Chapter Summaries

Director Smith took charge of the newly established Department of Electricity and pushed through plans to upgrade electricity in the university district and industrial park. Meanwhile, Derek approved study-abroad applications from Western nations, whose scholars arrived in Great Xia and began settling into the Empire’s preparatory classes.

• Director Smith met the Emperor, received instructions to promote electricity and improve its technology, and officially assumed his post.
• Smith convened the Department of Electricity’s officials, and Hadley University’s faction pushed through electrical upgrades for the university district and industrial park.
• Derek approved applications from Western nations after the Lionheart Kingdom sent students to study in Great Xia, and he ordered the preparatory classes to receive them.
• A preparatory class teacher showed the envoys apartments bought for Lionheart Kingdom students and cited Jos’s progress, prompting the Moonlight Kingdom’s envoy to buy a building too.
• The Ninth Investigation Department arranged housing and schooling for the arriving scholars, while Jos waited for his friends after nearly all the first Lionheart Kingdom students had entered university.

Director Smith led the first official power supply at Hadley University, marking the start of electricity’s entry into the civilian market. As the project began, foreign students Jos and Jemaine discussed Smith’s rise and imagined building futures in the Great Xia Empire.

• Director Smith waited for Western students to finish celebrating with firecrackers, while Jos and Jemaine watched his car pass.
• Jos told Jemaine that the passenger was Director Smith, a former professor whose achievements in electrical research had earned him a government post.
• Jemaine reconsidered his loyalty to the Lionheart Kingdom after hearing about Smith’s success, while Jos privately hoped the kingdom would eventually merge into Great Xia.
• Director Smith arrived at Hadley University, where Principal Delong and the professors welcomed him before photographers recorded the occasion.
• At ten in the morning, the Department of Electricity staff switched on power for the first official civilian supply.

Director Smith oversaw Hadley University’s first night of electric power, which continued despite a brief outage caused by a burned fuse. After the successful test, he reported to Derek, who rebuked him for seeking favor but acknowledged his hard work; Smith left determined to keep serving.

• Jos brought Jemaine to the school and showed him the electric lights, while both marveled at Great Xia’s technology.
• As night fell, Derek asked about the Department of Electricity’s power supply and learned that it was running normally.
• The lights at Hadley University went out when a fuse burned, but Smith ordered it replaced and the power came back on.
• Smith stayed awake through the successful overnight test, and Principal Delong urged him to report the results to Derek.
• Derek scolded Smith for trying to flatter him, then offered him breakfast and told him to rest.
• After eating at the palace, Smith decided to return to work instead of sleeping.

Smith led the Department of Electricity through a surge of renovation work and used his growing authority to handle political pressure over which city would receive service next. After Deputy Director Martin relayed a request from Customs Director Andrew for Digen Port, the department unanimously chose the port city as its first destination beyond the Imperial Capital.

• Smith used Hadley University's connections and the Department of Electricity's reputation to secure renovation projects across the Imperial Capital.
• Deputy Director Martin told Smith that Customs Director Andrew, the Emperor's Second Uncle, had put in a word for Digen Port.
• Smith called an immediate meeting to select the next city before more powerful figures could lobby the department.
• The deputy directors debated the proposal, agreed that Digen Port was the most suitable choice, and unanimously approved it by a show of hands.

The Department of Electricity delegation reached Digen Port, where Customs Director Andrew arranged an office for its new branch. Afterward, Andrew heard that pirates had hijacked Viscount Barin Ladd’s ship and suspected something was amiss, while Barin demanded to know why the vessel had sailed without his knowledge.

• Director Smith led the Department of Electricity officials to Digen Port aboard the VIP special train, and Customs reception officer David escorted them to their hotel.
• Customs Director Andrew welcomed Smith and the delegation, then offered them a centrally located building for the Electricity Bureau.
• Andrew learned that pirates had hijacked Viscount Barin Ladd’s ship and ordered a telegram sent to his son because the incident seemed suspicious.
• Barin flew into a rage and demanded to know why his ship had put to sea without his knowledge.

