Robe blanche - Chapitre 142
To my surprise, Gan Lin completely ignored my smile and scoffed disdainfully, "What are you doing this for?" His eyes were fixed on the copy of Mencius in my hand.
"Well, the people from the Ministry of Agriculture will be arriving in a few days, and the resettlement of the Xuan Ying disaster victims will have to begin." I've been thinking about this method for a long time to deal with Gan Lin's questioning, and I didn't expect to have to use it today. Why did Zi Ling give up so quickly?
Gan Lin glanced at me sideways: "Could it be that you've been running to Huaying Hall these past few days just for this?"
I nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's right." It's definitely not that I'm leaving you unattended in Tingyu Pavilion.
However, with his abilities, if he truly didn't want to deal with Zi Ling, couldn't he avoid her? Nobody would believe that!
God knows what he and Zi Ling are up to.
I don't know if Gan Lin believed me or not, but he just chuckled and then climbed up the tree, leaning against the trunk and closing his eyes to rest.
I reclined in my chair and rocked back and forth. A cool breeze made me a little sleepy. I glanced at the copy of Mencius I was using as a prop, shook my head and smiled, then tossed it onto the low table. I picked up a thin slice of watermelon from the fruit plate, about to put it in my mouth, when Gan Lin said, "By Mid-Autumn Festival, you'll be twenty. Take care of your own business first. My affairs are not for you to worry about for now."
My hand paused, then I said, "Okay." But the watermelon still went into my mouth. He didn't believe such a clumsy excuse after all.
I'm already twenty years old. But how am I supposed to take care of my own affairs? I thought that after finding Aunt Yun and leaving the capital, I could go find Shen Haoyu, but I almost lost my life, and Aunt Yun is still missing. So much happened during those two years in a coma. The people and things of the past are gone forever. I can only stay in Jinque Kingdom, guarding the last of my loved ones.
"Back then, you called my name from the city walls of Xiangzhou, wasn't it to stop someone?" This old story was brought up again by Gan Lin, and what he wanted to know was now obvious.
He sat up straight in the recliner, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm sorry, it was indeed to stop the young prince from entering the Third Prince's arrow formation. The young prince has already done so much for me, and I don't want to see him risk his life again after going through so much to return to Prince Qing's side, only to face even greater danger because of me and the Third Prince."
"Is that all?" Gan Lin remained seated in the tree, not even glancing at me, his tone full of disbelief.
"If I remember correctly, you and Prince Qing once ended up in Liuan Town when you were on the run. Don't tell me that your absent-mindedness that day in Liuan Town had nothing to do with this matter."
It turned out he had already guessed. No wonder he's Gan Lin; he caught even such a tiny clue. But, "So what?" What's lost is lost, and now, no amount of lamenting will change that.
Gan Lin flipped down from the tree and looked down at me from the recliner: "It's for no reason other than to let you see your own heart clearly. If you have no intention of continuing your relationship with him, you might as well look at the people around you."
Someone close to me? Him? Judging from the way he took care of me before we were officially recognized as family, his feelings weren't hard to guess. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so eager to acknowledge him as my brother after learning he was also a member of the Mo family. "Gan Lin, I..."
Gan Lin grinned: "Since you regard me as your brother, I will forever stay by your side in the name of 'brother'."
It's not that I insist on "regarding" him as my brother, but he truly is my "brother," it's just that in their eyes, a cousin doesn't count as a brother.
So, does he mean for me to look around and see if there are any other people I like?
As the sun grew hotter, Ruosheng returned, folded up her recliner, and went back to Tingyu Pavilion. Ganlin and I went to Huaying Hall together. When Zinuo saw Ganlin and me come in together, he was initially surprised, but then smiled and said, "Brother Gan, it's been a few days since I've seen you."
Gan Lin gave a light snort with a half-smile. How could Zinuo and I possibly hide our little schemes from Gan Lin? Zinuo was quite shrewd; he simply pretended not to hear and invited us to sit down, unlike my clumsy attempt to cover it up.
“Sister, the people from the Ministry of Agriculture will arrive in Qizhou in four or five days. Why don’t we go to other places for a visit these next few days?” Zi Nuo handed me a memorial to the throne, which was from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Zhi Zi Nuo was worried I'd get bored and wanted me to explore more. In the past, she would have readily agreed, but now things are different. She shook her head and said, "Forget it, other places probably aren't as cool as Biluo Mountain. Let's stay here. You know I hate the heat." The matter of resettling disaster victims could be big or small, but since King Jin Que wanted to uphold the banner of "benevolence to all," he should do his utmost to ensure it was done well, so that the world could see it. How could we slack off? I myself am indeed not as active as I used to be.
They stayed on Biluo Mountain for three more days, and set off back to Qizhou early on the fourth day. Only Luoyan and Ziling saw them off, as Luoli was unwell. During their time at the imperial palace, they had encountered Luoli and Luoyan twice at Zinuo's place, but had no private dealings with each other. I wouldn't deliberately provoke them, and the reasons why they avoided me were beyond my comprehension.
On this trip back to Qizhou, we brought some food from the imperial palace. When we passed through Liuan Town, we did not stop at all. Because we changed carriages and dispersed our people and horses, we did not attract much attention from the townspeople.
The cart wheels rolled over the town's stone-paved road, and a strange emotion welled up inside me, like a light feather falling on water, creating a ripple that vanished in an instant. Gan Lin was right; once it's missed, there's no point in dwelling on it.
