Bai Suzhen, I really need to punish you properly.

April arrived in the blink of an eye.

Although Wang Xuan often confides in his wives at home, he has not slacked off in his spiritual practice.

With the spiritual energy of the Golden Light Array, he has successfully broken through to the late stage of Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness.

Then she would either chat with Zhong Li or spend time alone with Ao Jin.

Perhaps because Ao Jin was so dependent on him and felt completely under his control, Wang Xuan was not in a hurry to win her over.

Wang Xuan planned to prepare betrothal gifts and travel to the Dragon Palace of Dongting Lake to propose marriage after some time, and then formally fall in love with her.

We can also get some gold coins from Old Deng while we're at it.

Wang Xuan had previously refused the gifts from the Dragon King of Dongting and the Dragon King of Qiantang because he thought he could ask them for help if he encountered difficulties in the future.

However, now that they will soon be family, Wang Xuan naturally feels there is no need to be so formal.

But the peaceful days didn't last long. On this day, Qiantang County was plunged into a major crisis.

Qiantang County, which has always enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests, was flooded when a tributary of the Qiantang River breached its dikes, causing widespread flooding and submerging countless fertile fields.

After listening to Li Gongfu's report, Wang Xuan pondered for a moment and asked, "Why was the dike breached? Was it due to years of disrepair, or was there another reason?"

Li Gongfu bowed and replied, "Your Excellency, the weather has been sunny for several days without rain. Logically, the river should be calm, but the soil at the bottom of the embankment has collapsed entirely, as if it had suddenly exploded."

Wang Xuan nodded slightly, his expression turning serious. He instructed Li Gongfu, "Immediately assign people to evacuate the people. Also, gather the able-bodied men from each village, and have them bring sandbags, wooden stakes, and boulders to prepare to rush to the breach and repair the dike. Spread the word that the government will provide subsidies of money and grain to anyone who participates in the rescue."

Li Gongfu replied, "Yes!"

Li Gongfu accepted the order and withdrew. Wang Xuan quickly returned to the backyard, found Bai Suzhen and Ao Jin, and recounted the flood incident.

Ao Jin was very surprised: "Is it Uncle's Qiantang River?"

"Um."

"I'll go ask my uncle."

Wang Xuan nodded and reassured her, "Jin'er, this shouldn't have been done by your uncle. I wanted you to ask him to find out which monster was responsible."

Lord Qiantang is the righteous god of the great river, and Qiantang County is under his jurisdiction. Besides, given their kinship, he has no reason to act this way.

Moreover, given Qiantang Jun's capabilities, one can only imagine the scale of the flood if he were to actually unleash it.

However, this matter should have been communicated to Lord Qiantang.

He felt it was more likely the work of a monster in the Qiantang River, since Qiantang County had suffered from monster-related floods in various myths and legends.

"I understand, my benefactor, I'll go right away."

Ao Jin left in a hurry.

Bai Suzhen frowned slightly and asked in a gentle voice, "My lord, are we about to open the granaries to provide disaster relief?"

"No rush, my wife. Let's go and assess the severity of the flood first, then we'll make our plans when we get back."

If the scale is not large, the grain stored in the official granaries can naturally be released in its entirety.

If multiple areas are damaged, and with so many people in Qiantang County, the grain stored in the official granaries will only be a drop in the bucket. Releasing all of it will only make the situation more passive.

Bai Suzhen nodded gently.

The two rode the wind together and flew into the sky.

From the air, the extent of the flood is clearly visible.

Most of Qiantang County was affected.

Moreover, neighboring counties were also affected.

With the harvest season in full swing, the people's year-long hard work has gone to waste, and their own official positions may also be implicated.

Wang Xuan's anger surged. If it was truly a monster causing trouble in the dark, he would definitely tear it to pieces.

"My lady, this item is called the Water Spirit Pearl. It is a treasure formed from the essence of water in heaven and earth. Activating the pearl can change the direction of the water flow. Your cultivation is higher than mine. Try to make these floods avoid the villages and go to the deserted farmland and forests."

Although the Water Spirit Pearl can change the water's flow, it cannot reverse the rushing river water and make it flow back into the Qiantang River.

Between ordinary people and farmland, the former is clearly more valuable.

Bai Suzhen took the Water Spirit Pearl and began to guide the water flow.

