The news from Linzhou arrived on the afternoon of the third day.
Xiao Yuan and his party had yet to enter the city when the Linzhou Prefect had already sent someone to wait by the official road.
The person who came was the prefect’s aide.
He was in his forties, dressed in a blue long robe, with his beard neatly trimmed. A respectful yet slick smile hung on his face.
From afar, the moment he saw the Prince Su’s banner, he immediately got out of the carriage and bowed.
“Your subordinate has come under the orders of the Prefect to welcome His Highness Prince Su.”
Inside the carriage, Chi Banyue lifted the curtain and glanced at him, speaking in a low voice. “That smile is really annoying.”
Xia Lanshi leaned against the soft cushion. His face was still pale, but his eyes were clear.
“The Linzhou Prefect isn’t coming personally because he wants to test His Highness’s attitude first.”
Xiao Yuan did not get out of the carriage. He merely spoke evenly from behind the curtain.
“How is the epidemic in Linzhou?”
The aide’s smile stiffened slightly before he immediately replied, “Your Highness, rest assured. Everything in the city is fine. It’s just that recently there have been some refugees fleeing from the north. They look rather wretched, so naturally they have caught some minor chills and illnesses.”
Minor chills and illnesses.
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently rubbing the paper hidden inside his sleeve.
It was the notice recommendations Su Muchen had written the previous night.
The handwriting was not particularly pretty, but the wording was extremely ruthless.
—If a local official describes an epidemic as merely a cold, nine times out of ten, it is because he is afraid of being held responsible.
—First make him personally admit that there are refugees. Then force him to admit that the refugees may be carrying disease.
—As long as refugees have entered the territory, there is a responsibility for epidemic prevention.
Xia Lanshi raised his head and looked at Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Yuan had evidently remembered those lines as well.
His voice was not loud, yet it carried an oppressive force.
“Since refugees have entered the territory, has Linzhou established quarantine shelters?”
The aide’s smile stiffened further.
“This… not yet.”
“Have separate water sources been arranged?”
“Your Highness, there aren’t many refugees. For the time being…”
“Have the patients been recorded?”
Sweat began to bead on the aide’s forehead.
Xiao Yuan finally lifted the curtain and looked coldly at him.
“There is no quarantine, no separate water supply, and no records. How did you arrive at the ‘everything is fine’ that you speak of?”
The aide immediately fell to his knees.
“Your Highness, please calm your anger! Your subordinate was merely ordered to come and welcome you. As for the details within the city, they must be reported by the Prefect himself.”
Xiao Yuan said coldly, “Then have him come personally.”
The aide’s expression changed.
“Your Highness, the sky is already getting late. The Prefect has already prepared a banquet in the city…”
Xiao Yuan interrupted him.
“This prince will not enter the city.”
The aide froze.
“What?”
But Xiao Yuan had already lowered the curtain.
“Set up camp outside the city. Deliver this prince’s order: the Linzhou Prefect is to come outside the city to see me within one hour. In addition, the refugees outside the city are to be immediately divided into separate areas. All wells used for water at the city gates will be taken over by this prince’s personal guards.”
The aide’s face turned completely white.
“Your Highness, this… this I’m afraid is against the rules!”
The carriage fell silent for a moment.
The next instant, Xiao Yuan’s voice was as cold as a blade.
“His Majesty has authorized this prince to act with expediency in the northern frontier, to execute first and report afterward. You want to discuss rules with me?”
The aide could no longer utter another word and hurriedly took his leave.
◆◇◆◇◆
Chaos quickly broke out outside Linzhou City.
Prince Su’s personal guards took control of the open ground outside the city and, following the methods in Su Muchen’s manual, divided it into four areas.
Patient Area.
Healthy Refugee Area.
Water Collection Area.
Waste Disposal Area.
There were not enough wooden signs, so they wrote the words on coarse cloth and hung them from wooden stakes.
Xia Lanshi personally wrote those words.