Upon arriving in Qizhou City again, it was much more bustling than before. Outside the city, the disaster victims from Xuanying were filled with gratitude towards Zinuo, while inside, the people of Qizhou lined the streets to welcome him. Zinuo instructed Ganlin and Ruosheng to take me back to the post station first, and then got off the carriage to discuss various matters with the local officials of Qizhou.
When the people from the Ministry of Agriculture traversed the mountains and forests near Qizhou and presented Zi Nuo with several maps, Zi Nuo finally selected a mountainous area more than forty miles northeast of Qizhou with them. Then, he led more than ten thousand prisoners from Xuan Ying and five thousand soldiers from Qizhou to the selected location to begin building new homes for the refugees who had fled there.
Zi Nuo originally wanted me to stay in Qizhou, but in order to witness how this village of special significance came into being, after staying in Qizhou for a few days, he finally begged Gan Lin and Ruo Sheng to take me with them.
Upon seeing Gan Lin and me, Zinuo showed obvious displeasure. After sighing, he still led us into his tent to rest before leading us up the mountain.
Under the rosy glow of the sunset, soldiers with bare chests were busy working all over the mountains and ridges. In just seven days, under the command of the Ministry of Agriculture, the once dense forests have been clearly divided into sections, and the foot of the mountain has been tidied up and leveled with soil. In one corner, several wooden houses have been built with trees that have rolled down from the mountain, but the roofs are not yet covered with tiles.
Zi Nuo handed over a blueprint, depicting what the village would look like after its completion: rows of neat houses at the foot of the mountain, and a small lake to the east, fed by water drawn from the mountain, providing daily water for the villagers. On the hillside adjacent to the village were terraced fields, while the other side featured both wild, overgrown forests and various fruit trees carefully cultivated by the Agricultural Bureau. To prevent landslides during heavy rains, drainage ditches had been dug into the mountainside, and a stone wall had been built around the village…
Although all I have is a picture, I believe that it won't be long before this place becomes a peaceful and happy paradise, and a sense of longing and anticipation rises in my heart.
The sun was setting, but the soldiers' shoulders and backs still gleamed with the sweat of their labor. This village was the result of the combined efforts of Xuan Ying and the Golden Sparrow soldiers. If the two countries were to go to war again one day, would they be willing to destroy it...?
After staying in Zinuo's camp for three days, Zinuo finally kicked me out: "There are many mosquitoes, snakes and ants in the mountains. Sister, you should go back to the city first. It's not too late for you to come and see me again when there is new progress. Besides, when building the terraced fields, we will need your guidance."
These past few days in the mountains had indeed resulted in numerous mosquito bites and inconveniences, and bathing was quite difficult, so I didn't insist much and returned to Qizhou with Gan Lin. It's said that the months spent traversing the mountains with Shen Haoyu during their escape were far more arduous than this, and now, enjoying a life of luxury, it's hard to bear. It truly reflects the saying, "It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality." Shen Haoyu's actions back then seem all the more precious now.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 125
Chapter word count: 3992 Last updated: 09-09-17 14:26
When Zi Nuo sent someone to fetch me back to the valley, it had already changed completely. Except for the terraced fields, which had not yet been built, the rest of the valley had been completed, and the disaster victims outside Qizhou City had moved in one after another.
Zi Nuo led me along the newly built path in the valley. When the disaster victims saw Zi Nuo, they all bowed and showed their gratitude without any attempt to hide it. Everyone knew that this place was built under the supervision of the regent prince Luo Yang.
As they climbed the hillside, several more people came to greet them. Judging from their attire, they were definitely not soldiers. The leader, however, had half-white hair and beard, but was still quite vigorous.
"Your Highness!" The group bowed to Zi Nuo in unison.
Zi Nuo led me to the front and pointed to the old man, saying, "Sister, this is Lord Lu from the Ministry of Agriculture, and the others are Lord Lu's students."
Just as I was about to greet Lord Lu, he spoke first: "The Holy Maiden's idea of 'terraced fields' is quite ingenious. She is indeed worthy of being the Grand Preceptor's disciple."
Upon hearing this, I could only chuckle awkwardly: "You flatter me, sir. Qingqiu had only heard about this method from an old man. He tried it at home, but it was not widely implemented. Now, I will have to trouble you, sir."
When this was mentioned, Lord Lu seemed very excited and immediately wanted to have a deep discussion with me about the terraced fields. Zinuo smiled and gently shook his head, but then followed me.
A small tent was pitched under the tree, with a low table beside it, on which lay several blueprints. Lord Lu moved the paperweight aside and handed the blueprints to me. They were several rough sketches for building terraced fields. Although simply drawn, they clearly illustrated how to construct them according to the terrain, how to store and drain water, and so on. Combining what I had seen in the valley with my remaining, somewhat vague geographical knowledge and the water and heat conditions of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom, Lord Lu's plan was basically sound. Having worked in terraced fields before, I recounted to Lord Lu what I had seen and the instructions Little Sweetie's father had given me, simply stating that it was all information provided by the old man.
Lord Lu noted down what I said, then pondered the blueprints and the hillside again. Having said all I knew, I couldn't offer any further assistance with the terraced field construction. Zinuo led me back to the valley.
Zi Nuo led the way, his shoes covered in mud from the mountain path. A mountain breeze blew, ruffling the dark blue ribbon in his hair, revealing how thin and tanned he had become in recent days. I knew all too well the harsh conditions in the mountains; Zi Nuo had been overseeing things here for so long, it must have been incredibly demanding, and his hardship was only natural. If he hadn't never experienced a life of luxury, could any other prince have endured such hardship?