After rounds of polite formalities, not only was Serena exhausted—Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin were just as worn out...
They rarely return to the capital, and after years of acting as local sovereigns in Jiangnan, they’re not used to speaking so cautiously—tiptoeing around every word, constantly second-guessing themselves...
Prince Nolan treated it all as a spectacle. Only after Serena and the Prince of Jiangnan finished speaking did he finally say, "Sit."
"Thank you, Uncle Nolan." They didn’t call him Emperor, but the formalities couldn’t be skipped. The bows Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin performed today outnumbered those of the past few years combined.
Their backs were aching.
The conversation between Prince Nolan and the Prince of Jiangnan covered a lot of official business. Jiangnan had suffered disaster after disaster these past years—good farmland flooded year after year, harvests drastically reduced.
"These years of heavy rain are natural disasters, not man-made," the Prince of Jiangnan explained. He knew the region’s tax revenue kept shrinking, and many ministers had already submitted memorials impeaching him, but...
He was helpless too. If Heaven doesn’t provide food, and the harvests get worse every year, even if he wanted to put in his own silver, he simply didn’t have any to spare.
"Every year, so much silver is allocated for flood control—where did it all go?" Prince Nolan had observed along the way that the trees planted beside the riverbanks were still just young saplings, looking as if they’d only been planted in the past couple of years.
"That silver—neither I nor my officials touched a single coin. Every bit was spent on the riverworks." The Prince of Jiangnan could guarantee this much.
He didn’t dare claim that every official in Jiangnan was honest, but when it came to riverworks funds, not a single coin had been embezzled. They all knew perfectly well—the consequences of being caught stealing from that budget would be disastrous.
"I see you’ve spent plenty of silver on the riverbanks. Those trees along the banks are replanted every year—do you know why?" This wasn’t a secret; Prince Nolan had checked and found out easily.
"The saplings keep getting washed away by the floods." That was the plain truth.
"Every year you plant new trees, and every year they’re swept away. Did you never investigate why?" Prince Nolan looked at the Prince of Jiangnan, disappointment written all over his face.
The Prince of Jiangnan truly had no selfish motives, and he’d governed the region well—but he’d missed a lot of small details...
Prince Nolan had someone bring out an account book. It belonged to a Jiangnan sapling merchant, detailing profits from the past few years—the numbers were shocking...
Most of the flood-control silver allocated by the court in recent years had ended up in these merchants’ hands.
These merchants colluded with officials, forcing them to buy their saplings. Then, behind the scenes, they’d pay the planters to dig shallow holes and leave the soil loosely packed when planting...
The trees weren’t firmly rooted—so even a modest flood could sweep them away. And so...
Year after year, saplings were planted—year after year, not a single one survived!
It was truly one of those things—you don’t know until you dig, but once you do, it’s shocking. Prince Nolan’s first reaction upon seeing the account book was to confiscate property and prosecute those involved.
For their own profit, they ignored the lives of the common people—or rather, those commoners were willing to risk their own lives for a little silver.
The rot in Jiangnan’s waterways ran deep.
After reading the account book, the Prince of Jiangnan’s smile faded. Even though Prince Nolan and Serena hadn’t said much, he knew this was serious...
With a thud, the Prince of Jiangnan knelt straight before Prince Nolan. "I have failed in my duty. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Seeing the Prince of Jiangnan’s grave expression, Prince Colin realized how serious things were and immediately knelt to confess as well.
Prince Nolan looked at the two men before him—neither much younger than himself—and sighed lightly. "Get up."
Was he letting them off?
Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin exchanged glances, then quickly looked away...
Prince Nolan pretended not to notice and said, "Get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. I don’t want to see this kind of thing happen again."
By handing the matter over to Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin, Prince Nolan was signaling that he wouldn’t pursue their responsibility further, nor would he make a public scandal that would disgrace them both.
Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin breathed a heavy sigh of relief, thanking him repeatedly...
After discussing the riverways, Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin brought up another issue—some factions in Jiangnan had recently become much more active...
Prince of Jiangnan didn’t spell it out, but his meaning was obvious—these active factions were probably targeting Prince Nolan and Serena.
"Perfect—let’s catch them all in one net." Prince Nolan’s journey so far had been smooth; not a single assassin or remnant from the Three Kingdoms or Former Dynasty had appeared. These leftover rebels would be perfect practice for the guards...
The Prince of Jiangnan suspected that there were spies inside the manor itself, so Prince Nolan and Serena deliberately mentioned going on a river cruise the next evening within the manor. Sure enough, several restless little maidservants leaked the news...
"Ziqing, go make the arrangements." Prince Nolan trusted Prince Colin and Prince of Jiangnan; otherwise, he wouldn’t have entrusted his own safety to Prince Colin.
