Chapter 65: Water Leak
"The fire is coming, the fire is coming——"
That was the last official posthouse on the way to Qingzhou Prefecture, and everyone was sleeping soundly.
In the middle of the night, I suddenly heard someone shouting that the fire was burning. When I rushed downstairs, it was too late.
The group had planned it in advance. They poured kerosene on each of the more than 20 carts of food and fodder, and set them on fire in an instant.
Lu Yu ran down and looked at the flames rising into the sky. His legs went weak and he knelt down.
Lu Weiqing was not surprised and ordered his officers and soldiers to put out the fire in an orderly manner.
The fire was brought under control in a short while, and after the food and grass were burned, only a pile of ashes remained.
He told Eleven to stay and clean up the mess, and then he went back to sleep yawning.
Lu Yu was anxious. He crawled on his knees a few steps and stood in front of Lu Weiqing, crying, "Uncle, what should I do?!"
"If the emperor blames us, our lives will be in danger—"
Lu Yu had never seen such a scene before and was shaking with fear.
Lu Weiqing glanced at him and threw away the handkerchief he was using to wipe his hands.
"It's not us, it's you."
"Uncle?!"
Lu Yu's tears were streaming down his face, and several white lines appeared on his gray and black face, making him look miserable.
Hearing that his uncle was going to push him out to take the blame, Lu Yu could no longer hold back. He crawled over and was about to hug his legs, but Eleven blocked him with his sword, and he finally didn't dare to act rashly.
Lu Yu had no way to get close, so he could only kowtow from a distance, begging for mercy while kowtowing.
"Uncle, please save me."
"Sister Buqiu is pregnant with my child, so I'm going to be a father."
"If I die, they will be left as orphans and widows, and they won't be able to rest in peace in the afterlife!"
Lu Weiqing paused on his way back to the house and looked back at him.
Lu Yu felt that there was hope, so he kowtowed even harder, not feeling the pain even when his head was bleeding.
"Not a bad reason."
"Save it for the Marquis."
Lu Yu was stunned and showed an expression of disbelief.
My uncle already knew that he was promoted to the Ministry of Rites by Marquis Yongqing. He wouldn't think that he was the one who burned the grain on orders, right?
It’s hard to explain.
"It really wasn't me, uncle, you know I don't have the courage—"
Lu Yu cried out in protest until his voice broke and it was so unpleasant to the ear.
Lu Weiqing couldn't stand his useless look and gave him a look of disgust. Eleven then quickly blocked his mouth with a rag.
"You're quite courageous."
"You dare to push me too."
Lu Weiqing's light words stirred up a storm in Lu Yu's heart.
My uncle knew, he knew everything.
Lu Yu wailed, staring at his receding back and making whimpering sounds.
It's over, everything is over.
Marquis Yongqing promoted him and gave him this job, but he never thought of letting him live.
Lu Yu finally understood that he was just a discarded pawn.
Lu Weiqing was not afraid of the burning of food and grass. This would be a disaster for others, but it was just a small matter for him.
The emperor trusted him so much that even his involvement in the conspiracy could not hurt him in the slightest. In just one month, he became an imperial envoy and was entrusted with important tasks.
But he is different. He has just entered the officialdom and his foundation is still shallow.
The emperor didn't know him at all, and the duke who appreciated him was just using him as a pawn. He might even have used his death just to warn Lu Weiqing.
My uncle holds a grudge and will definitely not help him.
Lu Yu thought about it all night and was exhausted. He really couldn't think of a way out.
He thought about hanging himself several times to avoid being cursed by thousands of people and being tortured to death.
But he was reluctant to die, so he hung the white silk on the beam and stepped on a stool to get on. He really couldn't bear to put the rope around his neck.
This struggle lasted until morning, but he still didn't die.
When it was time to set off, Lu Yu didn't show up. Eleven impatiently went upstairs and kicked the door open, which scared him so much that he kicked over a stool and was strangled to death.
