Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 123 Worthy Recommendation
After the Tan family left, Shentu Zhuo called Miao Quchang over.

Recalling what happened last night, Miao Quchang, after sobering up, felt vaguely that something was wrong, but he had accepted the gift that he shouldn't have accepted without thinking, so now he could only bite the bullet and continue on his way.

This morning he tried several times to come to the county government office to see Shentu Zhuo, but was stopped by the yamen runners, who said that the water official was discussing the route of the river diversion with the county magistrate and had no time to deal with him.

Miao Quchang felt a little annoyed at the moment. It was because of the good fortune he had last night that he missed out. If he had been more determined and not been tempted by the beautiful girl, he should have given suggestions to the water officer when he was still in a daze after drinking. Perhaps the route could have been decided in advance. Now that it had been delayed until now, it would be difficult to deal with the matter.

He couldn't understand why, if Mr. Tan was so determined to get the canal to his uncle's land, he'd arranged that for him last night. He didn't know what was happening to him at that moment; his mind was completely blank, his body was out of control, and he couldn't think of anything else except that incident. In the early morning, he left the Tan family mansion in a state of sated panic. He finally understood why so many young men lingered at Lanying Pavilion. They were truly as happy as gods.

But he wasn't willing to give up just yet, figuring he should give it a try anyway. He was a man of integrity, and if he couldn't pull it off, not only would he have to return the money to Mr. Tan, but he wouldn't be able to afford the favor owed to that beautiful woman. He figured he could at least go and ask. If the Water Officer wanted to change the route that way, it would save him the trouble and make things work. Even if it was decided that the canal couldn't go that way, at least he had fought for it, and that would make his conscience feel better.

Thinking of this, he would hang around the gate of the county government office from time to time, intending to wait for the right opportunity to ask. As a result, he saw Mr. Tan and his family entering the county government office.

Miao Quchang suddenly became a little panicked.

Why did Mr. Tan come in person? And bring Mrs. Tan and his eldest son with him? Could it be that seeing that he hadn't taken any action, he was afraid he'd accepted the bribe and wouldn't do anything, so he had to come and ask for help himself?
So, then his money really has to be returned?
Mr. Tan wouldn't mention me to the Water Officer, would he? If he found out he'd accepted a bribe, who knows how he'd punish him! Hey, I shouldn't have agreed to this last night, knowing that the Water Officer wouldn't budge!
Miao Quchang wanted to slap himself in the face a few times.

After Mr. Tan and his family left, Miao Quzhang finally felt relieved when he heard that Shentu Zhuo had called him in for questioning. It was over. His crime must have been exposed, and he would be punished for taking bribes.

Shentu Zhuo had indeed come to claim back the three strings of silver he had accepted.

Miao Canal Chief explained that he was drunk last night and accepted money from Mr. Tan. He wanted to go to the old house to discuss the canal diversion with him, but he got confused and lost his way and couldn't find him.

He was too embarrassed to tell others about his good fortune, and Shentu Zhuo didn't ask any further questions. He simply said, "The canal must naturally be rerouted to follow the direction of the underground spring. I've remeasured it, and if it wants to pass through Mr. Tan's uncle's fields, it will require a detour, which is time-consuming and laborious. There's absolutely no way I can compromise. I've already explained this matter clearly to Mr. Tan, so you'd better give up on it as soon as possible."

"Yes, I will return the money to Mr. Tan right away." Miao Quchang said with a dusty face.

"You don't have to return the money. Just hand it over to the county government," Shen Tu Zhuo said. "Master Tan said it would be better to consider it as a donation for the hard work of digging the canal and paying for everyone's food and wages.

"Okay, okay, I'll bring the money over in a moment."

"Although the money has been donated, you still have to be punished for privately giving and receiving it." Shentu Zhuo handed down his sentence decisively. "I hereby dismiss you from your position as canal chief. Go and work in Dunhuang County. They need to dig canals and caves there, and they're in need of manpower."

How could Miao Quzhang disobey and had to agree?