His illness had not yet recovered, and Chi Banyue refused to let him be exposed to the wind, so she had a small table moved beside the carriage and personally watched him write.
For every sign Xia Lanshi wrote, Chi Banyue would recite one sentence left behind by Su Muchen.
“Xia Lanshi, stay up less late, drink more water, and don’t push yourself too hard.”
Xia Lanshi’s pen tip paused, and a drop of ink fell from its tip, spreading into a flower of dark ink across the coarse cloth.
“…Miss Banyue, you don’t need to repeat that every half hour.”
Chi Banyue smiled sweetly.
“Doctor Su instructed me to.”
Xia Lanshi was helpless. “Doctor Su never instructed you to keep repeating it.”
“If he were here, he definitely would.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
He actually had no way to refute her.
Not far away, the military physicians were learning from the hidden guards how to use masks, soap, and oral rehydration salts.
At first, those physicians were still half skeptical.
It was not until the child who had previously come down from his fever was helped to stand by his mother that their expressions finally changed. Although the child was still weak, he was already able to drink porridge.
An elderly physician held the soap in his hand and murmured, “If this thing can be mass-produced, many people could be saved from death.”
Chi Banyue happened to hear him and laughed.
“Don’t worry. It’s very expensive, and there isn’t much of it. Use it sparingly.”
The old physician immediately gripped the soap in his hand even tighter, almost letting it fly out of his grasp.
Seeing this, Xia Lanshi could not help giving a light cough, a trace of amusement appearing at the corners of his lips.
He suddenly understood a little why Su Muchen had specifically prepared a care package for Chi Banyue as well.
This young woman complained that everything was troublesome, but her hands were never slow.
Her presence could keep a chaotic situation running more effectively than many military orders.
And although Su Muchen was not here, he had already won over people’s hearts through his meticulous attention to every detail.
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes and glanced at the lip balm peeking from her sleeve.
Su Muchen had stuck a small note onto it.
—For external use. Do not eat.
Chi Banyue seemed to like it very much.
She had already taken it out three times just to look at it.
Every day, she would take it out and use it. Her lips, already as delicate as flower petals, now looked even more tender, as though water could be squeezed from them. This made her already stunning beauty even more eye-catching, drawing the gazes of many men. Yet even more captivating was the bright, spirited appearance she had while working.
◆◇◆◇◆
The Linzhou Prefect arrived half an hour later.
He came in great haste, his official hat even slightly crooked.
Before he had reached them, he had already wiped away his sweat twice.
“Your subordinate, Zhou Jin, Prefect of Linzhou, pays his respects to His Highness Prince Su.”
Xiao Yuan stood before the temporary military tent, clad in a black cloak. His face was pale yet stern.
His injuries made him look thinner than usual, and also more dangerous.
Like a blade stained with blood that had yet to be sheathed.
Zhou Jin knelt on the ground, secretly lamenting his fate.
He had originally thought that Prince Su, traveling north while injured, was nothing more than an abandoned pawn thrown toward the northern frontier by the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
As long as he delayed things slightly in Linzhou and gave the Crown Prince an explanation, it should not have been difficult.
Who would have thought that Xiao Yuan would not even enter the city and would immediately take control of the refugees and wells outside the city?
This was not playing by the usual rules.
This was directly flipping over the table!
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
“How much grain is stored in Linzhou’s granaries?”
Zhou Jin’s heart jumped.
“Reporting to Your Highness, Linzhou has had poor harvests in recent years. The grain stored in the granaries is truly limited…”
Xiao Yuan said indifferently, “How much?”
“This…”
“Give me the number.”
More sweat appeared on Zhou Jin’s forehead.
“The official granaries contain approximately thirty thousand shi. However, most of it has already been allocated and cannot be moved easily.”
Xia Lanshi sat to the side and said softly, “Your Highness, I have already checked Linzhou’s population records, household registers, and annual grain records. Thirty thousand shi should not be the actual amount.”
Zhou Jin’s expression changed.
“What does Chief Secretary Xia mean by that?”