After discovering that Corison had arranged to borrow his ship without authorization, Viscount Barin ordered the responsible steward killed and asked Minister Adrian to send naval ships after the pirates. On his way back to the city, Barin was ambushed and shot, leaving his fate uncertain as the surviving assassins escaped.

• Barin uncovered that the ship had secretly been loaned to Corison and ordered the steward responsible killed, along with the expulsion of his relatives.
• Barin wrote to Minister Adrian requesting that the Navy pursue the pirates who had scuttled his ship.
• After several days at camp, Barin traveled toward the city with three cars and a platoon of guards.
• A broken horse cart stopped Barin's convoy, and assassins rushed from both sides to attack.
• Barin's guards fought back as the assassins confirmed he had been shot and escaped, leaving four of their number dead.
• Security officers arrived and raised the alarm after Barin's guards fired a signal flare.

After Viscount Barin survived an assassination attempt, Peter investigated his brother Baronet Corison and uncovered a sophisticated customs tax-evasion scheme that may have prompted the attack. Peter and Customs Director Andrew prepared to arrest the people involved and pursue the wider conspiracy.

• Emperor Derek ordered Peter to lead an investigation into the assassination and dispatched troops to secure the area.
• Peter learned that Viscount Barin had survived and focused his investigation on Baronet Corison after finding irregularities in the ship and customs records.
• Peter consulted Customs Director Andrew, who identified a scheme that hid cargo transfers at sea to evade tariffs.
• Peter and Andrew connected the scheme to Viscount Barin’s efforts to investigate the suspicious ship and decided to arrest the suspects while setting a trap for the rest.

The Eighth Investigation Department arrested Corison and Peter interrogated him about the shipwreck, suspecting he had recognized Peter because he knew more than he claimed. While Corison endured questioning without confessing, people in Digen Port relaxed, believing the investigation had found no evidence, and a cargo ship slipped out during a storm.

• Customs Director Andrew silently accepted Peter’s proposal to let the Eighth Investigation Department investigate the customs office scandal.
• The Eighth Investigation Department arrested Corison and many other people connected to the case, then held Corison alone in the 101st Division’s barracks.
• Peter confronted Corison and questioned how he had recognized Peter and what had happened to the ship.
• Peter ordered his agents to use their methods on Corison, who screamed but still refused to confess.
• People in Digen Port believed Peter’s investigation had uncovered nothing and sent a cargo ship out of the harbor during a storm.
• A patrol boat spotted the cargo ship leaving port at night.

The Eighth Investigation Department uncovered the Henry Family’s smuggling and tax evasion, and Derek gave Peter authority to arrest everyone involved. Old Henry grew uneasy about a missing ship and considered moving family assets overseas, but armed men broke into his home.

• Imperial Navy agents seized a Henry Family ship and exposed its smuggling route and cargo-switching scheme.
• Peter reported the case to Derek, who ordered the arrest of everyone involved and granted the Eighth Investigation Department sweeping authority.
• Peter mobilized coastal troops and began carrying out the arrests.
• Old Henry worried that a smuggling ship had not returned and decided the family should move some assets overseas.
• Armed men broke into the Henry Family home, startling Old Henry.

The Eighth Investigation Department’s crackdown on the Henry Family spread through Digen Port’s maritime trade and crippled the customs service. Derek signaled Peter to continue the arrests while arranging honors for Andrew’s children, and Andrew received his son’s message urging him to retire.

• Old Henry surrendered to agents from the Eighth Investigation Department, who arrested him and the rest of the Henry Family.
• The department interrogated the Henry clan and used names from their testimony to arrest merchants, officials, nobles, and customs workers across the coastal harbors.
• Customs Director Andrew failed to get Peter to halt the arrests and sent Derek a telegram accusing the Eighth Investigation Department of acting recklessly.
• Derek elevated the titles of Andrew’s sons and told Peter to curb excessive killings, while Peter understood the message as permission to continue his crackdown.
• Andrew realized Derek’s intent when he learned of his children’s new titles, then received a telegram from his son arguing that he should retire.

