Building bridges and repairing roads is a matter of accumulating rit. Although Lin Xianzong was executed along with his nine familial exterminations, this matter had nothing to do with the villagers.
The imperial court didn't plan to pursue it, but Li Shoutian still took a few people to push down and smash the road stele at the entrance of the village.
People from the surrounding ten miles and eight villages used to treat Lin Qiaoxi marrying Zhang Sanchun as a joke.
So were envious, so were jealous.
But now, everyone felt that this couple had stepped in incredibly good luck.
Reporting a severance of kinship was clearly a despicable thing, but now they had accidentally picked up a few lives because of it.
If Lin Qiaoxi hadn't defied her father's orders back then and had married into the Prefect's family, she would also be facing the confiscation of her property and execution now.
That night.
The Zhang family's house was still lit with candlelight. The child had already fallen asleep, but Lin Qiaoxi didn't feel the slightest bit sleepy.
She sat in the bedroom, looking at the pitch-black, inconspicuous stone placed at the head of the bed.
This was the star Zhang Sanchun had plucked for her, and it was also the catalyst for her making up her mind not to follow her father's orders.
Ever since they got married, it had been placed at the head of the bed.
Whenever she saw it, she felt a sweetness arise in her heart.
But looking at it now, she always felt a sense of sorrow in her heart.
Zhang Sanchun walked in and closed the door. Seeing her still sitting there, he asked in a low voice, "Are you still thinking about your family's affairs?"
Lin Qiaoxi didn't deny it. She only looked at her honest husband and asked, "Tell ... will they really not bla ?"
Zhang Sanchun, rarely without hesitation, said, "They will be glad that you severed ties with the Lin family early on, keeping your life and leaving a trace of incense. In the face of this unexpected disaster, this is a great fortune."
Lin Qiaoxi stared at him blankly, her heart touched.
Zhang Sanchun, however, scratched his head, thinking he had said sothing wrong, and said, "Ah Xun taught this. He said if you asked, I should answer like this. I morized it for a long ti, did I say sothing wrong?"
He was as honest as a child, lowering his head as if he had made so mistake.
However, it was exactly this sincerity, like a ray of light in the haze, that broke through the heaviness in Lin Qiaoxi's heart.
"You didn't say it wrong, you morized it very well," Lin Qiaoxi said.
Pausing for a mont, she added, "Having a brother like Ah Xun is our family's true great fortune."
In the final analysis, it was Chu Xun who told Zhang Sanchun that by following the trajectory of a falling shooting star, he might find a star.
That black stone gave Zhang Sanchun the courage to speak up, and gave Lin Qiaoxi the courage to leave the Lin family.
Everyone said that it was Zhang Sanchun and Lin Qiaoxi's coincidental fate to risk universal condemnation.
But no one knew that there was another source behind it.
"If only Anxiu could really marry Chu Xun," Lin Qiaoxi thought.
——————
A month later.
On the bank of the Songliu River, the flood peak had passed, and the river water had once again restored its forr calmness.
Although it was still sowhat muddy, it already showed signs of gradually clearing up.
On the bank, the man in light armor stood with his sword at his waist, accompanied by a young man wearing a seventh-grade official robe.
Behind them were several officials wearing the special black robes of the Ministry of Justice, each with a resolute face and extraordinary martial bearing.
The young man wearing the official robe, with a handso and clear face, pointed to the opposite bank and said, "That is the Water God of Songliu Temple. There are rumors that it's two large snakes, and so say it's a thousand-year-old turtle, but in the end, the deity statue was carved into a blurry human shape, with snakes and turtles accompanying on both sides."
"Your Lordship is returning to the capital to report on your mission this ti, and who knows what year you will co again. You might as well take a look."
The man in light armor looked at the opposite bank and said indifferently, "It's best if I never co here, otherwise you might be out of luck."
