Chapter 116: Seizing Power

“Why pay them that much for just half a day? Twenty wen is enough to pay for an entire day’s worth of labor.”

Gong Che shook his head in disagreement. “Now is the season when farmers are the most busy. We can’t take advantage of our civilians and let their homes fall apart….”

The governor thought this prince was such a fool for wasting his money. Based on this method of pay, he estimated that countless people would come and sign up for recruitment!

Although the governor disagreed in his heart, he still went on to say, “The Crown Prince is filled with benevolence and justice! The ministers here along with the people of Xing City express our deep gratitude!”

Gong Che nodded and ordered the governor to send men and inspect the waterway’s condition and report back specific details. The official agreed and went on his way, while Gong Che massaged his temples and walked back to the camp.

The prince passed by the courtyard where Gong Yi Mo resided…he stood outside for some time, but in the end, he was unable to take another step forward.

Since they were brother and sister, why would he feel such frustration when he wanted to meet with her?

Gong Che’s eyes revealed a shred of pain, and he stepped away to return to his residence.

Meanwhile, Gong Yi Mo was very busy!

In her previous life, she experimented in creating explosives although the process almost killed her. But thanks to that experience, she was now more careful in her work, which would greatly reduce danger.

Unfortunately…those explosives from her past life were used to kill. As a result, Gong Yi Mo felt accountable for every death that resulted from it, whether directly or indirectly. It was no wonder that the Gong Che from that lifetime would describe her as a malicious woman with a heart as poisonous as snakes and scorpions.

Gong Yi Mo swept away those superfluous thoughts and concentrated on mixing ingredients. In this age, the concept of explosives had already existed, but its usage was quite limited. The black explosives nowadays were used for alchemy, starting fires, for fireworks and so forth. Its usage in the battlefield was only limited to fire attacks so its level of damage wasn’t as extensive.

.But with Gong Yi Mo’s modifications, these explosives would have the frightening lethality of a modern age explosive.

After all, the rocks and sand that are accumulated in the river, has long been there god knows how many years, if only manpower is used for digging, god knows when will it be done. Furthermore, digging a river channel on a flat surface, if explosives is used to soften up the soil, the process of digging would be much easier.

Who knew how many years those accumulated silt and gravel have been building up in the rivers. If it was all cleared up using only manpower, the time it would take to accomplish the task would be unprecedented.

But if the soil was loosened up with explosives, it would be much easier for the laborers to dig up the debris and clear the waterways.

“Princess, there’s a letter that arrived from Xi Zhou!”

Gong Yi Mo’s eyes sparkled with expectation!

‘Has Gong Jue finally arrived at Xi Zhou? Why did it take him so long?’ she thought as she hastily opened up the letter. At last, she was able to see Gong Jue’s own handwriting!

Of course, he was the child she had personally raised. Gong Yi Mo never imagined that within the time they were apart, she would come to miss him this much.

The letter didn’t mention anything too important. It appears that Zhen Xi Wang had covered up the information of her troubles quite well, since Gong Jue doesn’t seem to be aware of her current situation. In the letter, he said that he thought of her often.

Gong Yi Mo laughed when she imagined the prince’s worried expression, but her expression froze when she read the last two lines.

He wants to take charge of all the shops in the capital? What happened at Xi Zhou? Is he short of money?

Meanwhile, back at Xi Zhou, Zhen Xi Wang was speechless as he stared at Gong Jue in surprise.

“Are you saying that you want the voluntary servitude contracts of all our handlers working in the imperial capital?”

Zhen Xi Wang couldn’t help but give Gong Jue a strange look. The man had been busy dealing with his region’s disaster relief, and as soon as he found some free time, his grandson came and brought up this topic. It appears that the boy didn’t trust him, which saddened the old man.

Gong Jue, who sat before him on the table, coldly looked back and declared, “Grandfather, I just don’t want to be fooled by you again!”

His words caused Zhen Xi Wang to feel embarrassed. This was originally the princess’ plan, but he never imagined that he would be the one to bear the brunt.

“We were afraid that if you knew her situation, your state of mind would be affected…as you know, going back without finishing your mission would mean death!”

T/N: Check out the next page for the Teaser – Chapter 117 Seizing Power (2)