Chapter 75: Preventing Future Trouble
This year, the water level of the Grand Canal rose strangely.
The officials of the Yangzhou Prefecture were very concerned and reported to the Imperial Court.
The Imperial Court ordered the prefects and officials along the river to serve as local “river embankment envoys,” reporting the rise and fall of the water level at all times.
The government office set up flood reporting stations.
Flood reporting was also called “water reports,” and was as important as “military reports” during wartime.
The Yangzhou Prefectural Office dispatched many constables to repair the sluice gates. However, the immense force of the water current destroyed the sluice gates. The constables were in a terrible panic.
A minor official in charge of water management suddenly recalled that during the construction of the embankment at the end of last year, a craftsman had mentioned the method of “open ditches and underground channels.” Now, it seemed like a good idea.
The minor official flipped through the records and found that the craftsman came from “Hua Jia Wa,” thirty li away. He seemed to be a teacher, and although his appearance was somewhat unattractive, his conversation was refined.
The minor official took a few men and went to Hua Jia Wa.
The mountain villagers were terrified when they saw the government soldiers. Upon hearing they were looking for a teacher, they cautiously asked, “What is it?”
After the minor official explained their purpose, the mountain villagers pointed to a dilapidated thatched hut west of the village and said, “The teacher is there, teaching the children.”
The minor official arrived at the entrance of the thatched hut.
The weather had turned warm, yet the teacher was still wrapped up tightly, like a leper, afraid of the wind.
His clothing, though worn, was spotless. He held a book and said to the children, “A scholar cannot but be broad-minded and resolute, for his burden is heavy and his road is long. Is it not heavy to make benevolence his own responsibility? Is it not long until death?”
The children recited after him.
The teacher explained, “This sentence means that a scholar cannot but be magnanimous, strong, and persevering, because his responsibility is great and his road is long. Is it not heavy to make the realization of ‘benevolence’ one’s own responsibility? Is the road not long if one strives for a lifetime and only stops at death?”
A barefoot child asked, “Teacher, what is benevolence?”
The teacher smiled and said, “Benevolence is loving others.”
The child tilted his head and said earnestly, “Teacher, who is it that the benevolent love?”
The teacher paused for a moment, then said loudly, “Everyone in the world.”
“Including people we don’t know?”
“Yes. All the common people are included. If one day you pass the imperial examinations and become an official, you must be a good official who loves the people.”
He picked up a clod of earth and wrote on the ground: To deceive others is to deceive heaven; do not deceive yourself. To betray the people is to betray the nation; how can you bear to betray them?
The minor official, standing outside the door, suddenly felt a sense of awe.
He himself could not explain where this awe came from.
The person before him was merely an insignificant rural teacher.
Why did his figure seem to blur into a silhouette on an old book? His hoarse voice, surprisingly, sounded like the long-lost clear chime of a temple bell. The minor official looked at his own dark robe and felt utterly out of place.
To betray the people is to betray the nation; how can you bear to betray them?
But in today’s government offices, corruption is rampant from top to bottom, preying on the common people; how could there be any trace of reluctance?
After a long while, when the lesson was over, the minor official cleared his throat and explained his purpose to the teacher.
The teacher pondered for a moment and nodded, “Water management is a major undertaking.”
Then, he packed a few pieces of clothing and a few books and went with the minor official.
The minor official did not know that the person before him had once been a successful candidate in two imperial examinations, and had gained the favor of the renowned former Prime Minister Zhang Taiyue with a policy essay on water management. He had unique insights into state affairs, including the people’s livelihood, official conduct, taxation, and water conservancy. He had almost become a successor to the Wanli New Policies.
However, with the death of Zhang Taiyue, the Wanli New Policies quickly turned to dust, leaving behind only the legend of “an ant trying to shake a tree, ridiculously overestimating itself.”
The teacher’s arrival greatly helped the minor official.
Gradually, the minor official came to respect him greatly.
The so-called “open ditches and underground channels” involved combining above-ground and underground systems to form a water network, connecting them to create reservoirs, regulate rainwater flow, and alleviate drainage pressure.
However, in mid-May, there were several consecutive heavy downpours, unprecedented in previous years.
It wasn’t until the end of May that they stopped.
On the last day of May, a strong sun shone over Yangzhou.
Following that, there were several days of continuous clear weather.
People relaxed, believing the flood prevention crisis had passed.
Only the teacher from Hua Jia Wa patrolled the river embankment repeatedly, sometimes checking the water level, sometimes looking at the trees along the embankment, and sometimes looking up at the sky, his heart heavy with worry.
The fifth day of June.
The minor official called him to a celebration banquet, but he declined, remaining on the river embankment.
As dusk approached, a figure suddenly darted out from behind the willow trees.
“Teacher—”
The person who arrived was Hua Lian, she called out urgently.
The teacher looked up, glanced around, and said, “Didn’t I tell you not to come find me? It won’t be good if she sees you.”
Hua Lian sat beside him, silent for a moment, and said, “Teacher, tomorrow is the Owner’s wedding day.”
“Mm.”
The teacher responded softly.
His eyes froze for a moment.
A string in his heart snapped. The remaining notes wavered.
He gave a self-deprecating smile.
He had imagined this scene countless times in his heart, and today, it was finally about to happen.
The oars’ spray is calm, the green mountains on both banks are locked. You return home, I return home, talking about how to pass. I will never think of you, you must not think of me. Can you give your former heart to me to someone else?
“Can you give your former heart to me to someone else?”
