The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 256 - 245: Agree

Chapter 256: Chapter 245: Agree

Lord Wei was set to return to the capital from here, and the local officials naturally wanted to arrange a farewell banquet for him. It was expected that Lord Wei would decline, but surprisingly, he accepted the invitation.

Not to mention the Governor of Mianzhou, even County Magistrate Fu was delighted, sparing no effort to book the best restaurant in the county for a few tables of wine and dishes. Old Master Bai arrived in the county town in the afternoon. He had just met Lord Wei and cast him a puzzled glance, but said nothing.

At the banquet, many people drank excessively. Old Master Bai’s face was also somewhat flushed. He didn’t stay in the other residence in the town and chose to stay in the same inn as Lord Wei.

In the dead of night, Old Master Bai appeared in Lord Wei’s room.

Lord Wei helped Old Master Bai, kneeling on the ground, to his feet and said, "Since I have promised you, I will naturally see it through. After you send me off tomorrow, go ahead and wait for me on the detour."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Bai let out a sigh of relief and respectfully returned to his room.

But he was not at peace in his heart.

This afternoon, when he hurried from his home to the county town, Lord Wei had just returned from the last severely affected village. He sought an audience with him, yet Lord Wei seemed not at all surprised.

Among the many local gentry and wealthy landowners who accompanied him, not only did he remember his name, but he could also mention the place where he currently lived. Even when he extended an invitation for Lord Wei to visit Qili Village alone, he smiled meaningfully and without further questioning, accepted the invitation.

At that moment, Old Master Bai felt that Lord Wei knew something.

Now, he was even more certain of it.

Publicly saying he was returning to the capital but planning to visit Qili Village quietly with him, although this was in his interest, did this indicate that Lord Wei knew everything from the start, and even witnessed everything that had happened in Qili Village in the past two days?

Could he be trusted?

The thought flashed through his mind, and then he calmed down a little.

He should be trustworthy, for he is not even afraid of the saints, so why would he fear the officials of Yizhou?

In Yizhou, the most powerful figure is only the Prince of Yizhou.

Unless Lord Wei was planning a rebellion, what reason would he have to collude with local officials and feudal lords?

Old Master Bai comforted himself with these thoughts.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Lord Wei’s entourage was ready to depart. Lord Wei got into his carriage and said to everyone, "With the summer harvest imminent and many post-disaster tasks remaining, I shall not delay you any further. You may all return."

That was out of the question. The officials, led by the Governor of Mianzhou, insisted on escorting him to the Ten-Mile Pavilion.

As the parental officials would be making the send-off, the gentry and wealthy landowners who had followed did not want to lag behind, so they followed en masse.

The grand procession thus set off, reached the official road, and arrived at the Ten-Mile Pavilion, where Lord Wei’s expression darkened, and he said, "If you escort me any further, I truly won’t be able to leave."

Upon hearing this, the Governor of Mianzhou was somewhat embarrassed; he did not wish for this harbinger of ill fortune to remain and thus stopped in his tracks to bid farewell to Lord Wei at the Ten-Mile Pavilion.

Old Master Bai, along with the gathered local gentry and magnates, watched as Lord Wei departed into the distance before bidding farewell to the Governor of Mianzhou and other officials from various counties.

County Magistrate Fu turned his head to discuss some matters with Old Master Bai but found the man already gone.

Old Master Bai galloped back to the village and waited at the turnoff to the mountain path leading from the county town; it was less than half an hour when Lord Wei arrived on horseback with two bodyguards from another road.

Old Master Bai let out a sigh of relief and was about to step forward to pay his respects when Lord Wei waved his hand and said, "Old Master Bai, there’s no need for formalities, let us hit the road."

"Yes."

The two men galloped towards Qili Village, and riding on horses, it did not take long; they arrived at the village entrance in less than two quarters of an hour.

At this time, Daji had just handed the signed confession to Ms. Liu, "Apart from the man in the right room, the other two are willing to sign their statements."

Ms. Liu nodded, wrapped the statement in oil paper, and then placed it into a box.

She was about to speak when the housekeeper reported from outside the door, "Old Madam, the Hall Master has brought a distinguished guest."

Ms. Liu immediately rose to her feet and said, "Send everyone to the back yard, ensure the servants are well-managed, and don’t let them wander around. Please invite the Hall Master and his guests to the front hall; I will be there shortly."

This time, Ms. Liu didn’t bring the elderly maidservant or her personal maid Daya, only Daji.

By the time Ms. Liu had arrived, Lord Wei was standing at the entrance with his back turned, admiring the flowers in the courtyard. Hearing footsteps, he turned to look.

Old Master Bai immediately introduced her, "My Lord, this is my aunt, born a Liu. My cousin is a jinshi from the first year of the Da Zhen era and later served as the magistrate of Shu County."

In the front hall were only Old Master Bai, Lord Wei and his two bodyguards, and Ms. Liu with Daji.

After Ms. Liu had paid her respects, she did not speak immediately. Daji glanced at Lord Wei’s bodyguards and withdrew first.

Lord Wei then gave a slight nod to his two bodyguards, and suddenly, only three people were left in the hall.

"Old Madam, you may speak now."

Ms. Liu then knelt down on the spot.

Lord Wei hastened to help her up, but Ms. Liu refused and, looking up, asked him, "My Lord, the Qianwei Weir was not supposed to breach. The tens of thousands of innocent souls who perished in the great flood were not meant to die either."

Lord Wei sighed heavily, gripped her arm tightly to help her up, then took a step back and said, "I am aware."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Liu and Old Master Bai knew that they had bet correctly.

For six years, Ms. Liu had no recourse for her grievances, not daring to even reveal them, but now, at last, there seemed to be a confidant to whom she could pour out her woes.

Ms. Liu could not help but weep.

Lord Wei said, "The flooding in Yizhou is severe, and His Majesty is greatly enraged, particularly because it has only been two years since the last repair of the Qianwei Weir. No, to be exact, the project was completed only one year and eight months ago."

"Although the flooding was partly caused by the summer rains, if the Pingshui Channel had not been silted up, and if the Feisha Weir could have more securely diverted the floodwaters, and if the Jin Dike had not collapsed, then the disaster would not have occurred. Even if the floodwaters could not be held back, it would have been an overflow rather than a sudden and violent flash flood."

This breach was so sudden and ferocious that the downstream villagers were swept away before they could react.

Therefore, in Lord Wei’s view, it was a natural disaster compounded by human error.

"While investigating the construction of the Qianwei Weir, I discovered that in the second year of Da Zhen, Bai Qi, the magistrate of Shu County, had submitted a memorial proposing the hiring of laborers from outside the region to repair the Jin Dike. However, it never reached the capital; it was rejected by the Governor of Yizhou."

Lord Wei was not supposed to know about this affair, but it must be said that Bai Qi was thorough enough, and Lord Wei diligent enough. While examining various accounts and archives in Shu County, Lord Wei found Bai Qi’s work journal, which mentioned the date and the title of the submitted memorial, albeit without specific details.

A normal yet abnormal memorial.

It was normal because it’s indeed common practice to hire or transfer laborers from other areas when a water conservancy project urgently needs workers;

It was abnormal because the Qianwei Weir was a massive undertaking, and due to long-neglected maintenance, the initial project timeline was set for three years.

From the beginning of the funding in the first year of Da Zhen, there were still one year and seven months left by the time Bai Qi submitted his proposal, and as later events proved, the repair work took even longer, continuing until the autumn of two years ago.

For such a long-term water conservancy project, the common practice is for citizens from various counties within the state to take turns working on the project, and it is rare to arrange for laborers from outside the region so early on.

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