Chapter 74 Flood
The doors were tightly shut, and the bed curtains hung low.
With her hair clinging to her sweaty cheeks, Zhuang Dongqing was having trouble breathing.
"Don't……"
He had barely uttered a word when he was turned over, Cen Yan pressed against his back, and Zhuang Dongqing blinked, tears falling from his wet eyelashes.
It's too full.
Feeling a kiss land on her shoulder, Zhuang Dongqing complained with a sob in her voice, "Does it have to be... so intense?"
After he finished speaking, he felt himself pressed closer again, and Zhuang Dongqing's back trembled.
Cen Yan whispered in his ear, "Don't you want to sleep? Hurry up and the little brat will be here soon."
"..."
Okay.
You have to bear the consequences of your own child.
But sometimes things can't be rushed. Zhuang Dongqing is usually easily teased, but Cen Yan... made him a little unbearable.
"Looks like I should have chosen tonight..." someone muttered regretfully.
Cen Yan was still laughing even after Zhuang Dongqing bit his wrist.
In the end, Zhuang Dongqing, holding onto the edge of the bed, had her shoulders gripped, and she complied with the other party's wishes.
One by one, in the struggle to maintain a balance, in the inescapable shackles, the mind goes blank and that's it.
Cen Yan reached out and stroked him, and Zhuang Dongqing's eyes were filled with stars.
After tidying up, Zhuang Dongqing rolled into the bed.
While putting on his undergarments, Cen Yan reached out and touched his lower abdomen, murmuring, "It seems like nothing has changed."
Zhuang Dongqing knew what Cen Yan was touching; it was the spot where he had used the knife.
Actually, the scar was almost set after six months, but Cen Yan always liked to touch it.
Feeling a soft touch, Zhuang Dongqing closed her eyes.
Okay, I not only really like touching, but I also really like kissing.
After the ties were fastened, Zhuang Dongqing was already a little sleepy. Cen Yan held her and she dozed off for a while. After passing the most tiring moment, she woke up.
"Aren't you going to sleep? Did I disturb you?"
Zhuang Dongqing shook her head and leaned against Cen Yan, saying, "I'm not so sleepy anymore."
Zhuang Dongqing slept a lot when she was pregnant with her baby, but after An'an was born, her afternoon nap time was actually shortened a lot.
Cen Yan knew this too, and seeing that Zhuang Dongqing really wasn't sleeping, he began to speak to him in a low voice.
He briefly explained the details of his business trip, which Zhuang Dongqing could understand.
"You suspect that the root cause of the ban on smuggled salt lies with officials in Hangzhou?"
The salt administration inspection has been going on for at least a year and a half. During this time, apart from accounting fraud and underreporting, the most pressing issue in the local salt administration has been the persistent problem of illegal salt production. The annual salt production in the Huai River region is limited. With more illegal salt, the amount of official salt that can be collected will naturally decrease, and with less official salt, tax revenue will naturally decline.
Cen Yan: "That's our current guess."
"There are still some places we haven't been to yet, let's get things sorted out first."
After a pause, Cen Yan added, "Actually, it also has to do with the policies of the imperial court. Official salt is expensive and the tax revenue is high. Even if it doesn't circulate to other places, the circulation of private salt in the Lianghuai region alone is astonishing."
Zhuang Dongqing remained silent for a moment.
"So, if the salt tax isn't lowered, will the illegal salt trade be impossible to eradicate?"
Cen Yan: "That's not how it's said."
"Smuggled salt has always existed; it's just a matter of quantity. It can be eradicated. After all, Li Yang and I are here, and my royal palace has elite troops. Who can do anything about it? If they don't want to stop, they'll lose their heads. It's easy to wipe them all out in one fell swoop."
"The key issue is, even if we arrest this batch, who knows if there will be a next batch?"
"If the salt tax is too high, the profits from smuggled salt will be huge. Even if one new official remains unmoved, there will be others. Can we guarantee that every new official will remain unmoved?"
Zhuang Dongqing understood. "So, to solve this problem at its root, we still need to reduce the salt tax?"
Cen Yan nodded.
But he didn't talk to Zhuang Dongqing about these things to get to the bottom of things; he just wanted to talk about his recent busy schedule and have a chat.
After finishing his own business, Cen Yan changed the subject and asked Zhuang Dongqing about her recent situation: "Is it still difficult to identify medicinal herbs?"
Zhuang Dongqing sighed when this was mentioned.
Cen Yan realized something, touched Zhuang Dongqing's cheek, and just smiled.
Zhuang Dongqing closed her eyes and said dejectedly, "I feel that if I still can't recognize them all after another year of study, Master Zhao will kick me out."
Cen Yan suppressed a laugh: "It's not that bad."
Master Zhao dared not.
Cen Yan: "Wasn't the treatment for external injuries quite good?"
