Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Softness Overcomes Hardness, Salvaging the Truth
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Morning arrived, and laborers flooded the site. The grueling battle that had dragged on so long was finally put on hold.
Far off in the distance, Lord Wei stood tall as if he hadn't done a thing, utterly unashamed. Part of me wanted to lop off his head right then and there, but there was nothing for it.
First, I had to shatter this mad superstition and prove—scientifically, unmistakably—that this was all very much a matter of the real world.
"Load the stones! But keep the balance even on both sides. If it tips, it'll flip and become a feast for the River God!"
At my command, the laborers sprang into action.
The massive wooden mat—the Sunken Mat Foundation—we'd slaved over all night long. Iron Sand Gang thugs and laborers alike lined up to haul rocks onto it.
"Wh-what, Your Highness! It's sinking! Up to our ankles!"
The laborers cried out in panic. As the pile of stones grew, the soccer-field-sized raft couldn't bear the weight and began to submerge beneath the surface with gentle ripples.
From atop the embankment, I waved my flag and called out nonchalantly.
"Don't freak out! It won't flip! That's exactly what's supposed to happen!"
Physics doesn't lie. A battle between buoyancy and gravity. Now it was gravity's turn to win.
Up on the distant hill, Lord Wei lounged under a silk canopy, munching on honey-glazed rice cakes as he watched the spectacle.
He was chatting with his companions, though what they were saying was anyone's guess. But it was obvious enough. If this failed, they'd sweep it all under the rug like it never happened.
I could almost hear their curses laced with eager anticipation. Sorry to disappoint, but my blueprint had no room for "drowning."
"Everyone, evacuate the mat! Grab the ropes and stand by!"
At my order, the laborers scrambled off the raft and clambered up the embankment.
Now, atop the river, only the massive brown slab remained, piled high with stones like a mountain and teetering precariously. Everyone held their breath at the sight of it rocking as if it might sink any second.
"Now."
I dropped my hand.
"Cut the ropes!"
Thwack. Thwack. Snap, crack!
The thick ropes tied to the embankment were neatly severed by the blade of General Ma Cheolsan's axe. Deprived of support, the structure finally surrendered to gravity.
BOOM—!
A thunderous roar shook heaven and earth as a massive column of water shot into the sky, like the Yellow River itself exploding. The soccer-field-sized mass of wood and stone was sucked into the black depths in an instant. It was a sight like some colossal beast opening its maw to devour a sacrifice.
"Argh! Waves incoming!"
The river churned violently, slamming against the embankment. Spray rained down on the laborers' heads. And then, moments later, the wildly roiling surface grew eerily still, as if by magic.
Silence. Everyone swallowed dryly, staring at the water. Had the stones vanished, or held firm?
"Huh...?"
One laborer rubbed his eyes and pointed to the riverbank.
"I see it! It's there!"
Beneath the murky water, the sunken wooden mat and the mound of stones atop it were faintly but clearly visible.
They hadn't been swallowed by the mud. The broad wooden net had pressed down on the soft riverbed like snowshoes, keeping the stones firmly in place without sinking further.
"S-success! The stones didn't disappear!"
"The River God spat them back out! He returned our stones!"
The laborers embraced each other, dancing with joy. Even the Iron Sand Gang thugs impulsively hugged their neighbors before realizing they were imperial troops and hastily pulling away.
I watched the scene with a cold smile. A perfectly predictable outcome. This was civilization. This was science.
"What are you all standing around for? Save the for home!"
I clapped my hands.
"The foundation's set. Now we build the real embankment. Dump the stones! They'll stack up with every load now!"
It was no longer a bottomless jar. The laborers tossed stones in with glee.
With each load, the embankment rose steadily. The "devil's stretch" that had devoured lives and money for decades was transforming into a sturdy stone barrier in mere half a day.
From afar, atop a tall tree, Immortal Master Cheonun watched it all. His pointed ears twitched faintly.
His gaze lingered not on the completed embankment, but on the wooden mat submerged in the water.
"Hah..."
A sigh escaped the lips of the millennium-old immortal sage.
"Slender, supple branches intertwined, bearing the weight of a thousand geun of rock."
He gripped his staff tightly.
The martial principle called it Softness Overcomes Hardness. The yielding conquers the rigid. Yet to witness it not in martial arts, but in the art of taming rivers with earth and wood...
"An ordinary lord would have tried to dam the river with brute force. But that child understood the river's nature and coaxed it into submission, carving a path."
A faint smile played on Immortal Master Cheonun's lips.
"This is no mere trick of technique. He rejected superstition and saved the people through the laws of reality alone."
From the fingertips of that young crown prince bloomed the very Dao of good governance he'd long sought—not in chaotic times, but in an age of order.
"Fascinating. Utterly fascinating. If Kong Qiu were alive, he'd be applauding."
The embankment construction entered its final phase. The laborers were drunk on victory, but my work was far from over.
Caked in mud, I strode toward Lord Wei, who stood dazed. He was so lost in shock that he didn't even notice the rice cake falling from his mouth.
"Th-this can't be... The River God... how...?"
Come back to reality already. The words nearly slipped out, but I swallowed them just in time.
