As Xu Silin walked towards his bedroom, he thought about what his father had just said.

To make that person submit to you... For some reason, this sentence sounds a little tempting.

Ever since he confronted Shen Qingchen about his gender, he had tried his best to treat him only as a classmate. Between people of the same sex, there was no room for him to think of anything else. That person already had a friendship with Gu Shaoheng, and there was no way he could interfere. It was too late for him to follow suit.

But after his father pointed it out today, he suddenly realized that there is a kind of relationship between people of the same sex that can take them to the next level, called submission.

He had been hoping for a closer relationship ever since he brushed past his father.

But what should we do?

Money, power, status, glory—what does Shen Qingchen want? He's so stubborn and opinionated; he doesn't seem to care much about the extras that come with his status. Even his prayer is simply, "To be a good official."

A night breeze blew, causing Xu Silin's cloak to flutter and dance.

When the door was pushed open, the maid who replaced Qinghe saw a handsome, indifferent face with furrowed brows, and two books carried in his long arms. His long legs stepped into the candlelight, and his untamed temperament strangely blended with the two books, making one want to take a second look.

After dismissing the maid who was spying on him, Xu Silin lay down on the daybed and casually picked up the book on the kang table—"Cai Gen Tan".

He randomly flipped to a page and found himself on the same page he had turned to when he took the book to ask her for advice.

On an early autumn afternoon, the ground outside the window was covered with locust blossoms, and the sunlight shone on her fair face. He looked at her and lifted her chin.

That kind of memorable atmosphere should probably be called intimacy.

Submission can bring intimacy.

Xu Silin closed the book and placed it on his heart.

Although that man was poor, he had a certain pride. If money couldn't sway him, what could? Two words suddenly flashed through his mind—woman.

But what followed those two words was a strong sense of rejection that welled up from the bottom of my heart.

He couldn't possibly send that man a woman.

That man will gaze tenderly at that woman, hold her hand, kiss her lips, and make love to her in bed. His eyes will become intoxicated and hazy, his body will flush and tremble…

The thought of these things made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

There must be other ways to get that person to submit.

Autumn in Beijing is short; winter arrives in just over half a month.

The north wind has been blowing a lot lately, the sky is overcast, and it's so cold it makes you shiver. Thick curtains have been hung in all the main rooms of the Ministry of Works, and the windows are no longer open.

The pines and cypresses in the courtyard haven't all withered, but they've lost their vibrant green of midsummer. In the corner, there's a wintersweet tree, its slender, winding branches yet to sprout new leaves, only tiny flower buds emerging.

The day before the Beginning of Winter, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices made dumplings for the various officials, filled with mutton. Shen Qingchen ate several. Gu Shaoheng, feeling sorry that she hadn't gained weight in the autumn and worried that she wouldn't have a good winter, pretended that the dumplings weren't very good and gave her a few from his bowl. Qingchen was naturally grateful, took a sip of the hot soup from her bowl, and smiled at him.

As usual, Xu Silin did not dine at the Guanglu Temple. The Xu family's carriage had a stove inside, and as the horses trotted along, the charcoal in the stove crackled and popped, carrying the hot meal to the outside of the Daming Gate.

To keep him warm, his mother had specially brought him a silver-skin silk cloak, with a warm and delicate silver-skin collar and fine dark patterns embroidered on the black silk. When Xu Silin returned to the Ministry of Works wearing the cloak, he stood tall and walked with composure, looking quite aloof and unrestrained.

Counting the days, it has been more than a month since Shen Qingchen and the other two arrived at the Ministry of Works.

More than a month has passed, and Han Yuanshu, the head of the Ministry of Works, has not summoned them even once. It seems that the matters of observing politics that should be under his jurisdiction have been forgotten by him. Qingchen can occasionally hear roars coming from his room, but through the thick curtain, he can't make out what is being said. He can only make out two words: "Grandma".

The three junior officials, having no one to supervise them, could only stay in their rooms reading books. Gu Shaoheng was curious about Xu Silin's ability to endure the loneliness and read so diligently every day.

Taking advantage of the fact that they were alone, Gu Shaoheng asked Shen Qingchen, "Has Young Master Xu changed his ways?"

A pair of dark eyes stared intently at the doorway.

Qingchen was engrossed in her reading and gave a casual reply. Gu Shaoheng, however, wouldn't have it. He covered half a page of her book with one hand and said with a grin, "You've been reading for so long, why don't you take a break?"

Qingchen had no choice but to keep him company, but it wasn't good to talk about others behind their backs, so she changed the subject to the records.

“Shaoheng, there’s something I don’t understand here. Look, in the fourteenth year of the Jingzhi reign, Da’an County built a dike, fifteen zhang long and three zhang high, costing eight thousand taels of silver. In the sixteenth year of the Jingzhi reign, Fuqing County built a dike, sixteen zhang long and three zhang high, costing twelve thousand taels of silver. These two dikes are about the same length and are on the same river. They were only two years apart, yet the cost doubled. Could it be that the price of sand and gravel increased so much in just two years?”

Gu Shaoheng didn't care what anyone said as long as someone paid attention to him. He was quite happy to see Qingchen asking him for advice, so he said, "What a coincidence, you just asked me about something I know. There was a great flood in the sixteenth year of Jingzhi, which was the year my fourth brother was born. I guess it was because there was silt on both banks that needed to be cleared, and new underground channels were needed, which is why so much money was spent."

Qingchen nodded in agreement. What he said made sense, but there was still a significant difference between them.

