Mu Qingmei led Huyan Siluo out of the prison and stepped into the bright and pleasant outside. Two Patrol Execution Guards at the door saluted and said, "Thank you, Wanghaigong, for your hard work."
"You guys have worked hard as well," Huyan Siluo quickly saluted back. As they walked, all the Patrol Execution Guards saluted one by one, and the long-awaiting Guards quickly escorted Huyan Siluo out of the Patrol and Punishment Department.
Guards cleared the path both before and after, creating the air of an important figure travelling.
In fact, Huyan Siluo was now the nominal Leader of the Dongyang District, the Dongyang Governor 'Wanghaigong.'
After White Night and the workers liberated Xuanzhu County, the first problem they faced was not rebuilding the inner city, not judging the Silver Blood Nobility, nor taking over Dongyang District, but rather — whether to rebel.
Indeed, when it came to deciding whether to rebel, Xuanzhu White Night surprisingly couldn't make a decision!
It wasn't that they were unwilling to rebel, rather it was the workers who were unwilling, and the common people weren't either!
While they were against the Governor, against the Governor, against the Silver Blood Association, they had no intention of opposing the Radiant Imperial Court!
After all, it's truly difficult to convince a group of people who've been listening from a young age to 'The Six Kings perished, four seas unified. Radiance arose, Grand Ancestor emerged. Inherits two thousand eighty-five years, traversing eternity' — the numbers among which are updated each year in Mongolian Studies; regular people wanting to know what year it is can simply go to the lecture square and listen to the schoolchildren recite the 'Radiant Ode' in the morning.
Although book stalls attract audiences with popular novels, the stories common folk hear the most and can recite fluently remain 'The Radiant Narrative,' 'The Complete Legend of Lie,' and 'The Two Thousand Years of Radiance.' You can find any elder on the street to talk about a certain period of Radiance and the elder will be able to talk eloquently about it.
Everyone knows Radiance has been passed down continuously for over two thousand years.
Everyone knows Radiance has risen and fallen several times.
Everyone knows Radiance is forever the ultimate victor.
Natural disasters, man-made calamities, barbarian races, uprisings, rebellions... Radiant Dynasty has been through it all but has managed to endure and still stands firmly on the earth.
This almighty reality is deeply etched in the spirit of every Radiant person. They dare say 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west', but never dare to say 'The Emperor rotates, next year it's my turn' - this is not cowardice, but acceptance.
Acceptance of truth.
If a lie is repeated a thousand times, people might believe it. Well, the reality of the Radiant Dynasty has existed for over two thousand years. Regular people can hardly imagine the Radiant Dynasty disappearing; 'regime change' doesn't exist in the dictionary of Radiant people.
A Radiant person lives at most to fifty years. If there's a clan of Radiant people, counting up elder generations till the first documented ancestor, there's absolutely no way to surpass the Radiant Year One.
Like the ancient Huaxia's 'prestigious clans surviving three dynasties without falling', there's not one in Radiance; all prestigious clans failed to withstand the Radiant Dynasty.
Therefore, rebellion is incomprehensible to Dongyang people. Radiance has become their spiritual symbol; rebelling is equivalent to cutting off one's head — why cut off your own head? Isn't cutting off corrupt officials better?
Seeing as 'rebellion' was about to affect workers' resumption of work and production, White Night quickly negotiated in secret and finally decided to introduce an eligible Governor to rule Dongyang, to show that although we Dongyang people killed the Governor, killed the Governor, held a public trial for nobles, wealthy merchants, and landlords without sparing one, we still remain loyal to the Radiant Imperial Family.
And this new Dongyang Governor was Huyan Siluo.
She directly inherited her father's title — without reporting it to the Imperial Court, nor knowing whether her escaped father and brother would go to Yanjing to complain about her — being female, she wasn't 'Wanghaigong,' but Wanghaigong.
In Radiance, every prince with inheritance rights could be elegantly called 'Palace,' and princesses 'Court.' However, these are temporary titles; once losing inheritance rights, they are all just ordinary people.
In the nobility, if a lady inherits the title, then 'Prince,' as 'Court,' and 'Marquis' as 'Master.'
Wanghaigong, Yinjing Master, similarly like thus.
