Chapter 62

Dayu has a vast territory and has been a powerful nation for more than three hundred years since Emperor Taizu.

Rong Tang travelled from Yu capital to Jiangnan, where he saw the Danxia landform with overlapping mountains and stone forests, as well as the flat plains and grasslands full of vitality.

They then travelled through the picturesque scenery of Huizhou and temporarily stayed in Suzhou, where waves undulate and mists swirl.

As the convoy passed along the official route, all he saw were the beautiful scenes of Dayu lands, where the people lived in peace. All the unspeakable, shameful tragedies and darkness were buried under the loess and prisons, never to be seen in the light of day.

Now that Suzhou Prefecture had been flooded, Su Huaijing brought Rong Tang out of Lin Estate to look at the city walls and houses that had been damaged by the floods.

There were collapsed houses and damaged roofs everywhere.

As soon as the rain stopped, the government sent people to clean the roads, but you could still spot cats and dogs that had frozen to death in some corners, and even the corpses of babies and the elderly wrapped in straw mats.

The white porridge cooked at Lin Estate was delicious, but Rong Tang felt his insides churning and flaring all the way down.

He knew that people would die and that it was inevitable. No matter how much preliminary preparation work was done, how many places were opened for victims to take refuge over the past seven days, or how many doctors and security personnel were urgently recruited, it was still impossible to save everyone.

Rong Tang’s hands and feet grew uncontrollably cold. All the fresh emotions aroused by Su Huaijing in the morning disappeared without a trace. There were still puddles of water on the road. He avoided them as he walked, feeling the world spinning with every step.

Yet, Su Huaijing held his hand firmly and would speak to him every time they passed a stretch of road.

“The situation is much better than expected. Initially, it was assumed that twenty to thirty percent of the population in Suzhou would be affected—approximately one hundred and thirty thousand people. According to past flood records, about one hundred and thirty people would be dead or missing. But according to the statistics reported by the county offices yesterday, fifty-three people died and thirty-nine are missing in Suzhou Prefecture. Villagers are being organised for search and rescue. If nothing goes wrong, half of them will survive.”

The most prosperous Jiangnan area has become a scene of devastation with abnormally high humidity. The streets are filled with tall shacks offering free porridge, and every few stretches, long lines of victims can be seen waiting for aid.

The grain stores have reopened, and the wealthy, who have plenty of energy to spare, are scrambling to stock up on more food for their loved ones, as a precaution against another disaster.

After the natural disaster, it was millions of ordinary people who stood under the blazing sun of the long summer, regaining the courage to survive.

Su Huaijing let out a laugh and turned his head to look at Rong Tang. “Tangtang, we have reduced the loss by half.”

Sparrows, no bigger than a palm, perched in a row on rooftops and treetops, their small eyes observing the busy people in the city with curiosity. Su Huaijing gazed at Rong Tang, his eyes so gentle they seemed almost picturesque. “So you see, we’ve truly done well.”

We’ve done our best to save as many people as possible.

Whether or not people will sing our praises, at least the land beneath our feet and the sun above our heads will remember.

So don’t feel guilty at all; you’ve done extremely well.

Su Huaijing held Rong Tang’s hand and slowly led him through the disaster-stricken land.

Thanks to the advance food stockpiling and the immediate organisation of free porridge distribution after the heavy rain, there were no cases of people starving to death after the floods in Suzhou. However, small-scale fights for food still occurred. Fortunately, the government troops were well-trained and promptly put a stop to them.

Sheng Chengming and some of his officials moved to the Suzhou government office to take charge of affairs, while others remained at Lin Estate.

His Highness, the Second Prince, who had indulged in sensual pleasures in the capital city for eighteen years, now walked around the disaster area and river embankments every day. His skin had darkened considerably from the scorching sun, and he had become extremely haggard.

Sometimes, Rong Tang looks at Sheng Chengming, who appears drained of all energy, and then at Su Huaijing, who sticks to him day by day with a radiant expression. He can’t help but sigh that, as the main villain occupying the major scenes, Su Huaijing deserves his role. Even if not favoured by Heaven, his face is still quite attractive, no matter where it’s placed.

And it’s the type that’s extremely attractive.

One afternoon, Rong Tang sat under a persimmon tree bearing green fruits in the yard, bored and observing Shuang Fu decocting medicine. The main villain, with his extremely attractive face, frowned slightly as he listened to Lu Jiaxi talking beside him while they walked in from outside the courtyard.

The moment he saw Rong Tang sitting in the courtyard, Su Huaijing’s expression changed. He raised his hand and gestured downward, signalling Lu Jiaxi to stop talking. Then he naturally walked behind Rong Tang and asked softly, “Not taking a nap?”

Usually, when he wakes up from a nap in the afternoon, he drinks a bowl of medicinal soup that has been cooled to the right temperature. The medicine was not yet ready, indicating it wasn’t time for Rong Tang to be awake.

