After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

If winter's seasons are followed in mid-spring, the yang energy will be insufficient, the wheat will not ripen, and people will often kill each other.

If summer seasons are implemented in mid-spring, the country will suffer a severe drought, and the early arrival of warm air will cause insect pests and borers to cause damage.

—Quoted from "Huainanzi: Seasonal Principles"

The abnormal climate, the failure of flowers, grasses and trees to sprout new buds, and the gradually drying up of rivers have indeed made the drought extremely severe.

However, the scenario that Wang Qingyan predicted—"locusts sweeping across the land, leaving not a blade of grass"—did not occur.

On the contrary, following Bai Li Ce's approach, the imperial court did indeed find a considerable amount of old grain in various regions.

Some large-scale grain hoarders even had more grain than a state granary could hold during a bumper harvest.

Although its taste was far inferior to that of new grain, it prevented a large-scale famine.

Especially after Lu Jian's five disaster relief policies were introduced, the Gu Guards and human Gu hidden among ordinary people were screened out within half a month.

One person can exchange a Gu poison for half a pound of grain.

Second, one Gu Guard can be exchanged for one pound of grain.

Third, for families with elderly, weak, women and children who are not abandoned, exchange one pound of grain every five days.

Fourth, building fortifications can earn half a pound of grain per day.

Fifth, those who engage in fraud, frame others, or collude with foreign enemies will be severely punished, and their entire families will be held accountable.

Taking Ningze County under Liuzhou as an example, its public order was restored within just two days after the implementation of the five major strategies.

"As Your Majesty predicted, the Wang family has indeed taken action against the Baili family."

"Are there any casualties among the Baili clan?"

"Nothing serious."

It's not a big deal? That means Song Zhaohe arrived just in time.

Lu Jian immediately sensed something amiss, but deliberately didn't point it out, asking, "Has the person who did it been caught?"

"Thirty-three people died, and two escaped. I sent men to follow them."

"One of them was too vigilant; after several rounds of fighting, he committed suicide."

“One person entered the ‘Wind and Flower Pavilion’ and never came out again.”

"Later, someone found the man's body outside the city."

They did a clean job. "Check the frequent guests of Feng Hua Ge over the past year, the top ten most famous girls, and the most inconspicuous servants."

These matters should have been handled by the Investigation Division, but since Song Zhaohe had been caught up in them, he took them on as well.

"Has Showa not had breakfast yet?"

"Yes, but Your Majesty..."

"Then let's go together."

"...As you command." Seeing that Lu Jian seemed to have more to say, Song Zhaohe no longer declined.

He arrived at 5:45 AM, thinking he was early enough, but Lu Jian was actually 5:45 AM earlier than him.

So by the time they finished breakfast, it was only 9 a.m.

Fortunately, there was no court assembly today, so we didn't have to wait until noon to leave.

But it seems he guessed wrong. Until he left the palace, Lu Jian didn't say anything important.

It seems they really just invited him to have a casual meal.

But what Song Zhaohe didn't know was that after he left, Lu Jian smiled with an incredibly cunning expression.

He even joked with Zhang Shan, who was standing next to him, with great interest, "How long do you think Song Zhaohe can keep up this act?"

Zhang Shan bowed with a smile, "How could this servant possibly know what Lord Song is thinking?"

Lu Jian raised an eyebrow lightly, "You're quite the sly one too~"

Where did he have something to say to Song Zhaohe?

It was clear that Song Zhaohe still cared about the other person and wanted to find out information, but he didn't say it openly.

Otherwise, how could a mere official from the Ministry of Personnel be assigned to the task of investigating and punishing criminals?

And by sheer coincidence, he happened to be caught in the Wang family's scheme to frame the Baili family, which actually helped him a great deal.

However, it's only right to give Song Zhaohe a hard time.

Being too gentlemanly when pursuing a girl won't work.

......

"This emperor certainly doesn't follow the usual path."

When Wang Qingyan learned of Lu Jian's series of actions, he was test-flying the kite he had made for Baili Ce.

This man not only posted notices everywhere, informing the people that the reason they were eating stale grain was because he had forcibly robbed caravans from various places, but also produced so-called "witnesses and physical evidence."

