[How many people have fallen for this AI-generated glance of the Martial Emperor? I don’t know, but I’ve certainly fallen for it.]
Fusang’s voice, tinged with laughter, echoed from the Celestial Screen. Though AI-generated, the short film had been perfectly recreated in a one-to-one ratio with reality. As the playback ended, the familiar figure of Fusang reappeared on the screen.
For certain individuals, even after leaving Jinling City, that strange Celestial Screen remained visible in the sky. For example, Xiao Jingchuan and his three companions could look up and see the eerie screen suspended high on the horizon.
The Circuit Intendant calmly accepted his fate of failing to recoup his losses with a single move. Xiao Jingchuan ordered his subordinates to detain the man for now—awaiting further instructions from Jinling. Otherwise, he might truly be branded a rebel with ulterior motives coveting imperial power.
What Xiao Jingchuan needed to do now was to prove his worth to Emperor Yunqi. The first step was to handle the mess in Jiangnan on behalf of the emperor—tearing off all pretenses was the last resort. Resolving matters peacefully whenever possible had always been Xiao Jingchuan’s guiding principle.
The danmaku continued to play, and Xiao Jingchuan decided to stay in the Lin’an Court Hall to watch the Celestial Screen until it ended. After all, there were ready-made tables and chairs here. He even waved his hand, inviting the still-dazed Xiao Yu and Wu Nao to sit down, showing none of the airs of an envoy from Jinling.
The Lin’an yamen runners watching from the sidelines were stunned: Was this truly a prince from Jinling?
Xiao Jingchuan gazed at the West Lake visible from where he sat, cracking melon seeds while sighing with emotion: “Ah, that lake island is truly lovely. If a pavilion were designed there, imagine the delight of watching rain or snow from within.”
Jun Youcheng thought to himself that this was practically a joke from hell. In later generations, the West Lake island was dotted with pavilions and towers, but the Lake Heart Pavilion was not famous for its scenic beauty—it was renowned for a snowfall that lasted centuries.
He pulled his thoughts back, forcing himself to shift from the transmigrator Jun Youcheng to Jun Youcheng, the founding chancellor of Da Qian.
“Do you truly trust the Celestial Screen so much that you dare to gamble on it?”
Jun Youcheng, seated closest to Xiao Jingchuan, took advantage of the others settling down to whisper his question.
The chancellor of Da Qian could never shake off his habit of worrying.
Xiao Jingchuan looked at Jun Youcheng and replied in an equally low voice: “Rather than trusting the Celestial Screen, I trust myself more. Don’t worry, Lao Jun—when has my judgment of people ever been wrong?”
Xiao Jingchuan raised his head and pointed into the distance. The hall’s windows were propped high during the day to let in light, offering a view of the lush, willow-lined West Lake not far away.
“Lao Jun… do you remember? During the Early Qian Period, Lin’an was plagued by war, and West Lake nearly became a silted marsh. But now… it has transformed into this beautiful sight, almost identical to the Yan era.”
Xiao Jingchuan whispered these words, audible only to himself and Jun Youcheng.
Even before meeting Xiao Yu in person, Xiao Jingchuan had felt that someone with such a gaze on the Celestial Screen could not be an ordinary, unremarkable person. He was all too familiar with that look. During the Three Kings’ Conflict and the chaotic times of Yan Mo, he had seen many people with eyes like that—without exception, they had struggled and survived in the turmoil.
And after meeting Xiao Yu in person…
Xiao Jingchuan still remembered what he had seen when he took out the Bone-Reflecting Mirror on the road. On the Talent Card belonging to Xiao Yu in the mirror, eight characters were clearly written: 【Pingcheng Master, Living Yu the Engineer】.
That is the highest honorific for a master of water management. The Book of Documents: Counsels of Great Yu once stated: “The land was leveled and heaven’s work completed,” praising the unparalleled achievement of “once the water and soil were pacified, all things were perfected by heaven.”
The evaluation from the Bone-Reflecting Mirror also originates from later generations, as can be seen from the assessments of the Early Qian Period by him and the other three friends. So—
What will happen in the future that earns Xiao Yu such an evaluation?
Regardless, such a crucial and rare talent should be secured first.
After all… if what the Bone-Reflecting Mirror says is true, then Xiao Yu, this cluster of rainwater, has been trapped in West Lake for too long and will certainly not remain there forever.
As Xiao Jingchuan mentioned, Fusang on the Celestial Screen naturally shifted the topic to Xiao Yu.
