Magistrate Chen was furious and said, "How dare you slander my heart for the disaster victims! Guards, drag her away and give her twenty lashes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone stepped forward to arrest him.
Liu'er instantly stepped in front of Jiang Yimian, glaring at the person in front of her with hostility.
Seeing that the two sides were about to come to blows, Zhang Duyun couldn't help but swallow hard and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "Prefect Chen, please don't misunderstand. It's too late today, and it's troublesome to count the supplies. Besides, we haven't seen the Prefect yet, have we?"
Although we are only transporting supplies, the officials of the Censorate are waiting for our reply, so naturally they want to know the situation in the city.
Let's talk about it tomorrow, let's talk about it tomorrow.
Chen Tongzhi glanced at the nearly thirty carriages again before saying coldly, "Since Lord Zhang has said so, let's talk about it tomorrow."
The officials of the Censorate are naturally the most important.
However, Zhang Duyun still needed to keep a close eye on his men. The Prefect valued rules above all else; if someone dared to contradict him again, he wouldn't be as forgiving as he was.
After saying that, he glared fiercely at Jiang Yimian before turning away.
Zhang Duyun seemed hesitant to speak the whole way, but because of the servant named Amai, he didn't dare to say anything.
Only after Amai led them into a courtyard behind the yamen and left did Zhang Duyun lower his voice and whisper, "Xiao Jiang, what are you doing? When those supplies are delivered to the yamen, they naturally have to count them."
When the time comes, it will be their business to distribute supplies for disaster relief; it has nothing to do with us. We can rest for a few days and then return to Beijing.
Why did you have to offend that Magistrate Chen for no reason?
What if he makes things difficult for us and doesn't give us food?
The thought of not having a good time in Yuncheng Prefecture for the next few days gave him a headache; they should go back as soon as possible.
Jiang Yimian glanced at him, and only looked at him after entering the main house and closing the door. "The prefect didn't even show up. It's obvious he doesn't take us seriously."
Would you feel comfortable handing over supplies to someone like that?
Besides, have you seen a single refugee on your way here?
She didn't believe the soldiers guarding the city, who said that the prefect was adept at handling the floods and had taken precautions, so there were no serious consequences.
There's nothing going on inside the city, but what about outside?
The riverbeds had long since collapsed beyond recognition, which was clearly abnormal.
Needless to say, the villages outside have probably been almost completely flooded.
But the soldier insisted that the floods weren't serious, which was clearly a problem.
Most importantly, if the prefect of Yuncheng Prefecture truly cared about the flood, he would surely be happy to come out and greet them when he heard that they had delivered supplies.
Even if he didn't attend in person, Magistrate Chen should have been delighted with the supplies.
But no, when Chen Tongzhi saw the wagons carrying supplies, there was no surprise on his face, only indifference, and perhaps a little astonishment.
This surprise came at a truly inopportune time.
Zhang Duyun said nonchalantly, "How could I not see her? Didn't I see a young woman? Look, my chin is still swollen and hurts terribly, don't forget that."
The thought of that inexplicable little woman made his jaw start to hurt again.
I don't know what's wrong with that person. He kindly asked a few questions and got bumped into hard. It's true that good deeds don't always pay off.
Jiang Yimian was speechless for a moment before saying, "Isn't that even stranger?"
If what the soldier said is true, and the prefect was already adept at handling the floods in Qingnan, then why did that woman prefer to wander outside rather than come into the city?
The people inside the city didn't seem to know about the flood outside; there wasn't a trace of worry on their faces.
Zhang Duyun paused for a moment, then said, "The flood in the city is not serious. The water only reached our ankles and did not submerge us. It was like a heavy rain, so naturally we are not worried."
The woman didn't go into town, probably because she didn't want to. What's the big deal?
But you, you didn't let that Magistrate Chen take stock of the supplies. You'd better be careful during our stay, or he might cause you trouble.
My position as the transport supervisor is just a title; if he wants to target you, I can't save you.
We need to be careful and avoid trouble. Getting back to Beijing as soon as possible is the most important thing.
His wife, children, and elderly parents are all waiting for him at home; he needs to get back quickly.
Jiang Yimian glanced at him, and Zhang Duyun immediately shrank back, guiltily looking away and not daring to say anything more.
He muttered to himself, "He's not wrong, is he? They're only responsible for delivering supplies; nothing else is their business. Why make trouble for themselves?"
Lin Yan'an suddenly spoke up: "I also feel that there is something strange about this city."
Yi Mian, you're right. Even if the city itself wasn't affected by the disaster, judging from the water level in the rivers outside, the villages outside the city should be almost completely flooded by now.
Surely not all of them died in the flood; how could there be not a single one, inside or outside the city?
It seems that even disaster relief shelters haven't been set up yet.
"And this prefect is really disrespectful to us! We came here to deliver supplies, and he won't even see us."
Since the Lin family became imperial merchants, this is the first person who doesn't want to associate with them, so there's definitely something wrong with them.
Seeing this, Zhang Duyun whispered, "Didn't Chen Tongzhi say that the Prefect has already rested? Perhaps he's too tired from being busy with disaster relief these past few days."
As for the fact that there are no disaster victims inside the city, perhaps they have been arranged somewhere outside the city. After the flood, there will be epidemics, and those people cannot be rushed into the city, can they?
If an epidemic breaks out and there isn't a skilled doctor, wouldn't everyone in Yuncheng Prefecture die?
You're all overthinking things. Let's not worry about it so much. We'll talk about it when the people from the Censorate and the Ministry of Works arrive.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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