Chapter 80: Waters

The first time it rained during the first summer of the first year of Dao'an, the people of Boyang were all incredibly joyful. After all, the great drought of the year before was still fresh in their minds, and who knew how many people hadn't managed to make it out of the damages of the drought. But now that there was rain, there was hope.

But very quickly, they could no longer smile. The heavens seemed be letting down the rain that hadn't fallen the year before at once with this year's, the overcast, rainy days unbroken, and for an entire month, hardly any clear skies could be seen. The newly-planted crops were washed away, and the people's houses were washed away as well, and even the people were washed away with the waters.

The Boyang Prefectural Magistrate was in a panic. Zhang Yizhi hadn't even been in the position a full year, and quite wanted to prove herself. She knew that, the year before, Boyang had had a great drought, and in this year, they'd been chasing fortune, and had practically completed preparations to combat a drought. It was just that the heavens wouldn't play the same cards as the past, and with multiple torrential downpours of rain, all their preparations had been swept away, and all their confidence had been as well.

But before she was able to send a memorial to the capital to request aid, an unwanted guest arrived at the gates of the government office.

"Daren, there's someone at the gates of the office, who says she's from the capital."

Zhang Yizhi, who had just been considering words to write on a memorial to the court, suddenly hearing the maid's report, assumed that she'd misheard, and, disbelieving, asked, "What?"

The maid's mind was full of the fog of confusion, but she merely repeated herself once more. Zhang Yizhi's mind startled; she hadn't even finished writing a memorial—how could Boyang's flood conditions already have made it to her majesty's ears? If her majesty were to fault someone, then what ought she to do?

But even if she were even more anxious, now, she still had to welcome the person in. As a result, Zhang Yizhi rapidly set aside the memorial she'd written the opening of, and, along with the maid, went to give welcome. But though Han Yu, at the gates, was certainly travel-worn, she didn't appear dust-covered and dishevelled; only on seeing someone come to welcome her did she unhurriedly get out of the carriage.

She looked at Zhang Yizhi, and nodded minutely. "I've troubled Daren."

Zhang Yizhi was still at a loss; her gaze flicked, idly and slightly, across Han Yu's figure.After all, if she really was someone sent by her majesty, she'd most certainly have something on her which could verify her identity. It was just a pity that, by the time they'd come into the drawing room, Zhang Yizhi hadn't seen it.

"Please, Zhang-daren, don't be worried," Han Yu said, siting at the main seat with ease; each of her motions carried Yang Zhuofei's comportment. "For not, the matter of Boyang has yet to make it to her majesty's ears."

Zhang Yizhi's pupils dilated, and she immediately questioned, "What do you mean by that?"

Han Yu merely smiled, her gaze intentionally slipping across the empty teacups. It was just a pity that Zhang Yizhi had never studied such subtleties, and right now, with her mind focused on pursuing an answer, as a result, didn't notice Han Yu's demand in the slightest. Han Yu took it as her intentionally making a show of strength to her, and even her tone chilled a few degrees. "It seems that Zhang-daren rather wants her majesty to know about Boyang's flood conditions, hm? Since that's the case, I'll return to the capital now, and report everything I've seen and heard along the way to her majesty."

Han Yu, having finished speaking, rose, heading out. Zhang Yizhi hurried after her, and with a few rapid steps, stood in front of Han Yu, obstructing her. "Wait a moment—"

Only now did Han Yu shoot her a disdainful glance. "Without even tea, what do you want me to wait a moment with?"

Only at this did Zhang Yizhi react, and hurriedly called the maid to attend to the tea. Only now did Han Yu languidly return and sit down. "Her majesty has lived long in the Palace, and even if she were more capable, it would be hard to know of the matters of the common people. And you've been suppressing Boyang's flood levels and not reporting to your higher ups the entire time—naturally it would be hard to know of everything here. I'm someone from Prince Yu's manor; you must know the relationship between Prince Yu's manor and Boyang. The Princess worries about our Boyang's people, and after learning of this matter, hurried to send me to come here, to investigate locally, and to see what could be helped with."

Zhang Yizhi's eyes, hearing this, brightened. She'd been assigned to Boyang from elsewhere, but it wasn't that she didn't know anything at all. Of course she knew that the long-lost Shizi of Prince Yu's, Jiang Mingyou, had returned from the dead, and she knew that the Emperor had been suppressing the title of Prince Yu, not allowing Jiang Mingyou to inherit it. But right now, as she saw it, the disputes of the capital didn't count as anything.

If Prince Yu's manor really were able to give Boyang help, then she wouldn't need to report to her majesty. If her majesty didn't know about this matter, then she could wear the black gauze official's hat a bit longer. As for matters of the future, well—they could be left to the future.

But did Jiang Changbai truly not know about the flood level waters of Boyang?