[Everyone should be familiar with this, right? When His Majesty the Martial Emperor first appeared on the political stage, he saved two heavyweight figures from the mid-Qian period. One was Wu Nao, the future Vice Minister of Justice who dared to confront anyone and was upright to the point of being unorthodox, and the other was our renowned water management master, Xiao Yu, who, despite his fame, never undertook any water management projects in his lifetime.]
[At that time, Wu Nao, the famously incorruptible official in history who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a certain Hai, was still a fourth-rank judicial officer, while our so-called “Successor of Yu and Li” water management engineering expert was merely the Prefect of Lin’an. Although this might sound like humblebragging, for Xiao Yu, the position of Prefect of Lin’an was indeed not one where he could fully showcase his talents, though he performed quite well in it.]
(Fourth-rank prefect, and of Lin’an at that—how many people would scramble to get such a position and fail? This is truly humblebragging.)
(But you really can’t deny it—for Xiao Yu, who later was appointed as the Director of the Department of Water Management, the position of prefect really didn’t suit him. It wasn’t that the rank wasn’t high enough; it was simply not the right fit.)
(After all, Xiao Yu’s mother was… a descendant of the Mohist School.)
(This shows that Nan Qian was simply misusing talent. The Northern Qian’s prime minister would have been green with envy: “Give me the water management talent you’re not using!”)
(I can’t help but feel sorry for our Northern Qian prime minister—struggling against Shuo on one side and being battered by the Yellow River on the other.)
Xiao Yu, sitting nervously beside the current Sixth Prince and future Martial Emperor, trembled. Wait, why had the Celestial Screen suddenly made him the focus? He was insignificant, truly insignificant! Please, spare him!
But as he read the evaluations of him on the Celestial Screen and the danmaku, Xiao Yu froze.
Yes, his mother was… a descendant of the Mohist School.
Xiao Yu recalled his original aspirations.
He had studied diligently for ten years, earned scholarly honor, but he never… wanted to become the Prefect of Lin’an.
The Xiao sparrow is, in truth, the ink crow.
Under the influence of the Celestial Screen and the danmaku, a voice echoed in his mind, questioning him.
Xiao Yu, do you still remember your mother’s family teachings, your master’s legacy?
What was the original surname of the Xiao family? Do you still remember?
Xiao Yu thought, he still remembered.
The original surname of the Xiao family… was Meng.
His inner voice overlapped with the sound from the Celestial Screen.
[Xiao Yu’s origins were far from ordinary. Although his family was poor—it was said they couldn’t even afford a lamp and had to bore a hole in the wall to borrow light—his father was legitimately from a branch of the Gusu Wu Clan. Even though it was just a branch, the Wu Clan was a prominent and influential family at its peak. Even in its decline, its disciples were spread far and wide, and the Wu family’s teachings flourished.
And Xiao Yu’s mother… was even more remarkable.
The Xiao sparrow is, in truth, the ink crow.]
During the pre-Qin period, Mozi’s grandmaster Meng Sheng was renowned for his loyalty and integrity. To fulfill the trust placed in him by Lord Yangcheng, he and over 180 disciples collectively sacrificed their lives for righteousness. To evade enemy persecution, the surviving descendants of the Meng family hastily changed their surname to Xiao, in memory of the Mo Yuan, and lived in seclusion.
Emperor Yunqi sighed.
This time, his sigh was genuine: “Jun He, oh Jun He… To have a descendant of the Mohist School appointed as a prefect by your Ministry of Personnel—such reckless misuse of talent. That sword you suffered was truly deserved.”
The Third Prince twitched the corner of his mouth: Even this can be twisted to justify himself?
In the Court Hall of Lin’an.
Almost instantly, the gazes of everyone in the hall converged on Xiao Yu.
No wonder he received such high praise as ‘the successor of Yu Bing’—he is a descendant of the Mohist School, Xiao Jingchuan thought.
“Brother Xiao is truly a great talent!”
Especially Jun Youcheng, whose eyes shone with an almost terrifying intensity, as if he had stumbled upon a free, nuclear-powered workhorse. Even Xiao Jingchuan, who had gained such a talent, felt a twinge of fear.
Xiao Yu also shrank back in fright.
[However, Xiao Yu was quite unfortunate. In his youth, he was captivated by the ancestral teachings of the Mohist School and believed he had mastered them. Seeing the frequent flooding of the Yellow River, he submitted a proposal to the Department of Water Management under Emperor Ling’s reign, outlining strategies to manage the Yellow River’s floods. However, the Department of Water Management paid no heed.