"Do you know why Han Yuanshu got angry the day we first arrived at the Ministry of Works?" Gu Shaoheng suddenly asked.

Qingchen shook his head.

Gu Shaoheng was a well-informed gossip, and after being shocked by Han Yuanshu's angry scolding, he immediately inquired about what had happened to the man.

It is said that after the last cabinet meeting, the tax revenue was distributed to various departments. A few days ago, the Ministry of Works did a tally and found that the cost of a dike had not been included, so they went to the cabinet again. Coincidentally, Song Yue went to Tongxian, so the Minister of Works went to Xu Yan to ask for it.

Since all the officials in the various departments were part of Xu Yan's faction, Xu Yan couldn't show too much favoritism, so he only reluctantly allocated three thousand taels of silver to him from other departments.

Three thousand taels may be a small sum, but at least it was given, and the Grand Secretary has at least given an explanation. As for how the Ministry of Works will manage to cook without rice, that's up to their own abilities.

So the Minister of Works entrusted the matter to the most capable person in the ministry, Han Yuanshu.

Han Yuanshu hated two things most in her life: people who lacked ability and things she herself was incapable of solving. So when she met Shen Qingchen and the other two that day, she launched into a barrage of sarcastic remarks, cursing heaven, earth, others, and herself.

Ever since she was scolded last time, Qingchen had been thinking about the dike repair project. Her father was an engineer, and she had been reading books on architecture. Modern dike repair technology was definitely more advanced than that of the Ming Dynasty, so she might be able to help.

However, Han Yuanshu's consent is required first.

A few days later, the weather became increasingly cold.

Shen Qingchen put on several cotton-padded coats under his large winter robe and mustered his courage to go to Han Yuanshu's door.

Through the thick curtain, she asked, "Lord Han, I am Shen Qingchen, a junior scholar. I have something to ask you."

A moment later, a cold voice came out, "You can leave now. I don't have time to see idle people."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of pages turning came from inside.

Qingchen had anticipated that he wouldn't see him easily, and said, "My lord, what I wish to ask about is the matter of repairing the dike."

After a moment of silence, the person inside said again, "The imperial examination tests the Four Books and Five Classics, not dike repair. What do you know? If you're just trying to attract attention, don't waste my time."

As he stated, the Ming Dynasty's imperial examinations only tested knowledge of the classics and policy questions, both of which were rigid and formulaic essays. Other fields of study were considered frivolous and unworthy of serious consideration. The court revered Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and valued Confucianism, so all the successful candidates were skilled in these subjects; no one was known to be skilled in dike repair. In Han Yuanshu's eyes, these people were categorized as "useless."

"Your Excellency, I have reviewed the dike repair records of Huairou County over the past ten years and found that since the dike was completed in the tenth year of the Jingzhi reign, there have been twenty-one breaches, thirty-five leaks, and seventeen cracks, with a total of two hundred and ten major and minor emergencies. Among them, last year's major flood was the most dangerous, and it was only through ten days of emergency repairs that the flood was barely contained. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the dike's completion, and according to regulations, a major overhaul is necessary. Moreover, the lingering effects of last year's floods are still present. I know that three thousand taels of silver is not enough, so I have devised a plan, but its feasibility has not yet been confirmed..."

Before she could finish speaking, the sound of turning pages inside stopped, followed by a voice saying, "Come in!"

Qingchen lifted the curtain and entered the room, bowing to Han Yuanshu with his hands clasped, "Shen Qingchen greets Your Excellency." After finishing the greeting, he looked up and was startled by the scene before him.

Han Yuanshu sat at the table, dressed in a winter robe embroidered with egrets. His sideburns were neatly combed, and his face, though slightly suspicious, was handsome with striking features and a high nose. He was truly a dashing and spirited young man, capable of attracting countless girls.

On his desk, however, a mountain of books lay in disarray, several broken brushes were scattered haphazardly on the corner, and the water in the celadon brush washer, which hadn't been changed in who knows how long, was even thicker than ink. The cuffs of his two wide sleeves were covered with ink stains.

The floor was littered with crumpled papers, shards of a broken teacup, and a large, still-dry tea stain, with dark tea leaves scattered everywhere. Amidst the mess, there was also a straw sandal that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere…

In the entire room, only his face was clean.

Han Yuanshu clearly saw through her thoughts. He casually waved the crumpled paper on the table, frowned, and said, "I'm very busy and don't have time for such trivial matters. Just tell me what you need to say."

"Yes, sir. I have a few questions about the dike repair that I would like to verify, so I would like to ask for a day off tomorrow to go to Huairou County to inspect the dike." Without on-site investigation, all ideas are just empty talk.

Han Yuanshu looked at the handsome and gentle Shuchang in front of him, raised his eyebrows and said, "It's so cold, people are so cold they don't even want to go out. You want to go see the dike?"

"It's so cold. You're worried about the dike, and you've forgotten to put a stove in this room, haven't you?" Qingchen said unhurriedly. "I checked the data. The earliest flood season in Huairou County is in March. The river will soon freeze over, and there's not much time left to repair the dike. So I want to go and take a look as soon as possible."

Han Yuanshu listened, put down his pen, and looked her up and down. "What rank did you get in last year's imperial examination?"

Qingchen paused for a moment, then lowered his head and replied, "Reporting to my lord, fourth place."

He squinted at her and said, "Oh, the Imperial Examination candidate. I didn't even pass the provincial examination."

Qingchen: "..."

"Get lost. The better you do on the test, the more useless you are."