Chapter 176 The Morning Aftermath: Fengxian's Current Situation...
The next day, the first rays of morning light shone into the room, the bright light hitting Zhang Ting's face so hard she couldn't open her eyes and covered her face with her wrist.
The ambiguous atmosphere in the room had not yet dissipated, hinting at the chaotic story of last night.
She sat up, clutching her aching forehead, letting out a soft hiss in pain. She knew she shouldn't have drunk that liquor; it was far too strong.
She subconsciously glanced around, her eyes fixing on a certain spot. To her left, the blanket looked like it was wrapped around a ball, bulging high and rising and falling from time to time.
Zhang Ting: "..." Who has ever seen this sleeping position before?
Dragging his aching body, he lifted the blanket, pulled out the unidentified object that was tangled up inside, forcibly straightened his limbs, laid him flat on the bed, and covered his chest with the blanket.
Looking at the masterpiece in front of her, Zhang Ting felt something was missing. After a while, she took his hand out, crossed her hands and placed them on her lower abdomen, and then smiled with satisfaction.
The 'toy' being manipulated seemed oblivious, its eyes tightly closed, lost in a deep, sweet dream.
She gently brushed aside the strands of hair on his forehead and placed a kiss on them, as light as a feather falling to the ground, as if afraid of disturbing his sweet dream.
She turned her back, quickly dressed, and went straight out the door.
The servants and maids she encountered along the way all looked at her with strange eyes, as if they were spying on a strange wild beast or monster, cautious and fearful.
Zhang Ting seemed completely oblivious, and even greeted several familiar servants gently, behaving as usual, as if she weren't the one who had been drunk and disorderly yesterday.
Zheng Er followed behind her, looking at her with a strange and incredulous expression several times, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
It took Zhang Ting a long while to seem to understand her thoughts. "Zheng Er, why do you look like you've seen a ghost so early in the morning?"
She touched her face and laughed, "Could it be that there's something dirty on my face?"
Zheng Er opened and closed his mouth, but finally said, "Master, why did you carry a sack of rattles back yesterday? And why was your husband chasing you all over the house?"
Speaking of yesterday, Zheng Er felt as if her worldview had collapsed. Her most respected mistress had gone mad yesterday, carrying back a huge floral cloth bag and throwing it in front of her mistress, scaring the young lady so much that she didn't even dare to cry. That was bad enough, but her mistress, such a tall and handsome woman, was being chased and beaten by a young man. How could this be?!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ting laughed heartily twice, then revealed the reason she had already fabricated: "That large bag of rattles was prepared for the abandoned infant home in the south of the city. So many infants are homeless and without parents to raise them. As a mother myself, I couldn't help but feel compassion and wanted to buy some things to comfort them. Although Shile is young, we must start raising children from a young age and cultivate her to be a kind and upright person."
Zheng Er felt as if she had been enlightened. She realized that the mistress could not possibly be such a dissolute madwoman. It turned out that all of this was done by the mistress on purpose, to prepare gifts for the abandoned baby in the south of the city and to teach her mistress the principles of being a good person.
It was her own shallowness that led her to judge others by her own petty standards, attributing the master's kindness and compassion to "inexplicable" and "crazy" behavior. She deserves to die!
At that moment, Zheng Er felt extremely guilty.
Zhang Ting continued, "As for my husband... that was for..." For what? A fight between fairies? Teasing a married man? Before she could come up with a reason, Zheng Er interrupted, "It must have been to spar!"
Her eyes were bright and eager. "Yesterday, my master and my husband practiced sparring in the house for a long time!"
"Cough!" Zhang Ting choked on her own saliva, her face turning red.
Zheng Er was still marveling, "I haven't seen your skills yet, but since you were able to hold out for so long, you must be quite skilled in martial arts!"
Zhang Ting looked left and right, then touched her nose. "Alright, alright, how did the things I asked you to do yesterday go?" Even though she was as thick-skinned as a city wall, she was still too embarrassed to discuss her bedroom affairs in front of others.
Zheng Er was easily distracted by her, and then, beaming, reported on his work, "Thanks to your prestige, sir, the people of Zhangzhou Prefecture all rushed to sign up as soon as they heard it was your decree, and..."
As Zhang Ting listened to her, he walked towards the government office, nodding from time to time.
The moment she stepped out the door, she suddenly remembered—
Oh no! Ziju has been left behind at the restaurant!
...
Luo Zijun woke up on the ground. The alcohol was too strong, and she was still a little dazed when she first woke up.
The sensation on her body was like the soreness, numbness, and swelling caused by being repeatedly run over by a carriage; it took her a lot of effort to get up from the ground.
He staggered and asked the waiter to fetch water to wash up before he felt better.
The waiter glanced at her several times, his eyes filled with fear and a hint of probing.
Luo Zijun threw away the wet cloth, feeling utterly bewildered.
"Where is the young lady who drank with me yesterday?" she asked.
The waiter stammered, "I don't know, I don't know..."
Luo Zijun's almond-shaped eyes narrowed, she exhaled a breath of air, and walked past the waiter to leave.
He himself had passed out drunk and slept through the night, which was fine, but his sister, half-awake and half-drunk, had gone out. What if she encountered some bad people? He was filled with worry and anxiety.
She was on her way to the Zhang residence when she ran into Zhang Ting, who was looking for her.