As for why the distinction between female and male noble titles was specifically made, it's said there was once a fierce Duchess who felt using 'Prince' to describe herself as a lady noble was truly improper, hence directly stormed to the Emperor to demand a new title. The Emperor immediately acknowledged her as a foster daughter, declaring female princes could be called 'Court,' female marquises 'Master.'
Once Dongyang people found out they had a new feudal master, they readily resumed work.
White Night had nothing to be discontent about in this either; rather than raising the flag of rebellion for fame, quietly making fortune, gathering resources, building solid defenses, and slow development seemed more reassuring—after all, the achievement of 'firing the first revolution shot' had already been seized by neighboring Skyrim People, no need to vie for the 'second shot' fame since no one remembers second place.
Moreover, Huyan Siluo was not merely a puppet. Though White Night took over most affairs, they nonetheless followed protocol in reporting decisions for Huyan Siluo's judgment. Whether they heed Huyan Siluo's opinions depended on whether her reasons for approval were adequate.
The reason for allowing Huyan Siluo to occupy a part of the victory fruits,
First, Yin Minghong, Mu Qingmei, Wen Hong, Qing Lan, and other 'revolutionary merit personnel' forcefully supported her. Huyan Siluo's final choice to protect Jing Family directly altered White Night's perception of her from 'an old faction member who can be wooed' to 'a new era revolutionary figure who can be supported.'
Second, White Night lacked high-level talent. Though Huyan Siluo's exterior appeared gentle and frail, prompting an urge to bully her, she was indeed an accomplished scholar, exceedingly outmatching White Night in cultural aptitude, capable of directly referencing classics to solve many issues White Night found baffling.
Third, the Radiant administrative system was sufficiently reasonable.
Systems usually aren't problematic; it's because times change and people change that they become unsuitable. After two thousand years of evolution, the Radiant system is reasonably enough; initially, the Governor and the Governor just governed the place for 'Emperor' for four years, whilst surveilled from above by Yanjing Inspector and restrained below by officials; if everyone fulfilled public duties, eternal peace was already achieved.
In fact, the Xuanzhu County Governor and Governor had long been overshadowed by the Silver Blood Association, holding no power at all. Now that White Night held power, it's even less likely that the Governor wielded power; reliance on Huyan Siluo's abilities could be assured.
Of course, the most fundamental reason is only one — White Night is a group of idealists.
Trusting those you use without doubting and not using those you doubt is instinctive to them; since they trust Huyan Siluo, they were willing to entrust significant responsibilities to her.
Just like you've captured and persuaded Zhuge Liang successfully in the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'; even though Liu Bei's forces haven't perished, you'd still immediately appoint Zhuge Liang as a military chief minister and chief strategist — could Zhuge Liang possibly abscond with your possessions? Such is White Night's trust in Huyan Siluo.
After parting ways with Huyan Siluo, Mu Qingmei returned to the Youth Daily's headquarters.
Now the newspaper had purchased shops on both sides, adding a new reporter department — 'Youth Daily' was no longer just a tabloid for storytelling, but also tracking Xuanzhu County's reconstruction, recording major news events, and appeasing the citizens, the official newspaper of Xuanzhu County.
However, the 'Knowledge Discussion Area', 'Quirky Stories', and 'Inspirational Stories' sections of the Youth Daily were not canceled, only 'Future Echoes' and 'Cover' sections were dropped. Many people were quite regretful about this; a few missed 'Future Echoes', but most regretted not having new spellcasting materials in the future.
As a result, the cover collection of the past few issues of the Youth Daily became extremely sought after, turning into valuable collectibles, which might become antique pictures a few decades later.
Upon arriving at the entrance, Mu Qingmei saw a handsome yet poor young man arguing at the doorstep of the newspaper office, with the guards blocking him.
"Let me see the chief editor! I am not lying!"
Mu Qingmei went over and asked, "What's going on here?"
The guard shrugged, "He claims to be Jing Zhengwei."
Although Jing Zhengwei's reputation was not restored, because he was still missing, the Youth Daily and various notice boards published a missing person alert for Jing Zhengwei.
