Road building is a long-term and complex undertaking. Not only does it take a great deal of time and money, it also requires a massive workforce. Whether in execution or supervision, none of it is a simple matter.
Leaving aside the issue of money for now, if the mass conscription of laborers is mishandled, it will inevitably stir up public resentment. In winter, it's manageable, but if forced labor is imposed during spring planting or autumn harvest, the people will surely be dissatisfied. Without a solid set of regulations, even a good thing can turn bad.
To keep the road project moving forward, Ninth Royal Uncle and a few others—William Wang Jinling and Felix Fuller—have been holed up in the palace these past few days, all to hammer out a solid set of rules.
Ever since Serena provided a sample set of regulations, Ninth Royal Uncle has become convinced of their value. For major undertakings like this, it’s essential for the officials in charge to produce proper guidelines. Even if they can’t completely eliminate corruption, they at least provide some measure of restraint.
Last time, when distributing compensation to the naval disaster survivors, Ninth Royal Uncle had the Ministry of War officials draft detailed rules. Under these, the sons of noble families and scholars from humble backgrounds supervised each other. It didn’t stamp out corruption entirely, but things improved a lot. At least the families of the fallen soldiers actually received their silver.
With war looming and the road project underway, Ninth Royal Uncle has been so busy he even forgot to send word to Serena. Fortunately, Serena isn’t blind to what’s going on—she has her own sources in the palace. She might not be able to get wind of top secrets, but she can catch the general drift of a thing like this.
Serena isn’t the kind of woman who revolves around men. Knowing how busy Ninth Royal Uncle is, she doesn’t disturb him and simply focuses on her own affairs.
After Feng Jin’s relapse that day, his fever continued for several more days. Feeling unwell, he became especially clingy—clinging only to Serena. If she was by his side, he would whimper and fuss; if he woke and didn’t see her, he would burst into loud tears, no amount of comforting would help.
Every time Serena saw Feng Jin crying, his little face flushed red, her heart ached terribly. So these past few days, she personally took care of Little Feng Jin, only slipping away to wash up or to apply medicine to Ling Mo while Feng Jin slept.
Ling Mo was still the same as ever. No matter how hard he tried, Serena couldn’t get a needle into him. She could only care for him by the most basic means. Serena didn’t ask for Ling Mo to recover right away—so long as his condition didn’t worsen, she would count her blessings.