He sat on a small folding stool, holding a piece of dogtail grass in his hand, using it to draw a circle with salt on the ground, trapping a few ants carrying food.

Rong Tang absentmindedly teased the grass roots, raised his eyes and glanced at Lu Jiaxi, and replied, “I’ve already slept and woke up early.”

Then he asked, “Has something happened? You both look miserable.”

To be fair, Su Huaijing couldn’t be considered miserable, but young Excellency Lu’s face was almost as wrinkled as a bun, making it hard to ignore.

Su Huaijing originally wanted to hide it, but with Rong Tang staring directly at him, he had no choice. He pulled over a small stool, replaced Shuang Fu, and slowly fanned the fire under the medicine stove with a cattail leaf fan.

He said, “It’s not a big issue. Second Highness has already arranged for someone to solve it. Tangtang, you don’t need to worry.”

Rong Tang replied, “I’m not worried, just curious.”

Su Huaijing paused and said, “An epidemic has appeared in the city.”

Rong Tang’s heart sank, and he automatically began to frown.

After a major disaster, there will be a major epidemic. After surviving the first wave of floods, there will be countless man-made disasters. They could find a way to reduce the number of people who died from the heavy rains by half, but if a highly contagious epidemic breaks out now, the situation could be dire. Many houses have collapsed and are uninhabitable. Shelters have been set up in the city, and the victims are all gathered inside. If one person gets infected, the consequences could be unimaginable.

The confidential letters Rong Tang saw in his previous life only mentioned that the number of people killed in floods in Jiangnan reached hundreds of thousands. However, no one could tell exactly how many died due to floods, the epidemic, or unjustly in the ensuing chaos.

He asked in a low voice, “Is it serious?”

Su Huaijing lifted his gaze to look at him and shook his head. “It’s hard to tell; it’s a disease we’ve never seen before.”

Lu Jiaxi also sat down, and the three of them happened to form a circle around the ants on the ground. He said, “The epidemic is not the most difficult part. Young Master Su anticipated it early on and had His Highness set up quarantine places in the city in advance. If someone shows symptoms, they are moved over and treated by a doctor. The rest of the densely populated areas are fumigated every day. I passed by there this morning and heard an experienced doctor say that the number of people infected after this flood is already much less than that of the flood in the second year of Qingzheng.”

Rong Tang was slightly startled and threw a surprised glance at Su Huaijing.

He was well aware that the main villain was knowledgeable in astronomy, geography, military affairs, and politics because these are the subjects he will rely on when he enters the imperial court in the future. It was impossible not to study them.

But he was only seventeen years old and already able to predict the post-flood epidemic in advance and take precautions. His abilities were truly astonishing.

He steadied himself and looked at Lu Jiaxi. “In that case, what are you worried about?”

Young Excellency Lu also tugged at a piece of dogtail grass, drawing circles on the ground. He appeared even more anxious than the group of ants that couldn’t get out: “The relief funds have not been received.”

It was now already the thirtieth of the sixth month, and ten days had passed since the rain stopped. Even the rice that Rong Tang and Su Huaijing had stocked up in advance, plus the emergency rations in Suzhou Prefecture, had almost all been consumed.

Not to mention that the disaster relief money was not only used to buy food. So many houses had collapsed in Jiangnan, and a whole season of crops was destroyed. If the imperial court did not send money, the impoverished people would indeed starve to death.

Rong Tang remained silent for a while because he knew this was bound to happen.

In his previous two lives, Lu Junxian, the governor of Jiangnan, had concealed the disaster. It wasn’t until early in the seventh month, when some refugees fleeing the flood gathered outside Yu capital, that Emperor Renshou became aware of the disaster in Jiangnan.

After that, the first thing he did wasn’t to send an imperial envoy to provide relief. Instead, he secretly ordered Earl Wukang to lead an army to expel the refugees outside the city.

After the quarrel in the court over the veracity of the flood, Emperor Renshou sent ministers to personally inspect the disaster in Jiangnan and then return to the capital to report. By the time the disaster relief money was allocated from the Ministry of Household Affairs and transported to the southbound convoy, it was already in the middle of the seventh month.

Not to mention that the national treasury wasn’t abundant, and the disaster relief funds allocated were simply insufficient. At this time, the local governments were essentially struggling to find wealthy local businessmen for donations.

However, there was no concealment by Lu Junxian in this life. The disaster in Jiangnan was personally reported early by the Second Prince. Logically, credibility should be quite high. Rong Tang didn’t know why, until now, there was still no news whatsoever.

When the medicine was ready, Su Huaijing took it off the fire and poured it into a bowl to let it cool. He turned his head to glance at Lu Jiaxi before looking at Rong Tang. “Tangtang, you don’t know why the disaster relief funds haven’t come in yet?”

