Chapter 188: A Journey to Yinzhou, All Problems Resolved...
Zhang Ting received the imperial edict appointing him as imperial envoy on an ordinary afternoon.
A palace maid, travel-worn and carrying an imperial edict, stepped into the government office. Her colleagues looked at her with admiration and envy.
Zhang Ting remained dazed until he knelt down to receive the imperial decree.
Once again. Once again, an opportunity was presented to her by someone else.
Looking back on her past decades, she has always fought tooth and nail to earn a chance to rise above others, and few people have ever spoken of fairness and justice or willingly relinquished their coveted opportunities to her.
"Your Majesty, I obey your decree. Long live the Emperor!"
Zhang Ting mechanically accepted the imperial edict, her ears ringing. She felt like an outdated machine, unable to grasp its profound meaning.
The false mask could no longer conceal the fearful and uneasy soul beneath her body.
She rushed home almost non-stop; it was the shelter that gave her warmth.
On the way, amidst the envious and admiring gazes of her colleagues, she felt her soul trembling. All of this seemed so concrete and real, yet also so dreamlike and illusory.
In the garden, Zong Suyi was teasing Tun Tun as she tried to reach the osmanthus blossoms on the branches. Tun Tun tried her best to jump up, but her round, white, and tender little hands couldn't reach them. However, she wasn't sad. Instead, a burst of joyful laughter came out of her mouth. Her white baby teeth were neatly grown and very cute.
Zhang Ting's tinnitus stopped, and the chaotic thoughts in her mind also disappeared.
She stood quietly at the archway, a smile unconsciously playing on her lips, her soul calming down.
Zong Suyi saw her standing there blankly, raised his thick eyebrows, covered his mouth and laughed, and waved: "What are you standing there for? Come here quickly." What a real dummy.
Zhang Ting gradually returned to normal and walked over, asking gently, "Would you like to pick osmanthus flowers?" At this time of year, osmanthus flowers are in full bloom, their fragrance spreading for miles.
Zong Suyi moved closer to her and said in a serious tone, "My wife, there's a osmanthus flower on your head. Let me remove it for you." He took the opportunity to tap her forehead, wanting to see if the flower was ripe.
Her hand was grabbed. "My lord, you are too presumptuous."
Zong Suyi snorted, suppressing the smile on his lips. Anyway, he already knew that this big dummy was exceptionally ripe.
He nestled into her arms with practiced ease, acting coquettishly: "I was a bit rough, please forgive me, my lord..." His eyes were tinged with a drunken blush, his voice was melodious and alluring, like a seductive vixen, and his slender fingers drew circles on her chest.
Seeing this, Zhang Ting felt a surge of warmth in her heart, and her hand instinctively pinched his slender waist.
The little one babbled, "My lord, please forgive me~ hee hee." Watching his parents hug and cuddle, he didn't understand why, but he jumped around happily.
Hearing the same words from her daughter was terrifying. Zhang Ting was so frightened that she pushed her husband aside, her passionate heart feeling as if it had been doused with ice water, instantly returning to a state of utter emptiness.
Zong Suyi also looked a little uncomfortable. He twisted his hands behind his back, and his face slowly turned into a steaming hot prawn.
Zhang Ting glanced at Zong Suyi, coughed lightly, squatted down in front of her son, and lectured, "Tuntun, you can't imitate your parents' speech, understand?"
With a smile, Tun Tun held a few osmanthus flowers in her tiny palm and presented them to her mother, saying, "Let Mom smell them, little one. Mom will smell nice too."
"Why can't we learn? Mother is good, father is good, father speaks good words, and the child learns good words."
Zhang Ting smelled the osmanthus on her hand; the scent was so overpowering that it completely masked the baby's milky fragrance.
She covered the baby's fluffy head and felt the texture of it. "Your parents are speaking like adults. Tuntun is a child, and children should speak like children."
Tun Tun is selectively deaf. She tiptoes and snuggles into her mother's hands, then rubs her head against them, saying, "Hehe, Mommy's hands are so big and warm. My baby is so warm."
Zhang Ting slapped her down, stopping her from squirming anymore. "Did you understand what your mother said, Tun Tun?"
Tun Tun's rebellious nature is beginning to show: "The child won't listen. If Daddy and Mommy are good, the child will learn from them!"
"The kid's been studying too much!"
Zhang Ting closed her eyes and repeatedly told herself: Be a loving mother, be a loving mother, be a loving mother.
She released the little boy's head and ordered her husband to discipline him, but he wouldn't listen.
She walked over and nudged her husband's arm. "Xiaoyi, go and teach him a lesson." The heavy responsibility of education still had to fall on the strict father.
Zong Suyi bit her lip and glared at her resentfully, as if complaining that her wife was useless. She then looked away, her face flushed, and squatted down in front of her son. "Tuntun, you must listen to your mother. It's not easy for me to earn money outside every day. I get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs. I'm old and I live a life that's harder than animals. You must be more understanding of her."
Zhang Ting's expression was as indescribable as someone suffering from constipation. Tsk, her husband really holds a grudge.
Tun Tun hugged her hands helplessly, looked at her mother with deep emotion, and sniffed, feeling sorry for her mother. She had grown into a giant, but her life was worse than that of a cat or dog.
"The child is obedient and doesn't study."
The filial son huffed and puffed as he ran to his loving mother, saying, "I'm strong, but I'm weak. I'll take care of you when I grow up."
She's weak? Zhang Ting gritted her teeth. This little brat looks down on her?
