My lord, spare his life!

"Those who show goodwill when they need something are doing so for personal gain."

Zhang Yang's overly generous behavior made the registrar and others increasingly anxious. Rather than believing that she was just throwing money away or that she truly had a kind heart, they were more inclined to believe that she was using temporary favors to win people's hearts and then revealing her true nature once she had gained a foothold.

Yes, conspiracy theories are their comfort zone.

"That must be it!"

"If that's the case, then it makes sense."

Little did they know, not only were they filled with doubt and unease, but even the laborers who had received the favor felt a sense of dread. Even after receiving their first day's payment, they still felt a sense of unreality. The adults dared not question Zhang Yang, but the children had no such taboos.

"Why does the Lord treat us so well?"

"Is this good?"

When Zhang Yang had nothing to do, she would ride Zhang Dami to inspect the construction site, check on the progress, and see if anyone was abusing their power. If so, she would take care of them. After all, Zhang Dami was a giant insect, and for some commoners suffering from insect infestations, it was a huge shadow.

But some young calves are just as fearless as tigers.

Zhang Dami's looks do indeed fit the general public's aesthetic standards.

Soon, children began to appear around Zhang Yang and Zhang Dami. However, most of these children were thin and sallow-skinned, looking malnourished. Their gaunt and sunken cheeks made their large eyes appear even more striking. They were tiny little bundles of fur wrapped in winter clothes.

Zhang Yang pinched the cheek of the nearest child.

"Her cheeks haven't gained any weight, that's not good."

"The Lord made sure we were well-fed and even gave us warm clothes... Lord, I heard from other people that this costs a lot of money, enough to buy many, many, many more of me..." After saying this, the child sighed with an air of maturity, "They all say that there's a reason for being kind to people."

Zhang Yang: "They are outsiders, and outsiders need a reason."

The children looked at her blankly, not understanding what she meant.

"But parents are not outsiders. Parents' kindness to their children doesn't need a reason, and the same goes for me." Zhang Yang explained to them in a serious tone, "Shuyan said that I am your local official, and I must 'love the people as my own children,' so I don't need a reason."

If we're talking about liking these people, she probably doesn't.

She didn't even know what true liking was.

Fortunately, she excelled at following rules. "Loving her people like her own children" was an inescapable responsibility she had to shoulder after unifying the world and becoming a ruler. This unexpected responsibility didn't burden her; instead, it relieved her, because she had found her comfort zone. She summarized many experiences of parenthood from observing her subjects, and she only needed to apply these experiences and formulas without having to think at all.

Zhang Yang, expressionless, had the children copy the answers verbatim.

"Parents raising children must ensure they have a warm house, enough food to fill their stomachs, teach them propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame, distinguish right from wrong, and guide them in the way of life. In plain terms, it means living well, eating well, and receiving a good education."

"Parents should provide these things to their children free of charge."

"You are children, and they are children too..."

Zhang Yang pointed to a group of laborers working busily in the distance.

"Auntie and the others have so much white hair, are they still children?"

"In the eyes of parents, children will always be children."

The children looked bewildered. They lacked the maturity of adults, nor had they been worn down by the chaos of war; they couldn't comprehend the profound impact Zhang Yang's words had on these refugees who had narrowly escaped death: "But my parents didn't give me any of this..."

Zhang Yang: "They don't lack the ability to give, not the desire to."

She emphasized again, "I have the ability, so I will give."

He rubbed the bald heads of the children—because they had too many lice on their heads and were infecting each other while living together. To solve this problem, Zhang Yang had their heads shaved, their clothes made clean, their living quarters cleaned regularly, and they had to take a hot bath every ten days—with proper nutrition, their hair would grow back soon.

"Well said!" Someone nearby clapped and praised, saying, "Your words are simple yet they strike at the heart. If all rulers and ministers in the world were like you, there would be no war or chaos."

Zhang Yang: "..."

The registrar wasn't embarrassed that she ignored him.

He probed indirectly, "Once the prefectural government is completed, the prefectural seat will truly live up to its name. Has Your Excellency decided which people to recruit?"

"Conscription?"

The registrar said, "The prefectural government is responsible for the tax calculation of all eight counties in the prefecture, the final trial of cases, and even the deployment of troops. It requires a lot of manpower. Xu Jiusi's county government also has its own affairs to attend to. It is not appropriate for it to spare manpower to interfere in the affairs of the prefectural government. It would be unfair to the other seven counties."

Rebuilding the team will require quite a few people.

Zhang Yang said, "Shuyan didn't mention any of this to me."

The registrar's eyes darted around, and he silently noted down the sentence.

