Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 477 - 62: Corporate Drone

Zhao Chenlu’s resignation announcement unsurprisingly set off another explosion in the whole of Xiangzhou.

"What?! She resigned?!"

"Damn, is she out of her mind?! After being rescued with great difficulty, she resigns the next day? Does she have a terminal illness and not much time left?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! It must be fake news, can’t fool me. Someone, drag out that bastard who sent the frontline quick report and execute them!"

On the morning of May 1st, countless diplomatic teams from prestigious families felt as if the world was collapsing upon them.

Looking at the draft of the "Letter Congratulating Zhao Chenlu on Her Return as City Lord," which had just been revised and the Golden Jade Bulletin freshly delivered to their desks, these scribes among the diplomatic teams couldn’t help but feel the urge to commit suicide by hanging.

And a few elite scribes with strong practical abilities went as far as to turn this impulse into reality. They gathered the hair that fell from the desk due to staying up all night writing drafts, twisted it into a thick rope, slung it over the beam, and ended their lives.

It’s hard to blame these scribes for their fragile willpower; the recent political turmoil in Golden Jade City was truly exasperating. In just a few days, winds and clouds changed rapidly, one wave after another, and these scribes were basically writing continuously without a break.

Initially, no one took the coup seriously. Over the past twenty years, Zhao Chenlu had suppressed more coups than the number of backup lovers a goddess might have. Everyone was used to it, so from the outset, scribes from major noble families worked through the night to produce impassioned missives, harshly condemning the few ill-intentioned individuals attempting to overthrow the Golden Jade regime and shake the political order established by the Saint Sect in Xiangzhou... After all, this kind of attack on a falling dog was only profitable with no losses.

However, before these articles were finalized and published, news came from the front that the coup was serious! Zhao Chenlu, often walking by the riverside, finally got wet! Golden Jade City was really about to change!

In no time, major families hastily retracted their manifestos and began to watch the changes calmly, waiting for the final conclusion of the situation.

And in the meantime, scribes naturally couldn’t idle; they had to prepare articles for both sides.

If Zhao Chenlu finally escaped trouble, there would naturally be congratulatory articles, alongside the reissuing of previous denunciatory articles.

If Zhao Chenlu were completely suppressed and Zhao Hongwu and others formally took office, then congratulatory articles to Golden Jade people’s right choice would be necessary. At the same time, many agreements signed during Zhao Chenlu’s administration would need fine-tuning to adapt to changing times...

These official articles, concerning the interactions between major noble families and Golden Jade City, were significant, so they needed to be worded meticulously, revised repeatedly until perfect. And anyone who had ever drafted similar documents knew that "until perfect" always meant until the final moment before the deadline.

So, for the ten days before the public trial meeting, the days of all kinds of scribes were worse than pigs and dogs... and just as this muddy mess was about to draw the curtain, such bad news came again!

No matter how well-tested the mind is, it can’t withstand such repeated blows, just as the pride of holding on can’t withstand repeated piston movements. It’s entirely reasonable for scribes to collapse and commit suicide for this reason...

——

QingCyan Cloud yun City, Li Family Mansion.

Lu Xin, wielding the highest power of one of the Seven Great Noble Families in Xiangzhou, earnestly encouraged her family’s writing team: "Jinglun, I know it’s been tough for you leading the team to write these days, but the situation has changed. We need to trouble you to make more effort and revise the drafts again: to congratulate Zhao Chenlu on rectifying the chaos, while praising her for her high wind and bright festival for stepping down when the tide was high, and then to congratulate Zhao Hongxue on succeeding as City Lord..."

Li Jinglun, drafted as labor several days ago, immediately felt blood spill from his eyes: "Lu, you want my life! I’ve been suffering from intermittent diarrhea for three days, a lumbar disc herniation for two days, and vomiting blood since yesterday, and you still want me to work overtime to revise drafts?! Why not just let me die!"

Lu Xin smiled apologetically on the side: "Look at what you’re saying, life isn’t so fragile, it’s just a little blood, you won’t die. Here, this is the nourishing soup I asked the kitchen to work overtime to make for you, this is high-energy compressed food, this is a Rapid-acting Life-saving Pill, and here is awakening tea and soul-reviving incense..."

Looking at Lu Xin’s diligently prepared miraculous "Add 3000" package, Li Jinglun only felt himself as tragic as a beast in a pen.

However, upon receiving the rapid report from the front, Li Jinglun understood Lu Xin’s difficulties.

The article really had to be revised. Golden Jade City, unlike other places, had very strict requirements for such official documents. If the text sent was not refined, the Golden Jade people would see it as disrespect.

This habit was cultivated during Zhao Chenlu’s reign.

The unique City Lord, impatient with ordinary diplomatic work, required that envoys from other cities or families avoid visiting if possible and resolve issues through correspondence.

If it could be solved by letter, don’t visit—unless there’s a beautiful girl in the envoy group who doesn’t make Zhao Chenlu feel nauseous on sight.