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes.
Those pale-red irises appeared especially cold against his sickly white face.
“It means that if Linzhou’s official granaries contain only thirty thousand shi, then either the account books have been falsified, or the grain has been moved elsewhere.”
Zhou Jin immediately said, “Chief Secretary Xia, be careful with your words!”
Xia Lanshi gave a light cough, his tone remaining gentle.
“If Prefect Zhou believes I am mistaken, you may simply open the granaries and verify them.”
Although he appeared weak from illness, there was an arrogance in his bones. That faint, almost imperceptible pressure made Zhou Jin fall silent.
Xiao Yuan looked at him and suddenly spoke in a low voice.
“Zhou Jin.”
“Your subordinate is here.”
“This prince will not ask about how things were handled in the past today.”
Zhou Jin had just breathed a sigh of relief when the next sentence made his entire body turn cold.
“But from this moment onward, if anyone dies in Linzhou because you conceal the epidemic, refuse to open the granaries, or delay the resettlement of refugees, this prince will execute you first.”
Zhou Jin abruptly raised his head.
“Your Highness!”
Xiao Yuan threw down a notice.
“This is the epidemic-prevention order I want posted throughout the city.”
Zhou Jin picked it up and read it. The more he read, the paler his face became.
The notice was written with absolute clarity.
When refugees entered the territory, the local authorities were required to establish quarantine shelters.
Patients were not to be driven into the city.
Patients were not to be allowed to mix with the water wells or grain markets.
The official granaries were required to provide grain for porridge stations, preventing refugees from fighting over food and causing disorder.
If anyone concealed the epidemic, privately hoarded grain, or obstructed military orders and caused the disease to spread, the chief official would bear responsibility.
At the very bottom was the seal of Prince Su.
As well as a copy of the Emperor’s authorization granting the Northern Frontier Inspector authority to act with expediency.
Zhou Jin’s fingers trembled.
Once this notice was posted, the gentry and common people of Linzhou would know exactly who was responsible.
If he refused to cooperate, then it would not be Prince Su abusing his authority.
It would be him, the Prefect of Linzhou, disregarding the lives of the people.
Zhou Jin gritted his teeth.
“Your Highness is forcing the local officials this severely. Are you not afraid of being impeached by the court?”
Xiao Yuan looked at him coldly.
“If you want to test it, this prince can grant you your wish.”
Zhou Jin finally did not dare say another word.
He lowered his head.
“Your subordinate… will obey the order.”
◆◇◆◇◆
At Guichen Studio, Su Muchen spent the entire day organizing the shop’s rules and online accounts.
The matter of his hospital employment being put on hold felt like a thorn lodged in his heart.
It was not fatal.
But every time he thought about it, it hurt a little.
After all, he had studied hard for so many years, only to have everything ruined by someone. Saying that he was not upset would have been a lie.
He did not allow himself to stop, because once he stopped, he would think too much.
So he kept himself busy packing orders, checking creditor information, and taking pictures of the newly replaced white car at the entrance of the alley.
As expected, the Sheng Corporation had changed its car.
But it was still parked in the same spot.
After taking the photo, Su Muchen saved it in a newly created folder.
The folder was named: Sheng Corporation Surveillance Records.
Xiao saw it and laughed for a long time.
“Muchen, you’ve really started counter-surveillance.”
Su Muchen remained expressionless.
“Tit for tat.”
That afternoon, Guichen Studio received a genuine customer.
It was a young girl who had previously bought a paper umbrella. This time, she had brought a friend with her.
The two bought handmade soap and scented sachets and even praised the atmosphere of the shop.
Su Muchen felt a little better while taking their payment.
Although he had not earned much.
This was money Guichen Studio had truly earned through business.
Not gold.
Not some gray-market channel.
But products sold by the shop itself.
After the customers left, Su Muchen looked at the small payment that had come in and suddenly murmured, “This isn’t bad either.”
Xiao asked, “What?”
“Running a shop.”