Zhuang Dongqing: "That's just an external injury."
It was thanks to modern medicine that he had nothing to do with his own physical abilities.
After learning from Master Zhao, Zhuang Dongqing spent most of his time studying herbal medicine with his apprentice. Only when Master Zhao had time would he discuss some different techniques with him. So far, Zhuang Dongqing has taught Master Zhao the concepts of "disinfection" and "wound cleaning," as well as simple suturing techniques and improvements to suture needles.
Master Zhao naturally admired these treasures of modern medicine.
However, this cannot obscure his hopelessly poor talent in learning traditional Chinese medicine.
Zhuang Dongqing muttered, "Sometimes I feel that when Master Zhao checks my homework, the way he seems to want to say something but then stops himself is because he wants to tell me to stop studying, since it's pointless."
Zhuang Dongqing guessed correctly.
Master Zhao didn't tell him, but he mentioned it to Cen Yan twice in a roundabout way.
I feel that traditional Chinese medicine might not be suitable for the young master.
Cen Yan had a different idea: "It's okay, if you're interested, just learn it. Nobody's forcing you."
"Learn what you want to learn, even if it's just a superficial understanding, it's still a pleasure."
Zhuang Dongqing thought it made sense and agreed, "Okay!"
The two exchanged a few more words about the little brat, and just as they were getting into a conversation, they heard a knock on the door. "Daddy, Daddy, knock knock."
Alright, here comes the main character.
Cen Yan put on a coat and got up, opening all the windows in the inner room to air it out. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Cen An'an's bright eyes. Cen Yan squatted down, pulled his little cotton-padded jacket up a bit, pinched Cen An'an's nose, and asked him, "Did our An'an rest well at noon?"
"alright."
She opened her arms wide and hugged Cen Yan tightly, exclaiming joyfully, "Daddy, I feel so energetic!"
Where's Daddy?
"It's inside, let's go in."
Okay.
After greeting his grandmother, Cen Yan carried the little boy into the inner room. Zhuang Dongqing had just sat up and hadn't put on his outer clothes yet. The little boy kept calling out when he saw him. Cen Yan saw that Cen An'an was dressed in brand new clothes, so he figured that his grandmother had changed him in the afternoon. He only took off Cen An'an's tiger-head shoes and put him on the bed.
As soon as she was put down, Cen An'an climbed onto Zhuang Dongqing's lap and clung to him.
"Dad, are you still sleepy?"
Grandma had taught Cen An'an that she shouldn't disturb Zhuang Dongqing when he was sleepy.
Zhuang Dongqing pinched Cen An'an's cheek, "Not sleepy anymore~"
Cen An'an laughed.
Zhuang Dongqing knew him and nudged him with her face, saying, "You've been thinking about your candied hawthorns, you little rascal."
When Cen Yan returns, it usually means the family can go out. And what's on the street? For little Cen An'an, there's plenty to see.
Candied hawthorn berries, stir-fried sugar candy, sugar figurines, and clay figurines are all Cen An'an's favorite foods.
Last year at the lantern festival, Cen Yan bought several lanterns for Cen An'an. Cen An'an held a rabbit and a tiger in his left hand, and a dragon and a rolling ball in his right hand. He couldn't bear to put any of them down. Liu Fu and Liu Qi wanted to help him carry them, but he wouldn't let them. He insisted on carrying them himself. Surprisingly, he actually carried them all the way without damaging any of them.
After turning one year old, Cen An'an started eating with Zhuang Dongqing. When they went to restaurants and teahouses, they often brought the little boy along, and he wanted to try all the good food and drinks.
So now, mentioning going out is like Zhuang Dongqing going to the amusement park when she was a child, something little Cen An'an couldn't be happier with.
With the wind blowing and the winter chill in the air, Cen Yan closed the windows again.
After Zhuang Dongqing finished dressing, Cen Yan spoke with Cen An'an for a while and then instructed Liu Qi to prepare the carriage.
Once inside the carriage, Cen An'an stuck her little bottom out and propped her head up outside, gazing at the dazzling world.
With Liu Fu looking after them, Cen Yan and Zhuang Dongqing weren't worried.
Suddenly, Zhuang Dongqing said, "Speaking of which, since the matter in Hangzhou is the last to be dealt with, does that mean that once it's resolved, the salt administration will be straightened out, and we can leave?"
Cen Yan: "Pretty much."
"That……"
Knowing what Zhuang Dongqing wanted to ask, Cen Yan said, "It will take at least another half a year. By the time it's all settled, His Majesty should have established a new crown prince. At that time... if everything goes smoothly, I will directly request permission to return to my fiefdom."
Zhuang Dongqing hesitated and said, "What if..." Emperor Shengwu still disagrees?
Cen Yan: "Then I have a backup plan."
