Miao Chu

Chapter 353 Palm
In fact, Cai Xiu's worries were not unfounded.

As soon as Magistrate Liao left the back office, he hurried and caught up with his colleagues ahead.

Seeing him rush over, people greeted him and asked where he had been and why he was taking so long.

"You're right! I used to hear stories of people who are all show and no substance, but now that I've seen it for myself, I know that such people and such things really exist!"

As soon as he said that, everyone around him turned to look.

"What's going on here?"

"Who has offended Master Liao?"

Judge Liao was just waiting for this question, so he immediately began to recount Cai Xiu's deeds.

Those in high positions of power may have many juniors who like to come forward and try to gain favor, but here they are all county and prefectural officials.

Although they held official positions, their ranks were not high. They had to serve their superiors and also govern their subordinates, making them the middleman caught in the middle.

Everyone has their own difficulties. If a mid-level official like this encounters an incompetent subordinate, he has no choice but to bite the bullet and take charge. Or if his subordinates make a mess, he has to clean it up himself. Hearing this, almost everyone's face changed.

"He's just a student, without any official rank, yet he actually stopped Councilor Li on the way???"

"No way?? He bypassed you, his direct subordinate, and went to report to the highest level? What if the prefect and the vice-prefect find out...?"

"Old Liao, why don't you go and explain things to Magistrate Yu?"

"It's not good to act rashly! Why don't you talk to the Registrar first? He knows Shangguan's thoughts best. Ask him to put in a good word for you and say a few nice things, so that the higher-ups won't harbor any resentment!"

"How do you explain this?" Magistrate Liao was full of grievances. "I insisted on keeping him, and I'm in charge of him. He's still a student. The higher-ups won't blame him; they'll just say that I, as his mentor, didn't teach him well!"

"How could this be! Wasn't it said that he was good at math and writing, which is why he was specially kept here?"

"Come on, this guy is good at putting on an act. I vaguely heard someone say that all those errands he usually does are done by students who are seconded to the Sixth Route Transportation Office. He used to do this all the time when he was in Liutahe. He's a habitual offender!"

Someone couldn't help but say, "If you knew all along, why didn't you say so?"

Judge Liao also looked annoyed and said, "Brother, since you know, you could at least give me a word of advice!"

The person who spoke first was also a little embarrassed, saying, "I only heard about it vaguely, how could I have known that the rumors were actually true!"

He added, “He is good at poetry and prose, and has a reputation for talent. Many of his superiors have praised him for his thoroughness in handling affairs and his ability to advance and retreat appropriately. I have no evidence and have only heard a few rumors. Wouldn’t it ruin his future?”

Magistrate Liao said irritably, "And you call that praise? It's all because of Lü Zhongchang's bad influence. Now he can't even protect himself!"

He embellished Li Zhai's comments on Cai Xiu and repeated them.

In reality, those comments were more like well-intentioned reminders to the younger generation, teaching them how to do things.

However, after Judge Liao dictated it, adding a fraction of the original meaning and twelve thousand parts of his own interpretation, everyone present knew how sharp-eyed Li Zhai, the Vice Minister of State Affairs, was. He immediately exposed the fabricated data by the Imperial Academy student Cai Xiu. The latter had been used to passing off inferior information as superiors, and this time he not only reported to higher authorities but also deceived his superiors, using all his cleverness. In the end, his cleverness backfired.

Prime Minister Li, being magnanimous, did not pursue the matter, but gave the student a special warning, telling him to use his mind for the right thing in the future.

—In the future? The right path?

Isn't the implication of these words to criticize Cai Xiu for taking the wrong path?
Once the nature of political participation was defined, everyone started adding fuel to the fire.

"Old Liao, you've really messed up this time! I had a bad feeling about you wanting to keep him around that day—there's something strange about this guy. Back then on the Liuta River, when that group of students were having fun on the platform, some died and some were injured. Although it can't be said to be his fault, and he can't be blamed, everyone else was in trouble, but he was the only one who was unharmed. Isn't that strange?"

"Exactly! The allocation of grain and supplies is a matter of utmost importance, concerning the people's livelihood. He's just a student, not even an official yet, and he dares to fabricate such nonsense! What audacity! What utter audacity!!"

"You need to clear yourself of this matter first. Today's students are not as naive as we used to be; they are all very shrewd. This one is also wicked; he dares to talk nonsense in front of Councilor Li. With his mouth, when he goes back, he will surely make up all sorts of stories about you to exonerate himself!"

"Yes, when this group of students' temporary assignments are over, you should still tell the admissions office to send a document back to the Imperial Academy and explain the situation clearly."

But some people played the good cop, saying, "Why don't we just leave the paperwork alone? After all, they're students, and things like this that end up on paper..."

"So it wasn't your reputation that was damaged??"

