The imperial palace guards sward out, carrying the Emperor's handwritten edict, and broke into the Ministry of Works.
The leading dark-faced man, with eyes as sharp as blades, ordered people to move away all the files of the Ministry of Works from recent years, while walking to the huge map of the world and standing still.
He drew the sword hanging at his waist, and the tip of the sword pointed at a location.
"The dam in Honghe County, who in the Ministry of Works is responsible for supervising its construction?"
The officials of the Ministry of Works were all so frightened they looked at each other in dismay. After a mont, a Director was pushed forward.
This Director, over fifty years old with graying hair, was shivering.
Facing the dark-faced man's questioning, he answered tremblingly: "This dam... is supervised by Director Yang of the Ministry of Works."
Hearing this, the dark-faced man waved his hand. Imdiately, guards found Director Yang, whose face was pale and whose hands and feet were weak, from the crowd and tied him up securely.
The dark-faced man's sword tip pointed to the next location: "The two dams in Tanyu County, who is responsible?"
"It's, it's ..."
Without a doubt, this old Director was also tied up.
Then ca the third location, the fourth location...
One by one, the officials of the Ministry of Works were tied up like twisted dough twists and escorted to the Ministry of Justice.
What awaited them would be severe torture.
The Emperor of the Kingdom of Jing hated corruption and bending the law the most. Now that thirteen river dams had burst, who knew how many fertile fields had been destroyed by the flood.
And who knew how many people would lose their heads over these matters.
Late at night, two days later.
At the residence of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, several figures slipped out from the back door in the dark, walking carefully along the base of the wall like mice in the night.
The figures were tall and short, male and female, old and young.
However, before they had taken a few steps, torches suddenly lit up ahead.
The dark-faced man, holding a steel sword, appeared from the shadows with dozens of people.
He looked at the people in front of him wearing cloaks to cover their faces and revealed a cold smile: "Lord Lin, going out for a stroll so late? Could it be that you've done too many guilty deeds and ghosts are knocking on your door?"
The steel sword lifted the cloak, revealing Lin Xianzong's extrely pale face.
This Vice Minister of the Right of the Ministry of Works, famous for his incorruptibility, devotion to public duty, diligence, and frugality, knew in his heart that the appearance of the imperial guards here ant they must have found out sothing.
Even as a high-ranking official of the third grade, at this mont he couldn't help but feel his legs go weak. Unable to stand any longer, he collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
He used his last bit of strength to hoarsely kowtow to the dark-faced man: "I beg Your Lordship to be lenient and let my pair of children leave! All the property of the Lin family is willing to be used by Your Lordship!"
"At death's door and you still want to drag soone down with you. Unrepentant, even death cannot wipe out your cris!" The dark-faced man was not polite at all and waved his hand for people to bring ropes.
Regardless of n, won, old or young, they were all tied up and stuffed into the prepared carriages.
From inside the carriages, the faint sounds of won and young children crying could be heard.
In this deep night, it sounded like the voices of ghosts and demons.
The continuous drizzle fell and suddenly grew heavier.
It beat against the roof tiles along the street, making crackling sounds, and when it fell to the ground, it was even more resounding.
Only that sound was like human heads rolling down.
In an instant, it exploded like thunder!
——————
Pinecone Village.
Li Shoutian returned from the entrance of the village. Passing by Chu Xun's house, he entered the courtyard to ask for a bowl of water to drink.
Everyone in the village knew that Chu Xun valued eating and drinking the most.
There was never a shortage of good wine and good tea at ho.
While others were still drinking cold water from gourd ladles and getting stomachaches, he was already leisurely boiling hot water to make tea.
Chu Xun still respected this Village Chief quite a bit.
Back then, during the fight for water, the Li family from top to bottom had never shrunk back.
"Anxiu, pour a bowl of tea for the Village Chief," Chu Xun called out.
Great wealthy families drank tea using cups, paying attention to exquisiteness.
There were no such particularities in the village. If you really brought out a two-tael cup, people would only think you were stingy.