But her filial piety is commendable, and Zhang Ting also hopes to be able to take care of her child one day.
Encouraging her son, she said, "Grow up strong, Tun Tun! I'll be relying on you for the rest of my life."
But then he couldn't resist a mischievous thought and teased her, "The family's monthly expenses are three hundred taels, and with savings, that's five thousand taels a year. When you grow up, you can take over the family business and earn it back in about forty years." After saying that, he doubted whether she understood and explained, "Forty years is fourteen thousand six hundred days. If you convert that, and Tun Tun can write five large characters in an hour, then it would take Tun Tun about two hundred and ninety thousand large characters to earn back our family's annual expenses."
Tun Tun's eyes widened, her little body seemed to be hit by a huge number and leaned back, staggering a bit. Her chubby little hands waved wildly, "If the baby doesn't grow up, Mom will be strong, Mom will support the family." It's too scary, there are so many big characters that the baby can't finish writing.
After teasing the child, the loving mother gently pressed down on the child's dazed little head, letting the little one go for the time being.
Zong Suyi took down two branches of osmanthus. These were golden osmanthus, with bright and eye-catching colors and the most fragrant aroma. He planned to put them in Zhang Ting's study later.
He picked a branch, and the three osmanthus branches looked just like his family of three, harmonious and happy. "You shouldn't be off duty yet, why are you back already?"
At this point, Zhang Ting remembered the important matter.
But now she felt none of the initial unease. She told Zong Suyi, "The court has appointed me as the Imperial Commissioner of Yinzhou Prefecture, ordering me to set off immediately to provide disaster relief."
Zong Suyi's mouth was slightly open as the flower branch slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a "thud".
...
That evening, Zhang Ting personally selected his personal guards and set off. The journey was long, and the affairs of Zhangzhou Prefecture were temporarily entrusted to his younger sister, Ziju. For any major decisions, he could write to her.
"Take care, sister." Luo Zijun murmured to herself as she watched the departing figure.
The two sisters seem to be constantly parting ways, but fortunately, each departure leads to a brighter future.
She would not let her sister down and would make sure to keep Zhangzhou Prefecture impregnable until her return.
He turned and walked inside, instructing the yamen runners: "Although the prefect has gone far to Yinzhou Prefecture, you must not be negligent in anything. Any unusual activity in the city or among the officials, no matter how small, must be reported to me immediately."
Zhang Ting rode swiftly, arriving in Yinzhou Prefecture in just three days. She was very experienced in managing the floods, and it was no difficult task for her.
Emperor Kechengtai appointed her as governor, which means that she was responsible for dealing not only with the floods, but also with the "man-made disasters" that caused them.
Only by eradicating all the dangerous factors can we deliver a satisfactory answer to Emperor Chengtai.
She reined in her horse and looked around. The city was now a vast expanse of muddy, reddish-brown water, the water level almost reaching the rooftops.
He dismounted and asked Feng Tongzhi beside him, "Can we send people to reinforce the dike?"
Feng Tongzhi glanced at Zhang Ting curiously. Was this the legendary living god?
He turned his gaze away and replied formally, "Some of the floodwaters have been blocked these past few days. The river workers estimate that the floodwaters will be completely contained in another two or three days. In addition, most of the people have been evacuated to temples or high ground. I am currently compiling a list of casualties, which should be submitted to you by noon tomorrow at the latest."
Zhang Ting nodded slightly; this Magistrate Feng was methodical and capable. After inquiring further about the location of the dike breach, the extent of the disaster, and the property damage, she had a better understanding of the situation.
Magistrate Feng asked, "Lord Zhang, do you know when the imperial relief grain will arrive? The incident happened suddenly in my prefecture, and the granary is located in a low-lying area. We lost the opportunity to respond in time, and much of the grain was wet and moldy when it was salvaged. I dared not give it to the people."
"The food should arrive in three days at the latest," she replied after calculating the days.
Feng Tongzhi nodded as if granted a pardon, "In three days, according to this prefecture... this prefecture can still hold on." The truth was that the food was almost gone, and even she herself was tightening her belt to eat, but three days, three days would not be enough to starve to death.
“Yinzhou Prefecture is located in a low-lying area, so the floodwaters will recede more slowly. Based on the affected area, it's estimated to take about three or four months.” Zhang Ting looked up at the sky. The people of Yinzhou Prefecture weren't too unlucky; it didn't look like it would rain recently. “Have you found out the cause of the incident?”
This brings us to a thorny topic for Magistrate Feng. She nervously tugged at her sleeve. "In the chaos at the time, we only managed to arrest the rioters, but we haven't found out who was behind it all."
He glanced at the sky and said, "Bring the person to me tomorrow." A commoner with a family and daughters would not commit such a heinous crime that would implicate nine generations of his family without a reason.
She followed Magistrate Feng to inspect the people's situation. They all sat there with downcast eyes, holding bowls of thin porridge, so thin that only a few grains of rice could be seen at the bottom of the bowl. They were listless, and some were even so hungry that they lay down on the ground, their eyes almost overflowing with fear.
Some middle-aged women angrily held bowls, cursing the prisoners who had breached the dam and the corrupt and incompetent government officials.
Some people grabbed their feet, begging for more food, while some children hid behind trees in fear.
Irritability, resentment, fear, and despair breed and spread among people, and if this continues for a long time, it will inevitably lead to disaster.
But once the imperial court's disaster relief supplies arrive in three days, everything will be resolved.
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