Chapter 93 The Bigger Man in the Game was hugged.
They were received by Che Zilong, the prefect of Qinghuai City.
The position of city lord of Qinghuai City had been vacant for a long time, with real power held by the prefect and the military supervisor. Most of the city's affairs were handled by the prefect, Che Zilong. Therefore, as soon as Yue Yining arrived in Qinghuai, he came directly to him to discuss the allocation of official grain.
Che Zilong was an old official nearing fifty, with a thick beard that trembled as he spoke. “I have met Lord Yue.”
Yue Yining: "Prefect Che, no need for formalities. We've seen the situation of the disaster victims in Qinghuai along the way. Has the government been distributing relief grain as usual these days?"
Prefect Che nodded slowly: "Your Excellency, rest assured, the relief grain will be distributed as usual every day. However, there are too many disaster victims, and the grain in the official granaries is insufficient, so the effect is minimal. Instead, it has caused many refugees to linger in the south of the city."
The report stated that there were 100,000 disaster victims in Qinghuai. Now that relief officials have arrived, disaster victims from surrounding areas, upon hearing the news, will also rush to Qinghuai in the hope of getting a bite to eat, eventually resulting in a huge population of disaster victims gathering in the Qinghuai region.
These people will not only put more pressure on disaster relief efforts, but will also increase local instability. After all, most of them are homeless migrants, and the more they gather in one place, the more likely they are to cause unrest and riots.
“It’s alright. We brought 10,000 shi of relief grain from Yanjing, which can solve our immediate problem,” Yue Yining said. “But this relief grain can only last for 15 days, and we can’t afford to give it any more.”
Even if everything goes smoothly, it will take at least three months from disaster relief to restoration of farmland. This means they must take other measures to raise relief grain, as the grain allocated by the imperial court is far from enough.
Qiu Yuebai chimed in, "We need to find out about the grain reserves in the Taiping Granaries in various parts of Qinghuai, see if we can open the granaries and release the grain, and we also need to coordinate with the official granaries in the surrounding areas of Qinghuai to transport grain over."
Shen Liude also said, "If that's still not enough, we'll collect famine relief grain from the local wealthy merchants and gentry."
“That’s right. Let’s take a break today. Tomorrow, we’ll also check the accounts for the warehouse deposits since last year.”
The floods in Ganjiang have a long history. Any official who obtained his position through genuine talent and learning must have memorized the "Complete Book of Famine Relief Administration." Naturally, he would remember the knowledge taught in the book and know how to manage floods and provide disaster relief to the people.
Seeing Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude discussing things, Yue Yining didn't say anything more, but glanced at Prefect Che's expression out of the corner of her eye.
Prefect Che was old, his face etched with deep wrinkles that made it difficult to discern subtle emotions; one could only infer them from his body language and posture. His eyes darted around, and his fingers, resting on the teacup, remained motionless for a long time.
Yue Yining could tell that Prefect Che was actually distracted.
The next morning, Shen Liude stayed at the official residence to check the account books, while Yue Yining and Qiu Yuebai followed Prefect Che to inspect the remaining grain in the Taiping Granary.
Prefect Che led the two women into the granary. "These are all the grain stored in the granary. There are a total of 30,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain. In addition, there are 10,000 shi of grain transported from Yanjing (Beijing). This is enough to provide relief to the disaster victims for more than two months."
Yue Yining looked down at the freshly poured grain in the jar, reached out and grabbed a handful, rubbed it a few times and then let go.
Qiu Yuebai followed the official inside to verify the total number. After the count was completed, he came out and saw Yue Yining with a smile on her face, talking to Prefect Che.
Qiu Yuebai walked over, and Yue Yining turned to look at her before saying to Prefect Che, "Then we shall take our leave."
Governor Che: "Respectfully seeing off Lord Yue."
Yue Yining waved to her, as if he was about to head home. Qiu Yuebai was taken aback and quickly followed, "Lord Yue, are we leaving already? We haven't even opened the bags of rice to check them yet..."
Yue Yining: "Okay, let's go. I just touched all the rice that was laid out outside."
"I see." Qiu Yuebai thought Yue Yining had already confirmed the quality of some of the grain, so she nodded and continued, "But we haven't checked all the grain stored inside yet. Just to be on the safe side, shouldn't we go and check it out—"
“No need to look,” Yue Yining said. “The rice displayed outside is already moldy and dyed with ginger juice. The rice placed deeper inside is probably all sand.”
Qiu Yuebai was stunned: "Moldy... moldy rice?"
Yue Yining nodded slightly. "To be precise, it's 30% chaff, 50% moldy rice, and no more than 20% new rice mixed in."
"During famine years, it was common practice to use moldy rice that had been soaked and washed to pass off as good quality as relief grain. However, eating moldy rice could easily lead to intestinal diseases and death."
Eating stale, rotten millet will turn one's hair yellow, make one's eyes turn golden, and cause one to die within three days.
"The disaster relief was done, and the number of disaster victims decreased. Isn't this a win-win situation for officials?"
