Chapter 71 Their First Encounter
"When we get back, I'll tell them to change the name. Don't give me that nonsense. What 'Lianghanqu'? Let's just call it 'Flattery Qu' instead."
"Your Excellency, they meant well. After all, it was an unprecedented flood control measure, so it is only right that Your Excellency leave your name here."
"You didn't name this, did you?"
"No, no, I don't have that kind of literary talent... It was Lord Diao who came up with the name. Lord Diao is famous in Longcheng County for his ability to write names. In the past, many people in the county would ask him to write the names for their buildings."
"Does he know how to name things? He knows how to get promoted. No wonder so many streets and lakes in our county are named after Di Gong or Tao Gong. People who don't know the area would think we are the hometown of these two famous people. In the end, they just served as county magistrates... I guess even their hometowns aren't as enthusiastic as our Longcheng."
"..."
"Anyway, you're not allowed to use my name."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
A light drizzle.
Halfway up Dagushan Mountain, there is the Zhemu Pavilion.
Ouyang Rong, Yan Liulang, and Liu Ashan once again rested and took shelter from the rain in this pavilion with a wide view. However, this time, the three of them were not going down the mountain, but climbing it.
Yan Liulang handed a proposal from the county government regarding the naming of the newly constructed building after straightening the bend in the road to Ouyang Rong. After reading it, the latter gave it a stern lecture. The blue-clad constable scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
"Never mind, I'll get it."
Ouyang Rong sighed, handed the document back to Yan Liulang, walked to the pavilion, and leaned on the railing to look into the distance.
The pavilion was quiet for a while.
He squinted at Butterfly Creek, which was about to be 'straightened', and lightly tapped the railing with his right hand, saying:
"Since the original winding river channel resembled a butterfly wing, and now we are straightening it, which is like breaking the wing, let's call it... Broken Wing Canal."
Yan Liulang's eyes brightened slightly, and he nodded and muttered, "Zheyiqu... Your Excellency is a great talent! I will convey the new name to you as soon as I return."
He paused, then smiled wryly:
"By the way, Magistrate Ming, there's also the name of the new ferry crossing. They initially said that since Penglang Ferry already exists, the new ferry crossing would be called Tanlang Ferry. But Magistrate Ming just requested that this name is also unacceptable..."
"Alright, alright, let's discuss this another day."
Ouyang Rong turned around helplessly and vaguely brushed him off. In fact, he was also terrible at naming things, so he would just waste his brains and come up with one.
The young magistrate looked out at the dimly lit sky beneath the eaves of the pavilion and murmured:
"The Zheyi Canal is the most important thing. Once it is completed, the future will be bright. The new ferry crossing and new commercial street will just be natural byproducts. We'll take it slow and there's still a long way to go."
Ouyang Rong didn't say something: By then, he might already be home.
The enthusiastic Yan Liulang was unaware of all this; he only felt that following the magistrate filled him with energy.
Having witnessed the new look of the Zheyi Canal these past few days, he was filled with excitement and nodded vigorously, "Alright, I'll do as you say, Your Excellency."
"How is the grain distributed from the granary doing?"
Ouyang Rong turned his head and asked again.
Yan Liulang laughed and said:
"Reporting to the Prefect, loading has begun and the goods will be transported out of Dragon City soon."
"As you instructed, our Longcheng Granary will retain 150,000 shi of grain for disaster relief and the construction of the Zheyi Canal. The remaining 160,000 shi of grain will be used to support Jiangzhou City and other disaster-stricken counties and towns."
Ouyang Rong nodded and gave instructions:
"Remember, first deliver the register of the grain transport ships to Lord Shen, the Inspector of Jiangzhou City, so that he can handle the grain. Before that, do not send it to other counties on your own. Also, be careful on the road."
"Yes, sir." Yan Liulang nodded, then blinked and whispered, "Don't worry, Your Excellency, burning grain ships... we've done this before."
Ouyang Rong glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to the motionless Liu Ashan to ask:
"Is there any movement from the Liu family?"
Liu Ashan shook his head, "Only some old swordsmiths are complaining. I haven't seen any moves by the Liu family yet. Everything at the sword shops on the west bank is as usual."
Ouyang Rong nodded thoughtfully.
Yan Liulang couldn't help but glance at the taciturn, thin man.
He mainly handled matters related to the county government under the magistrate's patron, focusing on official duties; while the magistrate entrusted some private matters that were not convenient to be made public to this brother Ashan.
There were some things that even his closest confidant was kept in the dark about, only realizing them belatedly afterward.
After Liu Ashan redeemed himself, the magistrate did not allow him to join the county government system, but instead sent him to the disaster relief camp to organize a group of young and strong people among the refugees.
Therefore, the constables under Yan Liulang were two separate groups working under the Ming government, one in the open and one in the shadows. Their first collaboration was when they warmly entertained Wang Caozhi and other grain merchants from outside the area not long ago.
However, it seems that this Brother Ah Shan has a wider network of connections and sources of information in Longcheng than he does, at least in the ancient Yue sword shop where he worked as a cook and servant for many years.
"You don't need to come with us later. Liu Lang and I are going to find the abbot. You go home and visit your mother and younger sister."
Ouyang Rong gave Liu Ashan an order that left no room for refusal, and then led the two away from the Zhemu Pavilion to continue up the mountain. Wildflowers and grasses that had grown into the middle of the path beside the bluestone steps dampened the hems of the three men's robes.
In the past few days, Longcheng has experienced a lot of rain, which has been falling intermittently.