Zhang Ting felt guilty. "I returned home in a daze yesterday and left Zijun at the tavern." What a lovely and pretty young lady! I hope she didn't encounter any unscrupulous people. Otherwise, she would have been in deep trouble.
Luo Zijun breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was safe and sound. "I was just about to go look for my sister. It's so good that you're alright." If someone with malicious intent had taken advantage of her, she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.
Zhang Ting thought she was the one who said those words. Fortunately, she was alright.
Since everything is fine, the mule can officially start working.
He put his arm around Ziju's shoulder and turned to head towards the government office.
Luo Zijun realized the route was wrong. "Sister, I'm not feeling well. Let me rest for another day."
"Being able to walk means you're in great shape. Why be modest in front of your family, Ziju? Go on, go on, your official duties have already piled up."
Looking at her sister whom she admired so much, Luo Zijun felt that the scene before her was incredibly surreal. She was about to ask: Didn't I just arrive? Why is there so much official business piled up?
Then someone pushed her shoulder forward, saying, "How long is Ziju's birthday? I'll celebrate your birthday then."
Interrupted from her thoughts, Luo Zijun reverted to her shy and bashful self. "This year's is long over. If you have time, sister, Zijun would like to invite you to be the guest of honor next year." All the mountain of official business had long been forgotten.
"I have to find the time." Zhang Ting wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, managing to get away with it.
Sister Ziju, you're still so young.
...
Previously, people only knew that Zhangzhou Prefecture was located on the outskirts of the country, with a backward economy and an unteachable populace, so no one wanted to come here. However, after Zhang Ting was promoted three ranks in a row based on his political achievements, people were surprised to find that it was a blessed land for promotion and advancement.
Zhang Ting has an outstanding political record, laying a solid foundation for Fengxian. If we follow her path for three to five years, wouldn't we easily accumulate a lot of political achievements?
Within the imperial court, the position of "minor magistrate of Fengxian County" was fiercely contested, with various factions fighting tooth and nail to the death.
Gao Yujie went through a lot of trouble to squeeze into the coveted Fengxian County, but after ten days here, she has been sitting on the sidelines for ten days.
No wonder people in Kyoto say that remote and barbaric places are beyond civilization; it's absolutely true!
She tried to interfere with the fruit orders between Jeju Prefecture and Bongseon, but was pushed back by the county magistrate, who even warned her not to overstep her bounds.
What a joke! The entire county is under her jurisdiction, and you, a mere county magistrate, dare to speak to your superiors like that!
Gao Yujie stormed off, her face flushed with anger. She racked her brains trying to bring the entire Fengxian County under her control, but couldn't find a starting point.
She wandered aimlessly with her retinue, and suddenly saw a family erecting a statue of a deity. The descendants were bowing and praying around the statue with great devotion.
Gao Yujie glanced at them dismissively, scoffing! A bunch of fools who pin their hopes on something illusory.
She continued walking, and the more she walked, the more people passed by carrying statues of gods.
She sensed something was wrong and pulled someone aside to ask, "Why are so many people inviting statues of gods when it's neither a festival nor a holiday?" And they were all the same statue.
The people stood tall and proudly told the outsiders, "You don't know, do you? This is our county's Great-Grandmother, a goddess who descended from heaven to protect us!"
The local people nearby chimed in with delight, "We want to build a shrine for the county magistrate's wife!"
Gao Yujie's face was stiff and she looked terrible. Was she a deity sent down from heaven to build a shrine for the former magistrate?
She found it utterly absurd, and laughed angrily. She, the current county magistrate, was still alive, and these lowly people wanted to build a shrine for someone else? Fine, fine, very fine indeed!
Her attendants were also enraged. They snatched the sculpted statue and threw it to the ground, shouting, "What are you standing for! No one is allowed to stand here! The county magistrate is here, you lowly commoners dare not be so insolent!"
The people whose idols had been smashed collapsed in despair, screaming as if they themselves had broken their legs, and fell to the ground, letting out earth-shattering cries, "This is outrageous! That bastard smashed my county magistrate's statue!"
Hearing the commotion, the neighbors rushed over and were immediately enraged. They grabbed hoes and sickles and charged forward, shouting, "You wretched wretch, how dare you bully our county magistrate's wife! We'll fight you to the death!"
A sea of black heads surrounded Gao Yujie and her group, with more and more people rushing in from all sides.
Gao Yujie and her group were shocked. These were wicked and unruly people!
The servant who had initially smashed the statue, facing the glares of a pack of wolves who wanted to tear her apart, swallowed hard and stepped forward. "Your previous magistrate is long gone. This Magistrate Gao beside me is your true official. You...you mustn't have mistaken me for someone else..."
Gao Yujie: "I am..." She was interrupted before she could finish speaking.
"We don't care who you are, we only recognize Grandma Zhang! She is our guardian angel! Who do you think you are, a little brat? You dare to compare yourself to Grandma Zhang?"
"Sisters, let's go! Show her what's what! She's completely out of control!"
A dense crowd surged forward, indistinguishable from each other, all shoving at Gao Yujie and her group.
"Protect Lord Gao! You lowly commoners, stop right now!"
What awaited her was even more ferocious punches and kicks.
Gao Yujie escaped the encirclement with the help of her servants, her eyes bloodshot with rage and her blood boiling.
Lowly people, lowly people! She's going to kill all of these lowly people!
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