snow disaster
Over the next few days, the heavy snow fell intermittently, and the foggy clouds hung extremely low, making everything in sight a vast expanse of white.
Jie Xiangsi pushed open the window, and the cold wind, carrying fine snow, hit her face, chilling her to the bone.
First, she looked down at the thick layer of snow on the ground, which was higher than a person's ankles, and then looked up at the snow falling all over the sky. Suddenly, Jie Xiangsi had an ominous premonition.
If this snow doesn't stop soon, people might really freeze to death.
What made her even more uneasy was the unseen undercurrents hidden beneath the thick, white snow.
"Squeak—"
The wooden door was forced open a crack by the cold wind, and Zhou Yanzhi came in covered in snowflakes. The hem of his thick black cloak was already soaked with snow water, and he was frozen stiff.
He closed the door behind him, his exposed fingertips turning bright red. He took off his cloak, revealing a face with a slightly furrowed brow, looking colder than the snow outside.
"Young master."
Seeing him return, Jie Xiangsi quickly stepped forward, handed him a hand warmer that she had prepared beforehand, and gestured for him to sit down by the charcoal brazier. She also asked him if he had discovered anything, but he slowly shook his head.
Zhou Yanzhi was also somewhat anxious, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the intertwined vine pattern carved on the hand warmer.
These past few days, he had tried to test Yang Hui, attempting to coax him into revealing who was behind him, but no matter what he did, Yang Hui refused to utter a single word.
If we continue to probe, he might become suspicious.
The oak charcoal in the brazier burned quietly. As if remembering something, Zhou Yanzhi paused, turned his head to look at Xie Xiangsi, and said in a lower voice, "Cousin, you grew up in Danzhou. Do you know that there is a kind of ore in Danzhou called tin ore?"
These past few days, he has been pondering the purpose of the one million taels of silver that Yang Hui transported to Danzhou. Danzhou is barren, and tin ore is a rare commodity.
This ore is easy to melt and smelt, but has low hardness. It is often mixed with copper ore to make bronze, which is a good material for making weapons. In previous years, when the border defense was casting cannons, ore was specially transferred from Danzhou.
Since Yang Hui has raised a private army, the reason he transported so much silver there is probably to hoard ore and cast weapons. However, he can only confirm this idea after he has found out the details of the Danzhou tin mine.
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi's heart sank. She wasn't the real Xie Xiangsi; how could she know these things? Not to mention tin mines, she didn't even know what the people of Danzhou liked to eat.
Meeting Zhou Yanzhi's expectant gaze, Xie Xiangsi quickly lowered her long eyelashes and said softly, "Young Master, have you forgotten that I was ill before I came to the capital? I had a high fever, and there are some things I don't remember..."
Zhou Yanzhi grunted, then realized what he had done and looked apologetic. "Sorry, I was confused."
After saying that, he pushed the charcoal brazier towards her.
Seeing that Zhou Yanzhi didn't seem to be testing her intentionally, Xie Xiangsi breathed a slight sigh of relief and said softly, "Why did you suddenly ask about this, young master? Could it be related to Yang Hui?"
Rubbing his temples, Zhou Yanzhi replied, "When I was checking the accounts a few days ago, I saw that Yang Hui transported one million taels of silver to Danzhou. The amount was too large, and I felt something was wrong."
After all... one million taels is a huge sum; even ordinary armies don't need that much to manufacture weapons.
Feeling the cold wind whistling against the latticed window, Jie Xiangsi's heart skipped a beat, and she whispered, "You mean... what the person behind this is plotting is..."
She silently suppressed the last two words.
Zhou Yanzhi nodded slightly, acknowledging her guess.
Upon closer examination, the three million taels of disaster relief funds allocated to Yangqu are highly suspicious. Logically speaking, a flood of this scale in Yangqu should not require so much disaster relief funds, yet so much money was approved.
I'm afraid the person behind that is someone with considerable influence.
...
The snow was still falling, and the green bamboo in the courtyard was already covered with another layer of frost. But no matter how diligently the servants tried to clear it, the snow always remained firmly on top, mercilessly crushing the clump of green bamboo.
The cold wind howled outside the window, and my longing heart sank deeper and deeper.
After a long pause, she suddenly spoke, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "Young Master, since that's the case, is it possible... that the Xiao family is innocent?"
She clenched her hands, hidden in her sleeves, her nails almost digging into her palms, but she tried to keep her voice steady. "Think about it, the silver confiscated from the Xiao family is of the same purity as the disaster relief silver from Yangqu, and the one million taels transported to Danzhou is too large. Is it possible that some of the silver was transported to the Xiao family in the capital?"
Before Zhou Yanzhi could speak, she quickly added, "I'm just guessing, just guessing..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jie Xiangsi felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her throat. The extreme tension made her throat feel inexplicably blocked, and even her breathing became labored.
She knew this might arouse Zhou Yanzhi's suspicion again, but thinking of the Xiao family members who had died tragically, Xiao Yan was determined to draw Zhou Yanzhi's attention to this matter, even if it meant her own death.
Time seemed to slow down in an instant, so slow that she could clearly hear each of her breaths, yet it also seemed to pass quickly, so quickly that a gust of wind blew by and a small spark suddenly flew up from the charcoal brazier.