The teacher recited this line, and it was as if he saw the eaves in winter, water freezing into icicles, falling from the eaves and landing in his heart. It was cold. In the past, in the red silk tent, her lips were also this cold.
Hua Lian said, “The Owner tried on her wedding dress today. It was bright red, embroidered with phoenixes and auspicious clouds…”
“Was it beautiful?”
“It was beautiful,” Hua Lian replied.
Her cat-like eyes stared at the teacher.
“The Owner wore a wedding dress before, and the teacher saw it.”
As astute as she was, upon seeing the bamboo hairpin on the Owner’s head, she sensed something was wrong. In the countryside, she had seen the teacher meticulously polishing a hairpin, carefully carving characters. If one attempt was not good, he would redo it. Over and over, without tiring.
During the bride snatching incident on the first of May, her vague guess was confirmed.
She followed the teacher for several li. The teacher was angry and told her to go back. She had never met such a strange person. He worried about the Owner, so why wouldn’t he let her know? He wasn’t far away, so why wouldn’t he stay together?
The teacher must have suffered great hardship to become this way. With burns all over his body, he lived under an assumed name. His talent was such that he could only make a living like a common villager. He went up the mountains, worked in the fields, and became a craftsman. However, he did not charge any tuition, and teaching children was his happiest time.
The teacher wanted the Owner to live a better life.
The teacher once said a sentence that she half-understood.
Passing through Changmen again, all is different; why did we not return together when we came together?
Hua Lian couldn’t resist speaking countless times, wanting to tell the Owner, but thinking of the teacher’s instructions, she was torn.
She was someone who couldn’t keep secrets, and she was hiding such a big matter. It was very difficult to keep it hidden.
When Master Qin delivered the new wedding dress, she stood behind the Owner, her mouth open, feeling words churning in her throat, but they ultimately drifted away with the wind.
It was too late.
Hua Lian felt this sensation was like when she was in the mountains and saw a rabbit disappear before her eyes, unable to catch it no matter what. She didn’t know how to express it, only that it felt unpleasant.
“I didn’t see her when she wore her wedding dress before. This time, I probably won’t see it either,” the teacher said.
Passing through Changmen again, all is different; why did we not return together when we came together? The phoenixes, half-dead after the clear frost, fly apart, their heads white.
The grass on the plain, the dew has just dried. The old nest and the new grave, both are lingering. Lying alone on the empty bed, listening to the south window rain, who will light the lamp and mend clothes at night?
The teacher looked at the water of the Grand Canal and said nothing more.
The phoenixes are frost-bitten, half-dead. Is he not now a half-dead person?
What right does he have to grieve?
How can you bear to betray them?
How can you bear to betray them?
All he could do now was to do his best.
After Hua Lian left, the teacher went to find the minor official.
He told the minor official a conclusion he had reached after long observation and careful consideration: starting tomorrow, the heavy rain in Yangzhou City would return. The inner city of Yangzhou is quite low-lying, and once the Grand Canal overflows, it will flood the city. The consequences at that time would be unimaginable. The floodgates must be blown open tonight.
He waited for the minor official to report his words to the Prefect.
Upon hearing his words, the minor official looked troubled and said, “It has been clear for many days, and all the officials at the Prefectural Office believe the crisis has passed. As you can see, there is no sign of rain at all. If I report this suddenly, I fear I will be blamed.”
The teacher said, “This matter is of great importance. The Lüshi Chunqiu categorizes clouds into mountain clouds, water clouds, drought clouds, and rain clouds. I have observed for several days…”
The minor official waved his hand and interrupted him, “Teacher, please stop. I know you have some skills, but celestial phenomena are unpredictable, and it’s not something a mountain person like you can know. The Imperial Court has sent people from the Directorate of Astronomy to Yangzhou; aren’t they more knowledgeable and profound than you? If the people from the Directorate of Astronomy say there is no danger, then there is no danger. I respect your help, but you should not put me in a difficult position.”
The teacher was about to insist further.
The minor official said urgently, “To tell you the truth, the floodgates absolutely cannot be blown open!”
“Why?” the teacher asked.
“The floodgates are directly facing the private fields of the Zheng Family. Once the floodgates are blown open, a large area of the Zheng Family’s private fields will be submerged! Moreover, there is also the Zheng Family’s ancestral temple!”
After the Crown Prince was established, Consort Zheng was only neglected for half a month before she was favored again. Because the imperial physicians diagnosed a pregnancy, His Majesty was overjoyed and promoted her to “Imperial Consort.” Although she could not attend to him due to her pregnancy, His Majesty still visited Cheng Qian Palace every night to accompany her. His deep affection was known to all.
Consort Zheng’s current imperial favor was even greater than before.
In such circumstances, who would dare to destroy the Zheng Family’s private fields?
If they angered Imperial Consort Zheng, would they still want their official hats? Their heads?
The teacher’s heart was filled with indignation, a surge of anger building in his chest, his face turning red.
He no longer pestered the minor official but went to the Prefectural Office and beat the drum to appeal for justice.
After tonight, it would be too late, too late.
However, when he presented his case in the court, the official slammed his gavel and said, “Nonsense,” then ordered the constables to drag him out…
The teacher was extremely anxious and walked to the river embankment.
He stood on the river embankment until midnight.
Good words cannot awaken those who indulge in pleasure.
His loneliness was even greater than when he was in the Imperial Court.
Sparse stars dotted the sky.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow was her wedding day.
Tomorrow was also the day Yangzhou City would most likely be submerged.
He suddenly made a decision, turned, and ran towards Hua Jia Wa.