Su Muchen rearranged the scented sachets.
“I used to think this shop was run-down, troublesome, and losing money. But after looking at it for so long, it’s not that annoying anymore.”
Xiao laughed.
“If the old master heard that, he’d be very happy.”
Su Muchen’s movements stopped.
He thought of the ancient book his grandfather had left him.
Last night, he had flipped through several pages. The wording was obscure, but the records within were astonishing.
The Su family’s ancestors had indeed not originally been wealthy.
Instead, during a famine one year, they had rescued someone from another world who had escaped through the Door.
That person had brought gold and silver, but also war, conspiracies, and a fate that did not belong to this world.
The Su family had prospered because of it.
And because of it, they had also inherited the responsibility of guarding this Door.
The first page of the ancient book contained one sentence.
—On the day the Door opens, wealth will come, and calamity will come with it.
When Su Muchen saw that sentence, a chill ran down his spine.
Because it was too accurate.
Xiao Yuan had come.
The gold had come.
The Sheng Corporation had come as well.
The epidemic and warfare in the northern frontier pressed against his heart from across the Door, as though countless people’s lives were now in his hands. It was completely different from the feeling of becoming a doctor.
Su Muchen murmured, “Do you think my grandfather knew this day would come?”
Xiao did not answer immediately.
After a long while, he said, “Perhaps the old master didn’t know exactly what would happen.”
“But he knew you would return sooner or later.”
Su Muchen fell silent.
He had always believed that he was someone abandoned by his father.
Only now did he realize that perhaps, somewhere in a corner he could no longer remember, his grandfather had always kept a path home for him.
It was just that this path was rather difficult to walk.
One side led into the hunting net of a conglomerate.
The other led to an ancient battlefield.
Su Muchen gently exhaled.
“I’ll protect it.”
Xiao looked at him.
Su Muchen looked toward the Door.
“Guichen Studio, and the Door.”
His voice was not loud, but every word was clear.
“I won’t let the Sheng Corporation take it.”
◆◇◆◇◆
After the notice was posted throughout Linzhou, the city indeed erupted into an uproar.
At first, the common people did not understand what epidemic quarantine was.
They only felt that Prince Su was being excessively strict, sealing the wells, dividing areas, and controlling the refugees as soon as he arrived.
But once the words on the notice were read aloud, especially the part stating, “If the epidemic is concealed or resettlement is obstructed, resulting in the epidemic entering the city, the local chief official shall bear responsibility,” the gentry of Linzhou were the first to become restless.
They were afraid of the refugees, but they were even more afraid of the epidemic entering the city.
If Prefect Zhou had truly concealed the illness and refused to open the granaries for resettlement, ultimately causing Linzhou to descend into chaos, they would be the first to refuse to accept it.
In less than half a day, several wealthy households in the city sent people to deliver grain outside the city.
Officially, they were assisting Prince Su in resettling the refugees.
In reality, they were simply afraid the fire would spread to their own doorsteps.
Xia Lanshi looked at the grain records that had been delivered and said softly, “Doctor Su’s strategy really works.”
Chi Banyue propped up her chin.
“Does this Doctor Su know how to make people cough up money in addition to knowing medicine?”
Xia Lanshi said indifferently, “He understands people’s tendency to seek benefit and avoid harm.”
Chi Banyue laughed.
“Put simply, he knows what people are afraid of.”
Xia Lanshi did not deny it.
He closed the grain records and looked toward the camp outside.
The refugee area was much more orderly than yesterday.
The patients had been separated, those who were not sick had porridge to eat, and soldiers guarded the water wells.
Although it was still chaotic, it was no longer like a pile of scattered sand on the verge of rotting away.
This was only the beginning.
Xiao Yuan walked in from outside.
“Zhou Jin has opened the granary.”
Chi Banyue’s eyes lit up.
“How much?”
“Five thousand shi.”
Xia Lanshi frowned.
“Not enough.”
