I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse-Chapter 1951 - 1953: Lady

Chapter 1951: Chapter 1953: Lady
Though Linqu City is just a medium-sized city, its crucial strategic location prompted you to instruct Yu Jin to make restorations to Linqu City. Additionally, you expanded the overall area of Linqu City based on the old city, with its towering walls and military garrisons already meeting the standards of a large city.
Since you’ve always focused on external affairs, the internal arrangements have been left entirely to a few competent wives.
Among your eight women, Zhen Luo, Mi Xiang, and Cai Xiao all come from influential backgrounds. After marrying you, Cai Xiao almost severed ties with the Cai family from Jingzhou, a means of self-preservation. It also indicates that Cai Xiao has grown weary of this deceitful society. Now, she quietly stays in her secluded courtyard, occasionally visiting Zhen Jiang’s courtyard to help Zhen Jiang with Li Hao.
Among your many women, Zhen Jiang and Cai Xiao are currently the most leisurely.
Zhen Jiang has achieved fulfillment now. With a child, she devotes herself to taking care of Li Hao and does not engage in other matters, thereby increasing the burden on Zhen Luo and Mi Xiang.
This also subtly gives rise to the "root of disaster" seen throughout China’s history: foreign kin interfering in government!
The City Lord of Linqu City, Lin Yuan, is a student of Zhang Zhao and has a unique method of managing the place, with remarkable results. Even you’ve heard of Lin Yuan’s name, but what you don’t know is that Lin Yuan’s wife is Mi Zhen, a cousin of Mi Xiang, the daughter of Mi Xiang’s uncle, two years older than Mi Xiang. She took care of Mi Xiang since childhood, maintaining a good relationship.
The Mi Family Clan was in peril after Mi Fang and Mi Zhu followed Liu Bei to leave Xuzhou. Were it not for Mi Xiang, they might have been eradicated by you from the start. Due to Mi Xiang’s connection, the Mi Family Clan is also considered your relatives. They gained your tacit approval to re-enter Xuzhou’s stage, gradually gaining a foothold, becoming one of the first "successfully transformed clans" of Xuzhou at a steady pace.
The entire commercial domain of Kaiyang City is under Zhen Luo’s responsibility. Because you are on the frontlines, Zhen Luo arrived in Linqu City in no time, auditing the city’s finances.
Regarding Zhen Luo’s investigations, Lin Yuan accepts them with a clear conscience, fully cooperating. However, this causes Mi Zhen sleepless nights!
The Mi Family has always used Mi Zhen as a secret channel to sell special forces weapons and armor allocated to Xuzhou, making huge profits. Simultaneously, Mi Zhen used her special identity to establish a secret trade association in Linqu City for various smuggling activities, including grain.
In Xuzhou, you clearly stated that anyone who sells or smuggles grain outside in any form will be executed by hanging!
In this era, ordinary people can’t even fill their stomachs, and outside Xuzhou, starvation is rampant! After taking control of Xuzhou, your first action was to increase grain production and teach some scientific production methods. After two harvests, nearly every household has a surplus, which you’ve collected in government-funded granaries for emergencies.
Cao Cao’s constant warfare has nearly emptied the national treasury’s grain stores. His campaigns constantly face grain issues, and during the battle with Yuan Shao at Guandu, several grain stocks had to be burned, leading to his nightmares.
Nowadays, Yan Province, Jizhou, Yuzhou, and Bingzhou almost face daily grain shortages, with countless citizens wandering homeless. This is why some refugees desperately make their way to Xuzhou; once in Xuzhou, provided their background is clean, they can at least find work and basic sustenance.
Zhen Luo’s arrival not only causes Mi Zhen sleepless nights but also unnerves the Mi Family internally.
Because of this, Mi Zhen specifically uses her birthday as a reason to invite Mi Xiang to Linqu City. With Mi Xiang present, Mi Zhen expects Zhen Luo won’t be too excessive, at least considering Mi Xiang’s presence and not scrutinizing Mi Zhen’s affairs too deeply. Conversely, Mi Zhen temporarily ceases all secret trading, as the safety of hundreds of family members takes precedence over wealth.
Once everything is well-concealed, Mi Zhen finally breathes a sigh of relief.
Zhen Luo is an extremely astute person, naturally uncovering some clues. However, as Mi Zhen anticipated, she does not pursue them further, instead overseeing the grain supply being prepared for your camp with Mi Xiang. Indeed, this is the current priority.
Upon receiving information from Xiao San, Zhen Luo immediately dispatches grain supplies to your camp. By evening, Lin Yuan sends a maid: "Madam, the City Lord invites you to attend the Lady of the City Lord’s birthday celebration tonight."
Receiving this message, Zhen Luo, just accepting tea from the maid, lightly opens her red lips, takes a slow sip, and smiles, "Tell Lord Lin that I’m feeling a bit weary and won’t be attending."
The maid pauses before saying, "Madam, Lady Xiang is also present tonight and wishes for a chat with you."
"Tsk, you, stop being so annoying! My mistress said no and that means no; why so many useless words?" Zhen Luo’s maid immediately furrows her brow, adopting a rather stern approach.
Truthfully, although in your presence, these women seem harmonious, privately, they aren’t as close as they appear.
Among your wives, Cai Xiao and Zhen Jiang now desire nothing from the world.
Gan Mei, being from a farming family, is not well-regarded by Mi Xiang and Zhen Luo. Yet, Gan Mei is a quiet person, contentedly leading women in making handicrafts at Eastern Capital City’s workshop.
Zheng Zhi often comes and goes without a trace, spending most of her time unpredictably besides training the special forces. Only Zhao Yu and you are aware of her whereabouts, making Zheng Zhi a mysterious and elusive presence among the women.
Ren Hongchang and Zhao Yu require no further mention; they are the most favored and trusted among your women.
Currently, Ren Hongchang commands the eighty thousand forbidden army in the Eastern Capital. Though publicly termed as the forbidden army, they really are your personal guard. This elite force controls everything within Eastern Capital City, the power of life and death over hundreds of thousands lies in Ren Hongchang’s hands. Apart from you and Zhao Yu, no one else dares challenge Ren Hongchang’s authority in the entire Xuzhou domain.