He unlocked the mechanism of the longsword and retrieved the imperial edict from it.

"By His Majesty's decree, in times of emergency disaster relief, all matters involving relief and dredging, from the prefectural level down to the county level, shall be subject to discretionary decision-making."

This is the Imperial Sword; anyone below the rank of governor who is corrupt or disobedient can be executed first and reported later.

Qin Zhaoyue held the imperial edict high with her right hand and read its contents aloud, but she overlooked the fact that the edict was addressed to someone.

Her gaze was fixed intently on the old woman opposite her.

"Assassination of the imperial heir, embezzlement of funds for flood control, and the use of substandard materials for river embankments, leading to their collapse... the crimes are too numerous to list!"

The old lady dares to use her title of county magistrate to cause trouble at the yamen (government office) and spread rumors and mislead the public. What are her true intentions?

"You!" Lord Li was so angry that he trembled.

"What do you mean, 'you'? You're not thinking of putting on a show in front of the people that you don't know about the embezzlement, are you?"

Do you want us to be hesitant to act against you, and to give you lenient treatment because of the important matter of flood control?

I'm telling you, that's wishful thinking!

The assassination of the imperial heir alone is a heinous crime punishable by the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire clan. Thousands of imperial guards and government officials witnessed it; how could he be wrongly accused?

"His Highness is concerned about the people and has devoted himself to overseeing the construction of dikes and flood control all day long."

I haven't had time to deal with you all, but you've come to me on your own.

"Guards! Seize them all! They will be sentenced together after the flood control efforts are completed."

"yes!"

Without a word, the Imperial Guards seized all members of the Lu family, roughly covering their mouths and giving them no chance to complain.

It is true that Magistrate Lu was influenced by the sorcerer to carry out the assassination, and that his death helped to eliminate some of the influence.

If his family members are law-abiding citizens, whether or not to deal with them is a matter of debate.

But the old lady insisted on putting her face close to hers and taking the risk, so there was no need to hesitate.

The imperial edict was so powerful that officials knelt on the ground in front of the yamen, all trembling with fear.

With the imperial sword in hand, they could kill anyone under the governor. Who did they think they were? They could be killed without hesitation. How could they not be terrified?

The onlookers also knelt down far away, deeply regretting their unwise actions.

Fortunately, the imperial envoys did not blame them. Seeing them return to the county government, they all breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly dispersed.

Inside the hall, Qin Zhaoyue handed the imperial edict and the Shangfang sword to her elder sister.

"Little sister, what's this?"

Qin Zhaoqiong had already learned everything that happened after she fell into a coma, so she naturally knew the contents of the imperial edict.

To say that I wasn't affected at all would be self-deception, but the facts prove that the Empress Mother was indeed farsighted.

If I were in her shoes, and it was my sixth sister who was poisoned and unconscious, could I calm everything down within half a day?

Seeing that her elder sister wouldn't take it, Qin Zhaoyue forced it on her.

"This is just a backup plan left by the Queen Mother. Now that my elder sister's poison has been completely removed and her cultivation has greatly increased, it is only natural that she should be handed over to you."

"But... Mother Queen gave the power of chastity to my younger sister..."

"So you've given me complete authority, right? You'll listen to me completely?"

Qin Zhaoqiong nodded. According to the contents of the imperial edict, she also needed to obey orders.

In other words, at this point, the real person in charge of flood control and disaster relief had become the sixth sister.

She thought about it and realized that there was nothing she couldn't accept about helping her sixth sister.

Qin Zhaoyue waved her hand and said, "Since everyone listens to me, then I will hand over the power to decide the chastity of my elder sister. Is that a good idea?"

Hmm... although, it still sounds a bit strange.

Before I could persuade her further, she had already folded her hands in her pockets. "Elder sister, using your inner energy to save someone's life will take a heavy toll on your vital energy. You definitely won't be able to recover for a while, and you won't have the energy to do anything else."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhaoqiong immediately became anxious. "Sister, is it serious?"

Qin Zhaoyue nodded seriously, "Of course, it will take at least three to five years to fully recover. Let's go, let's go back and rest."

Without waiting for a response, he strode out of the inner hall.

The three people in the room stared at her retreating figure and fell silent for a moment.

It might deplete one's vital energy, after all, undoing the poison inflicted by a third-rank sorcerer is by no means an easy task.

But to say it will take three to five years to recover...

With her strong voice and rosy complexion, she doesn't look like it at all...

With the imperial edict in hand and her own abilities quite remarkable, if she were to take over disaster relief efforts, she would undoubtedly have a place in the struggle for the throne.

What a great opportunity, and you're just going to... pass it up?

Previously, the healing process using true qi was interrupted halfway through, and the focus was shifted to repairing the dikes and controlling the flood.

Even though Yin Zhe publicly offered his support, he still harbored doubts, but at this moment...

No way, could it be that the Sixth Princess really has no interest in that position at all?

Qin Zhaoyue didn't care what they thought, and went back to the backyard with her hands tucked in.

At this moment, the elder sister's cultivation level has greatly increased, the enemy has already revealed their intentions, and with two Divine Martial Realm Xuanji Guards, what need is there for her?

I ate a bit too much for dinner, and it was mostly meat, which is hard to digest.

Qin Zhaoyue rarely had the urge to exercise, so she reached out and summoned Suimo.

"Let's go find a piece of wood and carve out a set of mahjong tiles so we can digest our food together."

On a rainy night, the front hall was brightly lit, and the backyard was equally brightly lit.

"bump!"

...

The next day, Qin Zhaoyue woke up naturally again. Where can you even begin to reason with that?

The sky was dark, and although the rain was not as heavy as before, it had not stopped and continued to fall all night.

Sensing potential danger, they sent Tao Yao, the sorcerer, the magician, and the three from Chiyan County away from the army halfway through the journey, disguising themselves as a family and quietly heading to Fengjing.

Sui Mo has now become Qin Zhaoyue's head maid, and she is responsible for all her grooming and dressing.

She had been criticized a lot before, but she secretly worked hard and finally learned how to do simple makeup and draw eyebrows.

There aren't many rules here, and besides, Qin Zhaoyue doesn't like heavy makeup, so this is enough.

It was already noon, and after a whole night of exercise, my stomach was completely empty.

Just as they were about to have their meal, Qin Zhaoqiong and Yin Zhe arrived together.

"Eldest sister, let's go together."

Qin Zhaoqiong's suggestion is certainly not unreasonable.

When out and about, Qin Zhaoyue doesn't have such strict rules, so sitting at the same table as the Mo Group is no big deal for her.

However, after the eldest princess and Commander Yinzhe sat down, they consciously withdrew from the dining hall.

"There's something I'd like to ask for your opinion on."

Qin Zhaoqiong was stationed at the county government office and sent out scouts to the surrounding areas.

According to the intelligence we just received, rumors have indeed started circulating in the surrounding counties.

The rumors were almost identical to those in Longmen County: the River God was furious and breached the dikes; yin and yang were reversed and the country was in trouble—it was all the same thing.

"Sixth Sister, is there any way?"

Qin Zhaoyue chuckled. "A war of public opinion? What's so difficult about that?"