She is a kind and soft-hearted person by nature, so of course she wouldn't refuse such a thing.

Wang Xuan, on the other hand, returned to the county government office alone.

Given the extent of damage to the farmland, simply opening granaries to distribute grain is only a temporary solution. The entire Hangzhou prefecture has been affected, resulting in a huge food shortage that is certainly not enough to sustain the city's disaster victims for long.

If the government simply dumps its grain at low prices, firstly, grain merchants from other places will not transport grain to Hangzhou because of the low grain prices, and secondly, local wealthy households and landlords will hoard grain and refuse to sell it easily.

Therefore, Wang Xuan immediately announced that he would not restrict shops from selling rice at high prices, but instead would raise the government's grain purchase price.

The original price was 60 wen per dou, but now notices are posted along the river and canal, indicating that the Qiantang government is willing to buy grain at a high price of 180 wen.

This was naturally modeled after Fan Zhongyan.

When grain merchants from other places started transporting grain to Hangzhou, he then cut off their supply.

Simply put, it's about the shift between supply falling short of demand and supply exceeding demand.

After ordering people to post notices, Wang Xuan immediately rushed to the site of the dam collapse.

The river was gushing out in torrents, and a group of strong young men were already on standby. There were also many bags of soil, tree stumps and stones piled up nearby.

Right now, besides evacuating the people and ensuring their safety, the top priority is to reinforce the dikes.

The Qiantang River has a huge volume of water and cannot continue to flow endlessly into Qiantang County and the surrounding areas.

If it was truly the work of a demon, then if that demon dares to appear again, we should use it as a sacrifice to the heavens.

At Wang Xuan's command, hundreds of men began to get to work.

With Bai Suzhen's help in the air using the Water Spirit Pearl, the group worked for a day and a night and made considerable progress.

At this moment, Ao Jin came looking for them. The two walked to a secluded spot by the river, where she quietly explained what had happened.

"My benefactor, my uncle has investigated and confirmed that it was indeed the work of a catfish spirit from the bottom of the river, and that he was bewitched by another monster called Black Wind."

This flood was caused by the catfish demon manipulating the river, and it was also a trick by the Black Wind Envoy.

Black Wind suffered a great loss at their hands last time and had been looking for an opportunity to take revenge.

However, the female demons around Wang Xuan were all more powerful than the last, and Wang Xuan was also the magistrate of Qiantang County, protected by some human luck, so he could not act recklessly.

So they provoked the catfish spirit, causing it to unleash a flood that swept through Qiantang County, claiming that the future master of Qiankun Cave would be able to help it transform into a dragon. The catfish spirit already resented the people for disturbing it by fishing all year round, so it urged the river to break through the dam.

"Black Wind?" Wang Xuan nodded and noted it down, then asked, "Where is that catfish demon now?"

Ao Jin raised his hand and a huge catfish demon corpse appeared in front of him, its face ferocious, its mouth wide open, and its eyes filled with deep fear.

"He has already been killed by my uncle."

Wang Xuan cupped Ao Jin's head, lowered his head and kissed her forehead, laughing, "Your uncle really knows how to be decisive."

Ao Jin's cheeks flushed slightly, a hint of shyness in her expression.

Wang Xuan summoned Li Gongfu, who was so frightened by the sight of the enormous fish monster that he gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist.

"This is the culprit that caused the flood. Li Gongfu, take a few constables and come with me to escort this fish monster back to the city, where we will share its flesh with the people."

The group of people used several small carts to push the enormous carcass of the fish monster back into the city.

The people along the way, upon witnessing this scene, immediately exclaimed in surprise and admiration.

They had never seen such a terrifyingly huge fish before.

Many people followed behind, all the way to the county government office.

When they returned to the county government office, they saw that a crowd had already gathered outside the gate.

Wang Xuan frowned slightly.

Li Gongfu shouted loudly, "The magistrate is here! Everyone, please make way!"

When the group of students saw Wang Xuan, they all stepped forward, filled with righteous indignation and righteous anger.

"Lord Wang, why are you raising grain prices?"

"Yes, how can ordinary people afford it?"

"The farmland has been completely submerged, and the people have suffered a complete crop failure. Now you're raising grain prices so aggressively—how are the people supposed to survive? Aren't you just aiding and abetting those unscrupulous merchants?"

……

Guess which female lead is in this story.