"Commander, the Seventh Princess requests an audience."

Liang Jing's eyebrow quirked slightly. "Let her in."

Xia Yunshang entered, still bearing her timid demeanor, but now clad in a new palace dress. Though the material wasn't the finest, it was clean, well-fitted, and lent a touch of vitality to her delicate features. She carefully carried a food box.

"Yunshang… pays her respects to the Commander." She knelt and bowed, her voice soft.

"Rise. What is it?" Liang Jing set aside the reports.

Xia Yunshang stood, gently placing the food box on a corner of his desk. She kept her head lowered, her small hands nervously twisting the fabric of her dress. "I heard the Commander was shaken… and required quiet convalescence… Yunshang… Yunshang prepared some calming lotus seed soup herself… a small token of my regard… I hope the Commander does not find it beneath him."

Having spoken, she seemed to have expended all her courage, the tips of her ears turning bright red.

Liang Jing glanced at the box.

With his current cultivation, his senses were acute; he could faintly perceive nothing amiss with the food.

"Your thoughtfulness is noted," he said tonelessly. "You may leave it."

Seeing him accept it, her face instantly blossomed into a radiant, shy joy, like the first thaw of snow or spring flowers blooming, momentarily brightening the austere chamber. "Then… I won't disturb the Commander's rest any longer. Yunshang takes her leave." She offered a quick curtsy and practically fled the room.

Liang Jing watched her retreating back, a flicker of thought in his eyes.

This little princess seemed more grateful, and more… interesting, than he had initially presumed.

He opened the food box. Inside was a bowl of lotus seed soup, perfectly prepared and fragrant.

He took a spoonful. The taste was unexpectedly good.

[Ding! Favorability of key figure 'Xia Yunshang' towards the host has increased significantly. Bond deepened.]

Liang Jing offered no comment, internal or otherwise.

On his planned path to supremacy, women might serve as a garnish, but they would never become an obstacle.

A few more days passed, and Liang Jing's period of "quiet convalescence" ended. He reappeared in the court hall.

He carried himself with the same domineering authority, his demeanor seemingly untouched by the assassination attempt in the archives.

Yet, when his phoenix-like eyes swept over the assembled officials, everyone could feel his gaze was deeper and colder than before.

He did not immediately pursue the matter of the assassination, as if he had forgotten it entirely.

This, however, only heightened the anxiety of those with guilty consciences.

The court's discussion soon turned to the results of the northern relief efforts.

The Minister of Revenue, Wang, stepped forward, his face unable to conceal his excitement (mingled, perhaps, with a dose of fear towards Liang Jing). "Your Majesty! Heaven favors Great Xia! The disaster in the three northern provinces has been largely quelled! The refugees have been resettled; the horrific scenes of corpses littering the roads are no more!"

"The construction of irrigation works and the digging of deep wells proceed smoothly. The people's hearts are settled. There are even… even reports of commoners erecting longevity tablets in Commander Liang's honor!"

A variety of expressions crossed the faces of the civil and military officials upon hearing this.

Those aligned with Liang Jing looked pleased, sharing in the glory.

The officials of the traditionalist faction, however, wore sour expressions, none more so than Lin Wenzheng, whose face was ashen, as if he had been publicly slapped.

They had previously impeached Liang Jing for leading the nation to ruin, and now he had single-handedly quashed a famine that nearly sparked rebellion—and won the people's hearts in the process!

The contrast was bitterly ironic.

On the Dragon Throne, Xia Lin Yuan was both shocked and delighted. "Excellent! Excellent! Our subject Liang is truly a pillar of Great Xia! His merit is paramount!"

Liang Jing gave a slight bow, his tone flat. "This was merely my duty, relying on Your Majesty's divine fortune and the treasury's… well, and the 'generous' donations from my colleagues and myself."

He paused almost imperceptibly on the word "generous," his gaze, tinged with mockery, sweeping over Lin Wenzheng and others, causing their blood pressure to spike.

"Do not be so modest, Our subject!" Xia Lin Yuan now viewed Liang Jing more favorably than ever. "We are deeply gratified by your handling of the northern affair, with full authority bestowed! You shall be rewarded heavily!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liang Jing expressed his thanks, then shifted the topic, his voice taking on a chill. "Your Majesty, although the northern crisis has eased, the deep-seated ills of Great Xia cannot be cured by a single relief effort. The governance, taxation, and military preparedness across all regions require rectification."

"Furthermore, during this relief operation, I discovered massive losses and inefficiencies in the transport of supplies. The ever-normal granaries in many regions show significant deficits. The corruption and negligence involved are… appalling!"

The officials felt a chill. Here it comes.

Leveraging the success and momentum of the relief effort, Liang Jing was now beginning his reckoning and reorganization.