Qiu Yuebai was stunned upon hearing this. Seeing that Yue Yining was about to turn and leave after speaking, she quickly looked back at the granary and guards that were already far away, and could only hurry to catch up with Yue Yining, saying anxiously, "But, but Lord Yue, why didn't you expose him just now?"
The purpose of establishing Taiping Granaries was to store surplus grain in years of good harvest and release stored grain to provide relief and emergency relief in years of disaster. Last year, the Jiangbei region and other areas suffered a short drought, but the Jiangnan region received ample rainfall and was considered to have had a good harvest. It is unreasonable that the Taiping Granaries in Qinghuai only had such a small amount of grain stored, and most of it was moldy rice.
Yue Yining slowed her pace and glanced at her: "Why did you expose him?"
Qiu Yuebai was stunned for a moment: "Because Prefect Che has neglected his duty! The rice is full of sand, which means that all the real grain has been embezzled. If we don't come out and explain, what are we going to do in the future? Are we going to use this warehouse of moldy rice to provide relief to the disaster victims?"
"But if we expose him, we won't get the grain back."
Qiu Yuebai suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Yue Yining also stopped, and the two finally faced each other. She then said softly, "It's no use talking to him about it. Such a large warehouse of grain couldn't have been emptied in just a few days. Someone must have been taking it for personal gain every month."
“Only a fool in such a high position would keep stolen goods close at hand. Even if we can all see that Prefect Che has been condoning and tacitly approving it, arresting him won't get us the grain back. If we gather evidence and submit a memorial to the court, he might be dismissed, but what about us?”
"The task of disaster relief is urgent. Every day, disaster victims are starving to death on the streets. We have no time to investigate corruption, nor do we have time to wait for the court to select new officials to take office. Moreover, new officials are new to the local area, with neither prestige nor connections. They may have good intentions, but they cannot help us either."
Unlike the Green Ghost case in Suyang, this time, eliminating corruption is not the top priority in disaster relief. Ensuring that the disaster victims receive relief, calming the public sentiment, and subsequently stabilizing the situation in the Qinghuai region for the imperial court are of paramount importance.
To successfully carry out disaster relief, one cannot openly fall out with local officials; only by skillfully utilizing this power relationship can their goals be achieved. The old prefect clearly understood this, and he was fearless in the face of such pressure.
Although it's disgusting, they still need to feign politeness towards this person at this stage.
Qiu Yuebai finally understood, and a look of worry immediately appeared on her face. "But these relief grains..."
“It’s alright. We also brought 10,000 shi of grain. Let’s start by using the good rice we brought ourselves to provide disaster relief.”
“Don’t worry,” Yue Yining looked at her with her eyelashes lowered and smiled, “I just thought of a way to deal with them.”
"However, to use this method, we must first put on a show with Prefect Che. If we break off relations with him, things will become difficult."
......
Meanwhile, Ye Miheng and Sun Qiong's group went to the mountains near Qinghuai to suppress bandits, but they never saw any bandits or mountain thieves.
Sun Qiong glanced at Ye Miheng, who was leaning against the carriage wall, his face as gloomy as the scenery outside the window.
Although today's attempt was fruitless, this has been the case for the past few days, so Ye Miheng's frustration shouldn't stem from this. Sun Qiong thought for a moment; Ye Miheng had gone to deliver a message to Lord Xie this morning, and had been looking so aggrieved and unhappy ever since he returned.
Sun Qiong was always a straightforward person: "What happened between you and Xie Qingyu?"
Ye Miheng looked listless: "...Nothing's wrong."
“You’ve had this grumpy face all day. I can’t just pretend I didn’t notice and then ask you what’s wrong.” Sun Qiong yawned. “Fine, don’t tell me then.”
Ye Miheng had been holding it in all day and was feeling quite stifled. Now that someone had opened a door for him, he couldn't hold back any longer: "...Then I'm telling you, you're not allowed to spread this around outside."
Upon hearing that there was gossip, Sun Qiong immediately beamed: "It's all covered! You can rest assured, I definitely won't tell anyone."
Ye Miheng then told Sun Qiong about his meeting with Xie Qingyu that day.
"In other words, Yue Yining gave you and Lord Xie each a sachet, with the exact same design and details. That's why when you met Xie Qingyu today, you immediately recognized whose sachet was hanging from his waist. You originally thought Yue Yining only gave it to you, but you only found out today, and you feel particularly bad about it." Sun Qiong recounted the whole story from beginning to end, and said with great interest, "What, you like her?"
"Pfft!!" Ye Miheng was caught off guard by her attack, and almost spat out the tea in his mouth. He glared at her anxiously, his lips still wet with water, "You! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Seeing his exasperated look, Sun Qiong burst into laughter as if she had successfully pulled off a prank.
Ye Miheng wanted to retort, but found that Sun Qiong was already laughing so hard she was practically falling over, and had no intention of listening to his sophistry. So he could only sit aside dejectedly and swallow back what he wanted to say.
He didn't know many people in Yanjing, but Sun Qiong, who was also an advisor under the Fourth Prince, was one of them.
She was completely different from the female officials he had known before, and her personality was the complete opposite of Yue Yining's.
