The first day of the New Year.

First, it was time to visit close relatives.

Although Xiao Mo’s status was now equivalent to that of a legitimate son, and Zhou Ruoxi was no longer a concubine,

Madam Xiao, Xia Qingke, was still the Lady of the Xiao Mansion.

And according to the customs of the Qin Kingdom, Xiao Mo still needed to pay her a formal visit.

After Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao had breakfast in their courtyard, they went to visit the Lady of the Xiao Mansion.

"Xiao Mo pays his respects to you, Madam."

"Siyao pays her respects to you, Madam."

Arriving at Xia Qingke’s courtyard, Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao bowed in greeting.

"Frost King, Princess, there’s no need for such ceremony. Please, have a seat." Seeing Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao, Xia Qingke rushed forward to help them up. "Huan Ying, quickly bring over some tea and pastries."

"Yes... Madam."

Huan Ying quickly withdrew and brought out pastries from the house.

Xia Qingke personally brewed tea for the two of them.

Xiao Mo looked around the vast courtyard, where only Xia Qingke and her Maid, Huan Ying, resided.

Xiao Mo couldn’t help but feel that Xia Qingke’s situation was quite pitiful.

Although she was the esteemed Princess Consort of Prince Zhenbei, a special status indeed, her second son had passed away, and her eldest son was now devoted to cultivation, not even managing to return for the New Year, sending only a letter.

Meanwhile, Prince Zhenbei was often away guarding the borders, and his visits home were always rushed.

Xiao Mo glanced at Xia Qingke again.

The once-youthful woman now had hints of white in her hair.

"Madam, we’ve prepared some gifts for the New Year. I hope they are to your liking."

Xiao Mo gave Qin Siyao a look, and she smiled as she placed a gift box on the courtyard table.

"Frost King, you are too kind." Xia Qingke poured them each a cup of tea. "Is your mother’s health good?"

"Thank you for your concern, Madam. My mother is doing well."

Xiao Mo nodded, exchanging pleasantries with Xia Qingke.

Xia Qingke asked Xiao Mo about his recent affairs and inquired about Qin Siyao’s royal father and mother.

Both Xiao Mo and Xia Qingke deliberately avoided the topic of Xiao Yishen.

After chatting for less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Xiao Mo made an excuse and took his leave.

Leaving the Xiao Mansion, Xiao Mo held Qin Siyao’s small hand and walked toward the Imperial Palace.

Along the way, Qin Siyao kept her head down, looking somewhat lost in thought and dejected.

"What’s wrong?" Xiao Mo gently stroked her hair.

"Husband..." Qin Siyao lifted her head, looking back in the direction of the mansion. "I feel that Madam Xia is so lonely. Her children aren’t here, the Prince isn’t here, and she has to spend the New Year all by herself."

"Yes." Xiao Mo also sighed softly. "And she has to manage matters among the relatives and maintain her network in the Capital City. She handles all affairs, big and small. It’s certainly not easy."

Seeing her expression, Xiao Mo guessed what Qin Siyao was worried about and said with a smile, "Don’t worry. After we’re married, I’ll come back whenever I have a spare moment. And once the realm is pacified and there are no more wars, I’ll hang up my armor for good. Then, you and I will travel the world, with only the mountains and rivers for company."

"I’m not worried about that..."

Qin Siyao shook her head.

"Even though Madam Xia is lonely, I think she must also feel happy when she’s doing things for Prince Zhenbei.

If you have to go on a campaign in the future, Xiao Mo, I will also manage the household well for you so that you won’t have to worry.

That is a wife’s duty, after all.

I was just thinking... if Madam Xia had had a few more children, perhaps her courtyard wouldn’t be so desolate now."

"That’s possible. So, shall we have five in the future?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Who... who wants to have five children with you..." Qin Siyao’s face flushed red as she lowered her head, muttering, "I haven’t even married you yet."

Xiao Mo chuckled softly, simply taking her hand and continuing on their way.