Right at this very moment, in the imperial study, Jiang Changbai's brows were furrowed as she gazed at a secret report.

"A drought last year—then how is there flooding this year?" she sighed, her tone filled with frustration.

She felt deep sorrow for Boyang's people; they'd only just gotten out of a wolf's lair, only to enter a tiger's den; they hadn't even had a single peaceful day in two successive years. She felt sorrow for Zhang Yizhi as well; before, she'd been a poor scholar of some renown in the capital—at the time, women couldn't participate in the imperial exams, or else she would long since have earned a jinshi. At the time, Jiang Changbai had also seen that she was politically astute, with the ability to govern and manage matters, and so she'd assigned her to Boyang.

But who could have imagined that Boyang's luck was this bad.

However, the next moment, Jiang Changbai suddenly startled, and with hurried steps, went over to the cabinet, and in a few moments, pulled out Zhang Yizhi's memorial. With the memorial spread out, it was filled with words of praise, and not a single word mentioning Boyang's flooding.

That wasn't right.

As she thought, Jiang Changbai pulled out an even earlier memorial; though the words filling it weren't the same, the contents of the memorial Zhang Yizhi had sent were truly virtually identical—everything in Boyang was well.

At this moment, Jiang Changbai's expression was dark enough as to nearly give fall to rain; she fell silent for a long while, and only then did she order, "Call Xie Qianbing, Qin Anhe, and Xu Shuqiao over."

Just as the meeting here was starting, the negotiation in Boyang's prefectural office had already finished. Han Yu rapidly agreed to all the requirements that Zhang Yizhi set forth, and the two felt that they themselves had managed to get the better deal, and happily parted ways at the office's doorway.

Han Yu lifted the carriage's curtains and looked at the Boyang prefectural office's gates, an unconscious smile on her face. Before, she'd believed that this Emperor was so brilliant, and received such popular support. Well, now it seemed that this wasn't the case; the carefully-selected Boyang Prefectural Magistrate could be moved by her with a few words, and even Shen Yanyi, who'd followed her all the way from Prince Ling's residence could be simply taken in by the Princess.

From the minute to the massive, these two were simply like this, and others couldn't be any better. Thinking thusly, Han Yu felt that the day Yang Zhuofei would help Jiang Mingyou to rank was close at hand, and once Yang Zhuofei became the Empress Dowager governing from behind the curtain, perhaps Han Yu herself could manage an official position.

Her deed of indenture was in Yang Zhuofei's hand, and even if she yearned more for the official sphere, she had no right to participate in the imperial exams, she could only hope for there to be one day when Yang Zhuofei's grand plans came to fruition, and she, too, could taste success.

The carriage grew further and further away, and gradually, the sound of hoofbeats couldn't be heard from Boyang's prefectural office's gates. Zhang Yizhi returned to the desk she'd been working at before Han Yu had arrived; the memorial she'd spent half a day deliberating over had, by now, already dried. She raised a hand and crumpled it into a ball, and threw it away.

She could let out a breath of relief now.

Han Yu could even said to have solved Zhang Yizhi's desperate plight. Though Jiang Changbai was said to be incredibly benevolent, as Zhang Yizhi saw it, Jiang Changbai could be no further from the two words of "incredible benevolence". Never mind how she'd gained this position of hers, from the time she'd ascended, who knew how many people had had their houses searched and their assets seized and their heads chopped off. And those who'd received praise, who'd been promoted, were all those compatriots she'd brought with her from Prince Ling's residence.

It was only Zhang Yizhi who was from a different path. Therefore, as she gained fortune, what she feared most was that, with a slight lack of care, she'd make a mistake on some matter, and in the end, she'd end up the same as those senior ministers who'd been beheaded. With the current circumstances, it was lucky there was Princess Yu.

If Princess Yu were to be the Emperor, how good that would be.

This thought suddenly emerged in Zhang Yizhi's mind. However, the next moment, it seemed like this thought had unlocked a great, dusty, sealed door in her mind; she hurriedly thought to pick up the memorial she'd just tossed away, and, in her panic, even fell down.

She seemed to know what it was that Princess Yu wanted. So, she rapidly ground ink, and copied out the portion of what she'd already written once more. However, this time when she put brush to paper once more, she fell into a hard spot.

What ought she to write, what ought she to say—Zhang Yizhi couldn't decide. So, in the entire room, the only sound remaining was that of Zhang Yizhi's pacing.

Those people in the capital, on the other hand, were just then diligently making plans. The Minister of Revenue, Lin Yingqing, had been reporting in sick continuously, and Shen Yanyi had some difficulty with such a great responsibility. In the recent period, it had been Xie Qianbing who'd been temporarily taking on the position of Minister of Revenue. After the imperial exams, Xu Shuqiao had entered the Ministry of Works, and though her position couldn't be counted as very high, when there were matters that needed to be discussed, Jiang Changbai would always call on her.