Seemingly sensing her nervousness, Zhou Yanzhi leaned closer, gently tapped her sleeve, and smiled helplessly, "You don't need to be nervous. I told you that day that you can trust me, have you forgotten?"
Before Jie Xiangsi could say anything more, he said softly, "Actually, I had the same guess, which is why I asked you about the tin mine in Danzhou."
The place he touched seemed to still retain a faint sensation. Jie Xiangsi's hand, hidden in her sleeve, slightly recoiled, her long eyelashes drooping and trembling slightly. She responded softly, "That's good then..."
In that case, the Xiao family will surely be exonerated one day.
...
On the seventh day after they arrived in Yangqu, the stone that had been hanging in Jie Xiangsi's heart for many days finally fell.
"Open the door! We want to go home!"
"Please, sir, have mercy and open the door..."
"Mom, I'm cold, I want to go home."
"My good child, come here and put your hands inside your mother's clothes."
"..."
On the tenth day of the first lunar month, heavy snow fell in Yangqu, bringing extreme cold and bitter chill; corpses were found on the roads.
Looking at the refugees locked outside the city, Zhou Yanzhi frowned and couldn't help but rebuke Yang Hui, who stood calmly to the side, "Why won't you let them in?!"
His voice was filled with barely suppressed anger.
In the cold wind and snow, Yang Hui touched the hand warmer in his hand. Because he was dressed so warmly, his back was even sweating.
Hearing the question, he slowly raised his eyes, even having time to brush the snow off his robes, his tone innocent as if Zhou Yanzhi was making a fuss.
“Lord Song, it’s not that I don’t want to open the city gates and let them in, but as you can see, these disaster victims have been freezing for so long that they’ve almost lost their minds and are completely out of control. If we rashly let them into the city and allow them to loot the government granaries, it might threaten the peace of Yangqu City.”
Hearing his illogical words, Zhou Yanzhi had only one thought in his mind, and that was...
Nonsense!
They were originally the native inhabitants of Yangqu City, and letting them in would not cause the collapse of Yangqu's order. In short, Yang Hui simply did not want to let them in.
Thinking of his current identity as Song Baiyu, Zhou Yanzhi took a deep breath and tried his best to patiently persuade, "But as people in this position, we have to do something for the people of Yangqu."
Yang Hui let out a small surprise, then continued to feign ignorance, saying, "Lord Song, I didn't want it to be like this either, but... as you know, Yangqu suffered from floods last year, and there wasn't much surplus grain in the official granaries. People inside the city need grain, and people outside the city also need grain. Tell me, how are we supposed to distribute it? I have no other choice."
After he finished speaking, he casually handed the hand warmer in his hand to the person next to him. He raised his still warm hand and gently patted Zhou Yanzhi's shoulder twice. Seeing Zhou Yanzhi's increasingly cold expression, Yang Hui smiled with satisfaction, withdrew his hand, and turned to leave the city wall.
"Wait a minute."
A cold voice suddenly came from behind, like an icicle falling from above, instantly freezing Yang Hui in his tracks.
Yang Hui stopped, not turning around, only to hear the person behind him approach slowly saying, "Lord Yang, I remember you seem to have 100,000 taels of silver, right?"
The sound of boots stepping on the city bricks slowly drew closer.
Seeing the man stiffen slightly, Zhou Yanzhi chuckled and continued, "I've heard that Zhou Yanzhi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in the capital, was originally coming to Yangqu to investigate a case. Although there are rumors that he's dead, no one has seen his body. Tell me, if he were in Yangqu right now, and saw refugees freezing to death outside the city and officials hiding silver inside..."
Lowering his voice deliberately, Zhou Yanzhi said jokingly, "Does Lord Yang think you can still hold onto this official hat?"
These words were like a knife, precisely striking Yang Hui's weak spot.
When they entered the city, the reason he made him take a bath first was not primarily to show off, but to confirm whether he was really Song Baiyu.
Yang Hui paused slightly, then slowly turned to meet Zhou Yanzhi's ambiguous smile. After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly, reminding him, "Lord Song, why bother? We're all just serving our master..."
“You know, I come from a humble background.” Zhou Yanzhi interrupted him, his voice slower but with an undeniable firmness. “Although I am now an official in the capital and serve the same person as Lord Yang, I still have a conscience. Naturally, I cannot bear to see the people freeze to death outside the city gates.”
An invisible silence spread through the wind and snow. Yang Hui unconsciously tucked his hand into his sleeve, and after a long while, he said softly, "Lord Song really is... true to his original aspirations."
The sarcasm in his tone was almost palpable.
Zhou Yanzhi chuckled softly and remained silent.
He wasn't really Song Baiyu, so those words were like the wind blowing past his ear, having no effect whatsoever.
Yang Hui stared at him for a moment, then suddenly a smile appeared on his lips. He abruptly flicked his sleeve, turned to the soldiers guarding the city, and said angrily, "Open the city gates! Pass on my order: from this moment forward, release grain from the granaries and set up shelters to relieve the people!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence outside the city gate, followed by a low murmur of sobbing that rose like a tide.
"I'm home..."
"Little Bao, Mommy is taking you home, taking you home..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