It was just past noon, and the sun was high in the sky, but the drizzle was still coming and going unpredictably. Taking advantage of this intermission of the sun shower, Ouyang Rong and his group continued on their way to Donglin Temple.
Today's trip up the mountain can also be considered official business.
The construction of the Zheyi Canal resulted in a straight waterway that bypassed the main buildings of the county town, crossing over from a location not far from the foot of Dagushan Mountain.
A young county magistrate, who only wanted to make money, thought that since he would enjoy the benefits of convenient water transport and more prosperous temples in the future, he should at least contribute some money and effort to join in and build the temple together with the monks.
So today can be considered a second time that the local officials have come to beg for alms, no, it's more like they've come down to the grassroots again to show their concern and experience the food at the temple's dining hall.
The young magistrate, who was hurrying along the mountain path, couldn't help but smile a little embarrassedly when he thought of the enlightened and generous Master Shandao's holy face.
However, it's no wonder he's so concerned, because right now, Empress Wei is openly supporting Buddhism and suppressing the Daoist sects in the north and south that are closely related to the Li royal family, which has led to a flourishing of Buddhism in the Great Zhou Dynasty and temples in various places are indeed very wealthy.
After traveling for most of the way, we still hadn't reached the ancient temple when a light rain started to fall again.
Fortunately, Liu Ashan, though a man of few words, was experienced and had brought three oil-paper umbrellas with him. Ouyang Rong took a red umbrella and opened it.
The three of them walked forward under their umbrellas, intending to find a pavilion to rest in.
Perhaps it was the clear morning sky, or perhaps it was a special day, but the three of them saw many wealthy pilgrims from Longcheng County traveling up the mountain along the way.
In particular, many young ladies and wives from wealthy families would wear hats and be accompanied by maids to climb the mountain to burn incense at Donglin Temple.
However, the sudden sun shower clearly confused most of them.
After walking for a while, the three of them finally came across an empty little pavilion next to a bamboo grove. They were about to go there to rest when Ouyang Rong noticed that many female pilgrims without umbrellas were running toward the pavilion.
He exchanged a glance with Liu Lang and A Shan, but did not go over to take their spots.
Ouyang Rong led them to rest under a clump of dense bamboo leaves by the roadside, a little distance away, with oil-paper umbrellas in hand.
During this time, many female pilgrims passing by discovered the small pavilion and hurriedly ran inside.
As the pavilion gradually filled with beautiful young women, and having nothing else to do, Ouyang Rong cast his gaze over there.
As he looked around, Ouyang Rong's gaze was drawn to a particularly striking figure.
This is a young woman wearing a peach-colored, high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a white veiled hat on her head, obscuring her face, but with a slender figure, standing quietly in the rain.
Beside her was a chubby-faced maid with an anxious expression, trying to squeeze into the crowded pavilion, but like the other ladies on the edge, she naturally couldn't get in.
If that were all, the discerning Ouyang Rong wouldn't have paid much attention.
But when he was bored during a rest stop, he noticed something unusual.
For example, right now, Xiaoting has been filled with prime spots by other wealthy young ladies and wives, along with their maids.
The woman in the peach-colored dress and the chubby-faced maid could only stand on the last step outside the pavilion, a place where the eaves couldn't block the rain, and most of their bodies were gradually getting wet.
However, compared to the other anxious women who were also squeezed out of the pavilion, the woman in the peach-colored dress was very calm. She wore a veiled hat that did not cover much rain, so her expression could not be seen. She stood still in the drizzle.
Before long, the sun shower outside the pavilion gradually stopped. The young ladies and wives who had been sheltering from the rain reached out and were surprised to find that the rain had stopped. They quickly led their maids out of the pavilion and ran towards the ancient temple.
The woman in the peach-colored dress remained motionless. Instead, the chubby-faced maid, looking puzzled, calmly turned around, walked into the previously crowded but now empty pavilion, and lightly patted her sleeves.
Just then, the sun shower started again, and the ladies who had only run a short distance saw that the ancient temple was still far away, so they hurriedly ran back. By the time they returned to the pavilion by the same route, they were completely soaked.
The woman in the peach-colored dress standing in the center of the pavilion did not gloat. Instead, she silently turned around, took out a handkerchief, and bowed her head to help several women who seemed to know her wipe the rain off their dresses.
All of this was observed by someone who was resting nearby.
Her completely different performance throughout the process made her stand out when placed among the other flustered and disorganized women.
Some women, even if you can't see their faces, are enough to make people take notice just by their temperament.
Under the misty rain, a young county magistrate thought for a moment, then calmly folded up his red umbrella and handed it to Liu Ashan.
"Send it to the pavilion."
"Sir, how can we divide just one umbrella? Let's forget about it, you're busy."
"No need to divide it up, just send a maid to the temple to borrow an umbrella from a monk."
Ouyang Rong shook his head slightly and turned to share an umbrella with Yan Liulang.
Liu Ashan was taken aback, then nodded and hurried to the pavilion with his crimson oil-paper umbrella.
Without a word, he handed the umbrella to a slightly stunned maidservant standing in the rain outside the pavilion, then immediately left, turning back to chase after Ouyang Rong and his companion who had already turned and walked away.
Treating it as a minor incident, the three continued their journey to Donglin Temple without looking back.
Inside the small pavilion behind them, the other young ladies gazed shyly or curiously at the handsome young man who had offered the umbrella without leaving his name. Su Guo'er gently lifted the white veil under her hat with two fingers and glanced at the red umbrella.
...
P.S.: JK (high school girl) or Maid, guys, pick one and place your order... I didn't really want to, but I kept my promise when it was released (sad).
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
