Chapter 21

"I think it's best to make plans as soon as possible," Liu Ruo said seriously, stroking his beard.

The reception room was solemn at this moment, with everyone gathered together, having discussed for a long time without reaching a conclusion.

Song Junwu sat in the armchair, remaining silent. Seeing this, Song Chaoyun made the final decision, "Then let's follow Lord Liu's suggestion and plan the evacuation route first, so that the people can prepare in advance."

Upon hearing this, Song Junwu, who had been fiddling with the dagger, finally looked up and asked calmly, "What about the tree?"

Everyone else in the hall was taken aback, not expecting Song Junwu to ask this question.

Liu Ruo tilted her head and looked at him, pondering for a long time before saying, "It's too late now."

Seeing this, the others chuckled and chimed in, "It's good that Lord Song is worried about trees. Trees can be replanted, but people are gone and there's nothing left."

Upon hearing this, Song Junwu snorted coldly and laughed, "Since the storm hasn't even arrived yet, we should at least minimize the losses. Could it be that all the efforts of the soldiers and laborers these past few days have been in vain?"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of Song Junwu's true intentions. Why would he care about the lives of the laborers? These were the laborers' duties, and there was no question of whether they were doing their jobs or not. If anyone deserved credit, it was the people who had devised the plans and strategies.

"We understand that the general cares about the soldiers, but with a storm looming, can we afford to worry about that now?"

"Human life is always more important than trees. General, you should focus your attention on dealing with the people's problems."

"Leaving aside whether doing these things now will be effective, how can we possibly afford to spend money and manpower?"

Liu Ruo, who was standing to the side, was unusually silent, and he just looked thoughtful.

Seeing this, Song Chaoyun smiled and first affirmed the group, "What you all said makes sense. We've dealt with storms in previous years the same way." But then she changed the subject and quickly glanced at the group, "The national treasury spends half of its money on this every year, so naturally we can do a good job of protection."

After saying that, he looked at Song Junwu and said, "General Song, you can rest assured."

Those seated below immediately fell silent, whether out of guilt or something else, all turning their gazes to Liu Ruo, demanding a clear answer from him.

Sensing the gazes, Liu Ruo glanced at the crowd and finally spoke, "Lord Song has never interfered in this matter before, do you have a plan this year?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to Song Junwu, waiting for him to speak.

The man sitting back simply smiled indifferently, his tone playful, "I certainly don't have the same ingenious desertification control strategies as you, Lord Liu. I was just asking a question out of curiosity. How could I possibly be better than you?"

Liu Ruo understood the implication. He remained silent, glanced outside, and then changed the subject, "Why didn't that girl come today?"

Everyone was taken aback by these words. Then, realizing that Liu Ruo was referring to Qingyun, someone nearby quickly said, "That lowly servant went to the lord's mansion to provoke him a few days ago. She's probably hiding somewhere now, and she wouldn't dare to come out even if we left her there!"

"That lowly servant is truly unruly; does Your Excellency intend to punish her?"

A few opportunists, seeing which way the wind was blowing, chattered on and on. Upon hearing this, Song Chaoyun cleared his throat a few times, his smile vanishing. "How could she know all this? She's just a lowly person. Lord Liu need not concern himself with her."

Since they were so eager for this, Qingyun naturally wouldn't let them down. She even came over to discuss countermeasures with Mu Helian. Recalling the scene just now, Qingyun's ears were still burning.

After hearing Mu Helian's words, her first reaction was to say, "I'm not interested in being with girls or dating right now... I... I didn't know you felt that way about me..."

Qingyun fidgeted with her fingers, trying to figure out how to phrase her words without hurting her feelings. Could it be that Mu Helian really had ulterior motives towards her? There seemed to be such a thing as "laotong" (sworn siblings) in ancient times, right? But she didn't know Nüshu (women's script), and what did it mean that she liked him…

Faced with such a sincere and earnest expression and gaze, she truly felt that the other person was serious.

Seeing Qingyun suddenly become shy and coy like a little girl, the two people beside her keenly sensed something, but couldn't quite put their finger on it.

What does "being in a relationship" mean?

"Dating?"

Mu Helian and Lin Wanjun asked at the same time, and upon seeing this, they looked at each other again, both speechless.

After Mu Helian spoke her heartfelt words, Qingyun realized she had misunderstood her. However, she was still embarrassed by Mu Helian's straightforward expression; she had never heard such words before, whether in love or friendship.

She, who had been single for 25 years, was deeply moved!

Did the system record what just happened?

[Recording function is not supported at this time, host~]

Okay, she didn't need to ask that question.

Mu Helian stopped her, indicating that she wanted to go in with Qingyun. Qingyun frowned, still hesitant. After all, what if she insisted on staying and was punished alone? What if Mu Helian followed along and implicated her?

But when she met the determined look in the other woman's eyes, Qingyun knew she was serious, so she didn't stop her. However, upon entering and seeing such a large entourage, she silently pushed Mu Helian back a little, then stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and performed a deep bow. Turning her head, she saw the old man again.

Qingyun: "..."

Liu Ru noticed the gaze, but only glanced at her before looking away.