Upon entering the Imperial Palace, Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao went to pay their respects to the Sovereign of Qin and Empress Shi.

Xiao Mo had assumed the Sovereign of Qin would be in the rear garden or his bedchambers.

But to his surprise, even on the first day of the New Year, the Sovereign of Qin was still in the Imperial Study handling state affairs, with Empress Shi accompanying him.

When he saw Xiao Mo arrive, the Sovereign of Qin pulled him into a long discussion about politics.

Empress Shi knew that it was boring when the two men discussed politics and that it was best not to disturb them. So, she led her daughter away, planning to give her another lecture on the duties of a wife.

After all, this daughter of hers was far too flighty. She had been spoiled rotten by His Majesty and her two older brothers since she was a child. When the time came for her to marry, she couldn’t still act like a little girl who needed Xiao Mo to look after her.

Before long, the Eldest Prince and the Second Prince also arrived at the Imperial Palace, each with his wife.

Nearing noon, Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao stayed, and the family had a meal together.

In the afternoon, everyone took their leave. Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao went to the Eldest Prince’s residence for tea, then paid a visit to the Second Prince.

By the time Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao returned to Prince Shuang’s Mansion, it was already evening.

On the second day of the New Year, Xiahou Nan brought Lian Li to Prince Shuang’s Mansion to give Xiao Mo their holiday greetings.

Lian Li had no place of his own, so he was currently staying at his uncle’s residence.

After having a meal with Xiahou Nan, Xiao Mo took the opportunity to discuss some matters with him.

In the end, Xiao Mo decided to buy a four-section courtyard compound next to Prince Shuang’s Mansion. If there were matters to discuss, they could gather there.

「The days passed, one by one.」

Before long, the festive atmosphere faded. Once the Lantern Festival was over, the New Year celebrations were truly finished.

Xiao Mo continued his daily cultivation. In his leisure time, he would read books and go fishing, living a life that felt rather like retirement.

And ever since Xiao Mo had entered the Nascent Soul Realm, Qin Siyao had also begun to cultivate diligently.

Qin Siyao’s talent for cultivation was truly not to be underestimated.

Furthermore, Qin Siyao possessed a clear Dao Heart; she knew why she was cultivating. Coupled with the fact that the Qin Kingdom’s resources were at her disposal, she quickly reached the late stage of the Dragon Gate Realm.

After the New Year, as the Second Prince’s wedding date drew closer, the Qin Kingdom’s Imperial City gradually became lively again.

News that the Qin Kingdom was widely recruiting Guest Ministers also began to spread throughout the Allied States.

More and more knowledgeable individuals traveled to the Qin Kingdom, hoping a wise patron would recognize their great talent and help them realize their lifelong ambitions.

Among these people, however,

there were those who were merely seeking fame and reputation.

There were mediocre people who, though talentless, wanted to try their luck.

But there were also indeed many capable people whose talents had gone unrecognized.

Some of the Allied States even took this opportunity to send their own capable people to the Qin Kingdom as spies.

Naturally, the Qin Kingdom would conduct strict background checks on all these Guest Ministers.

But some individuals possessed talents so extraordinary that it was impossible to let them go.

One such example was a Guest Minister named Li Bin.

Li Bin was well-versed in poetry and classics, and he read all sorts of books. Although his knowledge was eclectic, he had mastered many specialized fields.

Moreover, Li Bin was a firm believer that true knowledge comes from practice. He was pragmatic and capable of making different judgments based on different problems.

It had been fifty years since the Qin Kingdom annexed the Shu Region.

The Shu Region was protected by natural barriers and was incredibly fertile—an absolute treasure land.

However, the Shu Region was plagued by constant flooding.

Successive Sovereigns of Qin had wanted to properly manage this land, hoping to turn it into a "heavenly breadbasket" and strategic rear base to support their ambitions of unifying the world.

