A Good Country Wife-Chapter 629 - 623_1

Zheng Qin’s actions were such that no one could find fault, even if the Emperor knew that Zheng Qin had sent a message to the Ceng Family. With the precedent set by the former incident and the Empress’s intervention during the dispute with Ceng Lu, although the Emperor outwardly pretended to be unaware, he actually understood that Zheng Qin was ’compelled by necessity’. Therefore, he could not be blamed.

When the Ceng Family received the message, they generously rewarded the messenger, giving him a whole ingot of ten taels of silver and asked him to convey their gratitude to Zheng Qin. Little did they imagine that after leaving the Ceng Family, this person went to meet someone who lounged in a tea house for a while. Emerging with a hint of a malicious smile, it wasn’t long before rumors about Ceng Lu began to spread wildly, and soon, not just Ceng Lu, but all sorts of sordid affairs related to the family were dredged up, becoming more exaggerated as they spread.

Putting aside the situation in the Capital for the moment, Lin Yue was also worried about the gates of Xin’an City staying closed. With such a long time since they’d been able to enter the city and so many new servants added to her household, many supplies needed replenishing. Yet, the city gates remained stubbornly closed. If it was previously to keep beggars out, now that they’d dispersed, it was puzzling as to why the gates were still shut. Was Ceng Lu out of his mind? Was he not afraid of being held accountable by the higher-ups? Little did Lin Yue know, the real reason the gates stayed closed was that Ceng Lu simply had no idea that the beggars had already left.

Seeing the dwindling supply of grain in the family storehouse, Lin Yue didn’t want to tap into the reserves kept hidden away, and simply waiting for the city gates to open was no solution. With the gates closed for so long, the situation inside the city was likely grim, and even if the gates did open, it would take a while to recover. She had no choice but to send Liu Aniu with others to a town even further away to make the necessary purchases.

"Madam, it’s only purchasing grain and daily necessities, these items aren’t expensive, it shouldn’t cost so much silver," Liu Aniu said, seeing Lin Yue give him a silver note worth two thousand taels.

"I trust you, just take it with you. It’s always good to carry more silver when going out to buy things, in case you find you’re short and can’t come back to get more. Just the journey back and forth will take three or four days, and with the flood having just passed, the price of grain is certainly not cheap. Make sure to get a clear idea of the market prices. Regardless of how expensive grain is, buy more to bring back. With so many mouths to feed at home, we’re going through grain very fast," Lin Yue cautioned, worrying that Liu Aniu might hesitate to make a purchase if he found the prices too steep. She didn’t know what the future might hold, but for the foreseeable future, grain prices were unlikely to drop, and whether the situation would improve was uncertain. It was only sensible to store more grain at home for peace of mind. She knew all too well that during the previous crisis, even with a handful of silver notes, there was nowhere to spend them, while the consumption of grain at home was still massive. She had been resourceful, mixing corn or sweet potatoes with rice to cook into porridge, trying to save as much as possible. Even so, the grain in the storehouse had already been reduced by more than half.

"Don’t worry, madam, I understand and will handle everything well," Liu Aniu assured her, never questioning his master’s instructions. If Lin Yue told him to do it, it must be right.

Lin Yue’s concern was indeed justified. By the time Liu Aniu returned from the neighboring town with the grain, the gates of Xin’an City had just opened on the second or third day afterward. Upon receiving the news, Lin Yue immediately sent someone to Jimin Hall in the city to find out the current situation. With the city gates closed for so long, not only were they unable to get in, but the people inside couldn’t come out. They were unaware of the actual state of Jimin Hall. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

When the person who visited Jimin Hall returned and reported the situation to Lin Yue, she was silent. The state of the city was worse than she had imagined. Had it been any other time, the prolonged closing of the gates wouldn’t have caused much trouble. After all, the people were well-off and could last a while. But since Ceng Lu had taken office, Xin’an City had completely changed. Not only did the beggars and robbed villagers outside die in large numbers, but there were also many deaths among the common people in the city who couldn’t afford to buy food.

Lin Yue couldn’t concern herself with everyone else, but she couldn’t neglect Jimin Hall and Dalang, their mentor Scholar Zhang. She immediately had grain sent over.

By this time, Zheng Qin had already distributed the grain and had uncovered even more information about Xin’an City and Ceng Lu. After learning that the city gates were open, he first went to Xin’an City and then returned to the Capital. Not long after his return, another wave of rumors about the Ceng Family started to spread like wildfire in the Capital. The Ceng Family sent people to investigate, but the trail went cold at the tea house and they couldn’t figure out what had happened. They instinctively felt that the rumors might be the work of their adversaries. The previous rumors had nearly been suppressed, so how could a new version suddenly start gaining traction?

With such intense speculation circulating outside, it naturally reached the Emperor’s ears. Initially, Huangfu Jing was somewhat skeptical, believing that these messages might be a case of misinformation. Ceng Lu, no matter how foolish, couldn’t possibly be that absurd. The reason why he had placed Ceng Lu in the position of Magistrate of Xin’an City was to give the Ceng Family a little sweetener, since he needed to make use of them at the time, and had casually agreed to the Empress’s request.

Huangfu Jing had then thought that although Ceng Lu was somewhat inept and inactive, considering that Lord Chen had managed Xin’an City well, sending Ceng Lu over would be fine as long as he could maintain the status quo. However, while Huangfu Jing didn’t really believe the rumors, the suspicions of an emperor run deep, not to mention that there is no smoke without fire. Since such rumors were widespread, Ceng Lu must have been inappropriate in some way, so he sent someone to Xin’an City in secret to find out the true situation.

But the investigation not only proved that the widespread rumors were true rather than just false claims, but Ceng Lu’s actions in Xin’an City were far worse than the rumors had described. The list of his crimes was extensive, especially regarding the beggar issue. As an official meant to be a parent to the people, not only did he fail to love and trust them, but he also mercilessly cut off their means to live, driving them to desperation. Even more ridiculous, he had the city gates closed for more than half a month, a precedent unheard of in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Huangfu Jing was already furious before finishing reading the report, "This is outrageous, utterly preposterous! To dare commit such acts, the Ceng Family is courting death! Do they truly think I’m unaware of their clandestine actions? Were it not for fear of disrupting my own arrangements, I would have disposed of them long ago."

With his complexion changing and his chest heaving with anger, Huangfu Jing couldn’t believe Ceng Lu could commit such absurdities. How had the Ceng Family raised their son? It was unimaginable what a mess Xin’an City had become under this scourge.