Anyone who finds Jing Zhengwei, if it's the corpse, can receive 100 gold coins; if he's still alive, 150 gold coins, and for reliable information, rewards would be given based on the authenticity of the message. Those with information can inform the Youth Daily or the Patrol and Punishment Department.
After the missing person alert went out, the Youth Daily practically exploded—the tendency of Dongyang people to take advantage was like second nature, countless false messages inundated the Youth Daily and the Patrol and Punishment Department. After many futile attempts, White Night had to remove the line stating that "rewards were based on the authenticity of the message."
Though no one came forward with fake news anymore.
A worse situation emerged nevertheless.
"Oh~?" Mu Qingmei folded her arms, looking at the handsome poor youth, raising an eyebrow slightly, "So you're claiming to be Jing Zhengwei?"
"That's right, I am Jing Zhengwei!"
"But you don't look like him… Alright, let me ask you, when did we first meet?"
"I forgot." The handsome poor youth said sincerely, "On that chaotic night, I jumped into the river to end my life, but somehow, my spirit passed into this person. I lost my past memories, I only know I'm called Jing Zhengwei."
"I'm not after money, I just hope to regain my past..."
For instances like this, where someone disguises themselves as Jing Zhengwei to swap roles and deceive for money or affection, Mu Qingmei had already encountered over ten cases, sometimes even encountering two in a single day.
"Screw you!"
Mu Qingmei punched the handsome poor youth into the ground, clapped her hands and said, "Send someone to take him to the Medical Bureau, heal him and then send him to the second-in-command to be reeducated for half a month!"
"Yes, Chief Editor Mu!"
Following the liberation of Xuanzhu County, Mu Qingmei refused roles such as 'Militia Captain' or 'Combat Technique Instructor', remaining in the Youth Daily, though her position rose from junior editor to chief editor—if it hadn't been for Jing Zhengwei suppressing her, she would have been promoted to chief editor long ago!
Returning to her own office (formerly Jing Zhengwei's office), Mu Qingmei propped her feet up on the desk, and the assistant immediately came over with a glass of ice water, saying, "All the letters addressed to the chief editor are here."
Mu Qingmei nodded, took a big gulp of ice water to cool off, then picked up the letter opener and started reading.
She had actively volunteered to read Qing Lan's letters.
Qing Lan agreed.
Because there are too many letters addressed to Qing Lan, she can't read them all, and most of them aren't worth reading anyway.
There's no wall without cracks, Jing Zhengwei's disappearance, messages about Jing Zhengwei can be reported to the Youth Daily, which is owned by Jing Zhengwei; the chief editor is Qing Lan, Jing Zhengwei's fiancée, and White Night strongly supports the Youth Daily... All indications show that the chief editor of the Youth Daily is a lonely widowed maiden with substantial influence.
The better letters pretend to know Jing Zhengwei's whereabouts or pretend to be Jing Zhengwei to connect with Qing Lan; the worse ones go straight to romance talk.
For those who just want money, Mu Qingmei could let them off; as for those trying to deceive for money and affection, Mu Qingmei would immediately register their names, letting Ergou handle the labor, rebuilding required a lot of work, these useless people with restless energy were best suited for Ergou to take away, neuter, and educate.
Even for those who seem genuine in knowing Jing Zhengwei's whereabouts, Mu Qingmei wouldn't tell Qing Lan, but rather have someone investigate thoroughly first.
The hope without results is more painful than poison. It's like the little girl using matches to warm herself, ultimately leaving only emptiness and loneliness.
"Let me see what the readers have sent... Hmm, full of nonsense, death sentence."
"Death sentence."
"Hand over to Patrol Execution Guard for investigation."
"Death sentence."
"... Forget it, death sentence."
"Damn, written so convincingly, reading the first half I almost thought it was a genuine letter from Jing Zhengwei, but you said his favorite past-time is reading rather than playing cards, which reveals the deceit! Death sentence!"
Seeing she had found dozens of laborers for Yin Minghong, Mu Qingmei wasn't particularly happy, but rather somewhat disappointed, sighing softly, "So still no news from him… is there?"
Mu Qingmei picked up a letter, looked clearly at the address and sender's name, and paused slightly.
"Sender: Mr. Tree-man"
"Address: Royal Academy of Yanjing"