Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 71: Enemy or Friend?

Looking into Guo Yi's meaningful eyes, Zhou Sheng's thoughts instantly came to a head.

He said slowly, "Was the flood really that fierce?"

"With continuous torrential rains and ample water from upstream, you are the local official here. Don't you know better than me how fierce the floods have been in previous years?"

As Guo Yi served the tea, she glanced at him.

Zhou Sheng kept his eyes down, a subtle smile playing on his lips: "This is truly an unpredictable situation."

"This humble official will immediately organize the troops and accompany you back to Shawan, sir!"

"No need," Guo Yi said. "It's not safe to go back now, and besides, the prefect had already sent men there when I arrived."

Zhou Sheng then said, "Since you've come, sir, why don't I have someone prepare a courtyard for you to stay here tonight?"

"No rush," Guo Yi said. "Bring me the files from Tanzhou Prefecture so I can take a look."

Zhou Sheng paused: "Didn't we already review the files from Tanzhou Prefecture?"

“I had already seen it before, but since Shawan has fallen, I need to show the higher-ups something. Bring it over here, and we can compare them properly together.”

Zhou Sheng stood there for a while before nodding in agreement.

As he stepped out the door, the servants who had already heard him came to greet him.

"Master, there are still messengers outside, what should we do?"

Zhou Sheng didn't know what to do either.

Having grown up in Tanzhou and managed water transport in the government office for so many years, tonight, with the perfect timing and location, it would be a piece of cake for me to do whatever I wanted.
Who knew Guo Yi would suddenly show up!
He actually stayed after he arrived!
The matter in Shawan is not over yet, and he has to act according to circumstances at any time. Right now, let alone giving orders, it is not easy for him to even leave Guo Yi's sight and say a word!

This is an imperial envoy!
Guo Yi was recommended by Lu Jie, so in theory they should be on the same side. However, in the two or three months since Lu Jie came to Tanzhou, they have had very little private contact apart from official business.

Zhou Sheng had also sent invitations to visit him privately, but Li only agreed once or twice out of seven or eight attempts, each time saying that he was busy with official business and was in a hurry to finish the matter in Shawan before going elsewhere.

Logically, after Guo Yi arrived, shouldn't he rely on him, one of his own, in everything?
So elusive and unpredictable, Zhou Sheng couldn't figure him out either.

It wasn't until a secret letter arrived from the capital, alerting him to someone being watched, that he had no choice but to suspect that the one secretly investigating the relationship between the Su and Liu families was this imperial envoy.

Who knew that Guo Yi would act so strangely tonight, actually going to the Zhou family on his own. He refused to go to the place where they arranged accommodation for him, and instead started looking at some case files for no reason!
This doesn't seem like they're trying to build a relationship with him; it seems more like they're deliberately trying to ambush him.

Zhou Sheng glanced back from below the door, gritted his teeth, and said, "Let's do as he says for now!"

……

After the guards relayed Guo Yi's message, the magistrate dared not disobey. He immediately sealed off the news of the dock and spread the word that the flood had inundated the rice paddies on both banks.

After working so hard for half the night, it was almost dawn.

The river embankment was successfully defended, and although there was some water accumulation inside the government office, it was not a major problem. While everyone in the county was focused on the river, He Qing was sitting under the lamp, staring blankly at a piece of paper.

Just then, someone returned: "Master, the Xie family's daughter has been staying at Hongtai Shop with Liu Xiyu and hasn't gone back."

"I probably won't go back until the river recedes."

He Qing put the paper away: "Is there anyone else in the Xie family right now?"

"Everyone's out here, even Zhang Qiuniang went to the storeroom to guard the grain!"

He Qing frowned and stood behind the table. After a while, she came out, picked up a raincoat and a bamboo hat, and said, "Come with me."

……

Lu Jia and Liu Xiyu each dispatched numerous groups of people to the riverbank to assess the flood situation.

The first half of the night was fine; the exact time it took for the river to rise rapidly, its current level, and the extent of the flooding were all accurately recorded. But in the latter half of the night, the government forbade anyone to approach within ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) of the embankment.

People living within ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) must stay in their own homes and are not allowed to go out.

Lu Jia and the others can't go back.

"They say it was the magistrate who gave the order, and now even the city gates for entering and leaving the county are closed! Just now, the prefect sent people to reinforce us, but once they entered the city, they were not allowed to leave."

Li Chang had been busy all night and was covered in mud from head to toe.

"The city gates are all closed, so how will Yi Ge'er and the others get back?"

"sister!"

Fortunately, Xie Yi's voice came from outside the door at that moment.

He and He Qu rushed in one after the other.

The hems of their clothes were covered in mud, and the color of their shoes and socks was completely obscured.

"The sluice gates of both waterways are open!"

Xie Yi was still out of breath when He Qu continued, "There's waist-deep mud and sand under the sluice gate; at first glance, it looks like it was washed away."

"Just to be on the safe side, we asked the local river workers to go down into the river to check. They eventually found the intact burlap sack at the bottom of the water, and the mud and sand at the opening were also fresh."

Lu Jia asked, "Is it the same in both places?"

"Exactly the same! Moreover, we checked the ponds in all four areas. With the continuous heavy rain these past few days, the ponds were indeed full, but none of them had breached their banks."

"If the rainfall is heavy enough to breach the two sluice gates of Lianshui and Juanshui, then some of the mountain ponds will inevitably be breached!"

“It’s very strange that the pond wasn’t destroyed,” Liu Xiyu frowned as she looked at Lu Jia. “This is probably caused by human intervention!”

Lu Jia's face darkened: "I was wondering why there would be a flood at this time of year. It turns out there really was someone behind this!"

She asked, "Have they caught them?"

"No! We searched the area and found no suspicious persons."

“They must have left a long time ago,” Liu Xiyu said. “They wouldn’t obediently stay there and wait for us to catch them.”

"But we must catch this man!" Li Chang gritted his teeth. "This heartless beast must be caught and drowned in a pig cage!"

The people inside all looked indignant.

Only He Qu seemed to be deep in thought.

Only Shen Qingzhou knew the purpose of his departure.

He probably has a clue who did this despicable thing.

But without Shen Qingzhou's permission, he wasn't sure.

Besides, even if he said that, they wouldn't have any way to find the person.

"There must be some ulterior motive behind someone who would dare to do such a heinous thing. This is probably not something an ordinary person would do."

Having seen many storms, Liu Xiyu suddenly had a clue.

Lu Jia said slowly, "Putting aside everything else, if we are not prepared tonight, the flood will definitely inundate both banks, and the rice fields along the banks will inevitably yield no harvest."

"The farmers who could have escaped their plight are now starving, while some people are just able to make a fortune!"

(End of this chapter)