Peter concluded the assassination case that had triggered the tax investigation, and the evidence reached Derek in the imperial palace. Derek reviewed the dossier, granted Viscount Barin an honorary hereditary title, and the case’s closure signaled that the coastal killings were nearing their end, though a final great massacre remained.

• Andrew accepted that he would retire after the tax case ended and hoped to keep watch over Peter.
• Peter reviewed the files, formally closed the assassination case, and sent two sealed volumes to the imperial palace.
• Derek examined the case records and ordered the larger volume reviewed before it was released to the public.
• Derek read the dossier detailing Baronet Corison’s crimes, considered burning it, then ordered it sealed away.
• Derek granted Viscount Barin the hereditary honorary title of Court Count for three generations.
• News of the case’s conclusion spread, and stories about Peter began circulating as the coastal killings approached their end.

After the tax purge, Derek struggled to choose a successor for Andrew as Customs Director. Watching the Royal Guard train gave him an idea, and he ended the chapter sparring with Guli.

• The Emperor's purge over the tax case executed or exiled tens of thousands, dismissed more than a thousand officials, and confiscated fifty million Gold Coins without trials.
• Derek questioned ministers about customs affairs but found no suitable successor to Andrew, who was stepping down.
• Derek visited the Royal Guard's training field and watched young recruits from noble and respected families spar.
• Derek asked Guli about his approach to training the guard and realized Customs might need a steady official rather than a taxation expert.
• Derek challenged Guli to spar, kicked him down, and pulled him back to his feet after Guli yielded.

Derek appointed Viscount Yanes Larry as the new Customs Director after Andrew requested retirement. Yanes took a train to his new post, where he met Director Smith before heading to Imperial Customs to complete the handover.

• Derek decided to promote Yanes to Customs Director and summoned him to the palace.
• Yanes accepted the appointment, and Derek ordered him to prepare for the post.
• Andrew formally requested retirement, and Derek approved it before swiftly appointing Yanes as his successor.
• Director Smith and his secretary traveled to Digen Port and met Yanes aboard the train, exchanging contact information.
• Yanes went directly to Imperial Customs to meet Andrew and begin the handover.

Viscount Yanes visited Andrew to seek guidance before taking over customs, using flattery and persistence to secure a few days of instruction. Afterward, he went to a grand hotel in Digen Port, where he encountered Director Smith at the Power Bureau’s celebration banquet.

• Viscount Yanes visited Andrew privately and respectfully asked for his guidance before the customs handover.
• Andrew mocked Yanes’s scheming, but eventually agreed to show him around customs for a few days starting the next day.
• Yanes left Andrew’s residence and ordered his carriage to take him to Digen Port’s largest hotel.
• Yanes admired the newly built hotel and reflected on how much Digen Port had changed since his last visit.
• Director Smith greeted Yanes outside the hotel and explained that he was attending the Digen Port Power Bureau’s celebration banquet.
• Yanes declined Smith’s invitation and went to sit in a private room.

Andrew trained Yanes to take over as Customs Director, teaching him the office’s procedures and the need to balance authority with favors while warning him about corruption. He handed over the post and its seal, and Yanes reassured the officials that he would preserve the Customs Office’s stability.

• Yanes shadowed Andrew for several days as Andrew showed him how to handle Customs Office business, departments, and negligent personnel.
• Andrew explained that the Customs Director had to collect taxes, keep subordinates in line, and record normal interdepartmental exchanges with the Eighth Investigation Department.
• Andrew made Yanes sit on a chair made from the skins of executed Customs officials to remind him to fear the consequences of corruption.
• Andrew formally handed Yanes the Customs Office seal and warned the officials not to reach for illicit gains.
• Yanes promised to keep things as they were and focus on collecting taxes, and the Customs Office continued operating smoothly under his leadership.

The Old Steward received lavish congratulatory gifts from the Perez Family for Viscount Yanes, who suspected the gifts carried political implications and sent the gift list to the Eighth Investigation Department. Yanes then focused on securing electricity for the customs office and reached an agreement with Director Smith and the local power bureau.