Sun Qiong was a man of childlike innocence. When angry, he would slam his fist on the table, startling everyone present; when happy, he would clap his hands, raising dust from the beams. Whether angry or joyful, he made no attempt to hide his true feelings. He was free-spirited, frank, and genuine. His brows held no hidden brilliance, yet his sleeves held a thunderous roar.
"You don't understand, I... I've known her for a long time, we're just old acquaintances!" Ye Miheng's ears turned red as he said this. "Sun Qiong, did you hear that? Don't go around spreading rumors to people!"
Sun Qiong wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and said with a smile, "I know, don't worry, am I that kind of person?"
Ye Miheng glared at her: "Then why are you smiling so maliciously?"
Sun Qiong tapped her finger and smiled, "I was just a little curious."
Yue Yining.
This name has been frequently mentioned by people around her lately, but Sun Qiong has never met this person before.
The task assigned to them by the imperial court was to suppress bandits, so Ye Miheng and Sun Qiong did not stay at the official residence after arriving in Qinghuai, but chose to stay at a large post station near the East Gate.
As soon as the carriage arrived at the post station, a guard who had been waiting at the door saw it and immediately stepped forward to bow respectfully, saying, "Lord Sun, someone just arrived from the official residence in the north of the city, saying they would like to invite you over to discuss something."
Sun Qiong raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Who is looking for me?"
"The person who came said he was from Yueyang, the province in charge of disaster relief."
Sun Qiong's expression froze. Before she could say anything, someone suddenly shoved up beside her. Ye Miheng glared at the guards outside and said, "What did you say?! Who's looking for her?"
The guard was terrified: "Yes, it's Lord Yue Yining. He said he has something to discuss with Lord Sun..."
Ye Miheng pointed at Sun Qiong, then at himself: "Are you sure she said she was looking for Lord Sun, and not me?"
The guard stammered, "He's talking about Lord Sun, I'm sure of it..."
Sun Qiong chuckled. Ye Miheng wanted to continue questioning her, but she pressed his shoulder and pushed him back into the car.
Under the sunlight, Sun Qiongmo, with her hair tied up high and her eyebrows arched, looked dashing as she parted the car curtain with one hand.
She grinned and said, "Okay, then we won't go back to the house. Let's take the messenger and head over there now."
Under the bright sun, the water stains accumulated from days of rain still remained on the bluestone ground, while the gold paint on the plaque with the inscription "A Bright Mirror Hangs High" on the east side was slightly melted by the sun.
Today, Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude went to the disaster relief site in the south of the city to supervise the process of distributing porridge and providing relief, leaving Yue Yining alone in the official residence. Yue Yining did not go with them, naturally because she had other plans. She sent someone to invite Sun Qiong to come and meet her, and then waited in the reception hall.
The Fourth Prince had many capable and ambitious men under his command, and Yue Yining had heard of Sun Qiong's name.
Sun Qiong comes from the Sun family of Yanjing, a prominent family, and is one of the best among the younger generation of officials. It is said that after she finishes handling this disaster relief case, she will return to Yanjing and be promoted to commander of the Imperial Guards guarding the capital. She is only twenty-two years old this year.
However, Yue Yining didn't seek her out for these matters. She simply wanted to obtain some useful information from Sun Qiong to plan her scheme.
Fu Yao came to deliver a message, saying that Lord Sun and Lord Ye had arrived together, and a maid was leading them over. Lost in her own thoughts, Yue Yining finally managed to spare some attention to the upcoming meeting.
She didn't really know Sun Qiong; she had only heard that she was a passionate person who acted boldly and without concern for details.
From afar, one could see someone entering the courtyard. The bamboo shadows in the courtyard were deep and shallow, covered with a layer of light gray. A woman dressed in a reddish-brown short dress walked out from the damp shade of the trees, like a blazing flame.
The visitor was almost at the corridor. Yue Yining stood up to greet him at the table, a slight smile naturally appearing on her face, "Lord Sun..."
As the distance between them closed, she was about to stop and bow when she caught a glimpse of Sun Qiong smiling in front of her. At the same time, a faint whooshing sound rang out.
Yue Yining, who was walking on a flat road, suddenly stepped on a protruding stone and slipped.
Her eyes widened, and she stumbled forward unexpectedly, only to be caught in Sun Qiong's arms.
The sweet and astringent scent of citrus wafted from the woman's body, illuminating her face, and her supple yet strong arms wrapped around her waist.
Yue Yining was stunned for a moment. When she looked up, she found Sun Qiong looking at her with a half-smile and a playful expression.
"Be careful." Sun Qiong's red lips curved slightly as she placed her hand on her waist. "It's slippery from the rain, so watch your step. I don't want to see a beauty like Lord Yue get hurt."
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Author's Note: Yue Yining: ...If I'm not mistaken, this person just seems to have kicked a stone. Was she deliberately tripping me?
-
What a lecherous scoundrel!
The more I write, the more I feel like Ningning is going to become a heartthrob (this wasn't my original intention, it's just that Ningning is too charming [pity]).
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