The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 267 - 256: The Ultimate Weapon

Chapter 267: Chapter 256: The Ultimate Weapon

Why did the Emperor send Wei Zhi to Yizhou?

Obviously, because Wei Zhi’s temperament was notorious for being nasty and stubborn. Even he dared to continually talk back to the Emperor, not fearing anyone.

The great flood in Yizhou, although reported by the Commissioner and the Governor of Jiannan, hadn’t been described as particularly severe.

Being far from the capital, the Emperor neither had clairvoyance nor omniscience, so he was unaware of the actual situation there. He thought that each county had its own grain reserves and within Jiannan there were two large granaries; thus, he and the court officials felt they could solve the problem locally.

Only when the Magistrate of Xindu County and some prominent families of Yizhou rushed to the capital overnight to report, did he realize the severity of the flood in Yizhou.

In several villages downstream of the Qianwei Weir, it was said not a single person survived; they were submerged in the floodwaters in the blink of an eye...

So the Emperor was furious, and that’s why he immediately put Wei Zhi—a weapon of mass destruction—into action.

Years ago, Wei Zhi had offended him multiple times. The Emperor had thought of killing him numerous times and had demoted him, but in the end, he called Wei Zhi back to the capital, where they continued to trade insults while still relying on each other.

So Wei Zhi’s stubbornness was famous throughout the land. In turbulent times, harsh laws were needed, and such chaos required an uncompromising minister.

Let alone the fact that the greatest authorities in Yizhou were merely the Prince of Yizhou and the Commissioner of Jiannan, whom even Wei Zhi dared to confront.

But facing Wei Zhi’s sharp tongue and temperament, the Emperor could tolerate it, fearing that others might not. What if Wei Zhi was disposed of on his way?

The Emperor’s mood was complex for a moment, a mix of anticipation and sadness, tinged with anger and anxiety.

In the end, all these emotions outweighed the trivial matter of the chessboard. He thought, even if a killing was necessary, shouldn’t it be by his own hand?

So the Emperor thought for a moment and immediately called the imperial guard, instructing them to search for the man along the official road to Yizhou.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhi had just left Qili Village and, led by Old Master Bai, took various shortcuts and circled around Luojiang County to return to the official road.

Old Master Bai only saw them off at the official road, and they bid farewell to each other.

Wei Zhi handed him a note, saying, "If there’s ever anything in the future, present this note and come to the capital to see me."

Wei Zhi had given one to Ms. Liu, but he felt he ought to give one to Old Master Bai too. What if Ms. Liu didn’t come looking for him?

Although they had only spent a brief four days together, Wei Zhi had already realized that Old Madam was fiercely independent and loath to trouble others.

Old Master Bai accepted it respectfully and watched Wei Zhi depart.

Wei Zhi hadn’t gone far from Jiannan when he encountered the imperial guard sent to find him. He didn’t show himself but let his attendant handle the communication.

It was an oversight on his part, also reflecting his distrust of the capital, which explains why he didn’t report his whereabouts to the capital. If the guard caught up with him at this critical junction, it wouldn’t take two days for the people in Yizhou to find out that he had stayed in Jiannan for four days.

Although he had covered his tracks, it was best to leave as little information behind as possible.

After all, both Ms. Liu and her grandson were naturally conspicuous, and it was by such a coincidence that they encountered the Zhou Family.

Wei Zhi could not take this risk, neither could Ms. Liu, and certainly not the Zhou Family.

Therefore, he did not show up, but sent out an attendant to have a quiet word with the leader of the guard. Then he continued to make his discreet way back to the capital, while the imperial guard carried on searching within Jiannan.

The news of Wei Zhi’s disappearance spread like the wind throughout Jiannan, with many people springing into action to locate him.

In Mianzhou, not only was the Governor ordered to search, but also many others flooded into the area, scouring for clues.

Some even made their way to Qili Village.

Since Bai Qi’s family was there, no one knew for sure if Wei Zhi had traced anything back to Bai Qi—in case he had come looking...

Of course, that wasn’t the only concern; the main issue was the disappearance of the three individuals sent to Qili Village. They had vanished without a trace, with no clue where the mishap had occurred.

But in Qili Village, all was calm. The villagers had decided to plant winter wheat, and with some free time at hand, they began digging pits and piling up compost around the area.

Could each family only pile up two mounds of compost at most near their homes?

No matter. There was plenty of land outside the village to choose from, dig wherever they pleased. It wasn’t like they were claiming the land to build houses—the village chief did not mind at all.

Old Zhou had grand ambitions, leading his family to create four compost heaps near the wasteland opened up by Zhou SiLang.

Zhou SiLang and his family had to climb mountains daily to dig up fertile soil and sweep up fallen leaves from the forest. Since there were plenty needing compost lately, they decided to strip even the larger leaves, transporting them down the mountain to shred and toss into the compost heaps.

These type of leaves took longer to decompose, certainly more than ten or twenty days. But there was still a long way to go until they planted winter wheat in the fall, and not all these heaps were for that purpose—they also had to prepare for the coming spring planting.

Otherwise, why would they toil so early on?

Were they not afraid that after planting winter wheat, they would lack compost for the next year?

Indeed, we rural folks think that far ahead.

But not all families operated in the same manner, as many were leisurely preparing, even feeling that the villagers were overreacting.

Spring planting was still half a year away. They thought that even after winter, say after the winter solstice, it wouldn’t be too late to hurry.

With wheat harvest almost upon them, wasn’t it better to rest a little more now to recuperate? Why bother them with such commotion at this time?

The village chief and the village elders lectured those few families a couple of times, but seeing no heed was taken, they let it be.

Turning to see how busy the Zhou Family was, even Manbao, the family’s darling, after finishing her homework, would drag a small bamboo basket up the mountain to help gather withered leaves. The elders would then shake their heads and sigh, "No wonder Uncle Jin’s family is thriving; just look how they work. And then look at those other families?"

An elder also shook his head, "Back in the day, Zhou Jin’s grandparents were among the poorest in the village. Their family prospered due to a good daughter-in-law. Ever since Ms. Qian joined their family, their fortunes have improved day by day."

Except for a few years when natural disasters struck.

As they spoke, Manbao, pulling a ragged bamboo basket, passed by them and greeted cheerily, "Fifth Granduncle, Sixth Granduncle, Uncle Bao, and village chief, where have you been?"

The youngest in seniority yet not the youngest in age, the village chief: ...

"Just strolling around," Fifth Granduncle replied with a chuckle, "Manbao, are you off to the mountain to collect leaves?"

"Yes, and to look for mushrooms. It rained last night, and many people harvested mushrooms on the mountain this morning," Manbao responded.

Those were straw mushrooms, not particularly hard to find, usually sprouting in high probability after a rain. Even without meat at home, boiling them was quite delicious.

Of course, adding one or two eggs into the mix would make them even more delectable.

Lately, younger members of Manbao’s family had also found some, so the adults replied warmly, "Then go ahead and search, but don’t wander too deep into the mountain."

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