Knowing Saya's plan, Li Fusheng manipulated the Earth Prison to shift, wrapping tightly around An Lushan's torso and limbs while leaving only his head exposed.
Having nearly suffocated, An Lushan finally caught a breath, panting heavily as he glared at the two of them with vicious eyes.
Looking at An Lushan, Saya began to bring up some things from when he first arrived, trying to awaken whatever gratitude An Lushan ought to feel toward her.
The result was a predictable failure. Anyone who understood gratitude would never have tried to assassinate the queen.
Ultimately, Li Fusheng had to take over.
Although he didn't know the first thing about interrogation, it essentially boiled down to torture. Li Fusheng re-controlled the mud to wrap up An Lushan's head once more. Only when he judged enough time had passed did he uncover his eyes and mouth to resume questioning.
If he didn't answer, he continued.
After all, Li Fusheng didn't possess the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques to read minds directly. Ordinary interrogation methods involving physical harm to inflict pain wouldn't work on someone like An Lushan, who had undergone rigorous training.
However, the combination of suffocation and pitch-black darkness could amplify the fear in a person's heart.
Whether it would succeed remained to be seen, but it was the best interrogation method Li Fusheng could think of.
Yet, by the time Sara hurried over from outside and knocked on the door, An Lushan still hadn't said a word.
Li Fusheng announced that his interrogation had failed.
At this, Saya didn't place any blame; she merely asked Li Fusheng to keep a tight grip on An Lushan until tomorrow, when his crimes would be announced before the other ministers before he was disposed of.
If it had been any other crime, given Saya's temperament, she wouldn't have executed the prisoner. But since the man had already begun coveting Sara, he could never be forgiven.
Even if she might suffer a guilty conscience afterward, she would never regret it.
Li Fusheng didn't say anything to that. On the contrary, the oblivious Sara remained completely in the dark.
Li Fusheng, who had been accompanying her just moments before, had suddenly vanished, and he had looked in a great rush. Sara had wanted to ask her mother to help send someone to look for him.
Instead, she found the missing Li Fusheng in the study, and alongside him, a mud cocoon she had never seen before.
Before she even had a chance to speak, she discovered that this mud cocoon actually bore the head of the First Minister, An Lushan, vivid and lifelike, looking both comical and terrifying.
"What is this?" Sara asked.
At that, An Lushan suddenly glared angrily at her, as if he intended to kill her with his gaze.
It startled Sara so much that she scurried behind Li Fusheng, grabbing his clothes tightly and not daring to show her face.
This sight left Saya feeling a bit sour inside.
On one hand, it was because Sara no longer depended on her the way she used to; on the other hand...
Sighing, Saya emphasized inwardly: "I only have a few final years left, and Fusheng was chosen by me for Sara anyway—I mustn't dwell on impossible things."
Because of An Lushan's assassination attempt, Li Fusheng postponed his trip outside for a few days until the matter was resolved. He wasn't sure if An Lushan could break free from the bonds of the Earth Prison without his continuous output of spiritual energy.
It would be troublesome if the man escaped the moment he left.
Though he wouldn't be going out today, he could bring up his previous plan to Saya in advance and get her opinion as well.
No matter what, Saya had lived in Loulan for so long and was much more familiar with the local situation.
As for the proposal regarding crops, Saya naturally voted in favor with both hands. Although the people here didn't starve to death, they didn't eat particularly well either.
While they did grow some food, they relied far more heavily on supplies from the Shinobi Villages of various nations.
Without corresponding research, one can easily imagine the difficulty of growing food in the desert. Although the Shinobi World possessed certain technological products, they clearly weren't valued, let alone any research into crops.
Commoners across the entire Shinobi World truly relied on the heavens to eat; if the crops they planted survived, that year's life improved slightly.
If what they planted died, they would barely scrape by while waiting for the next season.
If they truly couldn't survive, turning to banditry was commonplace. Otherwise, how else would the various villages have so many C-rank missions to suppress mountain bandits?
So letting Li Fusheng give it a try posed no problem. If he succeeded, everyone would be happy; if he failed, it would be no different than usual.
However, Saya was somewhat worried about his other proposal: establishing a research and development company and cooperating with Sunagakure to develop ointments.
She believed that since Li Fusheng had brought it up, he likely had a thorough plan in mind. But those shinobi were not easy to deal with.
Furthermore, the ointments they wanted to develop required materials like scorpion venom and snake venom, which were considered Sunagakure's strategic military supplies.
What if Sunagakure detained him the moment cooperation was proposed?
Saya didn't think Loulan's prestige alone would make Sunagakure release someone. To put it bluntly, in all of Loulan, only the direct bloodline of the Queen still held a sliver of tool-like value to shinobi.
As for other family members and spouses, if they died, they died.
Especially since Li Fusheng couldn't truly be considered a formal spouse yet. If Loulan couldn't find a husband for Sara, the Shinobi Village would likely arrange one directly—as long as offspring could be produced to continue the bloodline, that was all that mattered.
Thinking of this, Saya spoke up: "Fusheng, let's forget about this ointment development business. Here..."
She knew Li Fusheng didn't understand Loulan's true situation, assuming it was similar to his hometown where commerce was permitted.
Just as she was about to explain, she heard Li Fusheng say, "Loulan's current environment is too poor. Even if we can eat our fill, if we want to eat well and live well, doing business to make money is a must. Only with money can we develop and research more things to thoroughly improve Loulan."
Sara chimed in as well, believing that Li Fusheng was right.
Seeing the spirited and ambitious look on both of them, Saya could no longer voice her objections.
"Forget it, we'll discuss this matter later. Let's get the crop situation sorted out first." In any case, stalling a day at a time was fine; what if the two of them became satisfied after the crops were improved?
After Sara and Li Fusheng bid farewell and left, it suddenly occurred to Saya that from how An Lushan had previously used Chakra threads to kidnap her, it was clear he wasn't merely a capable administrator as he had appeared; he clearly possessed considerable strength.
Chakra threads were not something one could learn to control easily.
Yet Li Fusheng had defeated An Lushan so effortlessly, which meant he wasn't simple either—at the very least, he had the strength of a Chunin or even higher.
Saya began to worry: was Li Fusheng's appearance truly, as he claimed, because he had gotten separated from a merchant caravan and been rescued by her?
Could he be another ambitious individual once again eyeing the power of the Dragon Vein?
An Lushan was a prime example, only he had hidden himself very well previously and hadn't targeted the Dragon Vein so blatantly.
Loulan had experienced shinobi coveting the Dragon Vein many times in the past, though those attempts had always been resolved by the shinobi of the various villages.
As for Li Fusheng, Saya no longer dared to verify his true purpose. She had already misjudged once when it came to An Lushan.