Master Yuan stood calmly behind the man, his eyes darting around, glancing at the letter every now and then.
After the man's laughter completely stopped, he pondered and spoke, "Sir, the letter from the Lady of Le'an County and Magistrate Qin mentioned that the horses were going mad and flies were everywhere. It seems that we also have this situation in our government office."
"So what?" Prefect Liu glanced sideways at Clerk Yuan.
"The horses in the government office are all top-quality, spirited horses. Their temperaments are different from those inferior horses. What's wrong with them being a little arrogant?"
As for mosquitoes and flies, there will naturally be more mosquitoes and flies in the hot summer weather. What does that have to do with a major flood?
She, the Lady of Le'an County, is just young and naive. She thinks that because she presented me with sweet potatoes, she can boss me around as a prefect and interfere in the affairs of Tangshan Prefecture. She's not qualified!
"Yes, sir, you are right." Master Yuan lowered his eyes and flattered him, then changed the subject slightly, "However, I heard from the messenger that the Lady of Le'an County has exempted the people who harvested rice early from taxes, and the entire Qingshui County has already started harvesting rice."
"There are still about half a month left before the official autumn harvest. If we harvest rice now, we will lose a lot of grain."
Floods have occurred frequently in Tangshan Prefecture over the years, so it's not uncommon!
This Lady of Le'an County actually exempted all the people in the county from taxes so they could harvest rice! I really don't know what she was thinking!
Prefect Liu sneered, his disdain growing even stronger. "And this Qin Fang, born into a family of a vice minister, studied the classics for over a decade, yet in the end he just fooled around with a little girl. This Vice Minister Qin is cunning and scheming, but his son is utterly useless."
When the Su family was granted titles and Su Hua was granted the title of Lady of Le'an County and a fiefdom, he originally thought that the Su family and Su Hua were extraordinary and capable people. However, he did not expect them to be so reckless and unreliable when faced with problems.
His daughter was repeatedly outmaneuvered by this young girl, causing his Liu family to suffer heavy losses. Just thinking about it makes him want to vomit.
Now, to even think of ordering him around is utterly delusional and impossible!
The clerk's smile faltered slightly at the words, and he dared not discuss Su Hua and Qin Fang further. He simply swallowed hard. "Sir, the messenger is still waiting outside. What do you think..."
"What's with all the stammering!" Prefect Liu waved his hand dismissively. "Now that the letter has been delivered, just send the person away."
Master Yuan pursed his lips and advised in a slow voice, "However, this Lady of Le'an County is, after all, a county princess personally appointed by the Emperor, holding the official rank of second grade. It wouldn't be good if things got too ugly on the surface."
"So what if I'm a second-rank official?" Prefect Liu scoffed. "Are you implying indirectly that my official rank is lower than hers and that I have to take orders from her?"
Master Yuan shook his head and smiled apologetically, "No, sir, you misunderstand. How could I dare?"
"Although you are only a fourth-rank official, you have served the people and worked your way up to your current position. How can the Princess of Le'an County compare to you!"
Prefect Liu felt a little better after being soothed. He paused for a moment before pondering, "She's just a young girl, and she acts without restraint. I won't hold it against her. You can decide how to respond more politely."
Anyway, Qingshui County is her territory now, and I can't control how she acts, but there's absolutely no way she'll harvest rice ahead of schedule in other parts of Tangshan Prefecture!
Master Yuan's words did make some sense.
Although the Princess of Le'an County had no powerful connections, the Prince Gong's Mansion behind her was not to be underestimated. When he was still serving in Tangshan Prefecture, he had to give her some face.
Otherwise, given how badly she harmed his daughter, he would have settled accounts with her long ago.
The county government office of Qingshui County.
Upon receiving the message, Su Hua was somewhat puzzled, "Prefect Liu went to the county today? What a coincidence!"
Magistrate Qin frowned and beckoned to the servant in the hall, "Alai, tell me about the situation of delivering the letter to the government office today."
Alai wiped the sweat from his face. "I rushed to the government office at full speed. Around noon, as soon as I got off the horse, I had the yamen runner deliver the letter to Prefect Liu. Later, Master Yuan gave me a reply. More than an incense stick's time had passed in between."
Moreover, when I first arrived at the government office, I heard the guards whispering to each other.
It was said that Prefect Liu had requested that several of his favorite dishes be prepared for lunch, as he had a good appetite today and wanted to eat more.
Magistrate Qin's face darkened upon hearing this. "This Lord Liu seems to have completely disregarded our concerns and only wants to be a hands-off manager!"
Su Hua frowned. She could make decisions within Qingshui County, but in other counties of Tangshan Prefecture, unless Prefect Liu gave the order, no one else could help. Tangshan Prefecture had many waterways, and if a major flood occurred, millions of people in the prefecture would suffer.
She walked out of the county government office with a worried expression, only to see a tall and elegant figure standing two zhang away from the gate.
The man wore a crescent-colored robe, and his exquisitely sculpted features complemented the robe perfectly. Just standing there, he was like a fine ink painting, inexplicably making one feel lighthearted.
"Zichen, what brings you here?"
“I heard from my aunt that you’re still at the county office, and I was worried about you, so I came to take you home.” The man smiled, his deep eyes sweeping over the girl’s furrowed brows. “Get in the carriage first. There’s some food and fruit in the carriage, so have something to eat first. We can talk about the rest on the way.”
"If you hadn't brought this up, I would have completely forgotten that I haven't had time to eat today." Su Hua shook her head and chuckled.
“It’s already afternoon. If I hadn’t come soon, you probably wouldn’t have remembered to eat dinner.” Xiao Jinhan led her to the carriage and opened the food tray. “This is mutton noodles, braised lion’s head meatballs, and stewed pig’s trotter soup from Tianxiang Restaurant. They’re still warm. You should eat some quickly.”
As the food drawer was opened, the aroma of meat wafted straight to her nose. Every dish was one of Su Hua's favorites, and just smelling it made her stomach rumble involuntarily.
Su Hua served the beef noodles and shoveled down two large mouthfuls in quick succession. "Oh right, Qingdai hasn't eaten yet. Let her come in and have some too."
The man glanced up at the carriage curtain and said, "Don't worry, Yu Feng has already prepared her share."
Su Hua followed his gaze and saw the two sitting on the carriage shaft. Yu Feng was handing a large bowl to Qing Dai. Judging from the aroma, it seemed to be Qing Dai's favorite braised mutton rice. The usually cold-faced man was now acting gently.
Seeing this, Fengyun Canjuan raised an eyebrow and finished off the two dishes, finally feeling as if his internal organs had been revived.
"Here, have some more apples." Xiao Jinhan casually put away the bowl, then picked up a small knife to peel and cut the apples into pieces and handed them over. "Hua'er, were you troubled by something at the county government office just now?"
Su Hua took Lin Qin and briefly recounted the events of the day to him, then couldn't help but smile bitterly, "But what I mentioned in my letter to Uncle Qin seems to have been taken very seriously by Prefect Liu."
Xiao Jinhan nodded. "Hua'er has never dealt with Prefect Liu before, so she may not know that Prefect Liu is not a stupid person. He has just mastered the art of self-preservation to the fullest extent."
Moreover, he is currently short of money.
Without absolute certainty, no one would be willing to order the rice harvest ahead of schedule.
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