun frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "In previous years, there were only about ten wells in the city. If we were to dig canals to divert water, the supply of drinking water would not be enough." She seemed to be thinking, "I think that since the water supply is now available, the only thing we need to do now is to advance the schedule for digging canals."

Song Chaohua listened quietly, resting her chin on her hand. She played with her teacup in her hand, staring at Qingyun with interest, before finally replying, "Not bad."

She straightened up, ready to speak again, when she heard hurried footsteps approaching. Everyone was immediately drawn to the sound, with Song Chaoyun reacting the most. She stood up and stared eagerly at the doorway.

Qingyun recognized the footsteps; they were heavy and powerful, though somewhat hurried. Wasn't that the man's?

With a loud "bang," the door was violently broken open, and Song Junwu appeared, horsewhip in hand, looking travel-worn. He glanced around and, upon seeing Qingyun, immediately understood Song Chaoyun's intention. He grabbed the tea brought by the maid and gulped it down in one go, saying it was refreshing.

"It's finally here." Song Chaoyun's fingers, which had been gripping the table corner until they turned white, finally loosened their grip. She hurried forward, stretched out her hand, and said without any politeness, "Where's the official seal?"

Before Song Junwu could even catch his breath, he turned to look at her and asked enticingly, "What official seal?"

Song Chaoyun: "Your official seal."

Song Junwu was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He suddenly stood up, somewhat incredulous, "Could it be that you called me back in such a hurry because of the official seal?"

Seeing the other party's dismissive expression, Song Junwu was so angry that he laughed instead. He was too stupid to think straight at the moment, so he simply ordered the guards around him to bring the things to the princess so as to fulfill her wishes.

The man sat back in his armchair, straightened his wide official robe, and casually tossed the riding whip aside. "If you want this, take it yourself. I've kept it on my desk all this time. What kind of manners are you to call me back so impatiently without even asking me?"

"Is your official rank higher than mine, or mine?" Song Chaoyun pursed his lips.

Song Junwu: "This is truly an unfair world; a higher-ranking official can crush you."

Song Chaoyun scoffed, saying that he wasn't even worthy of carrying her shoes. After making a joke, she then explained her purpose and reasons.

She couldn't use her own documents to issue orders, especially since these people were all Song Junwu's subordinates. "Who knew you would put such important things in that kind of place?"

After listening, Qingyun suddenly realized that Song Chaoyun wanted to use her plan, but her silence earlier was just to tease her, which made her so nervous.

But then she thought about it again, and realized that Song Chaoyun could actually believe her. Qingyun's throat tightened for a moment, and she even choked up a little.

System: [Host, are you really that moved?]

Qingyun: [Isn't that obvious?] She gave an example: [If someone tells you they can get you to invest in a 30 billion yuan project, but only tells you what it entails without specifying anything, and is clearly hiding something from you, would you place your bet?]

System: [No.]

Qingyun watched Song Chaoyun, who was still discussing with Song Junwu. [But Song Chaoyun placed her bet. She trusts me unconditionally.] Such trust is unforgettable in any era. If it weren't for the system, she really wouldn't have been so sure.

"I swear I will follow Song Chaoyun forever from now on. I'm serious, system, did you hear me? I'm serious!" Qingyun cheered himself on in his heart.

System: [Host, you should focus more on how to dig the irrigation canals. If you don't act quickly, even using pesticides won't help.]

Haha, if you hadn't insisted that I complete the task first, would I have had so many things to do?

Qingyun was engrossed in chatting with the system and didn't notice the person next to her staring at her intently. Song Chaohua smiled and thought to himself that the young lady in front of him was quite interesting.

My face was a mix of bitterness and emotion.

Song Chaoyun handed the official document to his subordinates for processing. Song Junwu read through the entire document and looked at Qingyun's figure in the hall through the gauze curtain. He couldn't help but admire the methods. "But how did you persuade Lord Liu?"

Song Chaoyun narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Song Junwu before he said calmly, "I held a knife to his neck; he had no choice but to submit."

Song Junwu was delighted to hear this. It was truly a testament to Song Chaoyun's ability to make that old bastard Liu Ru suffer a setback. Back then, when he wanted to promote reforms, Liu Ru led a group of people to obstruct him and even went so far as to file a formal complaint with the emperor. At that time, he was given a full thirty lashes, and for those few days, he even had to delegate military affairs to others.

Stroking the jade thumb ring in his hand, Song Junwu smiled brightly, "It's not necessarily a bad thing that a high-ranking official can crush a person. I knew it was a good thing to call you here."