Chapter 44: Imperial Inspector Yuchi Wei

For five months, Henan Prefecture had suffered a relentless drought. Most commoners had run out of grain by February. In previous years, they could still forage for wild vegetables or elm seeds by the fields and rivers to stave off hunger, eking their way to the summer harvest.

But this year, disaster of rare severity had struck. Everything outside had withered and died beneath the sun; for hundreds of miles, the land was scorched and barren, not a blade of grass to be seen.

Hundreds of thousands of people found themselves with nothing to eat as grain prices soared madly. The common folk, in their desperation for survival...

As for the arrangements, Chang Kuan wanted to hear Long Bing’s opinion. Seeing that Chang and Long had matters to discuss, Zheng Rou quickly left the room with Guo Feibo.

Wu Min was stunned by the beating, unable to fathom how ruthless this man could be. Her backside burned with pain, and soon she burst into loud sobs.

At that moment, his mule seemed to have fallen ill, twisting its tail as it collapsed to the ground. He hurriedly swung his leg down, but in his haste, knocked over the trunk behind him. Though he landed safely and quickly regained his footing, the trunk had burst open on impact, scattering silver dollars all over the ground.

However, before Qin Botian could extract anything valuable from Ning Ruhxi, Helan Yao’s side had already concluded the battle.

Liu Jian stared straight at him. “Then why did you go to the Zhaoyang Palace?” He hadn’t intended to ask, but now that it had come up, he too wished to know why he had gone there so late at night.

Wang Yue made several more calls. To his delight, the phone was no longer switched off, but Yi Xixuan still did not answer.

In the meeting room, the harsh sound of knuckles cracking echoed everywhere—special forces soldiers clenched their fists so tightly that their joints scraped with a grating noise.

The few lines just sung from Qiongtong Palace were laden with sorrow at parting, the customary tune for noble farewells. Yet it was markedly different from those sung in the palace—different, and even improper.

“Again?” Shu Yi slammed her fist on the table in vexation, causing the teapot and cups to jump and clatter noisily.

With a thunderous roar, a massive water dragon suddenly burst apart, sending billions of droplets scattering in a torrential downpour.

Seeing Yan Qing’s appearance, Lu Ping couldn’t help but tease, “Did you sleep well last night?” Though the words came out, there was a distinct note of envy in his voice.

“Heh, didn’t I say so, Miss Qiu? The Princess Rui is the most magnanimous soul—so long as she’s around, you’ll never have to worry a day in your life!” Xia Liuli covered her mouth and laughed, secretly tugging Qiu Ruoxuan’s sleeve.

The battle had been exceedingly fierce; even Hongzhi, usually so calm and unruffled, was moved, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

Qin Qiong had been made Supreme Pillar of the State and Duke of Wing during the reign of Wude—one of the few Tang generals permitted to erect halberds before his mansion gates.

From that point of light, a radiant seven-colored beam suddenly shot forth, slicing straight through the aura of destruction. The light expanded instantly, as if tunneling through the darkness, and the point darted through the prismatic shaft in a flash.

“Me? You want me to go?” Hu Ximei’s heart leapt in alarm; she hadn’t expected Lian Haiping would ask her to act.

Part of Qin Mohan’s stomach had been removed—he could only eat small, frequent meals, nothing too greasy. This thick, slow-cooked porridge was the best nourishment for him.

The bodies of the Water-Land Battalion soldiers were loaded onto carts, pulled by the few uninjured men. There were no carriages left in the streets, but several carts had not yet been cleared away.

The soldiers marched up to the gates of the ruins and immediately began assembling the massive steel cannons, along with numerous life detectors, attack rockets, and other equipment.

Frost Shot: Imbues ice arrows with the power of frost, slowing enemy movement speed by 15 for two minutes.

Ning Qiu had originally planned to sleep with Santian for three nights, not out of any ulterior motive, but because he felt he must keep watch over him.

Soon, the three of them stepped into the private room they had reserved and settled naturally onto the leather sofa by the windowside rectangular table. After ordering their food, conversation began to flow with ease.