Based on the information gathered so far, Zhang Yang is the one who ultimately makes the decision, but Fan You, as the chief strategist, has a great deal of influence over her. If Fan You can be persuaded, the matter will be almost certain to succeed.

Zhang Yang asked him, "Do you have a good candidate?"

The registrar laughed and said, "New clothes are worse than old ones, but old friends are worse than new ones."

The original staff of the prefectural government was a perfect fit. They didn't even need much adjustment period; they could get started after a little understanding of the situation. Could there be anyone more suitable? The registrar didn't actually want to reveal his purpose so early.

Half of the county's officials were locals, and the other half were brought over by the previous governor. The latter had nothing to lose, but the former had many concerns. Given Zhang Yang's past record of confiscating the property of local bullies, she wasn't exactly a good lord to the former. The registrar had previously thought so too, but after hearing Zhang Yang's heartfelt words, he silently changed his mind.

Who doesn't want their hometown to be better?

This is one of the reasons why many officials like to allocate resources to their hometowns when formulating policies, so that their fellow villagers can also benefit from them. Promoting fellow villagers is even more basic.

The registrar naturally shared this sentiment.

Zhang Yang did not rush to give an answer.

What she really wanted to ask was: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Just as she was about to blurt it out, she remembered Fan You's advice, changed the subject, and used the universally applicable phrase: "Let me think about it some more."

The registrar smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Excellency is wise and virtuous."

He was already prepared to go back and conscript laborers to send them over.

Of course, we also need to discuss it with the Prefectural Magistrate.

Zhang Yang inspected the territory once, then leisurely went back to find Fan You. Just as he approached the temporary camp, he heard a noisy argument.

One of the voices belonged to Fan You.

She frowned and immediately rode Zhang Dami to attack.

"Who's making a scene here!"

The ferocious tiger appeared before him, catching the young man off guard. He stumbled backward and fell to the ground with a thud. Perhaps the fall was hard, for the young man's expression was contorted in agony, as if he were enduring unspeakable pain. Zhang Yang looked down at him.

"Oh, so it's Poop Guy."

The young man's jaw was clenched so tightly from the pain that he didn't hear a word she shouted. Fan You, however, sat in his wheelchair with a half-smile. Zhang Yang guided Zhang Dami past the young man to Fan You's side, glancing down to check if his clothes were disheveled before softening her expression: "What is it?"

Fan You shook his head: "It's nothing."

Thinking of Zhang Yang's strange thought process, he made a point of explaining: "I know him, so we're practically old acquaintances. After being apart for so long, meeting him in a foreign land is bound to be emotional, so please don't worry, my lord."

"It's fine as long as it's not a fight; if you can't beat him, he'll call for backup."

The essence of PVP lies in intense team battles.

Fan You's smile deepened: "Then I'll have to trouble you, my lord."

Having received reassurance, Zhang Yang finally had the energy to pay attention to the young man who was slowly getting up with an odd, unsteady gait. The young man also noticed Zhang Yang and, from Fan You's address to her, knew that she was the person his lord Qin Huang and Fan You had mentioned: "Greetings, Lord Zhang."

Zhang Yang asked, "Is the anal fissure healed?"

youth:"……"

Zhang Yang changed to a more polite way of asking, "Is the Soul Gate ready?"

The young man's lips twitched violently as an extremely unpleasant memory surfaced in his mind. He had been drugged and bewitched by a madman, trapped in a dream from which he could not escape. When he regained consciousness, he experienced excruciating pain in his abdomen, as if something in an indescribable location was collapsing like a torrent, and his entire body reeked of a foul stench. He fainted from the pain.

When he woke up, he realized what had happened.

Fan You even deliberately reminded him.

This made the young man feel ashamed, indignant, resentful, and angry.

The two had a verbal altercation, which led to Zhang Yang taking sides.

"How dare you, Magistrate Zhang, utter such foul language?"

"What's considered foul language?" Faced with the young man's inexplicable accusation, Zhang Yang looked puzzled. "Isn't that a place everyone has? You use it when you need it, and then you consider it dirty to even mention it when you don't. Is that what you call... being arrogant at first and obsequious at second?"

"My lord, that's not how you use arrogance followed by obsequiousness."

"So, it's like the matchmaker being thrown over the wall when the newlyweds enter the bridal chamber?"

Fan You: "..."

The young man was so angry that his face turned ashen.

The spot that was already aching became even more painful.

"Fan Shuyan, you've really grown wings!"

Fan You sneered, "I have no relatives or friends. If your whole family were to die, you would be just as willing to risk everything as I am."

The young man's expression suddenly changed, and his lips turned deathly pale.

He avoided Fan You's direct gaze.

His tone softened.

"That matter—"

"Don't bring this up in front of me if you don't want to die."

The young man's lips moved, but he ultimately didn't utter a single word.

