Chapter 36 Antidote 4 "I'm still going to impeach you for not being clear with the Crown Prince..."
The dam no longer resembles its former self, with rocks scattered everywhere. After the flood, the surrounding area is muddy. Although it has been exposed to the sun for a few days, there are still wet swamps everywhere. People sitting on horses walk very slowly as the horses sway with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
It took them half an hour to reach the Yellow River, where they had originally stationed at the dike. Zhu Song and Zhu Lingye dismounted, and Zhu Song took out the blueprints he had submitted to the Ministry of Works and examined them carefully.
A quick look revealed the problem. The drawings showed that all the materials used were granite, and the account books also recorded the same thing, but the site was mostly sand and gravel. The sand and gravel were loose and could not withstand the force, and were washed away by the flood.
Zhu Song bent down and picked up a piece of crushed sand and gravel. With a force of his hand, the sand and gravel shattered into powder.
"The death toll from this flood reached tens of thousands. How dare they do this?"
Zhu Lingye followed Zhu Song, his tone equally indignant. "When the flood hit, the government ordered the people to station themselves on the walls to protect the dam. Thousands died that very day."
The rage in Zhu Song's eyes grew even more intense. "They're trying to conceal their crimes by using the lives of ordinary people."
After walking around, Zhu Song found many wooden wedges on the ground. He didn't understand what these wooden wedges were used for, so he asked Zhu Lingye to pick up a few more and prepared to go back and ask the craftsmen who had done the construction.
Standing on the edge of the dilapidated dam and watching the Yellow River rushing, the sound is like a war drum, with extraordinary momentum. Zhu Song's heart is filled with mixed feelings. Natural disasters are not scary, what is scary is greedy people.
Zhu Lingye picked up a dozen wooden wedges and asked loudly, "Are these enough?"
The water roared, but Zhu Song didn't hear Zhu Lingye's voice. Zhu Lingye didn't dare shout, for fear of scaring Zhu Song into falling into the river. He scooped up a bag of wooden wedges and walked along the exposed rocks to Zhu Song's side. He said fearfully, "Brother, don't come so close."
Zhu Song turned to look at him and instructed, "Put those things aside first and measure the depth of the foundation."
Zhu Lingye said, "They wouldn't even dare to mess with the foundation."
Zhu Song was not sure either, so he wanted to test it.
The measurement was twelve meters, but the foundation marked on the drawing was thirty-three meters.
Zhu Lingye couldn't believe the result, so he changed the location and measured it again several times. Finally, he confirmed that it was only ten to twelve meters, and twelve meters was even the deepest.
Zhu Lingye was so angry that he didn't know how to curse. He just kept repeating, "Beast." "You are worse than a beast."
Compared to Zhu Lingye's outward anger, Zhu Song seemed much calmer. "Let's go back and interview the workers who worked on the project back then."
Zhu Lingye didn't quite understand. "The evidence is irrefutable. Is there still a need to interview the workers?"
The sound of the Yellow River roared incessantly, its surging waters creating a mist. Zhu Song stood in the mist, the bright sunlight piercing through the clouds and mist before him, reflecting off the mist in a variety of colors.
"The evidence is strong, but it's not the whole truth."
"yes."
Zhu Lingye responded heavily. He could imagine that since these corrupt officials in Jizhou were so bold, the workers who worked on the construction at that time must have suffered a lot. Since they came to investigate the case, they should give justice to the workers who had suffered injustice before.
Zhu Song and Zhu Lingye returned home with the evidence, but on the way they met Song Shunran and Duan Zhenghong who were hurrying over in a sedan chair.
The muddy road was slippery, making it difficult for even horses to move forward, let alone the people carrying the sedan chair. The yamen runners walked very carefully, but they still slipped from time to time. Song Shunran hurried them on, scolding them all the time, "You are a bunch of good-for-nothings. You can't even do such a small thing. What's the point of keeping you..."
The sound was so loud that it could be heard from a long distance away. Zhu Lingye was furious when he heard it. "He should have been thrown into the mud and told to roll away."
Zhu Song glanced at him sideways and said, "Be careful with your words."
Zhu Lingye pursed his lips unwillingly, but finally stopped talking. He didn't take Song Shunran seriously, but he couldn't help but take Song Shunran's cousin, Prince Su Wen Yi, seriously.
The Zhu Song brothers didn't like Song Shunran, but Song Shunran was very happy to see them and greeted them warmly, "Master Zhu."
Zhu Lingye was angry and ignored him. He kicked the horse's belly and rode away quickly. Zhu Song was worried that he would fall, so he quickly nodded to Song Shunran, said hello, and hurriedly chased after Zhu Lingye.
"Ling Ye."
Song Shunran had come for them, and when he saw them leave, he ordered the yamen runners to catch up. But riding a horse is not as fast as walking, and Song Shunran kept urging them. As a result, the yamen runners slipped, and the whole group fell to the ground. Song Shunran rolled out of the sedan chair and rolled a lot in the mud, finally stopping when he hit a rock.
"Ouch." "Ouch." Song Shunran was covered in mud and hit his waist, howling in pain.
The yamen runners knew something bad had happened, so they quickly got up from the ground to help him. The yellow mud was slippery to begin with, and the more people walked on it, the slipperier it became. One person slipped first and fell heavily on Song Shunran. The others rushed to help, but ended up falling one after another, and Song Shunran, who was pinned at the bottom, cried out one after another.