At this point, he was still feeling uneasy, so he asked tentatively, "Master Shui Cao, were you at the Tan family's old house last night... did you hear any unusual noises?"

Shen Tu Zhuo looked bewildered. "What's going on? I don't have the time to stay there for long. I left last night after drinking the hangover soup. I even found time to explore the underground spring with two canal guards. So, what did you encounter?"

Miao Quchang scratched his head and said shyly: "I, I saw a beautiful girl who looked like a fairy..."

Shen Tu Zhuo rolled his eyes. "I see you're quite drunk. What kind of beautiful dream are you having? Where would a beautiful lady come from in this old house in the wilderness? Even if there really was one, why didn't you come to me instead of going to you?"

That’s true... Now Miao Quzhang himself was confused. Was he really dreaming because of drunkenness, or had he encountered a ghost?

Miao Quchang handed over three strings of silver, was dismissed from his post and sent to Dunhuang County, and the matter passed quietly.

Tan Anfu saved her reputation, but she was still restless. It was said that she had been making a lot of noise at home for days, and Mrs. Tan was so annoyed that she finally sent her to the old house, waiting for her to calm down completely so that she could find an honest man in the countryside to marry.
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Shentu Zhuo continued to dig the "Qianjin Canal" and made considerable achievements.

At the beginning of spring, the ice on the Heishui River melted and the water level gradually rose. As a result, the sluices in various ditches were opened to store water, and the land of the entire Zhangye County was revived.

Shentu Zhuo did not sleep for several days, checking the water diversion conditions of each ditch one by one.

When Magistrate Chi came to the county to look for him, he saw him instructing the canal workers to divert the water according to the scale on the "water measuring board." He asked with interest, "Shouldn't the water be filled to the brim? What's the point of this?"

Shentu Zhuo explained, "According to the Water Quality Law, military farms are given priority for water diversion, so the water flow must be divided according to the scale plate. Civilian farms must be watered up to three quarters of the scale plate, and military farms must be watered up to the full scale plate."

County Magistrate Chi praised him with satisfaction: "Good, good, you are really meticulous in your work. It is worth my recommendation."

Shen Tu Zhuo perked up: "But what's the news about the imperial examination?"

With such achievements in water conservancy, Chi County Magistrate was proud of it and paid more attention to his affairs. This time he came with a reply from Andu.

The Chi County Magistrate said, "The Guanglu Xun has recognized your talent and ability to govern. Once the Qianjin Canal is completed, you should depart for Andu as soon as possible. You come from a prominent family and have studied at the Imperial Academy. The court will also assess your archery and countermeasures. As your recommender, I want to remind you that if you want to be promoted, you must never abandon your study of the classics."

Shentu Zhuo bowed respectfully to him and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord County Magistrate."

That night, he was exhausted but couldn't fall asleep. After tossing and turning for a long time, he simply got up, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote a letter to Tan Huaike.

He rambled on about how Tan Anfu had plotted to harm him, sighing, "It was a close call that I became your brother-in-law. Fortunately, I stayed true to my heart and avoided making such a big mistake. But your sister, who suffered the consequences of her own actions, has suffered a terrible setback this time. She's been locked up in the old house, unable to leave the house day in and day out, and can no longer cause trouble."

He also boasted about his own skill in drama management, saying that the Qianjin Canal was nearing completion and that he would soon be leaving for the Guanglu Xun examination. He was extremely anxious and only wanted to meet her again in Andu...

The silk was covered with dense handwriting, but he did not call for the wild geese to deliver it. Instead, he placed it on the candle flame and burned it to ashes.

He knew very well that Tan Huaike was in danger everywhere and could not afford to make any mistakes.

Therefore, no matter how much you worry, it will all be burned to ashes in the end.

The dim candlelight flickered, and the light smoke drifted out of the window, seemingly disturbing people thousands of miles away.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Tan Huaike dreamed of that mottled and terrifying face again.
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Next chapter: This is the second time you saved me.