Out of respect for the Wu family, they merely sent a letter in reply, informing the hopeful Xiao Yu—the court had no intention of undertaking water conservancy projects.
Xiao Yu asked: If there are no plans for water conservancy, how will the Yellow River floods be managed?
The Department of Water Management replied: Journey westward.
Emperor Ling of Gan, in his supreme majesty, personally journeyed westward to pay homage to the Buddha and respectfully welcome the Buddha’s Relics. With such sincerity, how could heaven and earth remain unmoved? Surely, the River God of the Yellow River would also be moved and cease the disasters inflicted upon the people along its banks.]
Xiao Jingchuan covered his face.
Far away in Yunxing Hall, Emperor Yunqi also covered his face.
Sharing the surname Xiao with Emperor Ling of Gan was truly their shame.
Yet, the one most moved by this segment of the Celestial Screen was the protagonist of the narrative.
It felt all too familiar. Xiao Yu thought, what the Celestial Screen described was exactly what he had experienced, without the slightest deviation.
Back then, he was still young. After hearing that absurd answer, he repeatedly submitted memorials to the Department of Water Management, only to have over three hundred petitions ignored and face repeated setbacks. In the end, he had no choice but to abandon engineering for Confucian studies, enduring ten years of arduous study to earn scholarly honor and, with the support of the Wu family, barely managed to enter the officialdom.
By that time, Emperor Ling of Gan had already journeyed westward, the Qian-Severing Rebellion had occurred, and the Yellow River floods were no longer even a concern for Nan Qian. His once fervent strategies for flood control had turned from passionate ideals into mere illusions.
In this world, there are things that simply cannot be done, no matter what.
In this world, things are just so unreasonable and never go as one wishes.
Xiao Yu finally realized that the grand ambitions he had fantasized about in his childhood were nothing but castles in the air, and pursuing them would only lead to failure.
A thousand-li steed awaits its talent scout, but he was merely deluding himself into thinking he was such a steed.
He believed himself capable of anything, yet he was powerless in the face of all the suffering on this land.
Thus, Xiao Yu sighed. Merely being alive was already something to rejoice over—what more could one pursue?
The so-called realization of one’s aspirations was nothing but the dreams of fools.
The danmaku also seemed rendered speechless: (…What can I say? Not surprising at all. Typical of you, Emperor Ling of Gan.)
(If I were Xiao Yu, I wouldn’t want to struggle either. A craftsman’s skills that cannot save people—what use are they, even if held in hand?)
(But without Prefect Xiao, our ill-fated West Lake would once again be in danger—ahhh! Personally speaking—Lin’an truly needs Xiao Yu!)
[Yes, I saw some fellow viewers in the danmaku also mention that although Xiao Yu repeatedly faced setbacks in the officialdom, he indeed performed well in Lin’an. Later, when the Martial Emperor discovered his true talents, it was precisely because of his achievements in Lin’an—the management of West Lake.]
[As everyone knows, the beauty of Hangzhou has been celebrated by literati and poets throughout the ages, remaining immortal for millennia. However, West Lake, which accounts for half of Hangzhou’s beauty, has had a rather ill-fated history. During the Tang Dynasty, Li Bi and Bai Juyi managed West Lake. During the Five Dynasties period, Qian Liu of the Wuyue Kingdom established the Lake-Dredging Army, dedicated to dredging weeds from the lakebed and clearing silt. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Governor Su once again undertook large-scale management… Generations of prefects, governors, and administrators worked tirelessly to shape West Lake into what it is today.
Xiao Yu was no exception. During his tenure, he diligently studied water storage and drainage. First, he deepened the lakebed to increase storage capacity, then designed a comprehensive management system for drainage. He also constructed sluice gates at the mouth of the Qiantang River to prevent seawater intrusion. Finally, he dredged the six wells to ensure agricultural water supply, making West Lake “flourish for a time.”]
[However, none of these achievements were the decisive factors that allowed Xiao Yu to become the “Successor of Yu and Li.” The true decisive achievement… was his proposal of an advanced engineering design.
And the subject of this management was…
The Yellow River, which has shaped the Central Plains for five millennia.]
Author’s Note:
Tonight around 12:05 AM, the story will be updated for its VIP release. To boost rankings, there will be an extra update tonight, totaling 16,000 words. Then, on Wednesday night at 11 PM, another update will follow.