Your corruption site's been thoroughly cleaned up. For trying to take my life, you're getting exactly what's coming.
"Still on about that?"
I clicked my tongue and beckoned.
"General Ma. Ask them to bring a crane."
"Pardon? The embankment's done, isn't it?"
"No, not for the embankment. We need to salvage something."
I pointed to the section where Lord Wei had claimed to have "dumped stones."
"Lord Wei, you said it yourself, right? That you offered thousands of cartloads of gold vessels, jade, and premium stone to the River God right here."
"Y-yes! The sincerity we offered him! How dare you doubt it!"
Lord Wei blustered, but his eyes shook like there was an earthquake.
"Then let's check. Did the River God eat them, or did someone skim them off the top?"
At my signal, the massive hook dangling from the crane plunged into the river. Lord Wei's face drained of color.
"Stop! Touching a sacred place will bring divine punishment...!"
"You'll get the divine punishment. Hoist it!"
Screeech—clank!
The crane's cable went taut. The pulley screamed as it turned. Soon, a massive net emerged from the river, dragging up clumps of black mud.
All eyes locked on it. Would the treasures offered to the god appear? The tension was like scratching a lottery ticket.
Plop, plop.
What fell from the net wasn't stone.
Rotten wood scraps. A chamber pot full of holes. Empty rice sacks. And assorted trash—clearly ballast to make up the weight instead of real stones.
"......"
Silence blanketed the site. The laborers' eyes widened, then bloodshot with rage.
The moment fear turned to fury.
"Where's the gold? Where'd all the offerings go?"
"Nothing but trash!"
"Where's our offering rice?!"
I picked up a rotten wood scrap and tossed it at Lord Wei's feet. Thud.
"The River God's a real penny-pincher. Skipped the stones, pocketed the cash. Picky eater."
"Th-this is slander! Someone must've swapped them! The River God's angry..."
"Loves that River God excuse. How long you gonna milk it?"
Lord Wei backed away, but it was too late. No one to save him now. The Poison Snake Sect goons had been rounded up by troops at dawn and were kneeling in custody on one side of the site.
These scum were guilty of high treason now. No mercy for them. The water knows the truth, and Teacher Water will kindly teach it until it spills from their lips.
"Swapped, huh? Then explain this."
I pulled a ledger from my robe. The secret account book Soso had found rummaging Lord Wei's tent last night.
"It's all right here, nice and neat. '3,000 seok of offering rice, sold to merchants. Proceeds offered to Her Majesty Consort Wei.'"
"......!"
"And '5,000 nyang of gold billed as stone costs, hidden in villa basement warehouse.'"
I shook the ledger and asked coldly.
"River God write this too? Nice handwriting for a god."
Lord Wei's legs gave out, and he collapsed. Enraged laborers grabbed shovels and picks, lunging at him.
"Kill the bastard!"
"Cough up our wages, you fraud!"
General Ma Cheolsan held them back, but their fury pierced the heavens.
Instead of calming them, I approached Lord Wei quietly and whispered.
"Hear that? That's the real voice of the people. Not the River God you sold out."
And with that, the matter concluded.
Lord Wei and the Poison Snake Sect crew were strung up like dried fish and carted off. Let me emphasize again: these vermin aren't surviving. Their crimes are beyond heinous.
The gold bars and rice they'd stashed in the villa basement were all recovered—into the national treasury, with some doled out as and back pay for the hardworking laborers.
"Long live Crown Prince Your Highness!"
"You beat the River God!"
Amid their cheers, I boarded the carriage.
Father Emperor's mission? Cleanly resolved. Time for a break.
Days later, the Yellow River flowed peacefully as if nothing had happened. Standing atop the sturdy new embankment, I gazed north.
Toward the Imperial Palace.
"Your Highness. Time to go. His Majesty awaits."
Soso called, preparations complete. But I didn't budge. In my hand was a letter seized from Lord Wei, stamped with Consort Wei's seal.
Not just embezzlement.
This was the Inner Palace Bureau's funding pipeline. With no empress and the eldest son ailing, it was part of Consort Wei's grand scheme to seize imperial power.
I'd snipped it. Clean cut with the shears.
What Father had hinted at probably included this... but how to handle it? The Inner Palace Bureau was a powder keg, tangled up in the emperor's own power. Mess it up, and boom—unexpected explosion.
Word was, Father had borrowed their strength to build his power before becoming the tyrant who now ruled. That's how the mess got so tangled.
Not that the tyrant Father would suddenly get cold feet... Still, for a crown prince without backup, it meant plenty to mull over.
"Soso."
"Yes."
"Things'll get noisy once we're back."
"Ready for it. Even got a new inkstone. Thicker one this time."
Her joke drew a smirk. But my eyes weren't smiling.
Catching one corrupt official wouldn't end it. We'd grabbed the tail; now the body would stir. And that body was far tougher and deadlier than this rotten embankment.
I wouldn't overthink. First, refill the drained treasury. Most urgent, most immediate task.
Then, deal cleanly with the underlings who moved directly. Heads who ordered or egged it on? Remember and take them down. That's all.
"Let's go."
I tucked the letter deep in my robe.
Over the cleared Yellow River, fresh storm clouds gathered.