Chapter 156 Orphan Ajaan
"She is frightened. Let's take her to change her clothes first and then eat something." Zhu Lan said, and then she and several other girls led the girl to the back of the carriage and found two clean clothes for her to change into.
After a simple cleanup, the little girl revealed her original appearance, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, like a porcelain doll.
Murong Jing brought a bowl of hot porridge in front of her, but the little girl did not eat it immediately. Instead, she looked at them at a loss.
Murong Jing clumsily used the spoon to feed her and almost spilled the food on herself.
"Let me do it." Zhu Qingyan took the bowl of porridge, blew it gently, and fed it to the little girl.
The little girl instinctively licked it, and the next moment she grabbed the bowl and started eating it voraciously.
Everyone looked at her with concern. After the little girl finished eating, Zhu Qingyan asked softly:
"Little sister, what's your name? Where are your parents?"
The girl was in a trance for a while, "My name is A Jiang, my parents are here, here..."
She slowly raised her hand and pointed to the pile of corpses that had drifted away in the river below.
"Ajiang?" Duan Wenqing, who had just left the team to ask for directions, came back and saw the little Ajiang sitting in the crowd, and asked in surprise.
When A Jiang saw him, he felt like he saw a relative, "Brother Wenqing...?"
Duan Wenqing came over and asked about the whole story, then told everyone that A Jiang's family was his neighbor, and that his parents had both died when he was young. Thanks to the help from A Jiang's parents, he was able to grow up and go to the county school.
"Uncle, aunt, have a safe journey. Wenqing will take good care of A Jiang for you!" Duan Wenqing kowtowed three times earnestly in the direction of the bodies of A Jiang's parents.
Duan Wenqing then looked at Ouyang Ye, "Mr. Ouyang, this girl's parents have done me a favor, can we..."
Ouyang Ye signaled him not to say more, "This little girl is so pitiful, both her parents are gone, so we naturally cannot leave her here, so let her come with us back to Long'an County and hand her over to the county magistrate for placement."
A Jiang was young, so he sat in the carriage loaded with supplies, and the group continued their journey towards Long'an County.
…
Two days later, they finally arrived in Long'an. The air was filled with the smell of damp earth mixed with the stench of rotten wood.
Wherever you look, the lush green fields are now devastated, with crops scattered by the flood and the remaining straw leaning here and there. Houses destroyed by the flood can be seen on both sides of the road from time to time, and traces of past life can be vaguely seen among the broken walls.
The people whose homes were washed away and the corvées dispatched by the government were cleaning up the ruins, and exhaustion was written on everyone's face.
The county government office was located on a higher ground, and the surrounding area was not too badly damaged. A group of people and a carriage stopped in front of the county government office, but they didn't see even a yamen runner for a long time.
Ouyang Ye couldn't help but frown. If no one informed him, it would be inappropriate for them to enter the county government office without permission.
While he was thinking, someone suddenly ran out of the door in a hurry. Ouyang Ye hurriedly called out:
"Sir, we are from Longchang Academy in Zhaoping County and are here to help with disaster relief. Could you please inform the county magistrate, Lord Li?"
"Master Li? Master Li has been dead for several days!" The man waved his hands impatiently, "Alright, alright, we are almost dying here, just put aside whatever you have..."
Dead?
"Sir, please stay." Ouyang Ye took two steps forward and said something in the other party's ear, who was immediately startled.
"You, you are the king..."
Ouyang Ye shook his head and told him not to say anything more.
"I am the chief clerk of Long'an County. My surname is Qian. Please follow me." Chief Clerk Qian respectfully led them into the inner courtyard of the county government.
This county government office had obviously not been cleaned for several days. The floor was muddy, flower pots had fallen on the ground and no one was paying attention, and there was debris and garbage piled everywhere.
Qian Zhubu called two yamen runners to move the supplies on the carriage, and he personally led a few people to the inner courtyard of the county government.
"Master Qian, what's going on with what you just said about County Magistrate Li?" Ouyang Ye asked while frowning and looking around.
"Hey, just two days ago, Lord Li hanged himself! Oh, it was still dark and there was an emergency.
I thought Lord Li was still asleep, so I knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered. Then when I pushed the door open...Oh my god, I was so scared!"
"Why did Lord Li commit suicide? Where is his body now?" Ouyang Ye continued to ask.
"The corpse has been taken away by the people from the government office. As for the reason for suicide, this... I dare not say more." Qian Zhubu laughed dryly and led everyone into a side courtyard with about three or four rooms.
"Since you are sent by the higher-ups, just stay here. Leave the distribution of supplies to our subordinates. It's too dangerous down there. You are all distinguished, so it's better not to go."
Zhu Lan looked around the yard. It was overgrown with weeds and in a mess.
However, she could also understand it very well. After all, it was normal for the government office to be in chaos due to a natural disaster and the death of the county magistrate. It was not easy for Qian Zhubu to coordinate personnel and deal with the disaster under such circumstances.
It must be because Ouyang Ye revealed that he and his party were following the orders of the prince that Qian Zhubu's attitude towards everyone changed so much, otherwise he would not have allowed them to live in the yamen.
"We are short of staff in the county government now, so we are unable to serve you all in terms of food and daily life. The kitchen is right at the back, so please take the trouble to get some food for yourselves." After saying this, Chief Clerk Qian bowed to everyone and was about to say goodbye and leave.
Zhu Lan suddenly stopped him and asked, "Master Zhubu, may I ask where the county magistrate hanged himself?"
Qian Zhubu thought she was afraid that she would live in a haunted house, so he pointed forward and said, "The county magistrate lives in that house, which is dozens of steps away from here. Don't be afraid!"
"Was the room cleaned afterwards?"
"After the government officials took the body away, no one entered the room. We were so busy all day, who had time to clean up?
I really won’t tell you anymore, I have to go to Jiangkou to take a look!”
Qian Zhubu finally left in a hurry.
Ouyang Ye assigned accommodation to everyone. Four girls lived in the largest main house, while there were more boys, so they lived in two rooms.
He knew that these students would be uncomfortable living with him, so he lived in the smallest room in the corner.
After all, A Jiang was a girl, so she lived in the same room with Zhu Lan and the others at night.
Everyone else went to put their luggage away, but Zhu Lan walked up to Ouyang Ye and said, "Dean Ouyang, I want to go and see the scene where the county magistrate hanged himself."
Ouyang Ye was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Zhu Lan, a female student, was so courageous. After thinking about it, he nodded and said:
"Remember, don't move things in the room."
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