He even used superstitions about ghosts and gods, claiming that he was the reincarnation of a drought demon and that the drought was brought about by him.

It is also said that the human poisoner actually had a chance to become a normal person again, but because he was too inhumane, he destroyed all the antidotes.

Through various "rumors," it was shown that the imperial court had been investing a great deal of manpower and resources in the development of an antidote for six years.

Finally, he issued an edict of self-reproach, first thanking the soldiers on the border and officials in various places for their loyalty and dedication to the country and the people over the years.

I would also like to thank some unnamed individuals who, for the sake of peace and stability, have served the enemy and ventured deep into their dens.

In short, there was nothing particularly sophisticated about it.

It was all shameless honesty.

Therefore, when the drought swept across the Great Wei, what Wang Qingyan received was not the support of the people, but even more curses and resentment than before.

The people in the capital and the border regions felt extremely sorry for Lu Jian.

In recent days, some "patriotic businessmen" have been selling lifelike and inexpensive portraits of Wang Qingyan, which are intended to be used by the public to vandalize and vent their anger.

"Some even composed catchy songs and stories about you..."

Jiu Er didn't dare to continue.

Wang Qingyan, however, held the kite string and flew it high and accurately, saying, "You're making me sound like a fly in a cesspool, stinking and worthless?"

"..." Jiu Er lowered his head and remained silent.

"These low-class tricks may be novel in many ways, but do they cause me any real harm?"

Jiu Er was not as optimistic as him. "Currently, apart from Lincheng, Shucheng, and Jicheng, the Gu Guards in other places have suffered varying degrees of losses."

"The capital, Xizhou, and Chuzhou also took the opportunity to receive many officials and common people who surrendered."

"However, there's been no movement from Qucheng. Could it be that He Yao has already...?"

With a single glance from Wang Qingyan, Jiu Er immediately shut up, truly unable to understand what Wang Qingyan was thinking.

"It's just a trick Lu Jian uses to fool those good-for-nothings, why bother with it?"

“But…” After hesitating for a long time, Jiu Er finally mustered up his courage and spoke up, “Those good-for-nothings have ruined your reputation so much. If we don’t retaliate, they might become even more ruthless.”

He never understood why Wang Qingyan kept worrying about this and that when the advantage was theirs.

"Ha," Wang Qingyan laughed, "What kind of reputation could I possibly have?"

"..." I must say, she has a pretty clear sense of self.

"It's just some old grain mixed with bran, how long can it last?"

Besides, this drought is only so far in the way it's caused.

How could Lu Jian be so sure that he had only prepared for drought?

People only talk about benevolence and morality when they are well-fed.

When people are starving, they won't even spare their own flesh and blood, let alone a monarch with whom they have no connection in their entire lives.

As for He Yao?

She was previously delirious, so it's clear she wasn't poisoned by a curse.

Then she is most likely the more powerful Gu in Wuming's mouth.

Moreover, he had a hunch that not only was she the one who controlled the Yongchuan riots, but she was also the man in black who fought him in Fengdu Garden.

Because He Yao disappeared after the battle at Fengdu Garden.

In addition, her previous "lack of consciousness" was very similar to the state he first experienced when he controlled Chaosheng.

His memory was hazy, his movements were sluggish, and he was like a walking corpse.

The difference is that He Yao seems to have neither fully become the Gu King nor truly controlled the murderous intent brought about by Chao Sheng.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been imprisoned by the Prefect of Shucheng for a year in a daze.

But if she really was on the verge of collapse for the past year because she couldn't control her murderous impulses, then how did she recover?

There was no antidote for Chaosheng, he was quite certain of it.

The only way is to find the strongest Gu and use Gu to control Gu in order to "remove Gu".

But Chaosheng comes from the Heavenly Dao and is already the strongest Gu in the world, so how could there be a Gu stronger than Chaosheng?

He couldn't figure it out, so he wanted to get the answer from Ah Zhu.

So Wang Qingyan loosened the thread again.

Let the kite fly further away with the wind, as if it wants to escape.

......