Bin Sheng had once infiltrated the Ming Dynasty under far more dangerous circumstances.
He had crossed borders, concealed identities, swallowed humiliation, and survived battles that could have killed him ten times over.
None of that compared to this.
Yanzi was angry.
Now, a reformed prodigal is worth more than gold. Yanzi did not truly care that Bin Sheng had once been a man of the Later Jin. That was the past. The world had changed. People had changed.
What angered her was something far more serious.
He had kept it from her.
"I'm not talking to him," she declared, lips pressed tight. "I am absolutely not talking to him anymore."
Then she turned on her heel and marched toward the cafeteria kitchen, sleeves rolled up like a general preparing for war, and began cooking with enough force to intimidate the vegetables.
Bin Sheng stood in the yard, pale.
"Help me. Someone help me. Think of something."
This was a man who could master machinery after glancing at a blueprint once. A production pacesetter. A Labor Model. One of the Ten Outstanding Young People. The sort of person subordinates described as omnipotent.
Now he looked like a drowning man clutching at reeds.
He grabbed a few workers.
"How do I make Yanzi stop being angry?"
The workers stared at him blankly. Their understanding of women was even shallower than his.
One coughed. "Maybe… buy her a gift?"
Another brightened. "Yes! The navy brought back rouge and powder from Jiangnan. I heard women love that. Madam Yanzi will surely like it."
Bin Sheng's eyes lit up like someone had just handed him a military strategy manual.
"You're absolutely right. Let's go. Now. We buy gifts."
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Yanzi was waiting.
Waiting for him to come in. To apologize. To coax her. To lower his voice and admit he had been wrong.
Instead, a group of female workers rushed in with fresh news.
"Factory Director Bin left."
Yanzi froze. "Left?"
"They say he took people with him. Boarded a train to Xi'an."
The kitchen knife hit the chopping board with a sharp crack.
"He made me angry," Yanzi said slowly, "and instead of apologizing, he ran off to Xi'an?"
The female workers gasped in unison.
"That's outrageous."
"You must teach him a lesson."
"Dao Xuan Tianzun just descended earlier and even gave us cooling balm. Let's ask Dao Xuan Tianzun to judge this!"
That was all the encouragement needed.
Within moments, a small army of female workers surrounded Yanzi and marched toward the open yard where Dao Xuan Tianzun had manifested earlier.
Yanzi lifted her face to the sky.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun! Bin Sheng is bullying Yanzi. You must preside over justice!"
A breeze passed overhead.
Then, from the sky, a large sheet of paper slowly floated down.
On it were written clear, elegant characters:
"Dao Xuan Tianzun finds it difficult to arbitrate domestic disputes."
And just like that, Li Daoxuan vanished without a trace.
He could reshape economies. He could redirect the fate of provinces.
He was absolutely not stepping into a marital argument.
---
Meanwhile, Mi Qianhu and his bound entourage were escorted onto the great iron train.
Even after having ridden it once, the machine still unsettled them. The thunder of its wheels, the sheer weight of iron and steam, the sense that mountains themselves might tremble before it.
But what frightened Mi Qianhu more was another realization.
The capital knew nothing of this.
He turned sharply to the Xi'an Jinyiwei.
"You are all in league with rebels, aren't you? Has news truly been sealed within Shaanxi? Not a single report about such a strategic transport has reached the capital?"
The leading officer, Hundred-Household Commander Zhou, glanced at him calmly.
"Commander Mi, several years ago, Governor Wang Shunxing submitted a memorial describing this iron vehicle to His Majesty."
Mi Qianhu blinked. "And?"
"His Majesty declared the governor was speaking nonsense and deceiving the throne. He was dismissed shortly afterward."
Mi Qianhu went silent.
Commander Zhou continued, "The next governor, Lian Guoshi, naturally did not mention it again. Not everyone wishes to lose his post."
Mi Qianhu clenched his fists.
"If one report can be dismissed, what about multiple? The Censor-Inspector. The local Jinyiwei. If all of you had submitted memorials together, His Majesty would have believed it."
Commander Zhou smiled faintly.
"At the time, the Censor-Inspector Wu Shen was a member of our Dao Xuan Tianzun Sect. The local Jinyiwei commander, Shi Kefa, was also one of us. Why would we memorialize?"
Mi Qianhu felt the blood drain from his face.
"So for years… you have all been part of the rebel faction."
The word rebel hung heavy in the carriage.
Then something else struck him.
Wu Shen… was now Governor of Shanxi.
Shi Kefa… now held military authority in Anqing and Chizhou.
Mi Qianhu groaned softly.
"Three provinces… already in your hands. If you rebel…"
He did not finish the sentence.
Commander Zhou only said, "You will see."
---
The train arrived in Xi'an.
Waiting at the station stood Zhu Cunji.
Here, in his own domain, he did not bother with disguise. He wore the robes of the Qin princely heir, attendants flanking him in neat rows, the air thick with pomp and confidence.
Mi Qianhu was brought before him.
The moment he saw Zhu Cunji standing there openly, Mi Qianhu's last strand of hope snapped.
"So even the Prince of Qin's Residence has joined the rebels. You are colluding with Zhu Yujian. You defy Heaven's will."
Zhu Cunji laughed lightly.
"Defy Heaven? That depends on who you think Heaven favors."
He raised a hand and pointed upward.
"This heir is complying with Heaven's will. Heaven believes Zhu Youjian is not doing a very good job. So the old man himself descended to guide us. We are merely following Heaven's instructions, striving to make this world better."
Mi Qianhu snapped, "Nonsense. 'Heaven descended,' 'the old man,' these are the same empty slogans as the Eternal Venerable Mother or the True Void Homeland. Tricks to deceive the ignorant masses."
Zhu Cunji's smile sharpened.
"Only the ignorant masses? Then say that to Wu Shen. Or Shi Kefa. Or Sun Chuanting, the current Governor of Shaanxi. Are they ignorant? Do they lack discernment?"
Mi Qianhu hesitated.
Zhu Cunji spread his hands.
"But in truth, this heir has no interest in rebellion. Court politics exhaust me. I prefer eating, drinking, sightseeing."
He paused, then grinned.
"The only things I have done for the realm are build two railways. And begin planning a third."
Mi Qianhu's heart skipped.
"A third?"
"Yes. From Hanzhong to Guangyuan. Then extending all the way to Chengdu. Once complete, the West Han Railway will become the West Chengdu Railway."
Mi Qianhu recalled the iron monster that had carried him through mountains as if they were flat plains.
If that machine connected Xi'an and Chengdu, transporting thousands across the perilous passes of Shu…
The strategic implications were terrifying.
Then another thought struck him.
"You dare build into Sichuan? Are you not afraid the people there will report you?"
Zhu Cunji laughed openly this time.
"Sichuan?"
He tilted his head.
"It is already ours."
Mi Qianhu's vision went dark at the edges.
And for the first time since leaving the capital, he truly began to wonder whether the empire he served still existed in the shape he believed it did.