Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 125 The Pretty Widow (1)

This woman was in her early twenties.

However, people in this world marry young, so it's quite normal for widows to be in their early twenties; their children might already be running around.

The woman was petite with a slender waist, but her breasts and hips were quite full, giving her a rather alluring figure. Two strands of black hair fell down beside her ears, making her pretty face look even smaller. She was already quite beautiful, and with this mourning outfit, she truly had a captivating charm.

However, such attire was rather unlucky for others, so even though this pretty widow was quite attractive, few people dared to approach her, and those who did pass by kept their distance with disgusted expressions.

Of course, Song Yan didn't particularly care about the pretty widow's appearance or figure. He was just curious why she asked where the Luo family was right away. Could it be that she had some kind of relationship with the Luo family?
Thinking this, Song Yan asked, "Why are you asking about the Luo family?"

Upon hearing this, the pretty widow's eyes immediately reddened, and she looked as if she was about to cry, her eyelashes glistening with tears—a truly pitiful sight. Amidst the sobbing, Song Yan finally understood what had happened. The pretty widow had lost her husband, and her family was holding a funeral when the flood swept in. Although she and her child had miraculously survived, they were exhausted and hungry.

Upon arriving in Ningping, I heard that the Luo family was a renowned benevolent family that distributed porridge every day, so I wanted to go and ask for a bowl of porridge.

Song Yan remained expressionless and asked a few more simple questions, informing the young widow in front of him that the Luo family had only just begun setting up the soup kitchen and that they might not start distributing soup until tonight or tomorrow morning.

The pretty widow looked disappointed upon hearing this, but she didn't linger. After thanking him, she turned and left.

Song Yan frowned slightly, silently watching the pretty widow's departing figure until she disappeared into the crowd before turning his gaze away.

"What, you've taken a fancy to that young widow?" A lazy voice came from beside him: "You should at least wait a few days. Can't you see she's still wearing mourning clothes? What's the difference between this and kicking down a widow's door?"

The familiar voice belonged to Yang Siyao. She casually tossed the empty bamboo basket between her fingers. When she saw Song Yan staring intently at the pretty widow, her gaze turned somewhat disdainful.

Song Yan slowly exhaled: "That woman... there's something wrong with her!"

The playful look on Yang Siyao's face quickly vanished, replaced by a serious expression. Her gaze drifted almost imperceptibly into the distance, but the pretty widow was nowhere to be found in the crowd.

"Since there's a problem, why not take action on the spot? What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Lue the snake out of its hole."

……

After returning to the Luo family home in the late afternoon, Song Yan asked Gu Banxia to bring him a pen and ink, and after thinking for a moment, he began to write.

The content on water management mainly combines ancient classics such as "Wuzhong Water Conservancy Book" and "A Brief Overview of River Defense" with modern knowledge and strategies to make it more suitable for the current situation in Ningguo.

As for disaster relief, it is also an improvement on modern strategies. Song Yan never denies the wisdom of the ancients, but wisdom cannot make up for the gap of thousands of years of experience.

As for epidemic prevention, that is of paramount importance.

A great flood is always followed by a great epidemic.

It could even be said that the number of deaths directly caused by floods is often not that many; it is the plagues that follow the floods that are reaping huge numbers of lives.

These plagues were mostly caused by the decay of animal and human corpses that were submerged in water.

Therefore, in terms of epidemic prevention, Song Yan mainly focused on retrieving corpses, cremation, burying them with quicklime, disinfection, and management of disaster victims.

After writing busily for an entire afternoon, Song Yan finally stopped, her wrists were already aching, and she couldn't help but feel tired.

If this set of regulations for flood control, disaster relief, and epidemic prevention could truly be implemented, many fewer people might have died in this flood. This is the work of a sage who could save countless lives; this very regulation alone would be enough to make him famous for all time.

The reason he left this behind was probably simply because he couldn't bear to see the desolate scene of bones littering the fields and no chickens crowing for miles. After all, he wasn't a cold-blooded animal; having finally traveled through time, he ultimately wanted to leave something truly meaningful for this era.

