Moonlit night
When Zhou Yanzhi returned, the bright moon was high in the sky. Xie Xiangsi had just finished bathing and was sitting in front of the mirror, wearing only a white undergarment, getting her hair done.
Because it was a bit tiring to drag her hair, all her long hair was gathered up and tied to one side.
She lowered her eyes slightly, clutching a handkerchief and slowly wiping away the dampness from her hair. Her movements were slow and gentle, and she exuded a strange tenderness, yet she seemed somewhat absent-minded.
Bai Ri and Qin Wang's words were still echoing in my mind.
“We usually go to repair the water valves around this time every year, but last year the floods came early and killed a group of people.”
“My mother was afraid that my father would not be able to find his way home, so she insisted on finding his body. But one night, she suddenly rushed home in a panic, without mentioning finding my father anymore. She just said that she was going to the capital to find some work.”
"So, I'm really not an ill-mannered little bastard. Last spring, I had a family..."
Jie Xiangsi fell silent. This time last year, everyone had a family.
She also has a family.
The small lamp hanging inside swayed slightly, its warm yellow light falling on the person in front of the mirror and on the person outside the beaded curtain, bathing them both in a warm glow.
Zhou Yanzhi stood outside the beaded curtain, his gaze falling on the woman's trembling long eyelashes. Suddenly, his ears burned, and he quickly turned his head away silently, coughing lightly.
Jie Xiangsi was startled, then turned around, her eyes still carrying a trace of lingering sorrow, and said gently, "Young Master."
Zhou Yanzhi hummed in response. He hadn't heard her call him "cousin" in a long time, and he felt a little out of sorts.
“Yesterday…” He walked to the cabinet and took out a rolled-up quilt, his fingertips gripping the corner of the quilt, his tone slightly unnatural and awkward: “Yesterday I was drunk and didn’t know what was going on, so I couldn’t give you my bed. I’ll stay in the outer room today.”
Upon hearing this, Jie Xiangsi let out a small "ah" and subconsciously glanced at the outer room. Although there was a charcoal brazier burning inside, the outer room was too big, and it was still a bit chilly at night when the temperature dropped.
So he stood up and took half a step forward, gently advising, "It's cold outside, young master, why don't you stay in the inner room? It's just sharing a room, nothing will happen."
Having said that, as if afraid of Zhou Yanzhi's rebuttal, and recalling her earlier doubts, Jie Xiangsi smoothly changed the subject, "Besides... I have some things I'd like to discuss with you, young master."
She gestured for Zhou Yanzhi to sit down by the window first. Then, Jie Xiangsi turned around and brought in an oil lamp from the outer room. She placed it on the table, and the dim yellow light fell on the table, making the quiet room feel warm and soothing.
After doing all this, she took out a folded sheet of Xuan paper from her sleeve, spread it out, and, under Zhou Yanzhi's slightly widened eyes, Xie Xiangsi nodded in confirmation of his guess and said in a deep voice, "These are all the known waterways in Yangqu at present."
For a moment, the only sounds in the quiet room were the crackling of the candlelight and the woman's soft voice.
“Today, I ran into the boy I saw at Ping An’s house the day before yesterday. He told me some things, and I felt something was off.” Xie Xiangsi’s fingertips touched the marks she had made on the rice paper, her brows furrowed slightly, and her tone was somewhat puzzled. “Qin Wang said that this river was newly dug in recent years, mainly for the use of the city’s residents.”
"Logically speaking, the silt accumulation in the newly constructed river channel is not serious, and it is the best at diverting water and preventing flooding. However, last year's flood... it was as if it had become the main river channel, diverting the water there."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi couldn't help but frown.
Yes, the newly constructed river channel doesn't have a serious problem with silt accumulation, so how could it flood?
After glancing at Zhou Yanzhi, Xie Xiangsi continued, "I have an idea about this."
“Look here.” She flicked her finger and placed it on another part of the Xuan paper, lowering her voice as she said, “This newly built waterway is a branch of this river.”
With her fingertips extending half an inch down the main channel, Jie Xiangsi said softly, "This is a high ground. I'm wondering, if someone were to artificially narrow the main channel on the other side, where would the water from upstream go during the flood season?"
Zhou Yanzhi looked in the direction she pointed, his brows furrowing even more. "With the main channel blocked, the excess water can only flow into the new, lower-lying channel, but that new channel is already narrow..."
It simply cannot accommodate the amount of water during the flood season.
Looking up and meeting Jie Xiangsi's meaningful gaze, Zhou Yanzhi said in a low voice, "You mean, last year's flood was not a natural disaster, but a man-made one?"
This coincided with what he had been thinking this morning.
The light from the oil lamp reflected in their overlapping gazes. Jie Xiangsi nodded, the candlelight casting an unsettling shadow on her face. She said in a deep voice, "Blocking the main canal is no small matter. It requires a lot of work, money, and manpower. How do you think Yang Hui managed to do this behind the backs of so many people in Yangqu City?"
She glanced outside, leaned slightly forward, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "They've already taken care of the people. As for the money, what does cousin think?"
Thinking of the frequent natural disasters in Yangqu, Zhou Yanzhi said in a deep voice.
"Disaster relief funds".
The wind outside swept through the night, brushing against the window frame and blowing into the room. The light from the oil lamp on the table flickered, just like the restless hearts of the two people.
...
"Knock knock—"
The jade hook on the bed swayed slightly, making a soft sound. Jie Xiangsi woke up with a start, half-lifted the bed curtains, and peeked out to look at Zhou Yanzhi, who was already sitting up nimbly on the floor. Her voice was tinged with surprise and doubt, "Young Master?"