Eleven rolled his eyes and drew his sword, ready to cut the white silk.
Before he could make a move, the white silk broke.
Lu Yu fell headfirst onto the ground, completely dazed and seeing stars.
"You're useless. You have the guts to die, but not the guts to live?"
When Lu Yu heard Eleven's sarcastic remarks, he immediately jumped up and said, "That's easy for you to say. Do I still have a chance to survive?"
"It's up to you whether you live or die. I don't care." He was too lazy to say anything more to this spineless person and went downstairs by himself.
Lu Yu went down dejectedly, and was momentarily encouraged when he saw that Lu Weiqing's carriage, which was originally filled with luggage, was now filled with food.
But it was only for a moment, and he changed his mind. With so many people in Qingzhou suffering from the disaster, what good would this little food do? They would all die anyway.
No matter what he thought, the team set off as scheduled.
The closer they got to Qingzhou Prefecture, the stranger they felt.
This place did not look like it had suffered a disaster at all. There were no scenes of starving people everywhere as imagined. Instead, there was a lot of construction going on. Thousands of laborers, carrying things on their shoulders and hands, were working together to build a magnificent building.
The avenue leading to the government office was paved with thick red carpet, and local officials lined the streets to welcome them.
"Your Excellency, welcome to your Excellency——"
The leader was Wu Wei, the recently appointed Qingzhou governor, who looked like a corrupt official with shifty eyes.
He hunched his back and nodded, and all the officials, big and small, behind him knelt to greet him.
Looking at the magnificent mansion, Lu Yu was confused. Was this disaster relief? It looked more like the emperor's southern tour.
"I'm sorry for not welcoming you, the Imperial Envoy. I'm working day and night to build a palace for you, and I dare not slack off for even a moment."
"Don't worry, it will be finished in a month or so. For now, I'll have to ask you to stay at my house for a while."
After hearing what he said, Lu Weiqing and his party realized that the building that cost the people so much money and labor was actually a palace built for them!
What will happen if this gets out?
They came from thousands of miles away to provide disaster relief, but the food was burned and the silver was gone. In order to welcome them, the governor forced the victims to rebel.
Wouldn't that make them all treacherous ministers who will be infamous for eternity?
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation and looked unhappy.
The governor, however, pretended not to see anything and clapped his hands. A group of maids came out one after another, all dressed in brocade and gorgeous clothes. Holding copper basins in their hands, they knelt to welcome the guests from afar to wash their hands.
Lu Weiqing was the first to wash his hands, and the people behind him had no choice but to follow suit.
When they got closer, they found that the red walls surrounding the house were actually painted with red ochre mixed with peppercorns. As soon as they got closer, a spicy smell hit their noses.
Sichuan peppercorns are an extremely precious spice, and at today's market price, they are comparable to gold.
Walking into the gate, the inner walls are even more amazing, inlaid with dazzling brilliance. According to the governor, a total of 3,869 taels of gold, more than 8,700 blue and red rubies, and more than 24,000 coral pearls were used.
When we sat down at the table, we saw that the banquet was even more luxurious, with more than 60 dishes. The most local specialty was a duck tongue soup, which required a hundred duck tongues to make a small bowl.
The bird's nest porridge is made from Lü Gong's blood bird's nest, and the rice used is the imperial rice "rouge rice". The side dishes that go with the porridge are all pickled with wild honey for three years.
There were also 128 cooks on duty during the banquet, including 30 hot dish cooks, 20 plain kitchen cooks, 12 picklers, and 8 porridge cooks. The manpower cost was staggering.
The standard of this banquet was much higher than the imperial banquet in the palace. After everyone took their seats, no one dared to pick up their chopsticks first.
Lu Yu reached under the seat and pinched his thigh hard.
He had only one thought in his mind: either he was scared out of his wits, or he was already dead. The scenes before him looked like his fantasy before going to hell.
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