Chapter 43 It's a pity her grand plan wasn't completed, otherwise she could have directly...
They took their seats.
The shop assistants refilled the cups of Lang Xi and his companions who had just arrived with tea, then filled the cup in front of Yu Nie before turning and leaving.
Aunt Liu seemed extremely thirsty, tilting her head back and gulping down the tea in no time.
Seeing that she was thirsty, Yu Nie picked up the teapot and poured her another cup.
After putting down her teacup, Aunt Liu excitedly recounted what she had seen at the execution ground, her tone full of satisfaction: "There's no one in this world who isn't afraid of death. That He Renzhi, that despicable old scoundrel who used to be a henchman of the tyrant, was still terrified when the guillotine fell on his neck, crying and urinating all over the place."
Even ants cherish life; how can a human not value his life?
Even though she wasn't there, Yu Nie could imagine how heartbreaking that scene would be.
It's not that I feel sorry for them, but rather that if I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place.
Four cold dishes were already on the table: cold bamboo shoots, cabbage in white sauce, vegetarian tripe in chili oil, and lily bulbs with pine nuts. These were all signature dishes of the restaurant, and Ah Hui especially loved the cabbage in white sauce.
Langxi invited everyone to start eating.
Aunt Liu continued to talk endlessly about what happened at the execution ground, saying that this time, apart from He Chenlao who was to be exiled, all the other ten or so men of the He family were killed, and their blood flowed all over the execution platform.
As soon as He Ren's head hit the ground, everyone clapped and cheered.
While listening to Aunt Liu's description, Yu Nie picked up some food and ate with relish.
After Aunt Liu finished speaking, Lang Xi said, "This time, the hearts of all the Huaiyuan people can finally be at ease."
According to Guard Xie, the new magistrate comes from a poor family and is known for his integrity and incorruptibility. He said that there will never be another corrupt official like He Renzhi in Huaiyuan County.
Upon hearing this, Yu Nie seemed to remember something and asked, "Didn't Junior Sister say she was going to invite Guard Xie to dinner? Why didn't he come?"
Langxi put down his chopsticks: "After the execution, we found him, but Guard Xie said that he had too many official duties to attend to at the county government and had to rush back to resolve them, so he couldn't come and have dinner with us."
The case of He and Zhao's treason and collusion with the enemy has been delayed for several days, and the government has many other cases that have not yet been dealt with.
In addition, the two of them had been levying extra income tax over the years, and before leaving, Zijing specifically set aside all of this money, instructing Xie Cheng to return it all to the victims according to the register.
I never expected Zijing to take this action.
She originally thought that most of the money obtained through illegal means would be confiscated as stolen money.
She vividly remembered that the "Record of the Fall of Beiye" clearly stated that when the first year of the Xuande reign arrived, due to years of natural and man-made disasters, most of the public funds used for disaster relief flowed into the hands of the four great families, causing the imperial treasury to become strained.
While serving as an official in the court, he would likely hear such rumors. In this situation, if these forcibly collected taxes were deposited into the national treasury, it would not only add a "recovery of embezzled funds" achievement to his resume, but it would also please his superiors and help him advance more smoothly in his future career.
After all, he had already defied authority and dealt with the two men according to the law. In any case, the money was embezzled, and its confiscation was perfectly justified. Yet he insisted on returning it to each household. Doing so would only earn him a good reputation, without any other benefit.
Is he trying to become the modern-day Bao Zheng? Yu Nie thought to himself, feeling an increasing sense of regret for missing out on a thousand gold pieces.
It would be a shame not to keep such a virtuous and upright young man.
Sigh! She sighed again, regretting that her grand plan had not yet been completed, otherwise it would have been better to just kidnap the person and take them home.
She was thinking about it in her mind.
Before Lang Xi finished speaking, he turned to look at her and said, "I just heard from the servant that you gave all the silver you had to that little beggar."
She teased her, "I remember last time you gave money to a beggar and got scammed. Didn't you say then that you would never give money to people so easily again?"
Yu Nie, holding the red oil-coated beef tripe between her fingers, said, "That's what I thought when I was tricked last time. But that little girl was so pitiful, and I believed she wouldn't lie to me."
She recalled the feel of the little girl's hand: "She was so young, yet her hands were rougher than tree bark. This is something that can't be fooled by simply blackening one's face and hands."
After saying that, she said apologetically, "Later, I might have to eat for free, so I'll have to trouble you senior brothers and sisters to pay for it."
Lang Xi smiled and said, "We Qiqi can eat as much as we want. You're the junior sister, so why would A Hui and I let you pay?"
"That's right, just eat whatever you want, your Aunt Liu is here to help." Aunt Liu patted her chest, as if to assure you.
Yu Nie raised her two thin eyebrows triumphantly and deliberately pouted her cherry-like mouth, saying, "Since everyone is so kind to me, I'll have to eat a few more dishes."
“You can eat as many as you want, do whatever makes you happy,” Langxi replied from the side.
The dishes that Yu Nie had ordered earlier have all been served and are now laid out on the table.
After the executions were completed, the number of customers in the shop gradually increased.
In no time, the tables downstairs were almost full of diners, and families were constantly coming in.
Seeing that there were not enough seats, the waiters busied themselves, leading the later customers to the second floor.
The once empty store instantly became noisy.
