Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 1001 - Things Have Changed But People Are
Chapter 1001: Chapter 1001 Things Have Changed, But People Are Gone
Chapter 1001 -1001 Things Have Changed, But People Are Gone
The stars sparse outside the window, the moon clear.
Di Hongyuan had long since succumbed to drunken oblivion, lying in the bed uttering incomprehensible drunken gibberish.
Di Yelei’s capacity for alcohol was almost at its end, yet he felt not the slightest urge to sleep. Filled with myriad emotions, he stood with his hands clasped behind him at the edge of the lotus pond, his eyes brimming with desolation.
A series of soft footsteps approached from behind, but he didn’t turn. Instead, he spoke up.
“Why are you still awake at this late hour?”
“I cannot sleep without you by my side.”
Liu Sisi gently walked up to him and silently took his hand.
It had always been him taking the initiative, so an initiative like Liu Sisi’s today was rare indeed. This made Di Yelei unable to resist turning his head to look at her.
Liu Sisi just happened to look up, and their gazes met in midair.
“Your mood seems very off, why? Is it because you’re feeling homesick?”
Even if he were feeling homesick, now that he’s back home, wouldn’t it be a bit too late?
“No, it’s not that.”
Di Yelei, loath to let go of her hand, instead turned back to watch the flowing stream and sighed silently: “Before returning to my hometown, I had imagined countless scenarios of reuniting with my old friends. Although some were as I expected, more were beyond my predictions.”
“You find your hometown unfamiliar, don’t you? Feel like it’s not the same place you remember?”
Liu Sisi began to chuckle softly, for she too knew this feeling well.
“Yes, things remain but people change!”
The familiar landscape that had raised him from childhood surrounded him, yet Di Yelei felt as if he were separated by a veil, never quite touching the truest scene.
“This is only natural. Gongzhou Mansion has seen continuous wars, and Macheng County has been scorched by the flames of war several times over. The civilians live in constant dread, struggling to fill their bellies each day. And to welcome you, Marquis Yongping, with a feast, Uncle Land Officer and the Lord County Magistrate prepared meals for hundreds of people. I’m afraid that this single expense might have cost the entire year’s tax revenue of Macheng County?”
Liu Sisi’s words were gentle, faint.
Yet they made Di Yelei shiver as if awakening from a dream!
That’s it!
He had always felt something was off, and the discordant element lay here, after all!
For this reason!
He clenched his teeth in anger: “I felt something was wrong, and so it is. That County Magistrate Zhu is indeed detestable, spending the county’s annual tax revenue on this welcome banquet. When those above demand taxes, and he can’t produce them, we’ll see what he’ll do then.”
“Hehe, he will certainly say that all the silver was used to entertain you, the Lord Imperial Envoy. Maybe the higher-ups will even have to allocate a sum to Macheng County’s treasury to cover it. He’ll have both face and gain, and all the sins would ultimately fall upon you,” Liu Sisi saw through these matters clearly.
“Despicable! That County Magistrate Zhu appears so honest, yet his mind is full of cunning schemes.”
Di Yelei appeared extremely angry: “And Uncle Land Officer, to think he’s colluding with County Magistrate Zhu, this is just too…” Disappointing.
“I’m afraid Uncle Land Officer had no control over it either.”
Liu Sisi’s voice was faint as she pointed to the farmlands below the hill. Beneath the moonlight, one could still make out patches of golden-yellow rape blossoms.
“Look at these fields, Ye Lei. The terraces on this slope were once fully cultivated. Yet now, vast expanses lie fallow. War and unrest are one side of it, and widespread panic is another. Then there’s the heavy taxation from the imperial court; I fear the common people can’t sustain their lives by farming alone, choosing instead to let this land remain uncultivated…”
Liu Sisi, freshly returned to Macheng County, naturally didn’t know these affairs, but women are born gossips. All sorts of tidbits inevitably trickled down, making their way into her ears without her seeking them out.
“Heavy taxation? Did Zhao Jiong cause all this chaos?” Di Yelei fell into thought.
Liu Sisi pondered for a moment before remembering who Di Yelei was talking about. Zhao Dun, styled Zhao Jiong, also known as the ‘Carefree Elder.’ In life, he was muddled and mad; after his death, Zhao Yuanlang buried him outside the Imperial Mausoleum, with only a few short words on his tombstone, without even a biography.
“How exactly he caused the chaos, I don’t know. But since you’ve come back on Imperial Edict to visit your family and also to investigate the conditions in Gongzhou firsthand, why not take this excellent opportunity to report everything to His Majesty, and let His Majesty decide?”
Liu Sisi didn’t refer to Zhao Yuanlang as Father Emperor, and her tone remained exceptionally calm as she spoke.
“Hmm—you make a good point, let me think about it…”
His gaze landed on the withered lotus stalks before him.
With the arrival of spring and blooming flowers, small lotuses were just poking their heads above the tranquil water, forming tiny peaks. The stream babbled, the mountain breeze brought the intense aroma of rape blossoms to his nose, refreshing his heart and soul.
“Plum blossoms, peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, and tangerine blossoms are all in bloom…”
Liu Sisi closed her eyes slightly, taking a deep breath of the various flower scents in the air, and couldn’t help but laugh!
–
The next day, early in the morning, while Liu Sisi and others were still in their dreams, several tenant farmers from the manor and the person in charge of the gold mine in Qinglong Cave came to seek an audience.
First, Liu Sisi met with the tenant farmers, offering some words of encouragement. She accepted the grain that should have been paid in tenant rent over the years and immediately handed out items of approximately equal value in return, which moved everyone to tears.
This year, they had hope again!
After the tenant farmers left, Liu Sisi met with the person in charge of the gold mine. Initially, it was managed by Nan Tianzong and Di Yelei, later gradually handed over to Di Cheng. When Di Cheng left for the capital city, he gave the management of the gold mine to Ironsmith Fan.
Ironsmith Fan had lost his wife early and was left with only Xiao Feng, his sole offspring. He was known to be honest and straightforward, yet also courageous and loyal. Having helped Liu Sisi construct various items, he had grown familiar with her. Aware that Di Cheng had handed management over to Ironsmith Fan, Liu Sisi was supportive.
After all, the few leaders inside were Di Yelei’s trusted aides, and she didn’t fear that they would cause trouble.
Ironsmith Fan had heard yesterday that Feng’er had come home with Liu Sisi but had not seen her yet. He arrived early today under the pretense of gold mine business, truly hoping to catch a glimpse of Feng’er.
Glancing briefly at the piled-high account books on the table and feeling overwhelmed, Liu Sisi waved for her servants to call for Di Cheng and Feng’er, leaving the entire operation in their hands. After all, the gold mine would be Di Cheng’s in the future, anyway.
With Feng’er’s stomach showing at eight months, Liu Sisi yawned at the sight of Ironsmith Fan looking intently at her belly and then returned to her room to catch up on some sleep.
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She had not gone far when she was stopped by someone coming to report!
“Princess, Lord Gan from outside the door requests an audience.”
“Which Lord Gan?” Liu Sisi frowned.
“The fourth-rank Assistant Minister named Jiayou, Lord Gan.”