Her gaze swept across the imperial study, yet she felt that there was something strange. It was discussing official matters, yet Song Juguang wasn't there. For a moment, her mouth moved faster than her mind, and she tilted her head slightly to ask Xie Qianbing, "Is the Regent not here?"

Xie Qianbing's mind, hearing this, startled, and she felt a bit like she didn't know if she ought to cry or laugh. She knew that though the relationship between Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang was, on the surface, joyous and harmonious, Jiang Changbai carried quite a great deal of apprehension towards Song Juguang, and so when discussing government affairs, if she could not let her know, then she wouldn't. But at that moment, Xie Qianbing didn't know how to say it to Xu Shuqiao; but just as she was thinking, Jiang Changbai spoke. "With you here, it's enough; there's no need to call her."

Xu Shuqiao pursed her lips; clearly, she hadn't imagined that the quiet words she'd just spoken would be able to make it to Jiang Changbai's ears. Though Xu Shuqiao didn't know the subtleties between them, on the contrary, she felt that Song Juguang was a rarely-seen upright official. That day, the words Xu Shuyi had spoken when giving Song Juguang the spice bag had largely come from Xu Shuqiao's own mouth.

Qin Anhe hadn't heard Xu Shuqiao and Xie Qianbing's whisperings, only the words Jiang Changbai had spoken. She wasn't a fool, and after only a moment, she reacted to the the lead of their conundrum, and shrugged her shoulders. "This minister believes that having the Regent handle this matter couldn't be more fitting. Her abilities are clearly above this minister's, and perhaps, as soon as she makes it to Boyang's borders, this flood will leave on its own."

Seeing those in front of her echo each other, vexation rose in Jiang Changbai's mind. Thinking of her own assiduousness, and the fact that these people before her were all ones that she viewed as her trusted aides, how could it be that, at the end, they were all so approving of Song Juguang? So, she clapped the table, and scolded, "If everything is left to the Regent to handle, then what do We need you for?"

Qin Anhe startled, and only at this realised she'd just misspoken, and could only lower her head and admit to her mistake.

Though this matter was said to be a discussion, even with more discussion, there were only so may solutions—Qin Anhe going to Boyang to handle matters, appealing to the heavens to cut off the rains, and the Ministry of Revenue allocating more money to be used for disaster relief. The remainder was all left to time; there couldn't be another new disaster in Boyang this time next year.

As for the false pretence in Zhang Yizhi's memorial of everything going well, as Jiang Changbai saw it, it wasn't any great matter. After all, Zhang Yizhi wasn't a fool; once Qin Anhe made it to Boyang, she ought to know that the matter had been exposed. It was just that the position of Prefectural Magistrate, she most certainly couldn't keep for much longer.

However, just before leaving Xu Shuqiao spoke. "Bixia, this minister believes that at this moment, there ought not be only this response."

"Oh?" Jiang Changbai's interest was piqued, and she called everyone to a halt, indicating to Xu Shuqiao to continue speaking.

Seeing that Jiang Changbai wasn't impatient, Xu Shuqiao's spoke with courage, raising her voice. "As this minister sees it, the matters of our Great Li's people ought not all be appealed to the heavens. Boyang has been the Great Li's granary since ancient times, but the world is heartless, and the past couple years have been one natural disaster after another. Last year a drought, and this year a flood—even if Qin-daren's abilities can halt the disastrous conditions, it's merely mending a pen whose sheep have already been lost. If there's another natural disaster next year, Boyang still won't have the strength to respond to it.

"We ought not to rely on ritual for every matter, or the heavens' will. It's better to rely on ourselves than to seek divine intervention; this minister believes that irrigation fortifications ought to be built in Boyang, in order to ensure that in the future, there will be the ability to respond to all sorts of natural disasters."

Jiang Changbai, hearing this, stilled, and then immediately said, "Good!" She looked all about once more, and then asked, "What do you think?"

Xie Qianbing, naturally, didn't have any objections, but Qin Anhe was infuriated. After all, as she saw it, as long as the Supreme Yuanhe was pleased, all would be resolved without issue. These past few years of persistent disaster in Boyang was merely because the previous Prefectural Magistrate had done too many things which offended the heavens and reason that had caused the Supreme Yuanhe to be displeased, and this time, there merely needed to be some more tributes.

As for Xu Shuqiao's words about it being better to rely on oneself than divine intervention, as Qin Anhe saw it, were even more disrespectful to the Supreme Yuanhe. As a result, without even thinking, she immediately spoke sharply. "Nonsense! The will of the heavens is the will of the heavens—mere mortals and the Supreme Yuanhe can't be placed on par!"

-

< LAST | HOME | NEXT >

-