CHAPTER 1170: CHAPTER 737: HALF-MOON

Arriving at the desk, Lou Ji bent her eyes and smiled as she raised her hand.

Then,

"Thud!"

A muffled sound,

Dozens of stacks of documents, each two feet thick, were piled up again on the desk that Xu Yuan just cleared.

Lou Ji said with a beaming smile:

"The latest news from the Black Scale Guards, I’ve already reviewed it for you. Take a good look yourself."

Xu Yuan instinctively swallowed: "So much again?"

Lou Ji shrugged, a teasing smile: "Hua Hong reportedly has already piled up a room full of them, preparing to deliver them to you together tomorrow."

Papers really don’t cost money, huh.

With a silent complaint in his heart, Xu Yuan finally mustered up his spirit again, preparing to start a new round of study.

He casually opened a dossier, and upon seeing the events inside, Xu Yuan’s head started to ache, he once again confirmed the issues with the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s system.

A village under Tianshui County in Pinglin County of Guanghuai State, the village elder led a crowd to cause trouble and block the autumn harvest convoy. Couldn’t this incident be handled by village officials and reported to the county town?

Even if it involves military, political, or commercial affairs, but such trivial matters can also be directly sent to the Imperial Capital?

Is this reasonable?

Xu Yuan read halfway, instinctively wanting to say something to Lou Ji, but ultimately held back, even though the "Monarch Core System" established by his father had major flaws, it couldn’t be changed before a battle, everything had to wait until the war was over.

He continued browsing with determination, noticing from the corner of his eye that Lou Ji had pulled up a chair beside him, not intending to leave immediately. Xu Yuan multitasked and asked:

"How’s my father doing?"

After returning from the Northern Hunt, Xu Yinhè directly entered a secret room in the underground Black Prison of the Prime Minister’s Mansion for closed-door cultivation, while Xu Yuan was reminiscing over old times and discussing the world with the Wrapped Chest Princess in her palace, conveniently missing his father.

And this father had been closed-door for half a month without any news coming out.

Lou Ji shook her head and said:

"I don’t know."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan’s fingertips slightly tightened.

During the Northern Hunt, there were significant intelligence gaps within the Prime Minister’s Mansion. Although Black Scale Guards had spies inserted into Li Zhaoyuan’s No Return Army, their level was not high enough, only knowing that battles had erupted but not exactly how.

He suspected that his father had unlocked parts of the Sealing Secret Technique during the battle and was targeted by that thing in the sky.

Lou Ji saw Xu Yuan’s worry, spoke clearly:

"Chang Tian, you don’t need to worry about your father, moreover I saw him that day, he should be fine."

Xu Yuan didn’t explain the matter to Lou Ji, as the other party wouldn’t be able to help even if she knew, and said instead:

"Alright, since you’re so busy lately and staying here with me, is there something you need to talk about?"

Among the core high-levels of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, Lou Ji and Hua Hong were closest to him, both personally delivering dossiers, but at this key moment, the burdens on Lou Ji and Hua Hong were very heavy. Xu Yuan merely needed to review them, while they had to make decisions for the direction in which the Prime Minister’s Mansion would proceed. Therefore, generally, after delivering the dossiers or teasing, or showing care and encouragement, they would leave directly.

Upon hearing this, Lou Ji slightly straightened her body, twirling her long hair with slender fingers, and said:

"Chang Tian, today I received some information about the Northern Hunt."

"Northern Hunt?"

Xu Yuan muttered once, looked up: "State Preceptor?"

With his father in seclusion, there were three unresolved mysteries within the Prime Minister’s Mansion regarding the Northern Hunt.

How the Emperor would respond to Xu Yuan’s method stronger than the Immortal Tax.

Whether the Prime Minister was injured.

And,

Whether the State Preceptor was alive or dead.

The first answer was resolved on the day of the Northern Hunt; the Emperor withdrew the Imperial Guards from around the Capital, and did not issue a decree to overturn the policy, already prepared to pinch his nose and acknowledge the alliance.

The second was verbally claimed as fine, but going into seclusion for half a month inevitably raised suspicions.

As for the latter...

Besides the Prime Minister in seclusion, there was no other channel in the Prime Minister’s Mansion to obtain information, because one couldn’t just directly ask the Emperor himself, right?

Thinking for a moment, Xu Yuan reacted quickly, saying:

"News from the sects side?"

"Yes."

Lou Ji nodded, deliberating her wording for a moment: "With the State Preceptor’s cultivation, ten days would be sufficient to return from Jingji to the Tianyuan Mountain, yet it’s been half a month, and there’s no news of the State Preceptor returning to the sect. Moreover, considering the messages returned by undercover agents within the Sect Alliance, it seems the State Preceptor might have already..."

At this, Lou Ji’s purple eyes stared at the young man behind the desk, without continuing.

The sandalwood incense slowly rose, silence reigned for a moment.

Xu Yuan opened his mouth slightly, eyes flickering, finally sighed:

"I understand, anything else?"

As the Master of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, Lou Ji was very satisfied with Xu Yuan’s reaction, but personally, she was still a bit worried, yet didn’t express it. She just continued:

"Chang Tian, previously you asked me to keep an eye on the rumors among the common folk, right?"

"Any progress?"

Xu Yuan slightly recalled, realizing this was the matter he had entrusted to Lou Ji when she returned to the Imperial Capital.

Due to the existence of the extraordinary world, the Imperial Dynasty does not pay much attention to public opinions among the ordinary common folk; its control over public opinion is simple and crude with brainwashing, the graciousness of the Emperor, that everything under heaven, the Emperor can never be wrong, being alive means one must thank the Emperor.

Therefore, over the past decades various accusations were mostly thrown at the Prime Minister’s Mansion, words of treacherous Prime Minister appearing one after another.

In prosperous years, thank the Emperor’s grace, in years of disaster, curse the Prime Minister for ruining the country.

Whether natural or human disasters, cursing the Prime Minister is always correct.

Thinking in his heart,

Xu Yuan then put down the documents, seriously said:

"In the past, let them curse a bit, and that’s that. Now with war approaching, if the Prime Minister’s Mansion maintains such an image among the common folk, many things will be hindered."