"Hey! What's the rush!" The one who was playing the good cop suddenly turned into the bad cop. "If you don't issue an official document, you can send a private letter or have someone spread the word among your acquaintances! Otherwise, if someone who doesn't know us comes directly to the Imperial Academy, it's unacceptable that a lowly official like us is bullying a student and doesn't know how to tolerate others!"

Just as everyone was offering suggestions, before they could finish speaking, a commotion arose from the front.

Everyone quickly looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the dock was not far ahead.

In the past, when you walked here, you could see porters unloading goods, boats coming and going, carts, mules and horses, and the surging river.

However, this time, nothing could be seen—only heads.

There were clusters of people, a bustling crowd, shoulder to shoulder, packed tightly together.

Many patrolmen and constables on the sidelines were busy dispersing the crowd, shouting to prevent a stampede.

Then some vendors stood on the stools of their stalls and craned their necks to look, others stepped on stones, some borrowed chairs from other people's houses, and still others climbed over the wall. All of them made shouts.

"coming!"

"They're here! They're the junks! It really is a junk ship!!"

"Now we don't have to worry about running out of food!"

"Let's see if those unscrupulous merchants dare to raise prices now!"

"How many ships are there? Old Li, you're standing on high, can you see them?"

"So many! So many! One, thirty, ten... Oh my god, I can't count them all!"

The one who was standing on higher ground was chased down.

"Don't just occupy the toilet without doing your business! Can't you count? You probably can't even count! Call me!"

The person who was speaking rushed to stand up.

People around him hurriedly surrounded him, asking, "Quick, count! How many?? How many??"

"Two, four, eight... Good heavens, there are so many, I can hardly see them!"

Li Zhai came in person, and a group of patrolmen and yamen runners cleared a path for the officials through the dense crowd.

Judge Liao and the others, no longer caring about Cai or Xiu, hurriedly chased after them.

The river flows through the city, and people stand on the open space of the dock looking upstream. Boats come from afar and approach, passing on the water, truly like a woven shuttle, seemingly endless.

"How come there are so many ships??" "Where did they come from? They can't all be dispatched at once, can they?"

Some officials couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

There were countless ships. From a distance, they appeared densely packed, but only when you got a little closer could you see that there was still a considerable distance between them.

The ship was fully loaded with grain, bag after bag, bulging and arched high, with the ropes tied tightly, making it a very pleasing sight.

Li Zhai was standing at the front, so he naturally heard the voices behind him.

He didn't speak, but silently replied in his heart.

—How did he do that? It was all thanks to Han Li.

The young man sent a letter early on, instructing the city to prepare warehouses, arrange docks, and have manpower ready to receive them, saying that the first time should be done in a grand manner to help the superior appease the emotions of the people in the city.

This young man had done the same thing once before in Huazhou. After witnessing it firsthand, he sent a report back to the capital, and the emperor even showed it to him.

At that time, they traveled by land. Countless civilians who had crossed the mountains by boat from Weizhou gathered halfway, pushing carts or carrying loads on their backs. After the crowd was complete, the procession meandered into the city, deliberately circling the city several times. Finally, because there was nowhere to unload, they had to find places such as the state school and temples to temporarily store their belongings.

Back then, he only saw the written word and praised the younger generation as "a force to be reckoned with." Now, seeing the scene of hundreds of boats racing in front of him, Li Zhai still only had that one thought in his mind.

—Indeed, the young are truly formidable!

As the ships docked one after another, countless laborers who had been arranged in advance helped unload the grain and transport it to the warehouse. Although the officials persuaded the people to leave, none of them were willing to go far. Instead, they surrounded both sides of the road, watching load after load of grain, cart after cart of grain being sent away in front of them.

Meanwhile, seeing this scene, a few people quietly slipped out of the crowd and ran back as fast as they could.

Soon after, many messengers rushed back from grain shops, stores, and residences throughout the city to deliver the news.

"Master! We're in big trouble!! The canal is open, and the grain from the south has arrived!"

"Master, this is terrible! That Master Li wasn't bluffing; he really got his hands on grain—there are at least two or three hundred ships today alone, and we don't know where they came from or how they were deployed! The whole city is watching! We probably can't hold onto our grain any longer!"

"Master! Your uncle sent a messenger to tell you to open the granaries and sell the grain immediately. Be careful, or that gentleman will take advantage of the chaos to crack down on the merchants who hoarded goods!"

……

……

With these sounds, and with batches of ships and carts arriving daily, carrying grain and supplies, and a steady stream of reinforcements being sent out along with countless soldiers, although the disaster could not be stopped, thanks to Li Zhai sitting in the city, strategizing and coordinating the overall situation, and with the unity of the people, at least on the surface, all disaster relief and rescue work was carried out in an orderly manner.