Prince Colin’s expression turned serious, and he immediately accepted the task.
This was a chance to prove himself. If he handled the matter well, the negative impression from the riverways would be erased—but if he failed, he might be punished for both offenses.
Prince Colin took the safety of Prince Nolan and Serena extremely seriously. He knew full well—if anything happened to the Emperor and Empress in Jiangnan, neither he nor the Prince of Jiangnan would escape death.
Prince Colin handled every detail himself, never finding anything too trivial, making sure every single aspect was covered. He refused to allow any accidents to happen.
Prince Nolan saw all this and naturally understood Colin's intentions, his appreciation for Colin growing even stronger.
Of all his nephews, Nolan favored Colin the most. It was a shame Colin was so loyal to the Prince of Jiangnan—no matter if the Prince of Jiangnan was powerful or fallen, Colin’s loyalty never wavered. Nolan both regretted this and respected Colin even more for it.
After a brief rest, Nolan and Serena boarded the pleasure boat that had been reserved in advance that very night.
The night sky was scattered with stars, the riverbanks glowing with lights. It wasn’t quite as bright as daytime, but the city felt like it never slept…
Jiangnan still lived up to its reputation for prosperity and wealth.
Except for Nolan’s boat, only a few scattered escort boats remained on the river. The merchant ships and pleasure boats that usually crowded the water had already been cleared out by Colin. The whole river was clean and quiet…
“Jiangnan’s night scene really is beautiful.” In an era where people went to bed early and there were no electric lights, seeing candlelight flicker along both banks was something special.
The Prince of Jiangnan stayed close by and explained, “Jiangnan is wealthy, with lots of scholars and artists. There are many brothels and inns along this stretch, so both banks stay brightly lit at night.” In other words, this area was full of rich people.
“Exactly…” Serena nodded in agreement. Just walking here, she’d already seen plenty of well-dressed locals—faces full of prosperity, obviously from wealthy families.
Even the average people on the street wore neat clothes, hardly patched at all—totally different from what she’d seen in the north…
The gap between north and south was really something. Serena wondered how she could help balance things out.
But no matter how much she thought about it, Serena couldn’t come up with a good solution. She wasn’t an economist—her whole previous life had been medicine, then the battlefield. She really didn’t know much about economic development…
All she knew was the obvious: the north had heavy industry, and the northwest was full of coal mines.
But with this level of technology, there was no way to develop heavy industry. As for coal mines?
In this era, coal was basically like diamonds—aside from burning it, Serena couldn’t think of any other use…
Electricity generation?
Serena thought to herself, she couldn’t even read an electrical diagram—how was she supposed to build a power plant?
And as for seeking advanced technology from the West?
That was even more ridiculous…
She’d once sent people overseas to search all over Europe, but the place was still stuck in slavery—people bought and sold like livestock, nobles living off the backs of slaves, hunting and drinking all day. As for technology?
She hadn’t seen a trace of it…
While Serena was lost in thought, a sudden splash broke the silence. The water’s surface rippled, and dark figures started surfacing one by one.
“Assassins! Assassins! Take them down, protect the master!”
The guards’ boats sprang into action—the guards leapt into the water, fighting the assassins head-on, blocking them from reaching Nolan’s boat.
Because they were prepared, the guards wore regular clothes instead of heavy armor that would drag them down. They could move freely in the water, totally unencumbered.
There weren’t many assassins, so the guards had no trouble handling them. But just then, the boatman shouted, “The boat’s been smashed! Quick, jump! It’s sinking!”
The large boat carrying Nolan and Serena began taking on water at one end, tilting sharply. Nolan and Serena stood at the opposite end, the bow lifting up…
“They’re early,” Nolan said, shielding Serena in his arms. As the bow rose higher, he didn’t budge, and neither did the guards—well-trained, they held their ground, not moving an inch without orders, even as the boat sank.
The boat kept sinking, soon reaching the guards’ waists, but they still didn’t move—holding their positions in case any assassins broke through…
Night was the perfect cover. No matter how the stars and moon sparkled above, no one on the banks could see what was happening in the middle of the river—nobody noticed a thing…
The shouts and fighting grew fiercer, and soon the assassins were taking heavy losses. By now, they realized they’d walked right into a trap…
“Retreat! The dog Emperor was ready for us!” the assassin leader shouted, diving for the water. But it was too late…
Suddenly, more warships appeared on the river—real warships, all crewed by the Jiangnan Navy. Colin stood on deck, commanding the navy to take the assassins alive…
“Don’t let a single one escape! I want them all alive!”
Yes, capturing them alive was the only way to trace their backers. Even if they couldn’t wipe them all out tonight, they’d still deal a heavy blow—enough to cripple the enemy for good…