Chapter 289 Respect the skirt first, then respect the person
The next morning, as soon as Wang Yongchang opened the door, he saw Lian Yongnian, the prefect of Suzhou, leading a group of officials from the prefectural government standing outside his small courtyard.
Upon seeing Wang Yongchang, Lian Yongnian immediately stepped forward and respectfully said, "This humble official, Lian Yongnian, the Prefect of Suzhou, greets Lord Wang."
Last night, the imperial envoy suddenly arrived at the government office.
His Majesty issued an imperial edict ordering all officials in Suzhou Prefecture to fully cooperate with Wang Yongchang, the Director of the Waterways, in managing the floods.
Wang Yongchang withdrew from the imperial court for thirty years.
Even in the capital, very few people still remember him.
Moreover, there are officials like Lian Yongnian who can only be sent to other posts.
It was only after the imperial envoy left and someone sent him the address of this Lord Wang that they were able to find him.
The cooperation of all officials meant that during Lord Wang's flood control efforts, the entire Suzhou Prefecture had to obey his orders.
Who exactly is this Lord Wang? After living as a widow in Suzhou Prefecture for many years, he was directly appointed as the Director-General of the Waterways.
That's a second-rank official, a position that's crucial to the livelihood of the people of Jin.
His Majesty just gave this position to an unknown old man?
What is the meaning of His Majesty's decision to send people to manage the floods again? Does it mean that he already knows the true situation in Jiangnan?
Just then, two carriages stopped behind them.
Several servants carried trays containing official robes, hats, and boots towards the courtyard.
The servant at the front stopped in front of Wang Yongchang and said, "Greetings, Lord Wang."
After saying that, he turned around and said, "Help Lord Wang change his clothes!"
Lian Yongnian's eyes widened even more after he saw the material of the official robe.
Officials' robes were mostly made of brocade.
But this official's robes were made of very expensive Yun brocade.
The manufacture of all official uniforms for officials must be registered.
Could it be His Majesty's preference?
His Majesty actually values this Lord Wang so much.
Upon seeing the official robes, Wang Yongchang couldn't help but smile.
The Qin family brat's cunning is truly beyond what ordinary people can match.
The saying "Respect the garment first, then the person" meant that the expensive fabric was not only a sign of Qin Jinzhi's and the Emperor's respect for Wang Yongchang, but also a way of letting the officials in Suzhou know what was going on.
Before doing anything, one must consider Wang Yongchang's influence in the capital.
Wang Yongchang accepted Qin Jinzhi's kind offer.
He raised his hand, and the crowd came up to help him change his clothes.
After changing his clothes, Wang Yongchang said to Lian Yongnian, "Let's go."
The servant led Wang Yongchang to the carriage, closed the door, and respectfully said, "I am Zhao Ji. The Third Young Master said that I will work for you from now on. Please feel free to give any instructions. If there is any emergency, the Zhao family will provide us with support."
Wang Yongchang asked with some confusion, "Third Young Master? Who is that?"
Zhao Ji replied, "The third son of the Zhao family business, Zhao Shisun."
Wang Yongchang still couldn't remember who this person was.
Zhao Ji handed him a logbook, saying, "The Third Young Master said that you'll know his identity once you see this."
When Wang Yongchang looked at it, he saw that it was the diary he had written.
Zhao Shisun, grandson of the Zhao family.
Wang Yongchang chuckled softly; this little rascal was truly amusing.
Let's go.
The crowd marched in a grand procession toward the government office.
Yuecheng, who was perched on a tree, saw the crowd go to the government office and then turned back to the courtyard.
Qin Jinzhi is weaving something with willow branches.
Yuecheng sat down next to her. "That Lord Wang has already gone to the government office. When will we meet up with Si Sha and the others?"
Qin Jinzhi said calmly, "No rush, we're waiting for someone."
Yuecheng looked at her, "Who else is coming?"
Qin Jinzhi raised the little dog she had woven from willow branches, then took out another willow branch from her bosom, which was already dry but had the same shape, and placed it next to her.
"How about it? Isn't it exactly the same?"
Yuecheng picked up the woven puppy and looked it over. Then, with a look of shame, she said, "It's all my fault, Yueshu and I. We always neglected you when you were little, so you're eighteen now and still like such childish things."
Qin Jinzhi rolled her eyes and snatched the puppy back from his hands.
Then he held both in his hands and nodded in satisfaction, "Hmm, exactly the same."
Then she threw the dried-up puppy on the ground.
When he got up, he stepped on it without hesitation.
Yuecheng pursed her lips, looking at Qin Jinzhi, who had already started practicing the Five Animal Frolics in the courtyard again.
"You still haven't told us who we're waiting for."
Qin Jinzhi turned to look at him, "Want to practice together?"
Yuecheng looked disdainful.
Two neat figures in the courtyard slowly stretched their limbs.
As Qin Jinzhi turned around, she said, "The capital approved a large amount of disaster relief funds, and the money has been being used up. But as you've seen, there's been no progress in the flood control efforts. So where has all that money gone?"
Yuecheng frowned. "The imperial family is furious, the Shen family has been destroyed, and these officials still dare to embezzle?"
Qin Jinzhi made a tiger-like gesture, saying, "A clean county magistrate for three years can earn 100,000 taels of silver. How many clean officials can the Jin state find? Besides, sometimes not being corrupt can lead to an even faster death."
If you are not greedy, it means you are unwilling to go along with the corrupt practices.
Those who have taken the bribe will suspect that you might inform on them.
At the slightest sign of trouble, they will send someone to silence you.
Yuecheng frowned deeply. "You want to investigate corruption?"
Qin Jinzhi changed her appearance again. "Corruption needs to be investigated, but not now. The first thing Old Wang will do after taking office is to check the water management records and allocate funds to build waterways. Outsiders may not understand the money, but Old Wang will see the trickery at a glance. However, it won't be easy to get them to return the money that's in their pockets."
Yuecheng turned to look at her, "Why not just send troops over to find out where the money went? If anyone embezzled it, confiscate their property."
Qin Jinzhi said slowly:
"The floods are the top priority now. Investigating corruption requires a lot of manpower, resources and time. Jiangnan can't wait that long now."
Furthermore, if the disaster victims in Jiangnan knew that they could have escaped the natural disaster, but due to incompetent and corrupt officials, their survival was not improved and their homes could not be rebuilt, it could easily trigger a riot.
The people of Jiangnan cannot withstand further turmoil.
Yuecheng's gaze toward Qin Jinzhi gradually deepened.
Master Changfeng only accepted three disciples in his lifetime.
In truth, both he and Yue Shu were extremely vicious people.
He was subdued and reformed by his master.
But their junior sister was someone their master had specifically asked to take on as a disciple.
He still remembers watching the little version of Qin Jinzhi back then.
Yuecheng was very puzzled and asked Daoist Changfeng why he would take Qin Jinzhi as his disciple.
At that time, she had clearly already set her sights on Xie Yanqing of the Xie family.
Xie Yanqing knew a thousand characters by the age of three and could compose poems on the spot by the age of five.
Qin Jinzhi, on the other hand, is a veritable evil child reincarnated.
An eight-year-old child could cause so much trouble that people didn't even notice his unusual red hair and eyebrows when he appeared in public.
Yuecheng shook her head as she recalled her daily life taking care of the child back then.
It's a memory I can't bear to look back on.
But the master discovered some rare and precious treasure.
He still remembered his master saying, "This child has the world in his heart."
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