Chapter 95 Good and Evil Through the Rain and Mist, She Saw Xie Qingyu.
The day that Prefect Che came to visit Yue Yining was the twenty-first day of their disaster relief efforts in Qinghuai.
Before setting off for the south of the city this morning, Qiu Yuebai was still worried: "Inspector Zhang told me yesterday that the 10,000 shi of grain he brought from Yanjing is almost used up. It can only last until today at most. By tomorrow, the rice left in the disaster relief tents won't even be enough to cook a pot of porridge..."
Shen Liude also shook his head: "The official granaries in Qinghuai can't find more than a few bushels of good rice. Although we later collected some new rice from granaries in all directions, we can only barely last until now. This is our limit."
If more relief food cannot be brought in, they will soon face the predicament of disaster relief stalling.
Qiu Yuebai quietly approached Yue Yining: "Lord Yue, you said you had already set up the trap. Has the prey fallen into it yet? Will we be able to get enough grain before tomorrow?"
“Of course.” Yue Yining sat behind the desk, nodded and smiled, “I had a feeling it would happen today.”
She said this because she had just consulted the oracle that morning, and also because she had received news from her accomplices that Prefect Che would be visiting today.
Che Zilong entered the reception hall. Unlike his nonchalant attitude during their last meeting, this time he came to visit with a kind and amiable smile on his face. He didn't look like a shrewd and corrupt official, but rather like a kind old man with a white beard at the village entrance.
When Yue Yining saw him, she feigned surprise, "Prefect Che, why have you come so suddenly? Has something major happened in the city?"
Che Zilong chuckled and sat down leisurely at the table, stroking his beard as he said, "Isn't this a big matter? I've been hearing my subordinates mention it lately, saying that Supervisor Dong's men often come to see Lord Yue. I've been thinking to myself, I can't neglect Lord Yue, can I? There are only the two of us in the city who are in charge of important matters. It wouldn't be right if he had time to come but I didn't!"
Yue Yining also laughed and said, "What are you saying? Prefect Che must have misunderstood. Supervisor Dong sent someone to inquire about my well-being. It's nothing important, nothing compared to the importance of government affairs."
Che Zilong opened his old eyes, which had been squinting, and said slowly, "That's true. I was just anxious. I heard some rumors and I'm a little worried."
"Rumors? What rumors are they that have even bothered Prefect Che?"
"Isn't it also because I heard that the King of Yue came here not only for disaster relief, but also on a royal mission?"
As he spoke, he didn't miss any change in Yue Yining's expression, naturally catching the fleeting panic and embarrassment. Che Zilong's guess was confirmed, and his heart finally settled down.
Yue Yining's smile faded slightly. She held the teacup with her slender fingers, lowered her eyes, and drank the tea. These actions, when seen by Che Zilong, all revealed her guilty conscience.
Prefect Che's eyes gleamed, but his tone was helpless: "I'm a talkative official, and I don't know where I got this news from, but it's spreading so vividly. I think I should ask the people of Yue in person about this. I can't just believe whatever I hear from outside, that wouldn't be good."
Yue Yining's smile was a little forced. "Prefect Che is right."
Seeing that he had the upper hand, Che Zilong took out a scroll from his sleeve, which was loosely wrapped with a thin indigo ribbon.
His smile widened, and he pushed it toward Yue Yining, then gestured to her with his hand: "Your Excellency, why don't you open it and take a look? It's just a small token of my appreciation, a gift I prepared for you on behalf of the people of Qinghuai."
Yue Yining paused her fingers on the teacup, then casually took the scroll of paper.
After unfolding the scroll, she lowered her eyes and read the items on it: a headdress made of red gold filigree gemstones, several hundred-tael silver notes, three pairs of ginseng as tribute... and three thousand shi of fresh yellow millet.
She finally understood. Che Zilong had taken it seriously and was trying to curry favor; the scroll was actually a gift list.
Yue Yining remained expressionless, but thought to herself, "This is blatantly an attempt to bribe me!"
Che Zilong stared at Yue Yining's reaction, only to see her sigh, put down the form, and then lean back in her chair again, her hand lightly resting on it.
Che Zilong's heart skipped a beat, and the smile on his face faded a little.
Yue Yining seemed oblivious and said sincerely, "To be honest, Prefect Che, I have great respect for you. I know that you have served as an official for thirty years, devoting yourself wholeheartedly to Qinghuai. You are diligent and conscientious, and your merits are unparalleled. In my heart, if you ask who is worthy of this position of city lord, I guess everyone would think of you, Prefect Che, just like me."
After hearing her kind words, Prefect Che felt somewhat relieved. "Your Excellency is too kind," he said.
"But..." Yue Yining's unfinished words made Che Zilong's heart jump again. The woman in green in front of him sighed softly, "You know, my job is not easy! I am just a recorder sent down by the court. I have to be on tenterhooks if I offend either side."
"Besides, no matter who becomes the Lord of Qinghuai City, I myself won't get any benefits. This... sigh, I'm in a dilemma."
As a seasoned official who had been in the bureaucracy for many years and a half-old minister, how could Prefect Che not understand the deeper meaning behind Yue Yining's words?