Rong Tang was stunned for a moment and honestly shook his head: “I don’t know.”

The recent pain must have been severe, since his mind was a little dull. He really couldn’t think of anything at the moment. 

Su Huaijing smiled softly and answered quite pointedly, “Because Lu Junxian is Senior Official Zhang’s disciple.”

Lu Jiaxi frowned, unable to understand: “What does this have to do with Governor Lu? Didn’t His Highness already imprison him?”

His words were quite innocent, but they hit the point directly. Rong Tang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood. He looked incredulously at Su Huaijing, hoping he would deny his conjecture.

Su Huaijing smiled as soon as he saw Rong Tang’s expression: “It seems that Tangtang has guessed it.”

Lu Jiaxi looked confused. “Guessed what?”

“Jiangnan is wealthy.” Rong Tang casually uttered these words.

Jiangnan is wealthy, and Lu Junxian, sitting in the position of Governor of Jiangnan, must be raking in astonishing amounts of money every year. Being a disciple of Senior Official Zhang, he would certainly send substantial tributes of gold and silver to his mentor each year in exchange for protection.

Disaster relief funds come from the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Six Ministries are under the jurisdiction of the cabinet.

Now, Sheng Chengming arrived in Jiangnan ahead of the flood and swiftly imprisoned Lu Junxian without any explanation. Strictly speaking, Lu Junxian is unable to take any action regarding this flood.

Su Huaijing wants Lu Junxian dismissed, but Senior Official Zhang wants to maintain his hold on this lucrative golden goose of Jiangnan.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to save the lives of millions of people; it’s just that he wants to save his disciple first before considering the common people.

If the disaster relief funds arrive in Jiangnan so quickly, doesn’t it prove that the officials of Dayu were derelict in their duties, needing the Prince’s presence to resolve the disaster?

No matter whether Lu Junxian had been convicted of corruption, bribery, or other crimes before, he would inevitably be removed from his position as Governor of Jiangnan.

Senior Official Zhang wants to protect him first and then deal with the disaster relief funds.

As for how to protect him? It’s very simple. His maternal grandson is in Jiangnan. As long as Sheng Chengming doesn’t report and expose him, Lu Junxian will always be a member of the Second Prince’s party.

From any perspective, this is purely beneficial to Sheng Chengming.

He would gain a good reputation and political achievements, save a high-ranking official, and secure financial resources for his future actions.

It depends on whether Sheng Chengming can reach a consensus with his maternal grandfather.

Rong Tang looked at Su Huaijing, feeling a slight chill in his heart. He didn’t say anything, merely staring quietly at Su Huaijing.

When the medicine had cooled enough, Su Huaijing handed it to him and whispered nonchalantly, “Tangtang need not worry; let him figure it out himself.”

He couldn’t plan everything for Sheng Chengming. He wasn’t even the Second Prince’s actual adviser. Whether or not to save Lu Junxian, the disaster relief funds must reach all the government offices in Jiangnan before the fifteenth of the seventh month.

As for Sheng Chengming’s current choices, they would only affect his future outcome, but Su Huaijing doesn’t care.

Rong Tang drank the decoction quietly, while Lu Jiaxi, lost in thought for a long time, dropped the dogtail grass to the ground, breaking the circle of salt. He said, somewhat confused, “But it’s not just about whether Senior Official Zhang wants to save him or not, right? Senior and the others are already on their way; he couldn’t save him even if he wanted to.”

Rong Tang was stunned for a moment, gulped down the medicine, looked up at Lu Jiaxi, and asked, “Who is here?”

“Senior Ke and Excellency Mu,” Lu Jiaxi said. “They set out from the capital in the early part of the sixth month. They encountered heavy rain on the way, so they stopped in Huizhou, resettled the victims there, and then rushed to Hangzhou. By my calculation, they’ll probably arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

The ants circling on the ground finally found the exit, and one after another, they picked up the food and crawled out along the gap.

Rong Tang looked down at the gap and fell into a moment’s confusion.

The butterfly effect wasn’t avoided?

In his previous life, Mu Jingxu discovered the secret, and Ke Hongxue informed Rong Tang about it. The secret he planned to use to blackmail Lu Junxian is still to be discovered by them in this life?

Lu Junxian was a jinshi* in the eighth year of Yuanxing and entered Hanlin Academy as a compiler. The reason he was promoted to become the Governor of Jiangnan was because he had done a great thing on Emperor Renshou’s behalf.

(*TN: successful candidate in the imperial civil service examination.)

The head on the banner of Emperor Renshou’s “uprising” was hacked off by Lu Junxian himself and hung up as a sign of his determination to be loyal to the new emperor.

The irony is that, unbeknownst to everyone, he is actually the maternal uncle of the previous Third Prince.