Chapter Sixty: I Have to Think About It Secretly
Hearing their brief conversation, Shen Zhiyi frowned slightly. It seemed that this Chen Caiguan was not easy to get along with, and was the kind of person who would make a big deal out of nothing.
“I have already said that the chili field is right there. Official Chen came here to see the chilies, so why waste time here? Not only will I be unable to complete my task, but the Prefect will be in the same predicament.” Lu Jingbai said in a less than pleasant tone, then turned to the man who came out of the carriage a few steps later. “Come with me to see the chilies and make a record so that I can present it to you later.”
After saying that, Lu Jingbai turned and walked towards the nearest chili field without looking back. After taking a few steps and seeing that the other party had not followed, he raised his voice: "What, do I need to go and invite you?"
Although he came out of the same carriage as Chen Caiguan, it was obvious that the man was of low rank. Upon hearing Lu Jingbai's words, he quickly grabbed his book box and jogged after him.
"Lord Lu! Please wait for us! How could we let you handle such a small matter?" As the village chief spoke, he shook his hand behind his back, and Grandma Qin, who was following behind, immediately understood.
Following the village chief's retreating figure, Grandma Qin led the others to follow. Anyone with eyes could see that Chen Caiguan was not easy to get along with, so those who were going to leave did.
As if hearing a bird call, a white ball landed in front of Chen Caiguan, startling him so much that he cursed and turned to enter the carriage, saying to the coachman waiting outside, "Wait until Lord Lu returns before informing me."
"Yes, Lord Chen," the coachman replied honestly, and then drove the carriage to the shade of a tree.
"He's just someone His Majesty dislikes, yet he dares to give me attitude!" Chen Caiguan muttered indignantly.
The chili pepper leaves are dark green, and its stems grow even stronger. The emerald green and red chili peppers among the green leaves shine like gemstones. What was originally a common sight for the villagers of Xiaba Village is now depicted on paper, making the onlookers speechless.
I knew chili peppers looked good before, but they look even better on this precious white paper!
The man was in charge of the paperwork, Lu Jingbai was supplementing the details about the chili peppers, and the village chief was occasionally adding his own comments. In this relatively relaxed atmosphere, the matter of the chili peppers was also recorded in the register.
"Village chief, how long until these chilies can be harvested?" the man asked politely.
"It'll be the end of the month by then." The village chief still didn't know how much they needed. He glanced at Lord Lu beside him and suddenly mustered his courage, tentatively asking, "How much do you need, sir? We promise to send the biggest and best we can."
"Eighty coins a catty," Lu Jingbai reminded him from the side.
The man was slightly taken aback, momentarily wondering if this former top scholar had gone mad from studying too much. But now, as his subordinate, he didn't want to be implicated, so he whispered, "Lord Lu, this is what the prefect wanted, how can we..."
The three words, "Pay up!" were spoken softly, but Lu Jingbai, who was standing nearby, heard them clearly. He said calmly, "Even the current emperor shouldn't think about depriving the people! In the Analects, Duke Ai asked You Ruo, and received a saying from him: 'If the people are well-off, how can the ruler be lacking? If the people are lacking, how can the ruler be well-off?' [Note 1]"
"May I ask, Mr. Xu, what is the meaning of this?" Lu Jingbai asked seriously.
The man surnamed Xu wiped away non-existent sweat from his temples, feeling as if he had nowhere to hide while holding the book box. He glanced at the stares of those around him and felt even more like he was being pricked by thorns.
Shen Zhiyi didn't actively approach the person. She only heard Lu Jingbai say something she had never heard in the Analects before, and the other side remained silent. This made her want to go back and look through the Analects to see what the other person had annotated in it.
Are all cultured people so incomprehensible?
"Hey, didn't the magistrate ask him a question? Why isn't he saying anything? This kind of personality isn't good; he'll suffer a great loss in the future."
"He paints very well, but he's not very good at interpersonal relationships."
"Hey, keep your voices down, he's looking over here. What if he holds a grudge?"
Listening to the villagers' reasoned analysis and their sudden silence, Shen Zhiyi looked up and met the eyes of the man over there. She quickly looked away.
Just then, Xu Guangliang saw the thin and pale-faced girl. The image of the young man holding a book and determined to speak out for the people won over him. He bowed to Lu Jingbai and said, "Hearing your words is better than reading for ten years, Lord Lu. I have learned a lot."
“If an official cannot serve the people, he might as well go home!” [Note 2] Xu Guangliang said in a deep voice. He forgot all the unspoken meanings he had heard from his superior. A surge of hot blood made his heart burn, and he was no longer the walking corpse he had been in the prefectural city.
It turns out that what he wanted was not to be a clerk, but to write down all the injustices in one stroke!
Lu Jingbai nodded slightly, as if sighing, "Chili peppers have changed this village, and even the nearby villages have been affected. It's no longer just chili peppers."
“Yes, indeed, it is said that…” Xu Guangliang, unusually, shared some of his own insights with Lu Jingbai.
The village chief, listening nearby, was completely bewildered. How could a chili pepper not be a chili pepper?
He specifically looked at the chili peppers that were close by, but couldn't see anything different about them! He had to remember this and secretly ask Shen Yatou about it after everyone left.
Initially, I thought that since a high-ranking official had come to the prefectural city, I should make a good impression. After seeing the official, I decided not to let anyone get too close, so I asked my wife to lead him and hide him in the crowd.
Thinking of this, the village chief turned to look at the crowd. Shen Zhiyi's pale face was particularly noticeable and beautiful, but it was a waste of all the special effort she had put into dressing up.