I could tell; his determination to return to his fiefdom was unwavering.
Zhuang Dongqing shut her mouth.
Let's not talk about those disappointing things, nor about how in just a year and a half, another prince in the capital died and two others were imprisoned.
Cen An'an: "Dad, candied hawthorn berries!"
The little brat poked his head out of the window, then quickly pulled it back in, his eyes gleaming as he stared intently at Zhuang Dongqing and Cen Yan, his intentions not too obvious.
Both of them laughed at the stares. Cen Yan didn't tease him anymore, but picked up the little guy and said, "Want some candied hawthorns? Come on, let's go downstairs and buy some for our An'an!"
Cen An'an giggled and hugged Cen Yan, nodding emphatically, "Yes!"
A string of bright red candied hawthorns was brought back. Children shouldn't eat too much candy, so Zhuang Dongqing took a bite of two, Cen Yan took one, and Grandma... Grandma couldn't eat these, so she skipped it. Liu Fu took two bites, leaving two red balls. Cen Yan broke the stick in half and handed it to Cen An'an, whose eyes were filled with longing.
Cen An'an didn't mind the small amount; she took it and licked it, very happy, and ate very seriously.
*
Winter passed and spring came, and summer arrived in the blink of an eye.
The salt administration around Lianghuai has been mostly rectified. Cen Yan and Zhuang Dongqing have discussed and decided to move to Hangzhou in a while to deal with the last remaining difficult issues.
Unfortunately, this summer was rainy, and after a rainstorm lasted for two days, some places reported that the river embankment had been breached.
Li Yang had handled the previous collapse of the river embankment and had also identified many corrupt officials.
When the report was submitted to the court, Li Yang and Cen Yan happened to be both there. Thinking that they had experience, the court not only specially dispatched imperial envoys to the capital, but also, since the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had calculated that there would be abundant rainfall this year, they decided to use them as well and send them to the disaster areas to check the situation.
We agreed that I would be back in about half a month at most, and then we would make some preparations to celebrate Cen An'an's second birthday together.
But ten days after Cen Yan left, Zhuang Dongqing watched as the heavy rain fell from the sky for a day and a night, and she felt that things were probably hopeless.
The rain lasted for three days, and in some streets, the water reached above ankle level.
The mansion is situated on high ground, which is good.
However, Suzhou is already considered well-developed; Zhuang Dongqing didn't dare to think about the less developed counties.
As soon as the rain stopped, Liu Qi sent people to gather information.
As expected, the river embankment was breached a second time, and many people lost their homes and became refugees due to the flood.
On the third day, Cen Yan returned with news that there weren't enough people, so some of the Prince's personal guards were transferred to the disaster area.
On the twentieth day after Cen Yan left, Cen An'an waited in vain at the door, her eyes filled with longing. She clung to Zhuang Dongqing's leg and asked, "Dad, is Dad not coming back?"
Zhuang Dongqing touched Cen An'an's face and picked up the little one.
Heavy, pressing down on the hand.
This little rascal eats and drinks well, and now he's grown strong and healthy; you can't tell at all how weak he was when he was born.
Zhuang Dongqing asked him, "Does An'an want to celebrate his birthday with Daddy?"
Cen An'an nodded, rested her face on Zhuang Dongqing's shoulder, and said melancholically, "I want to."
Zhuang Dongqing: "If Father can't come back, shall we go find Father together?"
Cen An'an's eyes lit up: "Is it okay?"
Ruffled her son's hair and said with a smile, "Okay."
If Zhuang Dongqing's guess is correct, Cen Yan is probably still short of manpower, but because of him and Cen An'an, he doesn't dare to mobilize too many of the mansion's personal guards, fearing that their safety would be a problem.
Anyway, he was going to Hangzhou soon, so he left the servants at the mansion to pack things. He took An'an, a cart of grain, and Master Zhao with him, which should be able to solve some of Cen Yan's urgent needs.
This is perfect; after dealing with the floods, they can go directly to Hangzhou without having to come back.
That evening, I shared this idea with Liu Qi, who hesitated.
For the first time that night, Zhuang Dongqing, Liu Qi, Master Zhao, and Xu Si held a meeting in the study.
After refuting everyone's concerns one by one, Master Zhao considered the situation and said, "My two apprentices have both gone with the Prince. If I'm not mistaken, they should also be in dire need of doctors. Why don't we spread the word in Suzhou and see how many doctors are willing to go with us? We can take as many as we can."
Although he entered the Prince's mansion, practicing medicine and helping the sick remained Zhao Ye's guiding principle.
Zhuang Dongqing thought of something else: "Now that we have a doctor, we should also bring some medicinal herbs."
Master Zhao: "Exactly."
"Alright, let's get ready then."
Two days later, several carriages, escorted by the remaining guards of the Prince's mansion, slowly drove out of the residence.
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