Zhang Yang: "..."

Years of experience completing missions told her there was more to this than met the eye, but neither of them seemed inclined to continue the conversation, instead bringing up matters concerning Tianyue County. Fan You told the young man to stay, and that when he would be released would depend on the opportune moment.

The young man said, "You want to put me under house arrest? Even if you do, since Duke Qin hasn't received any news from me, he will still send someone to inquire about it."

Fan You said indifferently, "That's my concern, it has nothing to do with you. Just be careful and don't do anything that will get you killed. Otherwise, your head will be on Qin Huang's desk in no time."

The young man merely scoffed at this: "You think you—"

His words were interrupted by a scream that came out of nowhere.

The young man rolled on the ground, clutching his broken leg. Zhang Yang, expressionless, slung the baseball bat over his shoulder. Zhang Dami pressed his tiger claw against the young man's chest, applying enough force to render him unable to resist. Meeting the tiger's eyes and feeling the hot, moist breath on his face at close range, the young man felt his heart skip a beat, forgetting his leg injury.

"Your name has been flagged as red."

His peach blossom eyes were filled with a chilling killing intent.

Like a demon's whisper: "This is a lesson."

Zhang Yang pointed a baseball bat at his intact second leg and, mimicking a PVP observation sample, threatened, "If there's a next time, this hit will cripple your second and third legs!"

She gets stressed when she sees a red name.

The young man trembled with rage: "Uncle Fan—"

Zhang Yang brandished the baseball bat in his hand, and the young man, realizing the force behind it, fell silent instantly. Only his heavy breathing and bloodshot eyes remained.

Upon seeing this, Fan You couldn't help but sneer.

"See? I don't care if you live or die. Just be obedient, and you'll suffer less." Fan You was still kind-hearted and had the doctor come over to set his leg bone back in place. An ordinary person might be left with a lifelong disability, but not the young man. This level of injury would only require him to lie in bed for a few more days, which would also allow him to recover from his injury.

Having dealt with the group sent by Qin Huang, the remaining group—

Fan You also realized that the rebel forces behind the other party were the same as the unfortunate man whose appointment letter had been stolen by Zhang Yang. Since he had already offended him badly, keeping him alive would be a hidden danger. To avoid any unforeseen complications, Fan You suggested killing the man and dumping him in the Dongfan Mountains.

"Why would someone kill someone, dispose of the body, and then drive this far?"

Zhang Yang said it was completely unnecessary.

Fan You suggested, "Didn't our lord previously frame someone, making the Dongfan Mountains bear the blame for killing the first leader? It doesn't seem to have worked very well. Why not kill another batch and escalate the conflict?"

Zhang Yang remembered that there was such a thing.

That makes sense.

She also made sure to relay what the registrar had said to Fan You.

Fan You pondered for a moment, then said, "That's also an option."

Zhang Yang: "What do you mean, 'can't'?"

Fan You said, "That registrar means that the lord should take over all the officials from the original prefecture. If they are willing, screen them and use those who are usable. Tianyue Prefecture may be a place to start a business, but it is not a place to stay for long. Rather than spending time and effort to cultivate trustworthy new people, it is better to use these old people for now, at most—keeping a closer eye on them."

"I see. Do I look like the kind of person who would refuse?"

Fan You: "..."

Having made his decision, he planned to thoroughly understand the personnel of Tianyueyuan County, with the most important being the former county magistrate.

He decided to first ask the clerk about the situation.

He heard a somewhat familiar name from the registrar. His stunned reaction made the registrar feel uneasy.

"But... what's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, but where is this prefect from? How old is he?" Fan You was already 90% sure.

No wonder, he said it was a method used by an acquaintance.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be someone I knew.

The registrar answered them one by one.

The information matched everything Fan You knew.

The only discrepancy was that the prefectural magistrate mentioned by the registrar had clearly given up and was devoid of any desire, while the one in Fan You's memory was no saint. Upon further reflection, Fan You guessed the crux of the matter—the Fiendish Descendants of the Stars, the Foolish Ghost.

A mad ghost is someone who is so obsessed with something that they forget about life and death.

This effect can be used not only against outsiders but also against oneself. The more attached, passionate, and desirous one is, the easier it is to be consumed by obsessive thoughts and ultimately fall into the traps woven by these thoughts. The only effective solution is extreme self-control.

but--

That only applies to triple or lower levels.

Fan You asked the Prefectural Magistrate how many layers of calamity the stars had descended upon him.

The registrar said, "It should be two layers."

This is no secret.

Fan You's heart sank, and he sighed, "When I first saw her, her aura was clean and pure, without a trace of evil. I never imagined that times would change and that we would both end up in such a wretched state."

??|??w?`)