Li Shoutian sat down on a stool, casually put the hoe in his hand aside, and said, "You kid have really good luck. Who knows where a bunch of voles ca from in the fields, pushing open several holes in the field ridges. But it made the old Ma family suffer, all the water poured into their fields."
"The whole family, old and young, is so angry, but they can't catch them."
Cawing sounds ca from the eaves.
Li Shoutian looked up and saw dozens of crows squatting on the eaves, tilting their heads and looking at him.
This Village Chief, who was already over fifty, suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, rembering that the two sons of his eldest brother, Li Tianjian, seed to have been pecked and injured by crows.
"Why do so many crows co to your courtyard every day?" Li Shoutian was puzzled, and then said in a low voice, "They all say crows are unlucky. Wherever they go, disaster follows. You have to be careful."
His words were not a curse, but out of concern.
Chu Xun didn't mind and just smiled: "In my opinion, it's better to say crows are birds of blessing. They see danger and want to remind people, but are misunderstood as bringing disaster."
Li Shoutian was stunned hearing this. He pondered carefully, but before he could speak.
Over a dozen crows suddenly flapped their wings and ca down, grabbed his hoe, and threw it directly outside the courtyard.
Li Shoutian was startled and hurriedly went to pick it up.
Zhang Anxiu returned carrying a large bowl of tea. Seeing this scene, she shouted to Li Shoutian: "These crows don't like hearing people speak ill of them. If you say it again, be careful of getting your head pecked full of bumps."
Li Shoutian ca back carrying the hoe with an awkward smile.
He glanced at the crows that had returned to the eaves and were pecking their feathers as if nothing had happened, wanting to curse a couple of sentences.
But rembering the miserable state of Li Tianjian's two sons he had seen before, he swallowed it back.
Taking the tea bowl from Zhang Anxiu's hand, he drank it clean in one breath.
Wiping his mouth, Li Shoutian didn't care about the embarrassing incident of the hoe being carried away by the crows just now, and asked smilingly, "Anxiu, your brother already has a baby, what about you? Don't you want to continue more incense for your old Zhang family?"
These words were ant for Anxiu, and also for Chu Xun.
Anxiu didn't make a sound, only secretly looking at Chu Xun.
Chu Xun got up, brought the teapot, and poured another cup of tea for Li Shoutian.
He didn't speak, yet it was as if he had spoken.
Li Shoutian picked up the tea bowl, blew on the edge of the bowl, and began to swallow in small sips.
After a mont, the bowl of tea water was drunk completely clean.
He got up, carrying the hoe, and shook his head: "Never mind, never mind, I won't ddle in the affairs of your two families. Getting old, talking too much makes people annoyed."
After taking a few steps, Li Shoutian turned his head back again and said, "By the way, recently soone said they saw two large pythons about a zhang long in the river, very scary. If you really run into them, hurry up and run, don't be stubborn."
"The feng shui these past few years has been a bit too good, even such big pythons have run out. It seems there are more weasels too, you have to keep an eye on those few chicks."
Watching Li Shoutian muttering to himself as he walked away, carrying the hoe on his back, Zhang Anxiu couldn't help but say, "Brother Xun, why do I feel like the Village Chief has really aged a lot?"
Could he not age?
It had been ten long years since the water dispute.
Ordinary commoners normally only lived to fifty or sixty years old, and Li Shoutian was already over fifty.
Although his body still looked quite robust, there was obviously a bit more vicissitudes on his face.
When night fell.
Chu Xun was lying on the bed. Two weasels about a foot long squeezed in from who knows where, jumped onto his bed, and made urgent "ka ka" sounds.
It was so sharp that Chu Xun couldn't help but turn over.
Although he was still at the first layer of Qi Condensation, his eyesight was much better than ordinary people.
Seeing clearly which two little guys had co, Chu Xun reached out and patted their heads. He wasn't angry at being disturbed, but only asked, "Has sothing happened?"
(End of Chapter)
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