They chatted idly, enjoying the food and wine on the table, raising their glasses in merriment, and seemed quite content.
Just as they were having a lively conversation, a murmur of discussion suddenly came from the next table, which made Yu Nie listen closely.
"Have you heard?" a burly man grumbled. "In the Jincheng County area east of Liangzhou, there have been torrential rains for almost ten days. Judging from what happened many years ago, the Yellow River is likely to breach its banks."
The cross-eyed man at the same table, about the same age as me, stroked his beard and said, "Oh dear, what are we going to do? It looks like there won't be a single grain of rice in Jincheng County this year. If there's no grain, what will we eat?"
"What to eat..." A merchant-looking man next to him said dismissively, "These are matters for the imperial court to worry about. We ordinary people should just live our own lives. Why bother with such trivial matters?"
"Alas...you can't say that." The man said anxiously, "I heard that the Xiutu Khanate and the Jiehu tribe are going to invade again, and the Rouran people were also making moves recently. If this really causes a flood, won't it be us ordinary people who suffer in the end?"
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
“Jincheng County…” Yu Nie murmured the name of the place.
As she read, she was suddenly startled. Jincheng County—wasn't that the only route she could take to Longdao?
Hearing that Yongchang might be hit by floods, she immediately turned to the rough-spoken man beside her and asked for details: "Brother, is it true that the Yellow River in Jincheng County might breach its banks?"
The burly man was taken aback by her sudden question, then said, "Young Taoist priest, you also care about this matter?"
This question alerted Yu Nie, and she quickly glanced at Lang Xi and the others out of the corner of her eye.
Seeing that they were only looking at her out of curiosity, they didn't suspect anything.
She was secretly relieved and replied with an awkward smile, "We're all just ordinary people, it's understandable that we care."
This statement contained no hidden meaning, but the man, seeing the logic in her words, continued, "What I said is absolutely true! My cousin is a constable in Jincheng County. He sent word the other day that cracks have appeared in the dike, and the government is conscripting laborers to repair it!"
The man added, "If the rains in Jincheng County don't stop in the next few days, I'm afraid we'll really see a repeat of the flooding of Hexi in previous years. If Jincheng County breaches its banks, the entire Liangzhou will suffer."
Originally, Yu Nie thought the time would be much tighter, but she never expected it to suddenly become so urgent.
If the dikes in Jincheng County were to breach, it wouldn't be something that could be repaired in a short time. Whether they could be repaired or not was secondary; the real issue was that if Jincheng County suffered a disaster, the Longdao region would inevitably be affected as well.
Natural saltpeter is mostly found in soil and rocks. If floods occur, a large amount of water will come into contact with the saltpeter, causing it to dissolve completely.
Even after the flood recedes, the saltpeter may re-solidify on the ground, but the impurities such as mud and sand brought by the flood, as well as moisture mixed in with the saltpeter, will affect its purity.
For this reason, the ancients had three principles for refining saltpeter: avoid water, avoid shade, and avoid impurities.
She painstakingly saved money to go to Longdao, all to obtain the purest saltpeter.
If the Yellow River were to breach its banks, wouldn't all our previous efforts be in vain?
She's trying to refine the saltpeter to a higher purity, but who knows how long that will take.
Perhaps by the time chaos arrives, she won't have even made a single spark of gunpowder.
Just over an hour ago, she was planning to set off within two or three days.
Given the current situation, the departure time can probably not be delayed any longer.
The things I've encountered these past few days have been like a ship in a storm, constantly tossed about.
After finding out the information, Yu Nie turned around with a solemn expression and faced Lang Xi and the others.
Seeing her worried face, I thought she was concerned that the Yellow River floods would harm the people.
He patted her shoulder, gesturing to comfort her:
"Junior sister, don't worry. If the Yellow River really breaches its banks, the government will sound the alarm and send officials to guide the people to higher ground. Since the last breach, Jincheng County has built places specifically for people to take refuge from disasters, so there should be no loss of life."
Yu Nie couldn't explain the real reason for his worries to them, so he could only force a smile: "Junior Brother is right. Look at me, I'm just worrying unnecessarily."
She chuckled dryly a few times, and Langxi and the others didn't suspect anything. They reassured her a bit and continued eating.
After the meal was finished, the rain, which had stopped for an hour at noon, started dripping again in the blink of an eye.
As they left the shop, the shopkeeper chased after them and gave them a bag of red rice cakes wrapped in oil paper with a festive red string tied around it. He said that to celebrate the elimination of the two scourges, He and Zhao, from Huaiyuan County, each table would receive a free serving today.
There's an old saying in Huaiyuan: eating red rice cake will dispel bad luck and bring abundant blessings.
Yu Nie and the others accepted the bright red rice cakes and thanked the shopkeeper profusely.
The shopkeeper stood at the door waving his hand, saying that they didn't need to be polite, and then added a few more words hoping they would come again next time.
After saying their goodbyes, Langxi and Aunt Liu bowed and entered the carriage first. Yu Nie placed the rabbit cage he was carrying on the left side of the carriage, turned around and sat on his red-brown horse.
The carriage curtains swayed slightly as the carriage body moved forward.
Compared to their hurried entry into the city earlier, they seemed much more relaxed on their return journey.
The sound of wooden wheels rolling over the stone road gradually faded into the distance beyond the city.
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