[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-the-cleanup-crew":3,"chapter-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-820":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm the Cleanup Crew!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2286656,4472,"Chapter 820","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-820",820,"\u003Cp>“Duuu…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a loud, resonant whistle, two massive winches spewing white steam pulled in unison, opening the night lock of the Royal Canal; dozens of cargo vessels from the outer rivers sailed into the royal port alongside the dawn’s rosy glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the sun broke through the morning clouds, leapt above the horizon, and flooded the lingering dark sky with its unstoppable radiance, the capital, which had slept through a night of a million nightmare corpses, slowly stirred awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mmm…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As sunlight crossed the tower bridge over the canal, slipped past the spire of the clock tower, and slipped through the palace windows, the woman slumped over her desk shivered lightly, gently pulled from her dreams by the warm rays.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did I… fall asleep?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The princess, awakened from sleep, stretched her stiff body, then sat cross-legged on the large chair, staring blankly at the desk before her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She remembered that before nightfall, she had carried all the tax reform implementation documents, the proposal to expand citizen suffrage, and the military officer demotion orders straight to her bedroom, planning to work through the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she had barely crossed out the stall tax on small artisans and written two rebuttals when a sudden, inexplicable drowsiness surged into her mind—and then she knew nothing more…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm… or perhaps not entirely nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After rubbing her slightly numb cheeks, she recalled the strange dream she’d had last night, and the princess couldn’t help but smile faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dream, she finished reviewing all the documents, then at the council meeting days later, spoke like a blade—each word cutting deep—until the Finance Minister collapsed on the spot, surrendering the entire department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she seized the opportunity to rally the council, neutralize the stubborn old nobles, and seize control of all seventeen major ministries of the kingdom, launching sweeping reforms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, the kingdom gradually grew stronger; in the dream, she inherited the throne, married Joshua off across the sea to marry a monkey, appointed Li Ang as Prince of the Blood, and gave birth to an entire football team… cough… anyway, it was a rather nice dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She took a sip of her cold coffee, then rose from her seat, carrying the cup to the bedroom window, reaching out to catch the sunlight spilling through the glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she had accidentally fallen asleep and failed to process those documents in time, the outcome wasn’t bad; for someone plagued by nightmares year-round, this light, almost absurd dream was a rare experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Princess Veronika!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the princess basked in the warm morning sun, savoring her rare moment of leisure, the bedroom door suddenly banged—outside, the night duty maid’s voice trembled with panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m Lily, the night duty maid last night. I’m sorry, Your Highness—I… I must have fallen asleep as soon as night came…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After draining the bitter black coffee, Princess Veronika set down the cup and stretched, her expression calm as she said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I went to bed early last night too. If anything urgent had come up, I would have woken you. But remember—when it’s your turn again, rest well during the day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Your Highness. I’ll remember.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing she hadn’t failed the princess, the maid outside exhaled a quiet sigh of relief, then eagerly reported:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, per the schedule, after breakfast you’re to meet the Chairman of the Royal Capital Merchants’ Guild. If the meeting ends within two hours, you’ll then receive several newly elected councilors from the districts, and after lunch, the envoy from the Blackwood Kingdom… Should I send a maid to assist you with your morning ablutions?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad—such a rare moment of peace… but duty came first. The council would reconvene in a few days; this wasn’t the time for leisure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing the maid’s anxious inquiry, the princess sighed softly, then rubbed her temples:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Later… What about the afternoon? How’s the afternoon schedule arranged? When’s the earliest you can free up time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Um… the afternoon won’t work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid outside ventured cautiously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, your schedule today is packed until eight p.m.—even dinner’s been pushed past nine-thirty. But if you truly need a break, I can try rearranging—move your meeting with the Defense Minister to tomorrow afternoon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pushed to tomorrow afternoon… then tomorrow’s afternoon commitments would just shift again, wouldn’t they?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the military officer demotions can’t wait—Li Ang has always wanted to break off our engagement. To prevent any complications, I should finish everything while this marriage alliance is still stable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Never mind. Keep the original schedule.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After weighing priorities, Princess Veronika frowned in thought, then gave her order:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Skip dinner tonight. Reserve everything after nine p.m. for me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the maid outside paused, then said with concern:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me rearrange your schedule instead—your stomach illness hasn’t healed; it’s really not advisable to…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You misunderstand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Interrupting her, the princess smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not skipping dinner—I’m just not returning to the palace. Go invite… invite the Duke of Lionheart. Tell him I’d like to dine with him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let him choose the place. If he has no preference, pick one of the two restaurants I usually visit—any empty private room near the canal, ordinary seating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood. I’ll arrange it right away!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the maid departed as instructed, the princess returned to her desk and resumed work. Behind her, on the shelf, a tin doll with half its face shattered quietly blinked its emerald glass eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>East rose, west set; sun rose, sun fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The morning’s radiant sun circled the foggy sky of the capital, then sank once more beneath the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Street lamps along the road flickered on one by one, carving a thin line of light through the dark night. A plain, unmarked carriage passed through the parted curtain of night and came to a stop before a restaurant on Taole Street in the Canal District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Grace, we’ve arrived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid with chestnut-brown short hair bowed slightly and opened the carriage door with a warm smile for Li Ang:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Head straight to Room 7. Princess Veronika has just finished her meeting with the Prime Minister—she’ll arrive within fifteen minutes. Please wait a moment.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1023,"2026-06-20T03:18:35.371Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","eb4015be122f1dd65a962936732254296b4cfc637bd9ad201ed2fe90068936bb","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-821","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-819",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]