Chapter 188 Too hasty!
"Uncle Liang, you're amazing! How did you know I was coming?"
Yun Zhao was taken aback, not expecting that Liang Yonghua had already spotted her before she even arrived.
The brothers behind Liang Yonghua laughed and said, "If Uncle Liang weren't like this, why would the master have asked Uncle Liang to send us to escort the young lady?"
"Miss Yun, why did you come out of town so late to look for us? Did something happen?"
Liang Yonghua smiled and glared at the man before asking a question.
"Uncle Liang, these older brothers and sisters need to pretend to be people from the security escort agency."
"We'll be traveling with you to Lingnan, and we'll need Uncle Liang's help to look after you!"
The Zhuge family members glanced at Yun Zhao, then stepped forward and clasped their hands in greeting.
"My surname is Ge. Thank you for your help, brothers."
To avoid trouble, the Zhuge family members adopted the surname Ge to conceal their identities.
"Brother Ge, you're too kind. Miss Yun is our savior, and her friends are our friends!"
Liang Yonghua raised his hand, signaling his brothers to take the clothes and knives from the escort agency so that the Zhuge family members could change their clothes.
"Uncle Liang, we need to stay in Suzhou for a few more days."
"We've received word that a convoy transporting disaster relief supplies has fallen into the water. Do you need our help?"
How did Uncle Liang find out?
Wasn't Ding Yan covering up this news?
Liang Yonghua glanced at the Ge family and took a few steps outside.
"Our security escort agency is, after all, in this kind of business; we have our own intelligence channels."
If you need help, we can find out some information that isn't publicly available.
He believed that the little doctor was no ordinary child, so he spoke frankly to Yun Zhao.
"Uncle Liang, we've heard some news. It's said that the disaster relief funds were embezzled."
That's why Uncle Ding kept the news a secret; you were able to find out.
Where could those things be hidden? The silver is one thing, but...
Without those disaster relief grains, the people of Suzhou wouldn't have survived this spring!
"I've already sent people to investigate. I'll have someone come into the city to let you know if I find anything!"
Liang Yonghua was a smart man. People in the underworld value loyalty and brotherhood, so he naturally couldn't stand these corrupt officials.
Therefore, as soon as the news came, he immediately sent people to investigate.
Yun Zhao was somewhat surprised.
"Uncle Liang, you are really amazing!"
Liang Yonghua was overjoyed to be stared at by the little girl with such adoring eyes.
"Uncle Liang, you should have fast horses here, right?"
Yun Zhao tilted his head, blinked, and asked curiously.
"Of course, the escort agency has no shortage of fast horses. Miss Yun, is there any message you wish to deliver?"
Liang Yonghua immediately understood what she wanted to do.
Yun Zhao quickly took out a jade pendant from his bosom and handed it to him.
"Uncle Liang, could you please help me carry this jade pendant towards the direction of Shu?"
Go after a wet nurse and tell her that Yunxuan wants to see General Du and insists he come for a gathering.
Du?
Wasn't the late Emperor's Empress Yuan surnamed Du?
Is the Prince of Jin looking for the Emperor's brother-in-law?
"Okay, we'll definitely deliver it!"
Liang Yonghua immediately understood the importance of this matter and quickly put the jade pendant into his sleeve.
With the matter settled, Yun Zhao took his leave and returned home.
They quietly returned to the inn, where Yun Zhao was so exhausted that he lay down and fell asleep immediately.
Feeling sorry for her daughter, Xu Qingyi used a warm, damp cloth to wipe her body.
Bai Ling handed her a bowl of ginger tea and said in a low voice, "Your health isn't very good. Be careful not to catch a cold when going in and out of a room with a charcoal fire burning."
"Thank you, Sister Bai."
After spending these days together, the two have long since become like sisters.
Bai Ling came from a humble background, but her father was a schoolteacher, and she was literate.
In the past, the ladies of high-ranking families in the capital looked down on her, but now she and Xu Qingyi feel like they've known each other for a long time.
"These days, I'm so grateful to your Jingchen. Otherwise, I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her run around outside on her own."
"What are you saying, little sister? Zhaozhao is clever and quick-witted. With her around, I feel much more at ease."
Bai Ling didn't tell her that, given Wei Jingchen's personality, if it weren't for Yun Zhao's presence, he might cause a lot of trouble and no one would know.
The next day.
Because of the food shortage in the city, Xu Qingyi discussed with others and decided to give the remaining meat to Lord Ding to handle.
“The people have been starving for a long time. A little bit of oil and fat is better than just drinking thin porridge. At least it can help them survive for a few days.”
Xu Yinan nodded in agreement.
The Wei family had no objections, since the food they were given to them was originally provided by the Xu family.
Therefore, Xu Qingyi decided to keep a small portion and let Xu Yinan take Zhixia and hand the rest over to Ding Yan to handle.
At this time, early in the morning, Ding Yan was discussing disaster relief matters with others at the government office.
"The disaster relief funds are all gone, but there are still a few cartloads of grain left. However, there are too many refugees in the city, and this amount is probably not enough for even a day."
His subordinates looked worried.
Wei Mingde did some calculations, closed the ledger, and looked extremely grim.
"According to the original plan, the allocated silver and grain should have been enough to last for more than a month."
Once the other prefectures have stabilized, Suzhou can be rebuilt.
But now there's less than a day's worth of food left; send another batch immediately from the capital.
The round trip would take at least ten days, so we'd have to source supplies from nearby prefectures.
"But the entire Nanjiang River basin was affected, and there were no imperial orders to mobilize troops."
This prefecture will probably not be handed over easily; the fastest way now is to transfer it from Huainan.
Xu Zhenbang was in charge of transporting the stones, so he naturally knew about the situation along the Nanjiang River.
"Huainan? Isn't that even harder to allocate resources to?"
"No, Lord Ding, the old general's words are reasonable. Huainan has not yet paid its tax this year. We should now submit a petition to the court."
Redeploying would definitely be too late, but if we petition His Majesty to requisition tax grain from Huainan...
His Majesty will surely agree; they can transfer them directly from Huainan, and they'll arrive in just two days by fast horse!
Wei Mingde immediately pulled out the memorial from the side and began writing.
"Send someone to escort him back to the capital at the fastest speed, and send another team to Huainan for negotiations."
Once His Majesty approves, the grain can be sent back from Huainan immediately!
Upon hearing this, Ding Yan was overjoyed.
"Alright, I'll send the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan immediately!"
The group split into several groups, and even Yun Zhao was secretly following Ling Xue Rou and was not in the inn.
There weren't many people walking around the city, but since it was broad daylight, Yun Zhao was worried that the tiger would cause a commotion, so he followed Ling Xue Rou himself.
She arrived at a house, said something to the guards outside, and they let her in.
After she went inside, Yun Zhao took a few more steps and saw the plaque on the courtyard house clearly.
"The Li residence?"
Could it be the Jiangnan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner that Ling Ruofeng was looking for, the one they were talking about last night?
Why would they send a child like Ling Xuerou to find her?
Yun Zhao walked around the backyard of the house. What a pity, there was no dog hole!
Just as she was looking worried, Wei Jingchen jumped down from the roof.
"Brother Jingchen?"
How did he end up here?
"I've been following you for a long time. Are you stalking Ling Xuerou?"
Yun Zhao: ...
I was too hasty; he'd actually been following me the whole time!
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