Chapter 966 The Feng Family Has Arrived

The next morning, another group of people rushed to the gate of the Earth God Temple.

A cheerful male voice rang out from afar. Feng Qingyu called out loudly, "Ruan Ruan, why didn't you write a letter in advance so I could pick you up when you were coming to Yu Town?"

Jiang Fenghua knew that the Feng family had arrived. She could hear Feng Qingyu's voice from a distance. Jiang Fenghua stared blankly at Feng Qingyu, lost in thought. Feng Qingyu was the ninth child in the Feng family and the youngest child.

What Jiang Fenghua couldn't understand was that there was no such person as Feng Qingyu in the Feng family in her previous life, because her maternal grandmother died in the womb before she could give birth to him. In this life, she went to her maternal grandmother's house a few years after her rebirth and found out that Feng Qingyu was the youngest child in the Feng family and was even a few years older than her.

It wouldn't be accurate to say that her rebirth changed many things in this life, because Feng Qingyu was born safely before her rebirth, and was a mischievous and crybaby.

She also confirmed that Feng Qingyu was indeed her maternal grandmother's biological child, not adopted. The Feng family members were all good-looking, with Feng Xiaojiu being particularly handsome.

The next moment, Feng Qingyu hugged Jiang Fenghua tightly and said affectionately, "Ruan Ruan, do you miss your little uncle? Your little uncle missed you so much."

Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "Ruan Ruan misses her little uncle too." If she didn't say it like that, Feng Qingyu would definitely ask why she didn't miss him.

Feng Qingyu laughed heartily and brightly, "I rushed over here overnight after receiving news that you had arrived in Meizi Village. Why didn't you go straight home instead of coming to Meizi Village?"

Jiang Fenghua said calmly, "I happened to come across the disaster, and seeing that there were too many disaster victims and no one was helping them, I stayed."

Feng Qingyu said, "There are many disaster areas like Meizi Village, and you few alone cannot save them all."

Jiang Fenghua said, "Big brother is already collecting disaster relief supplies and heading to Yuzhou, but many places in Da Zhou have been hit by torrential rains and floods, so his journey is not as fast as ours."

Feng Qingyu said, "Father has received Jin Yan's message."

The two chatted for a while longer, and then Feng Qingyu said, "When you got married, I happened to be in Xichuan doing escort work. I was gone for a year. Later, when my mother went to Shengjing, I didn't have a chance to go see you. There were many complicated things to do at the escort agency. Ruanruan, you didn't blame your uncle, did you?"

Jiang Fenghua smiled and said, "Of course I don't blame my uncle."

Then she pulled Feng Qingyu aside and said in a deep voice, "We've run into trouble. Uncle has been in Yuzhou, so he should know the situation here better. Why is no one from the government coming to help the people when such a big disaster has happened in Meizi Village? The Emperor has already issued orders to all government offices to spare no effort in saving the people. There has been a flood here for more than ten days, but the government has not come. Feng's Escort Agency has also suffered. How are things now? Are Grandmother and Grandfather alright?"

The Feng family held some prestige in Yuzhen and were well aware of the disaster situation in the surrounding area.

Feng Qingyu said, "Although the Feng family also suffered a severe disaster, fortunately, the Feng family recovered quickly and was able to cope with this natural disaster. The Feng family members are all fine, but the common people are different. Now the Feng Family Escort Agency has stabilized. Father and several brothers are trying to find ways to treat the people in the vicinity. No matter what, they are all fellow villagers, and we cannot stand by and watch them die."

Feng Qingyu sneered, "As for the local government, they've long been scared out of their wits. Everyone's too busy taking care of themselves to care about the lives of ordinary people."

Speaking of the officials in the government office, Feng Qingyu was also full of anger. "If we didn't know that Ruan Ruan is now the empress and your husband is the emperor, the Feng family would definitely organize the people of Yuzhou with good reputation to promote to the court how they do things for the people. How can a bunch of cowardly rats be officials? They are fed and clothed in good food and drink, but they all run away when trouble comes."