This means that the gift he gave was too small.
It lacks sincerity.
Che Zilong's heart tightened. He had already given quite a lot; Yue Yining was at most a young female official who had only been in office for a year, and her appetite wouldn't be too great. The fact that she could hint like that most likely meant that Dong Qi had given even more.
Dong Qi was quite generous. Che Zilong gritted his teeth inwardly; it wasn't that he couldn't afford more, but he hesitated about whether to bleed.
Moreover, he didn't know in what way Dong Qi gave him more than he did.
Jewelry and precious stones? Real estate and cash? Or...?
"Prefect Che," Yue Yining's voice rang out. Holding her teacup, she smiled faintly, "In these years of famine, gold and silver are not so valuable anymore. The most valuable thing is still grain. Don't you think so?"
Che Zilong's brows relaxed, and he chuckled, "Yes, that's for sure."
It turns out they gave us too much grain!
But how much did Dong Qi give? Four thousand shi? Five thousand shi? Six thousand shi?
Che Zilong belatedly realized what was happening, and a chill ran down his spine. Every number was higher than he had anticipated, indicating that Dong Qi was determined to make the city lord's position his own, even if it meant sacrificing his own flesh!
He, Che Zilong, would never let a mere young punk get ahead of him!
Prefect Che observed Yue Yining's expression, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind: "Alright, I understand."
The rain poured down like a waterfall.
Yue Yining and Che Zilong had a private conversation inside, while Fu Yao and the other guards stood watch outside the door.
Rainwater fell densely from the eaves, like a curtain. Round white droplets hit the banana leaves, heavy and swift, like heavy mallets striking drums, like soldiers clashing.
The door was finally opened from the inside. Fu Yao stepped forward immediately, followed by Che Zilong, and then Yue Yining, who was dressed in a disheveled blue robe.
Both men wore smiles. Once they had crossed the threshold and stood under the eaves, Che Zilong bowed and said, "In the future, I will need Your Excellency's careful attention and guidance on many matters concerning Qinghuai."
The gentle and beautiful female official smiled radiantly: "Of course, Prefect Che, if you need anything else, just tell me, and I will certainly not refuse."
In truth, Che Zilong's heart was still bleeding, but seeing how understanding Yue Yining was, he felt a little better, and his brows relaxed slightly. "Lord Yue is too kind. It is I, Che Zilong, who still has a lot to rely on you for."
"Now that the business is done, I will return home."
Yue Yining immediately replied, "Okay, I'll see you off."
"Yaoyao, go get a big umbrella."
Fu Yao immediately replied "Yes," and turned to go into the inner room to get an umbrella.
Che Zilong said, "No need to trouble yourself, it's only a short walk."
"Yes, it's raining heavily. You came all this way specifically to visit me, how could I let you walk to the door alone?"
Che Zilong repeatedly declined, but he was clearly pleased. After several rounds of refusing, he reluctantly agreed, looking as if he couldn't refuse her kind offer.
One after another, oil-paper umbrellas were opened, resembling vibrant flowers in the rain and mist.
Tall guards followed beside the two, holding umbrellas for Yue Yining and Che Zilong respectively. A group of attendants followed behind them as the group walked slowly towards the entrance of the official residence, wading through the puddles on the bluestone slabs.
As she approached the gate, Yue Yining looked up and saw a group of people hurrying into the gate of the official residence.
The rain was pouring down, and even from just a few meters away, everything in sight was soaked in an endless mist, making everything blurry and indistinct.
The familiar figure flashed by, but she managed to catch a glimpse of it.
Che Zilong beside her was still gossiping, but Yue Yining suddenly couldn't hear anything anymore.
She was enveloped in a vast, tranquil atmosphere.
Surrounded by attendants, Xie Qingyu was dressed in a black brocade robe. The tilted umbrella just happened to cover his face, leaving only a section of his pale, thin chin and his lips that were blue from the cold.
They walked quickly and soon turned onto the stone path, disappearing from their sight.
Yue Yining slowed her pace. She turned her head and gave Fu Yao a wink. Fu Yao understood, nodded slightly, and quietly left the group with her umbrella, heading in that direction.
After seeing Che Zilong off, Yue Yining stood at the entrance of the official residence, looking at the rain. Sure enough, not long after, Fu Yao came out from the stone path. "Miss, I've asked around. It is indeed Xie Qingyu who has returned."
Yue Yining frowned. "Why would he suddenly return to the official residence? Hasn't he been busy with flood control work outside the city these past few days?"
Xie Qingyu's task was to control the floods, and Ganjiang was not far from Qinghuai City. Traveling out of the city every day would take up a lot of time and be quite troublesome. So, although Xie Qingyu and his party were nominally staying at the official residence, they had been living outside the city for the past few days.
Yue Yining was a little worried when she heard that he was staying in a makeshift camp. After all, it had been raining heavily for the past few days, sometimes all day long, and she didn't know if the temporary tents could withstand such strong winds and rain.
Unexpectedly, he suddenly returned to the official residence today, and it is only 1-3 PM now, still some time before evening.