“Ah.” “Ah…” “Ah…”
In the end, my chest was so compressed that I couldn't even shout.
Fortunately, Song Shunran was fat, so although he was in a miserable state, he had no major problems except for the back pain. He sat in the sedan chair covered in mud and was carried back to the yamen by the muddy yamen runners.
The yamen runners knew they had made a mistake, so they walked steadily and quickly along the way. When they returned to the yamen, Zhuzhan said they had just arrived.
Zhu Song and Zhu Lingye were also covered in mud. After returning to the yamen, they took a shower and changed clothes, and then prepared to visit the workers. However, Zhu Lingye had not finished washing yet, so Zhu Song went to the office to wait for him first. When he passed through the yard, he saw Wen Fengxuan sitting by the window from a distance, looking down at something with a focused expression. The sunlight fell on him, beautiful and dreamy.
Zhu Song unconsciously quickened his pace. His eyes were always on Wen Fengxuan, so much so that he almost bumped into Song Shunran who was waiting for him at the door.
Song Shunran came in a hurry, his hair still dripping with water. He smelled strongly of incense. Zhu Song took two steps back in disgust, "Sir Song, excuse me."
Song Shunran said jokingly: "No, I came here specifically to see Master Zhu."
Zhu Song patiently asked him, "What's the matter?"
Song Shunran didn't exchange pleasantries with him and said directly, "We were both appointed by the emperor, so we should investigate the case of the dam together."
Zhu Song refused without a second thought. "Sir Song, you're wrong. Sir Song is in charge of disaster relief, not this case. But Sir Song fell ill as soon as he arrived in Jizhou. Shouldn't he have recovered the same day the disaster was dealt with? Why hasn't he returned to Beijing yet?"
Song Shunran could hear the bitterness in his words. He was already angry today, and seeing Zhu Song being so ignorant of the current situation made him even angrier. However, he managed to control himself a little. "Master Zhu and I serve in the same court. Having more people means more help. Why would Master Zhu refuse? Moreover, if I write to His Majesty, His Majesty will surely agree."
Zhu Song didn't want to say a word to him, "Then go find His Majesty."
This blunt remark instantly ignited Song Shunran's anger. He snorted coldly and pointed directly into the house, "What about him? Why can he participate? Just because he's good-looking?"
Song Shunran was tall, strong and fat. He stood in front of the door like a wall, blocking Zhu Song's sight completely. Originally, he was just saying a few words in a sarcastic way, but now his temper flared up.
"Who are you to question me now? Clearly identify yourself before you speak. You really take yourself too seriously. You should be thankful I didn't cause you any trouble, yet you're questioning me. If I were you, I'd return to the capital right now and cry out my mistake before His Majesty. Otherwise, I'll write three memorials a day to impeach you."
Now that they were at loggerheads, Song Shunran also started cursing, "I'm going to impeach you for your unclear relationship with the Crown Prince..."
'Bang'
Song Shunran's face instantly turned red. Zhu Song grabbed his collar, stared at him fiercely and said, "Watch your mouth. If I hear you talking nonsense again, I won't just punch you."
Song Shunran's face was twisted from being hit. He spat out a mouthful of blood in disbelief. "Zhu Song, you're so brave! You dare to hit me for such a powerless and sick prince? You're simply courting death. Do you believe that His Royal Highness Prince Su can just move his fingers and crush you to death as easily as crushing an ant?"
Zhu Song pushed him away in disgust, saying with disdain, "Xin, hurry up and let him crush me to death."
After Zhu Song finished speaking, he walked around Song Shunran and went into the room, but the next moment his sleeve was pulled. Zhu Song turned his head and looked at the owner of the fat hand with displeasure.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't make any moves."
Song Shunran lifted his cheek and said, "Zhu Song, I can let go of what happened just now, on the condition that you let me participate..."
Zhu Song didn't even have the patience to listen to him finish his words and rejected him directly, "Impossible." Then he tried to push him, but Song Shunran saw that Xu Shi's hands were very strong and Zhu Song couldn't push him away. This made Zhu Song extremely unhappy, "Let go."
Song Shunran ignored him and continued, "If you want Wen Fengxuan, I can guarantee..."
"Snap"
A loud slapping sound.
Zhu Song used all his strength, his palms numb. He shook his wrist and said, "Song Shunran, shut up! How dare you, the Crown Prince, make up stories at will? How outrageous!"
In just one stick of incense, Song Shunran was beaten twice. He covered his face in disbelief, his eyes almost popping out, and shouted loudly: "Blessings."
Zhu Song pushed hard, this time using all his strength. Song Shunran stumbled back a few steps. "Zhu Song, just wait for me. I'm going to make you pay for it."
At this time, Zhu Lingye came over after taking a shower. Seeing the two marks on Song Shunran's face, he laughed heartily without any concealment, "Oh, did Master Song just come back from the opera? He looks so proud with his two red faces."
Song Shunran was so angry that smoke came out of his nostrils. He pointed at him and said harshly, "Zhu Lingye, you wait for me too."
"You all just wait for me."
Song Shunran left after making the harsh words, but his waist was hurting again, and he walked in a twisting and turning manner, just like singing an opera. Seeing this, Zhu Lingye laughed even more happily and suddenly shouted.
"Master Song is still singing the Legend of the White Snake."
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