“Young Master Du, Eunuch Su is indeed a eunuch,” Si Hua had no choice but to say.
Du Zhiqian tentatively asked, "So, you, you're all from the palace? Brother Ai and Madam Ai are both from the palace?"
Now, Si Hua and Shui Ling had no answer and could only shake their heads. From then on, no matter how he asked, they both remained tight-lipped and refused to say a word.
After traveling for several days, the Fourth Prince and his entourage arrived at the outskirts of Xuchang, this ancient city steeped in history. Lanqin felt the journey had been truly arduous, but she dared not complain. She knew that opportunities for the Fourth Prince to take her on solo trips would become increasingly rare. Now that he was emperor, the Fourth Prince seemed far less impressive than Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong in his inspection tours of Jiangnan.
Upon reaching the south, the snowfall indeed lessened considerably, but it wasn't as blanketing as in the north. When Fourth Master and his group passed through a small village, they encountered a brawl.
"Master, over there, it seems like something's happened over there. There are a lot of people over there!" Su Peisheng said to the Fourth Master, who was looking out the car window.
"Stop and go see what's going on!" Fourth Master saw a group of people facing off on a lawn, each holding shovels or similar objects.
Du Zhiqian had already gotten off the carriage and was running in that direction. Fourth Master also immediately got off the carriage and instructed Lanqin to stay in the carriage and not follow.
After a day of riding in the carriage, Lanqin, whose back and waist were already aching, couldn't stand it any longer and immediately got off the carriage.
"Master, no, Master said you can't come along." Su Peisheng said hurriedly when he saw Lanqin come down as well.
"Eunuch Su, it's so boring for us to just wait here like idiots. Let's go see what's going on!" Lanqin called Sihua and Shuiling over, and then called Su Peisheng to come along too.
Du Zhiqian walked to the edge of the crowd first, tiptoeing to look in the direction of the commotion. Fourth Master followed closely behind him and also saw the key figures in the crowd without having to tiptoe.
Inside, the leaders were arguing loudly with another group. Each group had brought their own people, and they were putting pressure on each other.
“Shi Niu, people from Gejia Village, don’t be unreasonable. That ditch originally flowed towards our area. The water also went towards our area. What right do you have to dig a canal and divert our water without our permission?” said a very burly man.
“Ergou, don’t be unreasonable. The ditch is a gift from heaven for everyone to eat. Why should your Wangjiatun village monopolize it, and everyone else has to wait until you finish irrigating your crops before they can get water? That’s not fair. We didn’t dig over there, so what’s it to you?” said the young man named Shiniu.
At this moment, Lanqin and the others also ran over. She walked to Fourth Master's side and tiptoed to see what the group of people were arguing about.
"Shi Niu, don't be unreasonable! Quickly fill in the ditch you dug, and we'll be at peace. Otherwise, the brothers of Wangjiatun aren't to be trifled with!" The man called Er Gou was clearly enraged by those words, and he was losing control of his emotions. The villagers behind him began to brandish their farm tools.
“Master, they’re just fighting over water!” Lanqin walked to Fourth Master’s side and tugged at his sleeve.
When Fourth Master saw Lanqin following him, he hurriedly said, "What are you doing here? It's very dangerous here. These people are all irrational peasants. Once a fight breaks out, swords and spears have no eyes. Look at what they're holding. Although they're not big swords or longswords, they're still iron-tipped sickles and the like. If a fight breaks out, I can't guarantee your safety. Go back to the carriage quickly."
"My lord, I am not afraid. Besides, these farmers are not thugs. They are fighting over water. Once the water problem is solved, they will not fight. Who wants to get hurt?" Lanqin said.
Fourth Master frowned as he listened to Shi Niu and Er Gou's conversation, trying to think of a way to stop the imminent brawl, but he really couldn't come up with a good idea.
"Ergou, let's not reason with them, let's just fight! Let them taste the consequences of stealing our water!" someone shouted from the crowd. Hearing this, Fourth Master immediately grabbed Lanqin's hand and pulled her back. Because that would almost certainly mean a fight was about to break out.
"The barber is right, let's fight them, let's catch up! Let's fight!" The shouts behind him grew louder and louder.
Lanqin and Fourth Master held hands and gradually withdrew from the crowd. These farmers could easily break out into a fight at any moment.
"Wait! I have a way to solve your problem! Would you like to hear me out?" A clear voice rang out from the crowd.
As soon as Lanqin heard it, she knew it was Du Zhiqian. She was right about him; he was a man of courage.
"Who was that just now? Who said they had a solution?" The crowd began to stir, searching everywhere for the person who had spoken.
“It’s me!” Du Zhiqian said, raising his right hand.
The crowd naturally dispersed around him. Shi Niu and Er Gou both saw a young man dressed as a scholar standing there, saying he had a way to resolve their fight.
"Who are you? You don't seem to be from our village," Er Gou said.
“You’re not from our village either,” Shi Niu said.
“Where I’m from is not important. What’s important is that I can resolve your dispute without resorting to the lowest form of violence,” Du Zhiqian said.
"Alright, then tell me, how exactly should we resolve the issues between our two villages?" Er Gou said.
"The issue you were just arguing about is nothing more than the source of the river. Let me ask you, that river is a gift from nature. Water naturally belongs to everyone," Du Zhiqian said.
“That’s right, that’s exactly the point. Er Gou and his gang are unreasonable; every year they irrigate their fields in Wangjiatun first. This year there’s a drought, and we can’t wait any longer. Our crops are going to die of thirst,” Shi Niu said.
"Where did you come from, you scholar? Stop talking nonsense here." Er Gou was indignant when he saw that Du Zhiqian was siding with Shi Niu.
“Young man,” Du Zhiqian said, “I’m from out of town, so I’m not taking sides. I understand everyone’s desire for water for their crops. But nobody wants their crops to die of thirst, right? So why not create more tributaries for the river? That way, everyone can use the water at the same time. Then, the fields can be connected, and there won’t be any water shortages. If someone releases too much water, it will naturally flow to other fields to irrigate each other. Wouldn’t that be better?”
"Won't the fields in high positions become dry? According to you, the water in the high-lying fields will all flow into the low-lying fields," Fourth Master said.
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