Qingyun sensed that the atmosphere around her had changed, but she didn't know why. She had only started speaking when no one objected. It seemed that everyone was waiting for her to continue. Suppressing this strange feeling, Qingyun began to explain her strategy.

"The method is the same as the previous straw checkerboard, except this time the dry straw is woven into a dense straw net and covered around the new seedlings. This dry straw also needs to be soaked in water until it is thoroughly soaked and heavy. Then the sluice gate is opened to let the water irrigate the soil. Then some cloth bags are filled with sand and placed at the base of the seedlings and all of them are compacted."

After Qingyun finished speaking, he thought for a moment, as if he had thought of something else, and immediately added, "In addition to doing these things, we also need to dig shallow pits in the high-lying seedling fields!"

Song Chaoyun frowned upon hearing this, "Dig a pit?"

Just as Qingyun was about to explain, Song Junwu, who was standing to the side, spoke up and answered for her, "Should it be considered a buffer zone?"

Qingyun nodded in agreement. The eye of the storm would rush upwards through this pit, and the saplings nearby would be less affected than those directly hit by the wind. After she finished speaking, she glanced at Liu Ruo without making a sound. The old man was unusually quiet today.

However, a few lackeys standing nearby seemed to be saying something, and hurriedly stood up and said, "It's easy to say. What if the storm comes tomorrow? Will we have time to do all this today? We also need to take all the people in the city away. We don't have time to let you do these things."

"The most important thing right now is human life! Why are you still talking about these things!" The man sitting to the side spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

Qingyun ignored all of that and pointed directly at Song Chaoyun, "Your Highness, I need to know that you are responsible for the people in this city, but I am confident." She asked the system, "The storm's trail hasn't reached Bathing City yet, there's plenty of time."

"Even if a storm hits the city gates tomorrow, one night will be more than enough. Didn't we repair a ditch in just one day before?"

Song Chaoyun naturally understood this principle, but could the number of people needed to build one canal compare to the number needed now? It was far from enough. Did she have to gamble? Her mind was filled with countless thoughts, yet she was also filled with fear. If she made one wrong step, everything would be wrong.

Mu Helian, who had been silent, noticed the princess's guards leaving. She seemed to have sensed something, but hesitated to speak in front of everyone in the hall.

Mu Helian stepped forward and knelt before Song Chaoyun. "Princess, just have the laborers and slaves from each camp and village do these things. Do as much as you can. It's better than losing everything."

Upon hearing this, Qingyun glanced back at her. Although she did not agree with her stepping forward, she still echoed her sentiment. Besides, although she had her own selfish motives, she would not let others lose their lives because of them.

Song Junwu, who was standing to the side, smiled and said, "What Miss Qingyun said makes sense. Now the matter is simple and clear, and no one can be blamed for it." As he spoke, his naturally sharp eyes swept over the people around Liu Ruo. They were timid and cowardly, and they were simply a bunch of good-for-nothings.

He straightened his expression. "It's just a matter of issuing an order now." Song Junwu clasped his hands in a fist salute to Song Chaoyun. "I see that her strategy is extraordinary and can certainly be adopted. I give my permission today. If anything goes wrong in the future, just come to me."

After saying that, he summoned his guards to immediately issue the order. Song Junwu then looked at Liu Ruo and the others, and said with a forced smile, "Shouldn't the elders pack their things and flee for their lives as soon as possible?"

Sensing the sarcasm in their words, the group complained to Liu Ruo, hoping he would take charge. However, Liu Ruo surprisingly agreed, leaving the others stunned and unsure of his intentions.

"After all, we've spent most of our lives in this sand dune. If we have a good plan, why not use it? We're not good-for-nothings either." Liu Ruo's gaze fell on the kneeling Qingyun, his thoughts drifting away. Finally, he made a decision: "If you need people or things, just send someone to me."

After saying this, he stood up, bowed to the group, and said, "I will take my leave now."

"Lord Liu!? Lord Liu!?"

Those standing around him saw Liu Ruo leave and immediately went to call him back. As the voices grew fainter and fainter, Qingyun also wanted to hurry up and get things done. However, just as she was about to leave with Mu Helian, Song Chaoyun called her back.

Under the intense, piercing gaze of the other woman, Qingyun broke out in a sweat, vaguely sensing that something bad was about to happen. Just as Mu Helian left, she turned back. When she was about to kneel again, Song Chaoyun said it wasn't necessary.

Song Chaoyun gave a look to the man beside her, and Song Junwu understood. He clapped his hands, got up, and left as well.

Song Chaoyun said, "Come in with me."

Qingyun followed behind her nervously, thinking, "Do you think she feels there's a big difference between me and the original owner of this body? Has she discovered something?"

Upon hearing this, the system immediately replied, "Even if they notice something, no one will suspect that this body has a different soul."

Hearing the system's words, Qingyun suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "You wouldn't...you wouldn't have stuffed me into her body while the original owner was still alive, would you?"

The system was shocked. How could the user think they were a heartless company? [The original owner hanged herself in that small house long ago. We won't forcibly take over someone else's body.]

Qingyun sighed upon hearing this, wondering if the original owner couldn't accept the rise and fall of his family.