Lu Yan sighed. Among the women in the family, it seemed that only Wu and Qi could give him peace of mind.
He stood up and said, "I still have to go to Caishikou to supervise the execution. You guys should behave yourself at the post station."
Lu Yan couldn't even rest and had to rush to Caishikou to serve as the executioner. This was also the task the prince had just assigned to him. After supervising the execution, he would go to the army to investigate the case and monitor the governor.
Jia Yue sent Lu Yan away, then turned around and tapped Aunt Jia's forehead: "You were a very capable person at home, and a very useful spy for His Highness. How come you have lost all order in your work now?"
Aunt Jia's face was filled with indignation. "Who dares to touch the women in this family? Who can I compare to? And now Qin is trying to interfere! I use my brain, but can I win? I can't let out my anger, and I feel uncomfortable!"
Jiayue stared at him, her mouth wide open. "You have to hold it in even if you can't! You need to be even more careful with your words and actions outside now! If word gets to His Highness about you making such a fuss, think about it. Will His Highness tolerate such a reckless person like you? Will he allow you to continue to stay by the Marquis's side, awaiting his orders?"
Aunt Jia is unwilling to talk. It's okay for her to feel aggrieved at home, but at least she has a status outside. Why should the concubine of Marquis Pingyang have to compromise?
Besides, what was Jiayue saying right? Being a spy was like being a concubine, a life of luxury.
Jiayue and Aunt Jia grew up together, how could she not understand her thoughts?
She sighed and said, "If you really want us to stay in Pingyang Marquis Mansion for a long time, then you must tie the Marquis to His Highness firmly."
Only then did Aunt Jia listen and finally calm down.
Tao Yao saw Jiayue carrying two baskets to return things, and happily went to Qin Wan to report.
Qin Wan looked at her smug expression and said with a smile, "Well done! Why should he use the water we brought? But if he's willing to spend a lot of money to buy water, it's not impossible."
Xie Qing tapped the back of her hand with his chopsticks, his words dripping with a touch of doting he himself didn't even notice: "I just issued an order yesterday prohibiting the sale of water in Shenyang. You're selling water now, will he report me later? Or do you want to quarrel with him?"
Qin Wan was stunned. She really didn't want to see Lu Yan. If she sold water to him, it would definitely cause a quarrel with him.
Qin Wan said to Tao Yao with regret, "What a pity! You two have lost a way to make money."
Tao Yao smiled and said, "I have no shortage of money. It would be better if we didn't sell him our water. Where can he get water to drink? I'll send someone to keep an eye on the people over there."
Taoyao is usually very stingy, but at this time she is very generous. She goes out to find a servant and asks him to help look after the things.
The servant was Xie Qing's man. When he heard that they were going to keep an eye on Marquis Pingyang's men, his eyes lit up. "Sister, you're slandering me, aren't you? They're defaming the Crown Prince, and you still think they can get away with it? You don't even have to spend any money. I'll do it for you."
The servant had many ideas. When he heard that Pingyang Marquis's men were not allowed to use water or grain, his eyes rolled and he said, "Sister, His Royal Highness's meals are all prepared in this kitchen. We are not allowed to use grain, let alone seasonings. If they have any bad intentions, won't our masters suffer?"
"As for the little ones, they are not allowed to use this kitchen. There is a small kitchen over there. Let them use the small kitchen. If they need firewood or other things, let them buy them from the big kitchen with money!"
There is another small kitchen in the post station, which was originally used by servants. The post station has always been a place for dignitaries to rest during their journey. Naturally, dignitaries would bring maids and servants with them when they traveled, and they also liked to cook for themselves when they arrived at the post station, so the big kitchen was kept particularly clean and tidy.
The small kitchen is used by the inn's own staff and also by the servants of dignitaries, so it's naturally a bit messy.
Jiayue hadn't received lunch by noon. She thought Lu Yan had forgotten about it, so she decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat, even if it cost her money. However, she was told she couldn't use the main kitchen and could only use the small one. She frowned at the messy, greasy kitchen.
She thought about it, took out two taels of silver and found a servant, first went to the restaurant to buy some food and brought it over, and then asked him to tell Lu Yan to find a restaurant outside to order food.
The problem of eating is solved, but what about drinking water?
Jiayue was in distress.
Of course, Jiayue's distress was also intentional by Qin Wan. Those who don't cherish water deserve to taste the feeling of thirst.
Even if Lu Yan was dissatisfied, so what? She was busy at the moment, so how could she have the time to care about insignificant people?
Qin Wan, Xie Qing and Master Du went their separate ways after breakfast.
Xie Qing led more than one hundred people to various counties, villages and towns to inspect the disaster situation, distribute rice and grain to the people, provide medical treatment, and comfort the people.
Prince Du was in charge of logistics in the city.
Qin Wan took the rested craftsmen to spread out the map and began to talk about various matters related to the dam and well digging.
Qin Wan marked the locations of the wells dug by the craftsmen in Shenyang City: "These wells have been dug, but there is no water. Some wells are ten feet deep and there is no water."
Carpenter Li was an experienced well digger. He frowned and said, "You're not digging after only ten feet and there's no water?"
Qin Wan explained gently, "A place like Shenyang is different from our northern region. Here, water resources are abundant. You can usually find water within three meters. If you can't see water within ten meters, then your well is really too deep and there's no hope."
Carpenter Li knocked on the pipe and said, "Talking on paper is not enough. Let's go and see for ourselves."
Qin Wan agreed, packed up her things and took people to see the well, and discussed all the matters on the way.
Li the craftsman went to the place, tied a rope to the bottom of the well, checked it, and then went to the water well to check.
Only when I saw that the people's buckets were filled with muddy water and the well was only about three meters deep did I believe that there was abundant water resources here.
Immediately, Carpenter Li asked in confusion, "Shenyang has abundant water resources. Logically speaking, there was no rain last autumn, so it's impossible for it to be this dry now."
An old man nearby was overjoyed to see they were sent by the imperial court to help dig a well. He said, "You're right! Shenyang has been suffering from drought for six or seven years. The rain has been getting less and less year after year, and the harvest has been getting worse and worse. No one reported it to the imperial court, so naturally no one paid attention. Some of the old people, seeing that the situation was not right, passed away years ago."
Carpenter Li nodded and said, "That's right. The rain hasn't been plentiful, so the groundwater has been used up a lot. There has been no rainfall since last year, so the drought is severe."
The old man sighed, "Isn't it? Back then, there wasn't much rain, so everyone drew water to irrigate the fields. The wells in the fields were all dug in recent years."
Carpenter Li's eyes lit up: "Is there still water in those wells?"
The old man shook his head: "No more."
Craftsman Li did not give up and asked, "How about taking us to see it?"
The old man said, "Go and have a look. You can see how hard our life is now. There's not a single grain of food in the fields!"
(One zhang = 3.333 meters)
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