Jiang Fenghua suddenly remembered that in her previous life, when she was imprisoned in the Morning Light Palace, she seemed to recall that the Feng family, who were thousands of miles away, had committed a crime and been exiled. The crime seemed to be disrespect.

"Prefect Zhang Qian of Yuzhou is a good official! Yuzhen and Meizi Village are both under his jurisdiction. Doesn't he restrain his subordinates?"

"Prefect Zhang is a good official. Yuzhou has always been poor and plagued by disasters. It is thanks to Prefect Zhang's dedication to serving the people that the situation has improved. However, one man can't fight against many others. Prefect Zhang is not sociable, so many of his officials are naturally disobedient. If it weren't for the fact that one of his daughters married into the palace and became a concubine, he probably would have lost his position as prefect long ago."

Jiang Fenghua asked, "What do you mean by 'cannot be saved'?"

Feng Qingyu said, "There's a saying among the common people: 'It's easy to be an official if you have connections in the court.' But Prefect Zhang himself was ignorant and didn't know how to be tactful. In addition, his daughter's body was taken back to Yuzhou not long after she entered the palace, so he lost his backer. Naturally, he couldn't keep his position as prefect."

Jiang Fenghua was speechless. "My uncle means to blame the emperor for being useless. Does the emperor have to consider a woman's opinion when he wants to appoint someone? Prefect Zhang is a good official, and the emperor will naturally do his best to ensure that he stays in the position of prefect of Yuzhou."

Over the years, Jiang Fenghua had personally witnessed how much effort Xie Shang had put into governing the people of the Great Zhou. In some places that were too far away, he could only rely on the court officials to act as his eyes and ears to help him govern. But in the end, he was just an ordinary person with one more identity, and he couldn't have more eyes or more heads.

She understands Xie Shang quite well.

Feng Qingyu was outspoken and hated evil. "The reason why Yuzhou is poor is also related to the officials in the government. Ruan Ruan knew that the court encouraged evil practices in those years."

Jiang Fenghua was speechless. Xie Shang had only been on the throne for a few years, but Yuzhou had always been poor. It was a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters. If it weren't for the incompetence of the government and the corruption of officials, Yuzhou wouldn't be in such a difficult situation. Yuzhou was abandoned during the reign of the late emperor.

She said, "Things will get better in the future."

“Ever since landslides occurred in many parts of Yuzhou, flash floods destroyed fertile fields, mudslides submerged villages, and drowned many people, it has been difficult for this place to recover unless the world is reopened and time is reversed,” Feng Qingyu said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fenghua was startled. The words "time reversal" lingered in her mind. She didn't pay attention to what Feng Qingyu said next, as it was nothing more than how much harm the natural disaster had caused to the people.

Just then, Zhuang Zhiwu walked over, cursing, "Damn it, how are we going to fix this road? I've been digging all night and it's only a foot long. I'm not doing this anymore." He just wanted his musket back.

The guards blocked his way, but Zhuang Zhiwu said, "No one has ever dared to block my path in my entire life. Get out of my way, all of you."

The guards, brandishing knives and with sharp eyes, were clearly not to be trifled with. Zhuang Zhiwu, a mere bandit, shouted, "Is anyone there? Come out!"

Jiang Fenghua came over when she heard the commotion. "Let him come over!" She knew that it would be difficult for these bandits to repair the road on their own.

Zhuang Zhiwu started cursing again, "You woman, you want us to fix the road? Aren't you making things difficult for us? We..."

At the same time, Feng Qingyu, standing next to Jiang Fenghua, was also stunned when she saw Zhuang Zhiwu. "Second Master Zhuang, what are you doing here?"

Zhuang Zhiwu recognized Feng Qingyu and his tone became respectful, "Ninth Master Feng, what are you doing here?"

He glanced at the relationship between the two and asked, "You two know each other?"

Feng Qingyu nodded. "My niece, Jiang... Jiang Ruan." He knew that her identity as the Empress could not be revealed, otherwise the disaster victims would surely panic if they found out.