Disaster Relief
Chapter 73: Disaster Relief
Two yamen runners led a group of people to the foot of the mountain. Standing in front, they signaled the guards to go and report to the prefect. One of them turned swiftly and ran up the mountain.
Except for the eldest prince, all those present were old hands in officialdom. Seeing this behavior, they had nothing to understand. The "common people" mentioned by the yamen runner were probably the family members and relatives of the prefect and the noble families with whom he had good relations.
Xu Mingda is very young, but at this moment his brows are so furrowed that he can kill a fly.
Shi Weian rushed to the front and stayed in the mountains for more than a month, sleeping in the open air, which was not very respectable.
"Quanzhou Prefect Shi Weian pays his respects to the Imperial Envoy."
Xu Mingda stared at Shi Weian who was bowing for a long time before he spoke.
"Please stand up, Your Excellency the Prefect."
Shi Weian felt like his waist was about to break, and his heart sank even more.
"Thank you, Imperial Envoy."
"Now that the flood has receded, why don't you return to the government office and put things in order?"
"In reply to the Imperial Envoy, I have already sent people to clean up the yamen. You can return once the cleaning is complete."
"Besides, the well water is turbid and unusable after the flood. There is a small stream in the mountain that has not been polluted by the flood. I will stay in the mountain with the people for a few more days."
"laugh."
"It's good to stay with the people for a few more days."
"Take everyone down the mountain immediately. This imperial envoy is waiting for the arrival of Magistrate Shi at the yamen. Let's go!"
After Xu Mingda finished speaking, regardless of Shi Weian's expression, he told everyone to mount their horses and return to the city.
Even the eldest prince had to drink slightly turbid well water along the way. Could it be that the life of this person is more noble than that of the prince?
After hearing what the prefect said, the eldest prince began to doubt his life. They had traveled thousands of miles day and night just to provide relief to the victims as soon as possible. But this prefect didn't care about the lives of the people and even thought about the well water being too dirty to drink!
After Xu Mingda returned to the yamen, he immediately ordered the accompanying imperial guards to carry all the corpses in the city outside the city for cremation.
Otherwise, if the weather clears up and the body is exposed to the sun for two or three days, it will decompose excessively and cause epidemics.
"Minister Xu, why don't you just bury him in a pit? At least the body can be left intact."
When the eldest prince heard the word cremation, he asked a question.
"To answer the First Prince, the flood has just passed, and the muddy soil is difficult to dig. More importantly, the backfill soil in the pit is loose. If the flood comes again, it will directly wash away the bodies, which is very likely to cause a large-scale epidemic."
"I see. Minister Xu is indeed very thoughtful."
This time, the eldest prince was involved in disaster relief. Both his father and grandfather had already told him not to make decisions on his own and to follow Xu Mingda and cooperate with his orders.
He himself knew that he had angered the public before. It was a rare opportunity that his father specially arranged for him to do disaster relief work, so he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to restore his reputation.
The rest of the people all started to clean up the yamen. Except for the eldest prince, even Xu Mingda was wiping the desk. From now on, they would rely on this desk with a knocked corner for work.
An hour later, Shi Weian brought everyone from the mountain back to the yamen. He saw that everyone in the yamen was cleaning, which made the noble families who were standing by and getting in the way feel a rare sense of shame.
They all resigned and returned home, taking their families back to their mansions in the city.
In less than half an hour, only the magistrate and his family were left.
The magistrate's wife shamelessly led her men back to the backyard to clean up the mess. She pushed open the door and looked at the filth on the ground with disgust. She ordered the servants to clean it up quickly. How could they live there at night if they couldn't clean it up?
They slept in a cave in the mountains. It was a bit simple, but clean and dry, much better than here.
"Mom, can't we stay in the mountains for a few more days? Wouldn't it be better to come back after we've cleaned up here?"
Shi Chuchun pulled her mother's arm and complained.
"Your mother wants to, too, but don't say that again. If the Imperial Envoy hears, it will implicate your father. Do you understand?"
"I understand, mother. I won't say it again."
Shi Chuchun nodded in agreement, but his lips curled up slightly.
There are not many women in the backyard of Magistrate Shi, but none of them are easy to deal with. There are four young ladies in the mansion alone, and they are of similar age. Two of them are twin sisters. Not only do they look exactly the same, but they are also very beautiful.
The mistress of the house's legitimate son is three years younger than the eldest son, which is what makes the prefect's wife most angry.
Aunt Wan took her two twin daughters Chuqiu and Chudong to clean up her own bedroom personally. The maids and servants were working hard to clean the outside. If they relied on servants alone, the three of them, mother and daughter, would probably not be able to sleep in the bedroom at night.
Although Xu Mingda hated the noble families hiding in the mountains, he did not want to kill them all, so he ordered people to send them some food.
Dinner was eaten in the dining room which had just been cleaned. There was no screen to separate the tables for men and women, so Xu Mingda told them not to be bound by convention and to finish their meal quickly and go back to their rooms to rest.
They either slept on the ground or in the carriage along the way. They hadn't slept on a bed for a month. They were so tired that they didn't want to say a word. And with a lot of things to do tomorrow, who would care about the prefect's family?
No one else noticed, but when the twins entered the room, the eldest prince happened to look up and was immediately struck by their beauty.
There are tens of thousands of women in this world, but he has never seen two beauties that are exactly the same!
The eldest prince had no taste for the meal and his soul was in the sky. He had been away for a month and all the flies he saw were male!
The next day, Xu Mingda got up early after a good rest and arranged various things. First, he arranged for people to gather the surviving people in the vicinity to the south of the city and give them porridge and food.