Meanwhile, Lu Jingbai and Xu Guangliang chatted happily as they walked and talked, unknowingly finishing looking at the large chili pepper field.
The villagers who had initially followed to watch the spectacle became increasingly anxious as they walked slowly, stopping and starting. The area was easily visible, yet they moved at a snail's pace. Eventually, only the village chief and Shen Zhiyi remained with them.
Feeling the gazes directed at her repeatedly, Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but look up, but Lu Jingbai's gaze quickly shifted away, as if it were just her wishful thinking.
As the light gradually slanted westward, Xuan Yan drove his carriage over. Lu Jingbai invited Xu Guangliang to get in first. Looking down, he saw Shen Zhiyi's face was even paler and she was still sweating. He couldn't help but ask softly, "Have you suffered a relapse of your hidden illness?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyi was startled and looked up at Lu Jingbai. Could it be that the powder on her face had come off?
Thinking of this, she immediately lowered her head and secretly scratched her cheek with her hand. Sure enough, she felt something fluffy. Just as she was about to take a closer look, she heard Lu Jingbai say softly, "Go back and rest well. Don't worry about things in the prefectural city. The chili pepper has caught the Emperor's eye, and no one will dare to make things difficult for you."
"Really?" Shen Zhiyi was shocked. Her suspicions were confirmed at this moment, and the weight that had been hanging over her heart was quietly lifted.
She then thought of Chen Caiguan, who seemed difficult to deal with, and was about to speak when she heard Lu Jingbai say, "It is absolutely true. Although the handover of matters is a bit complicated, it is a matter for the county and prefectural governments. You just need to focus on planting the chili peppers."
“Just like what you’ve always done,” Lu Jingbai said slowly.
Could it be...?
As Shen Zhi's thoughts reached this point, her eyes filled with disbelief, she saw Lu Jingbai step into the carriage, the curtains already slowly lowered.
The carriage slowly started moving, and the questions I wanted to ask were stuck in my throat, turning into my inner thoughts: So you've been paying attention to me all along.
"Lord Lu and that other gentleman, take care!" the village chief called out. He continued until the carriage disappeared from sight, then walked to Shen Zhiyi's side. "Girl, what's wrong? What did the lord say to you? What happened..."
Shen Zhiyi looked up at the village chief helplessly, only to hear him exclaim in surprise, "Oh dear, girl, what happened to your face? It's peeling!"
Since there were no outsiders around, Shen Zhiyi raised her hand and rubbed her face. One after another, fluffy droplets fell from between her fingers, which showed the state of her face. Just as she looked towards the village chief, someone blurted out, "A ghost!"
Another sudden thud of hooves and billowing dust choked Shen Zhiyi and the village chief, causing them to cough repeatedly.
As the dust settled, Shen Zhiyi looked at the departing carriage and slowly said, "That's Chen Caiguan's carriage, isn't it?"
"That's right, we can't find any other carriages in our village." The village chief recovered and said, "I was just saying that I forgot to remind Lord Lu about something. Now I just remembered that we didn't take Chen Caiguan with us."
"I guess Lord Lu has forgotten about it too," Shen Zhiyi added, completely surprised that such an upright official would forget someone.
At the same time, Lu Jingbai, who was sitting in the carriage, turned his head and sneezed, vaguely feeling that he had forgotten something.
Just as the carriage arrived at the county government office, the unsettling sound of hooves rang out. Lu Jingbai had just lifted the curtain when he saw Chen Caiguan, his face ashen, get out of the carriage and glare at him angrily. Only then did he realize that he had forgotten something, and he changed his mind and said, "Has Chen Caiguan finished looking at the chili peppers? Do you know how to report to the prefect?"
"I didn't see any chili peppers at all, you've ignored me..." Chen Caiguan shouted in dissatisfaction.
“Then Chen Caiguan has neglected his duties, and I must petition the Prefect to punish you,” Lu Jingbai said with a righteous expression.
"Lu Jingbai! Do you think you're something special just because you're a county magistrate in this insignificant place? Once you leave this area, who will take you seriously? Have you gone mad from all your studying? Do you think you can do anything by writing a letter?" Chen Caiguan wanted to vent all his pent-up resentment from the day. He was the most trusted person by the prefect's side and had nothing to fear!
“I am indeed not very talented, I am just a seventh-rank magistrate of Pixian County.” Lu Jingbai said seriously. Seeing that Chen Caiguan was raising his head arrogantly, he continued, “But if you ask me, outside of this place, who will take me seriously… I will be called ‘Teacher’ by the students in the capital, and the Crown Prince will call me ‘Jingbai’. If you are not familiar with these people, you can call me ‘Third Young Master Lu’.”
Aside from his reputation as a "scholar" and a scholar, Lu Jingbai is the third son of the Duke of Zhuguo's mansion and a companion to the Crown Prince. How could such a status be forgotten just because he is staying here?
However, Chen Caiguan was used to being fawned over in the prefectural city. Even though he knew he had offended Lu Jingbai, he had no intention of admitting his mistake. Instead, he said, "Young Master Lu is an upright and honest person. He shouldn't hold a grudge against me like this."
Lu Jingbai said nothing more, turned around and went into the county government office. Since he had already made up his mind about this, he was too lazy to waste time with stupid people.
However, writing a letter to Shangguan was easy, but Miss Shen's attitude towards me today was hard to fathom. She usually always looks up when she speaks.
He pondered silently, unable to voice these doubts aloud, so he could only write them down and wait for an opportunity to figure them out.
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