And Zhao Chenlu’s requirements for letters were extremely high, standards so strict they seemed like a prank. Any oversight in writing or expression would be immediately detected by Zhao Chenlu and publicly exposed, becoming a diplomatic scandal. Over the years, any document sent to Golden Jade City was treated with the highest standards by all sects.

Now, during this sensitive period of government transition in Golden Jade City, although Zhao Chenlu has stepped down, she remains very active, so ordinary people really dare not show the least bit of negligence to Golden Jade City at this time, and must be even more rigorous than usual.

If not, with the many years of friendship between Li Jinglun and Lu Xin, it wouldn’t be such that they would need to be begged to do such beastly work.

"Ugh, I get it, I’ll risk my life and give it one more shot. When’s the deadline?"

Lu Xin perked up: "Before noon should be fine."

"Damn, it’s already 11 o’clock!" Li Jinglun cursed, rolling up the ’Add 3,000’ notebook on the table, and strode towards the door.

With only one hour left until the deadline, conventional methods of rushing a draft were definitely not feasible. Left with no choice, he had to use a specially-designed office chair to stimulate his Divine Sense in an overclocked state, extending one hour into ten to desperately work overtime.

——

An hour later, Li Jinglun appeared before Lu Xin like dried-out vegetables; once elegantly rounded cheeks now sunken deeply, his once smooth black hair had become dry and gray, and a bald patch had appeared at his Celestial Spirit area.

In just one short hour, it seemed he’d aged over twenty years.

"Here’s your manuscript."

Li Jinglun spat coldly, tossing two pages of manuscript to Lu Xin.

Though just thin sheets, they held thick dedication; the rough drafts alone could fill a study.

In the past hour, Li Jinglun was like battling in a meat grinder: five members of his drafting team vomited blood during the overclocking process, three had heart stoppage, and one suffered brain death.

Seeing the manuscript, Lu Xin also let out a sigh of relief.

The matter was finally settled... With the renowned Xiangzhou literary figure, Li Jinglun, pouring his heart and soul into this, surely this would take top honors among congratulations— the only competitor being congratulations from Shen City’s Three Lives Stone. Though in fame within the literary world, Three Lives Stone far exceeded Li Jinglun, romantic novels and official documents are completely different; in the realm of official documents, Li Jinglun had authoritative professional prowess, repeatedly ghostwriting for Li Fengyun and Lu Xin.

Yet just as Lu Xin was about to sign his name, affix Li Fengyun’s seal, and send the congratulations off to Golden Jade City.

"Mom, another letter just arrived!"

A small boy with a tiger-head and tiger-brain, held up an express report from the Golden Jade City frontline as he ran in.

"Wushuang? Why is it you? Where’s the person responsible for delivering the letters?"

Li Wushuang said dumbly: "Brother Ping gave me two candies, and asked me to deliver the letter."

Lu Xin took the letter, glanced at it once, and her expression immediately changed, then she looked at Li Jinglun with complex eyes.

No wonder that guy didn’t dare to deliver it personally, indeed, for a moment just now, she truly wanted to cut down the messenger...

Opposite, Li Jinglun also took a deep breath, feeling an ominous premonition, akin to the end of the world approaching.

"What now?"

"News from the frontline," Lu Xin said, "Half an hour after Zhao Hongxue assumed the position of City Lord, she announced her abdication, transferring the City Lord position to Zhao Hongwu, who once served as interim government head..."

Without finishing the sentence, Li Jinglun was already furious: "Damn Golden Jade City! Damn their ancestors..."

Without finishing the sentence, there was a muffled sound like a blood vessel bursting, and Li Jinglun turned his eyes white and collapsed feebly.

——

Similar tragedies unfolded across various corners of Xiangzhou.

On May 1st, Golden Jade City’s political turbulence was akin to a pen-wielding assassin; the incessant events of the day dealt unprecedented blows to the official document teams of Xiangzhou’s major powers.

At noon, Zhao Hongxue formally announced her assumption of the Golden Jade City Lord position, expressed gratitude to Zhao Chenlu for his favor and appreciation, but then turned her words sharply, not even mentioning her policy platform, candidly acknowledging the inability due to aging to govern Golden Jade City, willing to retire and let those more capable take over, passing the position to Zhao Hongwu, who had successfully transitioned as interim government head, and stated this power transfer was approved by Zhao Chenlu himself.

In the afternoon, Zhao Hongwu released a statement, thanked Zhao Chenlu for his generosity, deeply repented his mistakes, claimed to be laden with guilt, unfit to touch the City Lord throne. Naturally, as a sinner, he dared not defy the intentions of former city lords; even if powerless to govern Golden Jade City, he could only exhaust his efforts to death... but just recently, he was practicing and succumbed to madness, severely injuring his Primordial Spirit, unable to fulfill his duties normally, so reluctantly, he could only return the City Lord position to Zhao Hongxue.

And within half an hour, Zhao Hongxue unabashedly claimed she too succumbed to madness, and to a greater degree, suffering from personality disorders, completely incapable of executing City Lord responsibilities, hence the City Lord position would have to seek someone more capable!