Fu Yao hesitated for a moment: "Miss, I asked the silver-clad guard who often follows Xie Qingyu, and he said... he said that Xie Qingyu went into the river today to save someone, and the person was soaking in the mud for about an hour."
Yue Yining was stunned: "What did you say?"
"In the morning, they let the refugees who had come to Qinghuai cross the bridge. When one of the refugees was leading his child across the bridge, the child accidentally tripped over a protruding log and fell into the river. He was swept all the way to a rock in the middle of the river. The child was terrified, but luckily managed to hold on to the rock and was not swept away. He cried loudly in the rain."
"The river was swift, and no one dared to go down to rescue the victim. The disaster victim knelt on the riverbank, crying and begging for help, but none of the soldiers and officers guarding the city gate paid her any attention. Finally, Xie Qingyu heard the news and brought people over. After calming the disaster victim down, he led a team of guards into the river to rescue the victim."
Yue Yining's mind went blank, and she couldn't come to her senses for a long time. "How...how dare he? The river is so fast, isn't he afraid of being swept away by the current?"
"The guard said that Xie Qingyu had them tie hemp ropes around their waists, and people on the bank pulled them down into the river one by one. But the rain was too heavy today, and after finally rescuing the children, they had been soaking in the river for a long time. Xie Qingyu was the first to go into the river, and he was covered in mud from head to toe and was so cold that his face was pale."
"After the rescue situation on the riverbank stabilized, the other officials urged him to return to the city to clean up and have a doctor examine his body, so he returned to his official residence today."
As soon as Fu Yao finished speaking, Yue Yining took the oil-paper umbrella from the guard and said, "I'll go check on him."
She hadn't been to Xie Qingyu's courtyard yet. Although they were all officials from Yanjing, the residences Che Zilong had arranged for them were some distance apart, not adjacent. Xie Qingyu hadn't returned these past few days, and Yue Yining herself had many affairs to attend to. If she hadn't unexpectedly run into him, she probably wouldn't have known he had returned.
After entering the inner courtyard, Yin Yi arranged for her to wait in the left-hand wing room and then left, saying that he needed to ask the eldest young master's opinion first.
Yue Yining felt a little agitated. She wanted to say that her young master wouldn't refuse to see her, so there was no need to ask, but before she could speak, Yin Yi had already left.
Yue Yining couldn't sit still and followed him out the door, but Yin Yi didn't seem to notice. He turned down the corridor, went into the inner room, and closed the door.
Yue Yining arrived at the diamond-patterned wooden door and raised his hand to knock when he heard Yin Yi's voice: "Young Master, Lord Yue has arrived and is waiting in the side room."
"She said she wants to see you. Should I...?"
"Don't."
Xie Qingyu's voice came from the inner room, suppressed in tone, no longer as elegant as spring tea, but rather as mellow as autumn wine.
"I look so disheveled right now, I need to clean myself up before I can see her."
“Go and entertain her. Tell her to wait for me outside for a while. I’ll be right back…” He paused, then added, “If she has other urgent business, don’t force her to stay.”
"I'll go find her after I've finished washing up."
Yue Yining stood behind a door, her hand that was about to knock had long since stopped.
More than hesitation, I felt a warm, bittersweet feeling, like a glass of spilled citrus juice.
As if sighing softly, she exhaled without making a sound and quietly left the corridor.
She walked too fast; if she had slowed down, she might have been able to hear what Yin Yi was saying.
Yin Yi glanced at Xie Qingyu, who was changing clothes behind the screen, and whispered, "Why did the eldest young master save that child?"
The figure behind the screen did not pause in response to his question; the outer robe was first unfastened, and the dark brocade robe lay limply on the ground.
Through the gap beneath the screen, one could see that the gold thread embroidery on the hem of the dress was stained with mud, and that murky, dirty water was flowing down the wooden floor.
Amidst the rustling sounds, Xie Qingyu responded, "Why didn't you save them?"
“…” Yin Yi said, “I think that the eldest young master usually prioritizes important matters and personally went into the water to save people, which has somewhat delayed today’s river dredging work.”
He dared not speak, but what he truly doubted was that Xie Qingyu was not the type to sacrifice himself to save others. He wouldn't even glance at someone insignificant dying before his eyes.
Why did Xie Qingyu personally tie a rope around his waist and go into the muddy river to save the child in the pouring rain when he could have just asked him or another guard to go down and fish the child out?
Behind the screen, the man whose thoughts he could never fathom spoke calmly, "It seems you still don't understand."
"How many people were watching by the river? Saving someone by wading through the water is enough to make these disaster victims grateful. In the future, when we need to recruit more disaster victims for flood control, once they spread the word, we will never have to worry about manpower again."
“I represent the Seventh Prince. In this way, the Seventh Prince’s popularity among the people will be even greater, and every single thing will be beneficial.”
In the dim light, Xie Qingyu lowered her wet eyelashes and took off the last layer of her inner garment, which was soaked with mud and water, revealing her fair and jade-like body.
"I can't think of any reason not to do such a good deal."
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Author's Note: Yue Yining: He is a good person
Xie Qingyu: Quite the opposite
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