Just at the mont she put down her brush, adding the final touch......
In the side hall, Yuan Shao, who was wielding an axe, suddenly had three blood-red vertical cloud patterns erge on his forehead, unnoticed by him or the other 27 children in the hall.
Hiss...
When the cloud patterns appeared on Yuan Shao’s forehead, Chu Yan’er outside was already in a daze, her brush hovering less than half an inch from the painting, unable to continue.
"Only six years old, yet awakened this bloodline, this..."
Seeing the holy pattern on Yuan Shao’s forehead, Chu Yan’er’s expression darkened. But before her thoughts ended, she sensed sothing, and her body froze, standing still.
"Miss Chu, what’s wrong?"
"Miss Chu, why not continue painting!"
Chu Yan’er, a drop of cold sweat forming on her forehead, couldn’t answer the two maids’ questions. She clearly felt three pairs of eyes quietly watching her from not far away.
After her mind raced, she tucked the black brush into her arms and discreetly took out another brush, continuing to add the final touch to the 28 children on the painting.
This ti, there were no abnormalities; all 28 pairs of eyes were completed.
As she finished adding the eyes, a lifelike, vividly animated picture of children playing quietly took shape.
"Wow!"
"Such a lively painting. Wait, Qing’er, change your angle; the figures in the painting really move!"
The two maids quickly noticed the painting’s distinctive trait, witnessing the 28 children in the scroll moving with their gaze, their pupils filled with astonishnt, finally turning to look at the ordinary-looking Chu Yan’er with admiration.
"Miss Chu, the madam will certainly love the painting."
"Miss Chu’s painting skills are truly amazing."
Faced with the maids’ praise, Chu Yan’er forced a smile, nodded, put away the scroll, and followed them towards the main hall to present it to the madam.
......
On the top floor of the Yuan Mansion’s main residence, three figures—one in front and two behind—stood at the window.
Their eyes were sharp, staring intently at Chu Yan’er below.
The one in front was Xia Hong, followed by Yuan Cheng, who looked sowhat tense, and Xia Chuan, with a furrowed brow.
"That Chu Yan’er is problematic; her appearance is fake, her Earth-digging Realm strength is fake, and the six people accompanying her should all be questioned. Investigate them!"
"I obey your command!"
Yuan Cheng relaxed his expression only after Chu Yan’er left and imdiately bowed to Xia Hong, his face showing remorse, saying, "As the Director of the Departnt, I failed to manage well, letting outsiders infiltrate the Inner City. I await the lord’s punishnt!"
"Alright, since it’s decided to open up, we can’t strictly guard against everything. Without this woman, sooner or later, others would infiltrate too."
Xia Hong waved slightly and paused before continuing, "However, your family’s Shi Lu shouldn’t have allowed an outsider to contact so many children, especially those with sensitive identities. You should definitely have a talk with her."
Though unsure of the painting’s function, Xia Hong could tell the final touch was dangerous, luckily thwarted by the children’s holy patterns. Had that woman succeeded, the resulting disaster would have been unimaginable.
"Rest assured, lord. I’ll surely scold her well!"
Yuan Cheng’s face was full of anger; he naturally understood this reasoning. Just now, not only his child Yuan Shao but also the children of Xu Ning, Lin Kai, Yue Feng, Lu Yang, and others were present. If sothing went wrong, he would be eternally guilty.
"Alright, scolding can wait for another day. Today is your eldest son’s coming-of-age ceremony; don’t spoil their mood. You’ve co back with difficulty; enjoy it first!"
After Xia Hong spoke, he vanished, leaving behind a furious Yuan Cheng and a frowning Xia Chuan.
"Leave this Chu Yan’er at your residence for now. I’ll have people keep an eye on her six companions, and I’ll co over when I have a mont."
"I obey your command!"
After instructing Yuan Cheng, Xia Chuan glanced down at Chu Yan’er and then left the mansion from the side, quickly heading toward the main hall.
"How many district governance offices are there in the Outer City now?"
"Twenty-two in total."
On the top floor of the main hall, the Political Debate Hall.
As Xia Chuan walked in, he heard Xia Hong’s question and imdiately provided an answer, smiling, thinking Xia Hong cared about population issues, adding: "Since the migration to Bashang ended, Xia City’s population surged to 2.58 million, and the 18 districts in East City were already full. Currently, North City is being populated, with four districts established."
[Population: 2,589,134]
Xia Hong shook his head slightly. With the system, Xia Chuan’s grasp of Great Xia’s population data might not be as precise as his. Xia Hong’s inquiry about the number of districts wasn’t to understand population size.
"Twenty-two, each governance office requires over a hundred managers, aning counting all external locations, Great Xia’s officials should be nearing a thousand in total, right?"
Xia Chuan froze for a mont, then imdiately nodded: "About right, currently 892 people hold positions."
The so-called "holding positions" refers to people with ranks; aside from the Eight Departnts and various offices, nurous staff handle affairs. Calculating thus, the numbers may likely increase three to four tis.
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