• The Old Steward welcomed a rough gift bearer who delivered congratulatory gifts from the Perez Family to Yanes Family Castle.
• Yanes learned that the Perez Family, the eldest Imperial Prince’s maternal family, had sent the gifts and forwarded the sealed gift list to the Eighth Investigation Department.
• Yanes decided to seek electricity for the customs office and invited Director Smith to dinner.
• Yanes asked the Department of Electricity delegation to prioritize electricity transmission to the customs office.
• Director Smith agreed that customs qualified as an important department in urgent need, and the Digen Port Power Bureau director confirmed it was already their top priority.
• The delegation agreed to prepare revised blueprints by the next morning.

Director Smith rejected gifts sent in the Perez Family’s name, while Virut uncovered their suspicious effort to invoke the Empress and the eldest Imperial Prince. The Emperor’s agents took over the matter, and the chapter ended with Baronet Perez Jr. learning that Third Master had been confined by secret decree.

• Smith returned home from the Imperial Capital and ordered the Perez Family’s gifts returned after learning they had been sent in the Empress’s name.
• Virut recognized the gifts as a suspicious scheme, ordered the messenger detained, and set out for the Perez Family.
• The Emperor’s agents stopped Virut and relayed the verbal decree to handle the matter quietly, so Virut handed over the messenger.
• Baronet Perez Jr. attended the ailing Old Marquis when a servant informed him that His Majesty had issued a secret decree confining Third Master.

The Old Marquis settled the Perez Family succession, transferring the title to Second Brother Borg while warning Baronet Perez Jr. against plotting against Third Brother. After reflecting on his life and entrusting the family to Borg, the Old Marquis died.

• Baronet Perez Jr. brought porridge to the Old Marquis, who summoned the Perez descendants at home and declared that he knew Eldest had plotted against Third Brother.
• The Old Marquis said Third Brother had no right to the family title but warned that plotting against him would anger the Empress and the Imperial Prince.
• The Old Marquis ordered Second Brother Borg to inherit the family and sent Knight Cloya to ask His Majesty to formalize the title transfer.
• Baronet Perez Jr. protested the decision, but the Old Marquis rebuked him and insisted that he accept it.
• The Old Marquis reflected on his life, urged Borg not to disappoint him, and died as his family wept.

After Marquis Perez died, Derek arranged the succession and granted Baronet Perez Jr. a title and fief, while Tiona prepared to return home for the funeral. On arriving at the Perez Family's Fief, Tiona confronted her father, Count Mihail, for violating his confinement.

• Derek told Qin that his great-grandfather had died and ordered him to watch over Tiona.
• Derek decreed that the Old Marquis's second son would inherit the title, reprimanded his father-in-law, and granted Baronet Perez Jr. a fief in Ganard and the title of count.
• Derek told Tiona the news, and she left with Qin to return to her family and pay her respects.
• Tiona's return drew a large procession of mourners and guests, while rumors spread about the Perez Family's internal power struggle.
• As Tiona and Qin approached the family fief, Tiona warned Qin to be cold toward his grandfather, who had caused trouble using their name.
• Tiona saw Count Mihail outside despite his confinement and demanded to know who had authorized his release.

The Empress punished Count Mihail for defying her decree, then arrived at her grandfather’s funeral and rebuked the Perez Family descendants. The chapter ended with her singling out the newly demoted Knight Mihail for scolding in the funeral hall.

• Tiona stripped Count Mihail of his title, demoted him to knight, and placed him under house arrest for three years.
• Marquis Bog and Little Bog discussed how the Perez Family should stay within its bounds and avoid provoking the Empress.
• Tiona and Qin arrived at the family castle, where the Royal Guard took over security and Qin drew the nobles’ attention as the heir.
• Tiona and Qin paid their respects to her grandfather before she dismissed the crowd and addressed the direct descendants.
• Tiona rebuked the Perez Family for disgracing her grandfather’s legacy and called out Knight Mihail for fidgeting.