He ca to Zhangnan County once, and several hundred heads of the Lin family were about to fall to the ground. Naturally, it was better not to co.
But the young official smiled and said, "That was then, this is now. Your Lordship ca to kill people this ti, but not necessarily next ti. The future Zhangnan County will definitely be prosperous, far exceeding the past!"
"You are quite confident. Could it be that you think this Water God of Songliu will protect you?" the man in light armor asked.
"Immortals and deities cannot be blasphed. If there is protection, naturally it's for the best. But I believe that in the forr Zhangnan County, the Lin clan dominated alone, blocking the way forward."
"Now that it has been swept clean, as the saying goes, there is no construction without destruction. If we can seize the opportunity, it might not be a bad thing," the young man said.
The man in light armor was sowhat curious and turned to look at him: "This place is poor and blank. What is left for you are nothing but those refugees fleeing from disaster. Where does your confidence co from?"
These days, the refugees passing through Zhangnan County were indeed increasing.
The flood disaster so ti ago caused many farmlands to be destroyed and houses to collapse.
Countless people were displaced and ca out to flee from the disaster.
When ordinary officials encountered refugees, they couldn't wait to drive them away quickly, lest they cause any trouble.
Whether it was corpses piling up and causing a plague, or starving to the point of fainting and starting a riot, neither was a good thing.
However, this young official smiled and said, "It is exactly these refugees who give this lower official confidence. If it weren't for them, things might not be accomplished."
The man in light armor looked at him. After a mont, a rare trace of a smile appeared on his face.
"With this kind of drive, it's not a waste that those petty big shots in the Ministry of Personnel sent you, a dignified Second-Place Scholar, to this place. When the ti cos, make so achievents to show them."
The young official smiled: "The lords of the Ministry of Personnel might not necessarily be petty, they just have the intention to temper this lower official."
"You people, one has a tighter mouth than the other. You can't say half a bad word about others, it's very boring." The man in light armor shook his head.
The young man smiled without speaking. The man in light armor seed to know he wouldn't talk too much.
He then looked again at the basically completed temple on the opposite bank: "If there really is a Water God existing here, it can be considered a blessing for the common people. I hope that if I really return here in the future, the incense will be flourishing, and it won't be dilapidated."
If the temple was dilapidated, it ant that what this young man wanted to do had also failed, otherwise how could there be no incense.
The more prosperous a place is, the more flourishing the incense.
"Those who should be arrested have been arrested, and what should be seen has been seen. The matters here are concluded. This official is returning to the capital to report, there is no need to see off."
After the man in light armor finished speaking, he turned and left.
Knowing that many of these officials from the Ministry of Justice were ticulous and strictly kept their word.
The young man indeed didn't see him off far, only watching the group leave.
Afterward, he turned around and looked at the Water God Temple on the opposite bank, which, although unfinished, already had people bringing incense to worship.
He bowed slightly and cupped his hands: "If there really is a Water God of Songliu, please protect the common people here and ensure this official accomplishes this great undertaking! If I can achieve teoric success in the future, I will definitely co to gild the Water God's statue to fulfill my vow."
After muttering this, he turned around and walked towards the sedan chair that had been waiting in the woods for a long ti.
Before getting into the sedan chair, his footsteps paused, and he ordered: "Summon all the Village Chiefs and Village Honored Guests of this county to see . Just say that this official has newly taken office and wants to treat them to a good al."
Standing beside the sedan chair, a middle-aged Registrar transferred from hundreds of miles away hurriedly responded: "Yes, this lower official will go gather them right away."
Pausing for a mont, this tall and thin middle-aged Registrar hesitated and asked: "Should this lower official go and order the food for the banquet first?"
"There is no need for such trouble, the dishes have long been decided." The young man got into the sedan chair, the cloth curtain was lowered, and his voice was deep and powerful: "This official will personally cook, and will definitely let them eat and drink their fill."
[End of Chapter]
User Comments
0 comments from readers