As for Cai Xiu, she hasn't stopped working since that day.

Magistrate Liao didn't even bother to investigate personally, but instead handed him over to a lower-level clerk.

The experienced officials, observing his words and actions, kept this talented student from the Imperial Academy constantly on their toes.

Cai Xiu was bossed around by a group of minor officials in the yamen, facing mountains of documents. When he returned to his quarters, he was turned away eight times out of ten. When something happened, Li Zhai was nearby, so those young masters dared not move out and had to stay in the quarters. They could not even use their servants openly.

Everyone knew that Cai Xiu had been kept at the yamen to work every day and wouldn't be back until dark, so they deliberately locked the door from the inside. In the middle of the night, they let him knock and shout outside until he couldn't take it anymore and was about to go out to find an inn. Only then did he open the door, grumbling and cursing.

Cai Xiu had no way to deal with these young masters. He didn't even dare to utter a word to their faces. In the yamen, he wanted to file a complaint, but he offended Magistrate Liao. He knew that this harassment was probably at Liao's behest. Going to file a complaint would only bring him humiliation.

He endured the days, trying every possible method, even bribing his superiors and hosting a banquet in an attempt to reconcile with the young masters, but all his efforts were in vain.

As time went on, he, who had always been the center of attention, receiving praise and compliments, and only receiving compliments from others, had never experienced the exclusion and disdain he now felt. He truly couldn't bear to live a single day.

Knowing that his treatment here was unlikely to improve, he decided to try to get back to Beijing.

However, Chanzhou refused to release him, saying that as the leader in contacting the students, Cai Xiu could not leave until the students had returned and the aftermath of the incident at Liuta River, in which the group of dead and injured young masters remained unresolved.

Cai Xiu was so angry that her nose twisted.

After searching for so long, there are still two people who have disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead.

Those people went on stage, fell into the water, got hurt, and died on their own—what business is it of his? If he can't find them in his lifetime, is he supposed to stay in Chanzhou forever?

At this time, Cai Xiu tried every means to return to the capital, completely unaware of what he would face upon his return—but that's a story for another time.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away, another person was also doing everything in his power to finish his work quickly and return to the capital as soon as possible.

In the middle of the day, after finally completing the spot checks and reviews, and revising two reports, Kong Fuyang finally couldn't help but stretch out a big yawn.

Even though I'm young, I get up before dawn and work hard until now, and my neck still aches and my back of my neck is stiff.

Seeing that everyone around him was slumped over, either lying down or leaning, exhausted from their lunch break, he stood up, went outside, and wanted to stretch his body.

To make things easier, everyone had been sleeping huddled together on the boat for the past few days. Now that the boat was moored on the shore, it was still quite stable, but it was still different from being on flat land.

Kong Fuyang was not a good swimmer, but he was eager to test the waters, so he walked towards the bow of the boat where it was docked.

He had only taken a couple of steps when he saw a person facing the riverbank with their back to him.

Seeing that the figure looked familiar, Kong Fuyang went up and greeted him.

As soon as he called out, the man shuddered for some reason. Something slipped from his hand, startling him so much that he frantically grabbed and caught it in the air. Fortunately, he managed to catch it and let out a long sigh of relief.

Kong Fuyang laughed and asked, "What did you eat? Why are you hiding here like a rat?"

The man quickly made a shushing gesture, then opened his palm to reveal what was inside, and said, "I was just talking to Leader Han, and he said I've been doing calculations and comparisons very quickly lately, so he just grabbed these for me. There were only two originally, but I was too embarrassed to go inside, otherwise if someone saw them, I wouldn't know whether to share them or not!"

Seeing how carefully the other party cherished it, Kong Fuyang leaned over for another look.

A brown candy was lying in the palm of his hand.

The candy was long and thin, clearly cut into pieces. Inside the cross-section were oval-shaped nuts that were either light yellow or milky white. The color and appearance were unlike any candy Kong Fuyang had ever eaten before. Although it was unremarkable, he could clearly see the crumpled oil paper next to it, with a corner of a seal on it, from which he could vaguely make out the character "Song" in clerical script.

He suddenly became excited.

Yesterday, he finally met up with Han Li and his crew. After they met, they were busy with business and didn't have time to chat. He also didn't get anything from the other party. But when he saw the candy, Kong Fuyang's still a little drowsy mind immediately cleared up.

So this guy's surname is Song!
I know that well!

"It was Zhengyan who gave it to you! I've never even tried it before! What does it taste like? What kind of candy is it? Is it good?"

　Thank you everyone for your monthly tickets, Xiaoxiang tickets, recommendation tickets, and all kinds of tickets. Thank you for your subscription support.

　　I tried so hard to write this, I thought I'd see Xiaomiao today, but it turns out I have to wait until tomorrow QAQ
　　(End of this chapter)