Chapter 88, The Noble Arrival
Yan Zhigao was ostracized in the provincial government, and Madam Li was also alienated by the women of the wealthy families in Xingzhou. Many families did not invite the Yan family to poetry gatherings or flower viewing parties.
One day, after Daohua finished her class, Madam Li was instructing her in needlework. At this time, Yan Zhigao came back from the front yamen, sweating all over.
"Where has the master been? Why is he sweating all over?" Madam Li said as she walked towards Yan Zhigao to help him take off his clothes.
Yan Zhigao sighed, "The rainy season has arrived. I'm worried about the riverbanks in my jurisdiction, so I went to check them out."
It is now June and the weather is very hot. After running outside for a day, his underwear is soaked.
Daohua didn't want to stay in the house for too long, so she walked out. Thinking of her cheap father who was tanned, she felt unhappy.
Faced with exclusion from his colleagues, my father, who did not come from a strong family, could only do everything as much as possible himself to prevent government mistakes and his subordinates from making things difficult for him.
Daohua looked at Wang Maner and said, "The mung bean shaved ice should be almost chilled. Go get some quickly. Father must be very thirsty now."
After Wang Man'er left and Yan Zhigao changed into casual clothes, Daohua went back to the house. As soon as she entered, she heard Mrs. Li's worried voice.
"Master has to inspect the riverbank tomorrow? Can't you send someone else?"
Yan Zhigao shook his head. "I have to go. If I send someone else to check, who knows what they'll do, maybe they'll just take a day off and come back and tell me nothing happened. How can I be at ease with that?"
Madam Li frowned and said dissatisfiedly: "The people in the state government are too..."
Yan Zhigao waved his hand. "It's just a customary suppression in the officialdom. I don't have a strong family background. If I can't even stand this little bit of humiliation, how can I do anything in the future? Besides, I personally inspected the riverbank for another reason."
As he spoke, Yan Zhigao frowned again.
"Xingzhou has the Grand Canal running through it. Normally, there's a sum of money allocated every year for cleaning and maintaining the riverbanks, but the money hasn't been released yet. I guess someone up there is deliberately blocking it."
He was not stupid. The behavior of his colleagues in the provincial government showed that someone from above was suppressing him.
Thinking of Councillor Du, who was in charge of all water conservancy affairs in Zhongzhou Province, a hint of contempt appeared on Yan Zhigao's lips.
This man's mind is so narrow-minded. Didn't he not agree with the majority of people on a decree he wanted to issue when he first took office in Zhongzhou?
That decree was extremely impractical and was eventually rejected by the Chief Secretary.
It is very common for people in officialdom to have different political views. He was convinced that Senator Du could still hold a grudge over such a small matter.
Thinking of this, Yan Zhigao narrowed his eyes. "If I don't provide some solid evidence of the embankment being blocked or damaged, I'm afraid I'll never get the money. What will you let me use to repair the embankment then?"
Daohua sat aside and listened silently. She really couldn't help at all with these things. She could only think of some way to help her stepfather recuperate.
At this time, Wang Maner came over with mung bean smoothie.
Daohua smiled and filled a bowl for Yan Zhigao: "Father, have a bowl of mung bean smoothie to cool down."
Yan Zhigao didn't hesitate. His throat was indeed hot from running outside, and he drank several bowls of mung bean smoothie. If Mrs. Li hadn't stopped him for fear that he would get an upset stomach, he would have finished the whole bowl.
The next morning, Daohua went to the main courtyard to pay her respects and found that her cheap father had been gone for more than half an hour. At this moment, the sky was just getting light.
“Ah, it’s not easy to be an official.”
The lobby of the provincial government office.
Yan Zhigao sat in the main seat, looking at all the officials in the yamen with a not very good expression.
Except for the first day in office, he hardly ever summoned all the officials, but this time, he had to do so.
Even though he reported the damage to the riverbed under Xingzhou's jurisdiction with solid evidence, the funds for repairing the river embankment were still not approved.
It is already the end of June, and the rainy season in Xingzhou is in August and September. If the river embankment is not repaired now, once a flood occurs, the people of Xingzhou will be miserable.
"Everyone, tell me, who should we send to the provincial government to ask for money to build the river embankment?"
As soon as these words were spoken, both the Tongzhi and the Tongpan lowered their heads silently and did not look at Yan Zhigao who was sitting in the main seat.
It's like this again!
Whenever he was asked for his opinions, the officials in the yamen would shrink back, neither expressing their opinions nor opposing what he said. In every meeting, he was the only one performing a solo show.
“Bang!”
Yan Zhigao was filled with rage and slapped the table hard.
It would be fine if they were cunning and deceitful in other matters, but the construction of the river embankment is related to the people's livelihood, and they can turn a blind eye to it. They really let down the government.
Yan Zhigao sneered, "You all know what will happen if the riverbank is not repaired and a flood occurs. When that happens, I, the prefect, will definitely not be able to escape. But can you remain unscathed?"
"I know you all have people behind you, and you all act like you don't care about anything, but in the officialdom, it's not like anyone with strong connections can climb up. You haven't done much for the people, but you've climbed to the first or second rank. Don't you feel guilty?"
Hearing this, the officials sitting below lowered their heads even more. They knew that the prefect was really angry this time, otherwise he would not have said it so bluntly.
Qian Tongzhi thought for a moment and said with a smile: "My Lord, this is serious. We..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Master Xiao, who was always with Yan Zhigao, hurried in.
"What's wrong?"
Yan Zhigao knew Master Xiao. If it wasn't an emergency, he wouldn't come and interrupt his meeting.
Master Xiao looked anxious and excited: "Master, please go home quickly. An honored guest has arrived."
Yan Zhigao looked puzzled: "Noble, what noble?"
Master Xiao lowered his voice and said, "The one at the post station."
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhigao stood up in an instant and quickly walked down from his seat. When he was about to leave, he turned around and said to the Tongzhi and others, "You all can go home." After that, he quickly trotted towards the backyard.
"Master Xiao, what happened? Is there anything we can do to help?"
Qian Tongzhi and Wang Tongpan looked at each other, and immediately stopped Master Xiao who was about to leave with a smile.
Just now they heard Master Xiao say the word "noble person".
Not everyone can be called a noble person these days.
Master Xiao politely exchanged a few words with the two gentlemen, and finally said, "My lords, I cannot interfere in the affairs of Lord Yan's family. However, if you two want to help, why not think about how to help Lord Yan recover the money for building the river embankment?"
After saying that, he smiled and quickly turned and left.
"Humph, this Master Xiao is quite a sly fellow." Magistrate Wang snorted coldly, then called over a servant, "Go and find out who has come from the Yan family."
Soon, the servant came back sweating profusely.
"Master, I didn't find out who came from the Yan family, but when I came back, I saw Zhou Chengye, the eldest grandson of the Zhou family, entering the Yan Mansion. He said he was going to meet a guest."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Wang Tongpan and Qian Tongzhi both changed.
The person who made the eldest grandson of the Zhou family brave the scorching sun to make this trip in person must be someone extraordinary.
(End of this chapter)
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