After three days, those who have recovered their strength will be offered work in exchange for relief. If they clean the streets every day, they will not only get free meals, but also receive a daily wage of ten cents.
People were sent to Minzhou and Liangzhou to bring all the refugees back to Quanzhou for unified management.
"Minister Xu, urgent news from Liangzhou!"
The imperial guards who delivered the letter ignored etiquette, rushed into the temporary office, and handed the letter in his hand to Xu Mingda.
Xu Mingda opened the envelope, quickly read through it, and his face changed drastically. He had taken so many epidemic prevention measures as soon as he entered the city, but he didn't expect that an epidemic would still break out.
He handed the letter in his hand to several adults who were traveling with him. After reading it, they all looked terrified.
An epidemic broke out in Liangzhou City yesterday, infecting many people. People first developed a fever and then started vomiting blood within half a day. They could not take a single drop of water, and by evening, no fewer than ten people had died.
"Go to Jiangzhou immediately and give this letter to the prefect. Tell him to seal off the city immediately and prevent the disease from spreading out of here."
"Inventory the herbs and take the men to Liangzhou. Minister Huang, you stay here to guard Quanzhou. Also, keep an eye on the eldest prince and don't let him wander off."
"Yes, I obey your command."
The eldest prince didn't get up until noon and went to his office. Only Minister Huang was left handling official business.
"Where are Minister Huang, Minister Xu, and the others? Why didn't you call me when you went out to do something?"
"In reply to the eldest prince, an epidemic has occurred in Liang Province. Minister Xu has already led his men to Liang Province. The Minister has instructed me to station troops there. In addition, it is best for you not to leave the city for the next few days."
"What! There's an epidemic! Why didn't anyone inform this prince?"
"Your Highness, please be patient. Minister Xu has seen that you are tired from the journey and has instructed that you should not be disturbed. Also, didn't I just inform you of the situation?"
Minister Huang really wanted to roll his eyes. You slept until noon, and you blame others for not notifying you. It's useless to notify you. What can you do? It's good enough that you don't cause trouble.
Minister Huang somewhat looked down on the eldest prince, who was much worse than his master.
"Oh, okay, fine. Then the prince will wait for Minister Xu to return safely at the government office."
The eldest prince still values his life very much, and he has not left the gate of his government office for some time.
When Minister Huang saw that the eldest prince listened to his advice, he let him do as he pleased. He still had a lot of official business to attend to, so he did not accompany him.
The eldest prince nodded and told him to go about his own business while he strolled around the government office.
This casual walk, of course, has a purpose. Since I haven't been leaving the government office recently, I have to find something to entertain myself and relieve my boredom.
When Xu Mingda returned to the government office a month later, the eldest prince had already taken the twin sisters into his house. The three of them were having fun in the room every day and were very happy.
During this period, Xu Mingda had already found evidence of Shi Weian's corruption, and he had also accepted bribes from aristocratic families and sold official positions privately. In addition, the subsequent events caused by his concealment of the flood were enough to make him deserve ten heads!
When Xu Mingda was writing a memorial to the emperor, the eldest prince, whose mind was already confused by the pillow talk, found Xu Mingda and asked him to cross out some of Shi Weian's charges, saying that they were all minor matters and not worth pursuing, and that the charges were enough to send him into exile.
Xu Mingda was so angry that he took out the Dragon Roar Sword bestowed by the emperor and wanted to chop off Shi Weian's head!
This frightened the eldest prince greatly. Not only did he fail to fulfill the beauty's plea, but it also had a counterproductive effect. With the Dragon Roar Sword, he could indeed kill first and report later. How could he have forgotten this!
"Hey, hey, hey, Minister Xu, calm down, calm down for a moment!"
The eldest prince grabbed Xu Mingda's sleeve and didn't dare to let go.
"This prince is just saying it casually. If it doesn't work, then forget it, forget it."
"Grand Prince, anyone who threatens the Great Xia state like this deserves a single head chopped off. How could you so easily utter such foolish words?"
"Minister Xu, I was wrong to believe the slander. I hope you will not take it to heart. Come, take a seat. I will leave now so as not to delay you from handling your official business."
The eldest prince pulled and dragged the man to the desk, dipped the brush in ink and put it in Xu Mingda's hand, looking at him sincerely.
Xu Mingda was helpless after hearing the eldest prince's behavior. He just went downhill, put away his sword-wielding posture, and continued to write.
The eldest prince walked out of the door, pulled his sleeve and wiped his forehead casually. It was obvious that Minister Xu was really angry and wanted to chop someone. Seeing that the person was thinner than him, his strength was amazing, and he almost couldn't hold him back.
Let’s think of another way. First, get the beauties out. Their father’s life is in danger.
After hearing his daughter's message, Shi Weian's hair turned white overnight and he instantly aged ten years. His last bit of hope was shattered.
When Xu Mingda forced everyone into the prison van and escorted them back to Beijing, Shi Weian didn't struggle at all. He just leaned against the van blankly, his eyes unfocused, looking at the scenery along the way.
On the way back to the capital, the eldest prince got on a carriage, from which the sound of women's sweet laughter could be heard from time to time.
Whenever this happened, the women of the Shi family sitting in the prison van would show disgust on their faces.
The eldest prince relied on his status to buy Shi Weian's concubine Wan Niang and settled her in the city. He then kicked the twin sisters out of the family tree, transferred their household registration to the female household established by their mother, changed their names, and kept them by his side.
Xu Mingda turned a blind eye to this matter. Wan Niang was originally a merchant's daughter. Shi Weian took a fancy to her and insisted on taking her home as a concubine. She had never done anything harmful in all these years. However, the former prefect's wife had many murders under her control.
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