After finishing writing, Song Yan took the thick stack of manuscripts to Luo Yuheng's residence.

Click, click, click...

The sewage in the yard had not yet been cleaned up, and stepping on it would splash water everywhere.

It was already evening by then.

Although it was somewhat inappropriate to visit his mother-in-law at night, he had gotten used to it after a while. Candlelight was still burning in Luo Yuheng's courtyard. Perhaps because he had been busy for too long during the day, Luo Yuheng had not rested yet. He was just drinking white porridge in the living room, and the exhaustion on his face was very clear.

My son-in-law is going to take up his post in Xinhou County, and there are many things that need to be prepared in advance. Although my son-in-law is intelligent, he is an honest person with no guile, so naturally, I, as his mother, have to take care of everything.

Because of this torrential rain, Songzhou Prefecture also suffered a disaster.

Within the prefecture's jurisdiction, Ningping County is considered to be a relatively unaffected area.

It is conceivable that it will not be long before a large number of disaster victims will flood into Ningping, and these disaster victims cannot be ignored.

The person serving her was changed from Zhang Yan to Li Qingyue.

Hearing footsteps, Luo Yuheng raised her head. When she saw that it was Song Yan, even though she was extremely tired, her eyes still showed a hint of tenderness: "It's Yan'er. What brings you here to see your mother so late?"

"Mother should rest early." Song Yan sighed and sat down opposite Luo Yuheng, placing the stack of manuscripts in her hand on the table.

Luo Yuheng put down her chopsticks and bowl, knowing that Song Yan always brought out extraordinary things.

I initially thought it might be some kind of formula or blueprint, since Song Yan was quite skilled in the study of things. However, upon picking it up, I discovered that it was actually a charter concerning flood control, disaster relief, and epidemic prevention.

Flood control, disaster relief, and epidemic prevention are different from poetry and songs. Poetry and songs rely on inspiration. Even if one has not yet reached a certain level of life experience, a flash of inspiration may occasionally lead to the creation of quite good poems.

The ability to control floods, provide disaster relief, and prevent epidemics relies on experience—experience built up from countless lives lost.

Even though Luo Yuheng dotes on this son-in-law, he doesn't think Song Yan's proposal has much value. Could it be more useful than the strategies that Ningguo has summarized over the past hundred years?

Thinking this way, Luo Yuheng still read it carefully. No matter what, it was already quite good that he had this kind of heart. However, as he read, Luo Yuheng's expression changed. He became more and more serious and focused. His reading speed also slowed down. Occasionally, he would ask Song Yan something in a low voice.

Li Qingyue looked at Song Yan with some surprise. It was quite rare to see the Princess so serious.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally finished reading it and then discussed in detail the matter of distributing porridge at the soup kitchen the next day.

This time, Song Yan stayed with Luo Yuheng for an even longer period of time.

Only when the moon was high in the sky did Song Yan stretch and leave the courtyard.

"Your Highness, is the disaster relief and epidemic prevention plan your son-in-law devised really that impressive?" Li Qingyue couldn't help but ask in a low voice, her curiosity piqued. She had overheard some of it, but hadn't quite grasped it.

Luo Yuheng let out a breath and waved the manuscript in his hand:

"If the floods are controlled, millions of taels of silver can be saved."

"If disaster relief is needed, the grain allowance can be reduced by 20%."

"If we can prevent the spread of the virus, countless lives can be saved."

"Go ahead and have someone make several copies. Send one to Tian Shu and Tian Quan, another to Songzhou Prefecture, and yet another to Dongling."

A million-yuan provincial bank account?

Countless living people?

Looking at the manuscript in her hand, Li Qingyue couldn't help but wonder, is it really that amazing?
Although I don't understand, since it was arranged by Her Highness the Eldest Princess, I naturally have to carry it out.

Humming a slightly off-key tune, Li Qingyue walked towards the study. Halfway there, she suddenly heard a rustling sound.

In the dead of night, when all was quiet, the sound was all the more noticeable.

Suspicious, Li Qingyue picked up her lantern and walked toward the direction from which the sound came.

(End of this chapter)