Knowing who was outside, Zhou Yanzhi gently reassured him, "It's Ji Feng, don't be afraid."
"grown ups."
The moment the window was opened, a gust of cold wind rushed towards the person's face. The monsoon, which was freezing outside, was about to rush into the room, but Zhou Yanzhi quickly blocked it, saying, "Wait a minute."
When a woman coughed softly behind him, as if it were some kind of signal, Zhou Yanzhi gestured for Ji Feng to go in, but still added, "Don't look around."
Ji Feng had obviously heard the woman's soft cough, and now that he was allowed to enter the house, he was still a little uncomfortable. He kept his eyes fixed on the small area in front of him, not daring to wander around, for fear of seeing something he shouldn't.
To avoid arousing suspicion from outsiders, no lights were turned on inside. Fortunately, the moonlight was bright enough to see things clearly.
Zhou Yanzhi closed the window, turned around, and lowered his voice, saying, "Tell me, what did you find out?"
"Yes." Ji Feng lowered his head and quickly recounted what he had seen that day.
"As you predicted, sir, something was indeed amiss at that horse ranch. There were hidden sentries concealed within the renovated outer wall. Our men circled around to the relatively weakly guarded back gate and heard the sound of armor clashing inside. This was clearly a military camp!"
Zhou Yanzhi was somewhat silent, surprised to find that the horse farm was actually a military camp.
For a moment, the room was so quiet that you could hear the three of them breathing. His silence was more unsettling than when he pressed for answers.
After a long pause, Zhou Yanzhi continued, "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, yes." Ji Feng hurriedly continued, frantically pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket, his voice becoming even lower: "We also found that Yang Hui deposited 200,000 taels of silver at a money exchange a few months ago, and then suddenly withdrew 100,000 taels a month ago."
Upon hearing a familiar word, Xie Xiangsi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up: "One month ago?"
Ji Feng paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
Upon receiving confirmation, Jie Xiangsi was overwhelmed with thoughts. The words spoken by the maid of the Yang family this morning suddenly flashed into her mind. Yang Hui's wife had also gone to Jiangnan a month ago. Could it be that she went to Jiangnan to hide this silver?
She tapped her fingertips unconsciously on the back of her hand and said slowly, "This morning I heard from the servants of the Yang family that Yang Hui's wife also went to Jiangnan a month ago."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi's brows furrowed instantly.
So, Yang Hui took more than 100,000 taels.
During the day, he didn't tell the truth, but he was probably prepared. Now that the silver had gone south with the people, he was certain that he wouldn't be able to find out about the 100,000 taels.
“Setting up private military camps and stealing government silver are all heinous crimes of treason. Who exactly is behind Yang Hui?”
Ji Feng felt a chill run down his spine. Just as he was about to ask about the next steps, Zhou Yanzhi suddenly raised his hand to stop him. The faint sound of footsteps of night patrolmen could be heard outside the window. The three of them immediately fell silent, even their breathing became softer.
Once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Zhou Yanzhi gestured for Ji Feng to leave first.
After the monsoon had gone far away, the other two returned to their respective beds, and the night passed without incident.
...
The same bright moon shines not only on the bamboo garden in Yangqu City, but also on the imperial palace in the capital city, thousands of miles away.
In the Zichen Palace, the emperor on the dragon throne exuded an imposing aura without anger. He calmly flipped through the memorials in his hands, occasionally taking out his vermilion brush to make annotations.
The chief eunuch standing to the side glanced at the bright moon hanging high outside the palace, then looked at the emperor who coughed from time to time but was still trying to handle state affairs. He swallowed hard, hesitated for a long time, and then whispered, "Your Majesty, please take care of your health."
The emperor ignored him, simply continuing to read and review the last memorial before calmly asking, "Little Fu, how long have you been serving me?"
Upon hearing this familiar address, Eunuch Fu, now known as Chief Eunuch Fu, breathed a sigh of relief; the Emperor was not angry.
After thinking for a moment, he replied, "This servant has been serving Your Majesty since Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince, which is more than thirty years now."
The sage exclaimed "Ah!" seemingly somewhat surprised, "Time has passed quite quickly; so many years have already gone by."
Thinking of something, the sage asked again, "Then do you think I am old?"
This was a sharp question, and for a moment, Eunuch Fu didn't know how to answer. After a long while, he carefully said, "Your Majesty is joking. Your blessings are long-lasting, why bring this up?"
Upon hearing these flattering words, the Emperor remained silent, only letting out a soft chuckle.
Having sat in a high position for too long, one inevitably loses access to truthful information.
Rubbing his temples and coughing softly, the emperor sighed, "Time waits for no one. The crown prince hasn't even been deposed yet, and people are already suggesting that a new heir be chosen."
The emperor pointed to the pile of memorials on his desk and said indifferently, "A bunch of old fogies. Give them a little face, and they really think they're something special."
Grandpa Fu was startled and fell silent.
But the emperor didn't expect him to say anything; he was just grumbling. Looking at the moonlight shining on the stone bricks outside the hall, the emperor said indifferently, "I heard that Grand Secretary Yuan and Grand Secretary Zhang have been arguing again recently. They are both old, what are they arguing about? Eunuch Fu, pass on my order to let them rest at home for a while and calm their tempers."
Grandpa Fu nodded in agreement, but his heart was in turmoil.
Grand Secretary Yuan, the Fourth Prince's mentor, has been a core figure in the Fourth Prince's faction for many years.
Grand Secretary Zhang, the sixth prince's mentor, had close ties with the sixth prince's household.
The night air grew colder. Eunuch Fu glanced at the night sky outside the window. The bright moon still hung high, but his heart sank suddenly.
The situation in the capital is about to change.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