But despite trying countless methods, the Qin Kingdom had seen little success.

Now, Li Bin directly presented a strategy for water management.

This strategy was the result of three years of work, during which Li Bin personally traveled to the Shu Region to investigate and write his plan based on the actual conditions.

After hearing of this, the Sovereign of Qin summoned him for an all-night discussion.

Although Li Bin was discovered to be a spy sent by the sovereign of the Zheng Kingdom, the Sovereign of Qin pretended not to know.

He simply felt that if he did not make use of such a man, he would be unworthy of his title as sovereign.

After several days of long discussions with Li Bin, the Sovereign of Qin finally decided to send him to the Shu Region to manage the water problem.

After taking up his post, Li Bin organized the people of the Shu Region to begin the water management project, following the core principles of "diverting water for irrigation, controlling floods, and discharging silt."

Li Bin constructed a fish-mouth-shaped levee. This levee, shaped like a fish’s mouth, could split the river’s flow at a four-to-six ratio depending on the river channel’s topography and the water’s momentum.

During the dry season in spring, when the Min River’s water level was low, about sixty percent of the river water would flow into the inner channel, ensuring sufficient water for irrigation.

During the flood season in summer, when the water volume was high, about sixty percent of the water would be discharged through the outer channel, while forty percent entered the inner channel.

This prevented the Chengdu Plain from flooding.

In addition, Li Bin built the Feishayan Spillway between the inner and outer channels, behind the fish-mouth levee.

Its height was meticulously designed so that when the water level in the inner channel became too high, the excess flow, carrying large amounts of sand and gravel, would crest the Feishayan Spillway and be discharged into the outer channel.

Using the principle of circulation in a curved channel, it could also flush out eighty percent of the silt entering the inner channel, achieving a "secondary desilting" and effectively resolving the problem of silt accumulation in the irrigation area.

Furthermore, Li Bin built the Baopingkou, or "Bottle-Neck" inlet.

Li Bin and his son led the people in using a method of heating the rock with fire and then dousing it with water. On the hard rock of Mount Yulei, they carved out a gap in the mountain about twenty meters wide, shaped like the mouth of a bottle.

This gap served as the main gate controlling the amount of water flowing into the plains of Sichuan and Shu. Its narrowness restricted excessive floodwater from entering the irrigation area, acting as a "control gate."

The water management maxim, "Dredge the shoals deep; build the weirs low," was Li Bin’s summary of his work. He had it carved into stone as a lesson for future generations.

As for any requests Li Bin made during the water management process, the Sovereign of Qin personally reviewed and approved them. He granted almost every request, provided enormous financial support, and any official who disobeyed Li Bin’s orders was immediately expelled from the lands of Sichuan and Shu.

The Sovereign of Qin even summoned Loose Cultivators from all over the Qin Kingdom, promising rewards of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to any who could assist Li Bin in constructing the great weir.

Thus, in just half a year, the great weir built by Li Bin had taken preliminary shape, but even greater works were yet to follow.

Even with the help of tens of thousands of Loose Cultivators, it was estimated that it would still take another three years to complete it fully.

But this was a monumental task, one that would benefit the present and last for a thousand generations; the Sovereign of Qin would not allow anything to hinder it.

During these six-plus months, other events also transpired besides the Qin Kingdom’s recruitment of Guest Ministers.

The Second Prince, Qin Jingyuan, was ennobled as Prince Jing, with his fiefdom located in Luzhou and Jinzhou, adjacent to the Jin Kingdom.

When Xiao Mo heard of this appointment, he suspected he had misheard.

Luzhou and Jinzhou were Qin Jingyuan’s fiefdom, yet Qin Jingyuan was also the Jin Kingdom’s son-in-law.

If Qin Jingyuan were to have any ideas of his own, it would be equivalent to leaving the Qin Kingdom’s gateway to the Jin Kingdom wide open.

’Could it be that the Sovereign of Qin isn’t worried about his own son rebelling?’