The middle-aged man stammered, "The yamen sent word that Magistrate Chen has been imprisoned by Lord Lu."
Zhou Shiwen gripped the beaded string in his hand tightly for a moment, and exclaimed in disbelief, "What did you say?"
How dare Lu Cijian?
He didn't believe that Lu Cijian had communicated with those troublemakers in just one day. If they hadn't communicated, Lu Cijian wouldn't have been able to find evidence of their embezzlement.
Even if the message was sent, he could have made it false, but this guy actually imprisoned Chen Tongzhi directly, which was far too arrogant.
Steward Zhu was startled by Zhou Shiwen's suddenly raised voice. After a while, he tremblingly told him about the matter at the yamen, "Sir, it's true. Lord Lu also said that if anyone in the yamen knows the truth about the Qingnan flood, they can tell him as well."
"My lord, what should we do? Prefect Chen has been arrested. He... he wouldn't be talking nonsense, would he?"
While others were unaware of the cause of the Qingnan flood, he, as someone close to Zhou Shiwen, knew it all perfectly well.
Three years ago, during the rainy season in Qingnan, the rainfall was heavier than usual, but it wasn't a big deal. As long as the dikes were reinforced, the floods could be avoided.
However, Zhou Shiwen had other ideas at that time, which led to the complete submersion of the villages downstream.
If Magistrate Chen were to reveal this, all of them involved would be executed.
Zhou Shiwen sneered, slammed his hand on the table, and roared, "Nonsense? He wouldn't dare! Tell me everything that happened at the yamen today, without missing a single detail."
He wanted to see what Lu Cijian had done in just one day.
I was waiting here specifically for Magistrate Chen, but I never expected that he would be arrested and thrown into jail.
Steward Zhu nodded repeatedly, his gaze falling on the several concubines beside Zhou Shiwen.
Zhou Shiwen glanced at the group, and they immediately left, knowing what was going on.
Only then did the servant feel relieved enough to tell him about what had happened at the yamen that day.
When Zhou Shiwen's expression changed drastically when he mentioned that Lu Cijian and Jiang Yimian had gone out today and brought back a few people, he said that Lu Cijian and Jiang Yimian had gone out today and brought back a few people.
"You mean they found Wei Jinghai and brought him back to the yamen?"
Steward Zhu hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir. I heard that many physicians went to treat General Wei today, so General Wei must be seriously injured."
Zhou Shiwen had a bad feeling. The King of Chu had sent a message early in the morning, telling him to keep an eye on Wei Jinghai's movements in Qingnan.
If Wei Jinghai were to leave Qingnan alive in the end, it would cost him his life.
So much so that as soon as Wei Jinghai appeared in Qingnan, he sent a message to the King of Chu's men, thinking that they had already killed Wei Jinghai.
Unexpectedly, not only did they not kill him, but Lu Cijian also took him back.
This is terrible.
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. He suddenly stood up from his chair. "I need to go to the yamen."
As he spoke, he turned to leave.
But Steward Zhu quickly stopped him, "Sir, now is not the time to go to the yamen. There are so many people from the Censorate and the Ministry of Works here. The constables in the yamen can't do anything to them."
Going now might even have the opposite effect.
If the matter of killing Wei Jinghai were made public, they would probably die even faster.
Zhou Shiwen paced back and forth anxiously, saying irritably, "Then what do you suggest we do? That Lu Cijian is so arrogant, he clearly doesn't respect me. First, he allowed that bitch to injure my son, and now he's imprisoned Chen Tongzhi. Who's next?"
I heard that disaster victims from outside the city were also brought back to the yamen this time. If the disaster victims stand with Lu Cijian and his group, in the end, he will be the one who dies.
He was doomed either way. If he didn't strike first, he could forget about staying in his position as the prefect of Yuncheng Prefecture, and his whole family might even lose their lives.
Just then, the tightly closed door was suddenly opened from the outside.
Zhou Shiwen was startled and immediately shouted, "Who?"
Qi Shang clutched the wound on his chest and frowned, saying, "It's me. Quickly find me a doctor. Those people in the yamen are not to be underestimated. Don't make any rash moves for now."
If he hadn't run fast today, he might have been caught by that woman, not to mention Zhou Shiwen, he underestimated that woman.
Zhou Shiwen was also frightened when he saw the man in front of him covered in blood. He quickly ordered Steward Zhu to fetch a doctor before lowering his voice and saying, "What happened? How is Wei Jinghai still alive? The King of Chu said that this man must die."
Although the specific reason is unknown, it did obstruct the King of Chu's path.
Qi Shang glanced at him coldly and said angrily, "What's going on? You still have the nerve to ask me why those people appeared on the mountain? I haven't even asked you yet."
"Why didn't you stay at the yamen to keep them in check? You actually went back to your residence. Zhou Shiwen, you really have a big heart."
If those people hadn't suddenly appeared on the mountain, his men would have killed Wei Jinghai long ago, and there wouldn't be this trouble now.
Zhou Shiwen was momentarily speechless and didn't know how to refute.
He was worried about Zhou Ling at the time, and also wanted to give Lu Cijian a hard time. Who would have thought that things would turn out like this?
If he had known it would be this troublesome, he definitely wouldn't have gone back to the mansion.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "So what do we do next?"
Qi Shang sneered, "What to do? Naturally, kill them all, leave no one alive."
Now, it's either them who die, or Lu Cijian and that woman who die.
They must make sure all those people die in Qingnan.
*
For several days in a row, Lu Cijian was busy arranging for people to dig ditches and divert the water from the river. After working for three days and three nights, the water level in the river finally began to drop.
The shacks outside the city gate are almost finished.
Zhao Jie's face was so wet from the rain that he could barely open his eyes. Looking at the people working in the river, he felt both relieved and troubled. "The water level has dropped in a short time. We should be able to get through this year's floods."
"Next year is uncertain; if another torrential rain comes, all our efforts will be in vain."
The Ministry of Works used to handle floods in the same way: wait for the rain to stop, then dig ditches to divert the water away.
However, the floods are very likely to return next year, and widening the river channel will not solve the problem.
There has been a lot of rain in Qingnan in recent years, and the people from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau say that this will continue for the next ten years.
They still face some challenges if they want to completely resolve the flooding in Qingnan.
Lu Cijian thought for a while before saying, "There might be a problem with the construction of the river channel. Once the water level drops, we can redesign the river channel. While it's not certain that the flood will disappear, it will at least be mitigated."
The young man's voice was indifferent as he stood in the rain, staring intently at the people busy in the riverbed. His brows were furrowed with exhaustion, but he showed no sign of backing down.
Jiang Yimian had just walked over when she heard these words.
She glanced at Lu Cijian with some surprise, not expecting him to think of replanning the river channel.
Floods are natural disasters that are extremely difficult to deal with. Even in her time, many people would lose their lives to floods every year, let alone in ancient times.
It is not easy to think of dredging the river channel or blocking the ever-flowing floodwaters.
This must have involved the efforts of several generations.
Thinking about it, she asked curiously, "Why would you want to redesign the river channel?"
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