Xiao Yuan said indifferently, “That’s why I’ve sent people to inspect the granary.”
Chi Banyue laughed aloud.
“Prefect Zhou probably won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Xiao Yuan remained expressionless.
“Whether he can sleep or not is unimportant.”
What mattered was that he had to cough up his grain.
They had not even reached the northern frontier yet, and they had already encountered refugees and an epidemic. Things ahead would only be worse.
He needed grain, medicine, clean water, and people who could obey orders and get things done.
And the Crown Prince’s people would only keep setting traps to slowly drag him to death.
Xiao Yuan’s gaze darkened.
If that was the case, then he would tear them apart one place at a time.
◆◇◆◇◆
That night, when Xiao Yuan opened the Door, he brought with him a copy of Linzhou’s grain records.
There was also a box of gold.
Su Muchen looked at the grain records, somewhat bewildered.
“You brought this for me to see?”
Xiao Yuan said, “You said the local officials might have diverted the grain.”
Su Muchen fell silent.
He had merely provided an idea. He had not expected Xiao Yuan to actually bring the grain records over.
He flipped through several pages and found them difficult to read.
The numbers and units of measurement in Dasheng were not exactly the same as those in the modern world. The grain records were also densely packed, giving him a headache.
He honestly said, “I’m not an expert at this.”
Su Muchen added, “But falsified accounts usually have common characteristics. Numbers that are too round, concentrated expenditures, unreasonable timing, discrepancies between income and expenditure—all of these need to be watched for.”
Xiao Yuan asked, “How do we look for them?”
Su Muchen thought for a moment and took out a sheet of paper.
“I’ll teach you a simple method.”
He drew a table on the paper.
Grain Stored.
Grain Disbursed.
Losses.
Remaining Balance.
“You can have Xia Lanshi reorganize the grain records according to these four categories. If the losses are almost identical during every period of time, that’s actually suspicious. Real losses will fluctuate. They won’t be as neat as if someone copied them down.”
Xiao Yuan looked at the table, his eyes brightening slightly.
“And there’s more,” Su Muchen continued. “Check who signed for them. Every time grain was taken out, someone had to approve it. Compile all the names and see who appears most often.”
Xiao Yuan said quietly, “Identify the person primarily responsible.”
“Exactly.”
Su Muchen nodded.
“Don’t investigate everything at the beginning. Find the biggest loophole first. Strike the snake at its vital point.”
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
“You said you don’t understand officialdom.”
“I don’t,” Su Muchen said. “But I understand solving problems.”
Xiao Yuan: “Solving problems?”
“It’s just taking a mess of a problem, breaking it apart, and finding a breakthrough.”
Su Muchen lowered his head and finished filling out the table.
“Your Dasheng bureaucracy is complicated, but no matter how complicated it is, it still comes down to people, money, and responsibility. Find out who benefited, who is responsible, and then decide who gets executed.”
A trace of amusement surfaced in Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
“Who gets executed?”
Su Muchen’s pen tip paused.
“I’m speaking metaphorically.”
Xiao Yuan said, “What if someone really needs to be executed?”
Su Muchen raised his head and looked at him.
“Then make sure the evidence is airtight first.”
Xiao Yuan laughed.
This time, it was not merely a fleeting smile. He actually let out a low laugh.
Su Muchen froze.
When Xiao Yuan smiled, the coldness around his brows and eyes faded somewhat.
He was still dangerous, but he no longer looked like a blade meant purely for killing.
Instead, he was like a sliver of moonlight suddenly leaking into the darkness, making Su Muchen’s heartbeat skip a beat.
He immediately lowered his head and shoved the table toward him.
“What are you laughing at? I’m being serious.”
Xiao Yuan restrained his smile, but continued looking at him.
“Mm. Serious.”
Su Muchen: “…”
He was genuinely starting to suspect that Xiao Yuan was doing it on purpose.
Xiao watched quietly from the side.
So quietly that it was unlike him.
It was not until Xiao Yuan left with the table and supplies that he said a single word.