Meanwhile, Yunli headed southwest, where the land was overgrown with weeds in early spring. Ganzhou was located in a remote corner of the southwest, and even in normal times when the weather was favorable, the harvest was meager. Moreover, since October of last year, there had been torrential snowfall, and the local people had almost no harvest at all.
Because of his meritorious service in disaster relief, Emperor Kangxi specially rewarded Yunli with several extra cups of imperial wine at a palace banquet. As a result, the court officials regarded this newly appointed imperial envoy, the seventeenth prince, with special regard.
As Seventeen traveled, wherever he passed, local officials dressed in court robes and wearing court beads would lead their crowds to kneel and greet him, which made Seventeen quite uncomfortable. He thought that when he left before the New Year, he hadn't been hiding from anyone, so why did these people ignore him? But now they were waiting for him on the road he was sure to take, even setting up sunshades specifically for him.
Seventeen knew exactly what these people were thinking. They were obviously eyeing him because he was a rising star in the Emperor's eyes and a trusted brother of Prince Yong, so they wanted to curry favor with him.
Remembering his father's words and his fourth brother's trust, Seventeen felt even more anxious to return. The people can carry a boat, and the people can tread on it. Having been ordered to provide disaster relief, Seventeen naturally dared not neglect his duty. He declined the offers of these people and, without rest, set off straight for Ganzhou.
With Ganzhou in sight, the large contingent suddenly stopped, amidst shouts of men and neighing of horses, and billowing dust...
"What's going on?" Seventeen pulled on the reins, stopping his movements. The horses behind him also quickly pulled on their reins. The scout ran back and reported to Seventeen, "Master, there are people blocking the way!"
Seventeen was startled and said, "Let's go, come with me, Imperial Envoy, to take a look!"
Before Seventeenth Prince could run over, an old man was pushed and shoved by guards to the front of Seventeenth Prince's horse. Upon seeing Seventeenth Prince Yunli, the old man broke free from the guards, knelt down and presented a memorial: "I have long admired Your Highness's virtuous reputation. Please, Your Highness, uphold justice for the people!"
Seventeen never expected his "virtuous reputation" to spread so far, considering he had only been on official business for a short time!
The guards on the side dared not relax. They also wondered how the Seventeenth Master had become so famous so quickly after not doing his job for long. So they all perked up and pointed their knives at the old man.
"Old man, why are you blocking my way?" Seventeen asked coldly, his expression unchanged.
The old man was thin and short, dressed in tattered clothes, but his eyes were piercing. Seeing the guards pointing swords and bows at him as if facing a formidable enemy, the old man remained calm, merely smiling slightly. He handed the memorial to his attendant, bowed respectfully, and turned to leave… casually reciting: "Officials or thieves, the people or fate…"
The seventeenth prince, Yunli, accepted the old man's memorial presented by the guard, and was surprised again. The memorial stated that people in the area had mysteriously disappeared, but the government had not paid any attention to it.
"Old man, why don't you report this to the authorities?" Seventeenth Master asked, but he also put the memorial into his pocket. This place wasn't far from Ganzhou, yet such strange things were happening over such a large area.
"We've already reported this to the authorities, but unfortunately, we haven't heard back. I'm practically half-buried in the ground, but today I dared to stop the imperial envoy's horse, hoping to get this information out of him," the old man said helplessly.
"Alright, I understand. To be honest, besides providing disaster relief, I'm going to Ganzhou to thoroughly investigate this matter. Old man, you should go back first. The court won't abandon you." Seventeen said to the old man.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
