Chapter 360
The deputy prefect had known well in advance that the new official coming to take up the post was a young man—the top scholar from the year before last, who had only been in the Hanlin Academy for less than a year and was exceptionally favoured by the Emperor. His abilities, however, were lacking.
In the beginning, the Emperor had been frantic over the affairs of Hezhou, dispatching one imperial edict after another to the prefecture. The deputy prefect had spent so much time kneeling to receive those decrees that the skin on his knees had peeled off four layers over. But a few months ago, a decree came from the capital ordering him to temporarily fill the position, as Lord Fang—the official the court was dispatching—had a fulang who had not yet finished his confinement after childbirth and would likely be delayed for a while. It wasn't as if Lord Fang himself was the one recovering from childbirth. The Emperor was clearly in such a hurry, yet he still made allowances for Lord Fang—which showed just how much he valued him. The deputy prefect wrote to a friend in the capital to ask about the situation, and the friend's reply was brief and to the point:
"Whatever you do, do not offend him."
Lord Fang hadn't been sent to Hezhou as a punishment for offending anyone—he was just there to put in some time and burnish his record, and he'd be back in the capital within five years.
The deputy prefect was greatly alarmed. This Lord Fang was truly too favoured! But now that he saw him in person, the man was remarkably young—almost absurdly so. And though he was said to come from a small place, he carried himself with an aristocratic air, and the bodyguards behind him seemed even more formidable than the elite troops in the city. This Lord Fang's level of favour far exceeded his imagination.
None of the previously assigned prefects had ever been protected by elite soldiers!
If they had, they wouldn't have ended up crippled.
But to send so many—enough to form a dark, sweeping mass—just how afraid was the Emperor that this man might be killed?
In Hezhou City, there was an official prefectural residence. The deputy prefect led the way, and Fang Zichen dismounted and walked alongside him. The further they walked, the colder his heart grew, and the more grim his expression became.
His aura was too intimidating—his face cold and sharp—and the deputy prefect did not dare utter a single word beside him.
Hezhou was truly poor. Even its central city could not compare to a single town in Xiayang.
Not that the size was smaller—rather, the prosperity was far inferior. Hezhou City was desolate, the houses along the streets low and uneven, and—damn it all—the roads were still dirt. What kind of concept that was? He wondered what godforsaken backwater Xia Jinghong had banished him to.
A prefectural capital, without even a single paved brick road? Even Fu'an Town was better than this. The shops were small, and though the pedestrians on the street looked warmly dressed—better than the villagers they had seen along the way—they still couldn't compare to townsfolk elsewhere. Hezhou was poor, ultimately because its rural peasants were poor; the city dwellers at least had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear.
Guaizai and Xiao Feng lifted the carriage curtain to peek outside, their eyes rolling about with great curiosity.
"Your Excellency, we have arrived," said the deputy prefect.
When Fang Zichen stood outside the main gate of the residence, his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.
"What in the hell is this?!"
Could people actually live here?
The walls were crumbling, the main gate had been torn off, the brick paving in the outer courtyard had been pried up, and the roof tiles on the outer buildings had vanished to who knows where.
Living here was no different from sleeping on the street.
He was regressing worse than ever. At least when he first arrived back then, he'd still had a dilapidated house to stay in!
The deputy prefect's face flushed with awkward embarrassment.
After the previous prefect was beheaded, this courtyard had been repeatedly "looted" by locals. When he discovered it, he had immediately sent men to guard the place, managing barely to protect the inner courtyard. For the outer courtyard, he had tried to hire people to repair it, but when the labourers heard it was for the prefect's residence, they refused!
Going would mean aiding the tyrant—their ancestors would probably flip over in their graves.
Unable to find workers and lacking funds, the matter had been left hanging.
At least the inner courtyard was still livable. That was something, anyway.
Fang Zichen breathed a slight sigh of relief. Zhao Ger went in with him to have a look around. After quite some time, they came back out, at a loss for words.
The inner courtyard was remarkably spacious, exquisite, and luxurious. Even their Fang residence in the capital—which had cost a fortune and nearly been beyond their means—combined both its outer and inner courtyards wouldn't match the size of this single inner courtyard.
Those previous officials, with their three wives and four concubines, each had their own small courtyard—nine in total—plus gardens, fish ponds, and a layout like a maze. Fang Zichen walked through once and roughly memorised it, but if Liu Xiaowen had come, he'd probably still be wandering around by the end of the day.
Those previous prefects had been corrupt to this degree, living in even greater luxury than he did—they truly deserved to have their heads chopped off.
But now, it was his.
Zhao Ger had Dou Ger and the others go in first to clean. Since others had lived there before, they certainly wouldn't use the old bedding left behind, but the beds, cabinets, and other furniture could still be used after a thorough wipe-down.
There were many rooms, so the guards joined in as well.
Many hands made light work—in one afternoon, it was all tidied up.
The beds, cabinets, and bed boards were wiped clean with damp cloths, then again with dry ones. Left for half a shichen (1 hour), they dried completely. Bedding was brought from the carts and laid out.
But it still wasn't enough space. The minor soldiers from the previous prefectural yamen had been accomplices to the prefect's tyranny. Once his head fell, his underlings scattered like birds and beasts. The yamen was now empty. Fang Zichen went to inspect it—there was room to stay—so he arranged for the Imperial Guards to move in, gave them silver, and let them sort themselves out; after all, they were grown men.
[Yamen (衙門): the administrative office or headquarters of a local official in imperial China, serving as the center for governance, legal trials, and public business.]
The Qin family troops were numerous. If they laid wooden planks on the floor of one room, they could sleep several men on top.
If these had been ordinary men staying in the residence, Fang Zichen would have been uneasy. But along the journey, the Qin soldiers had been strict with themselves and highly disciplined. Earlier on the road, when Da Mi had gone into the woods to relieve herself, she hadn't dared go far and had squatted behind a tree. Those soldiers hadn't even glanced her way and had automatically moved further off. Besides, Uncle Tang and Feng Momo could keep them in line. Fang Zichen also sent them all to stay at the yamen because he was worried about leaving the house unguarded.
The deputy prefect had prepared a banquet and invited Fang Zichen, but he declined—he was too busy!
Knowing they hadn't yet settled in, the deputy prefect took the hint and left.
The largest courtyard was still for Fang Zichen's family, with six rooms inside. Feng Momo and Uncle Tang stayed there as well, to make it easier to look after the children.
After everything was cleaned, Xiao Li went out to buy braziers and charcoal, lighting fires until every room was warm. Only then did Zhao Ger carry Gungun and Dandan down from the carriage.
Guaizai, led by Xiao Feng, hopped and skipped along behind.
"Daddy, are we going to live here from now on?"
"Yes. Do you like it?"
"Like it—lots and lots," Guaizai said. As long as Zhao Ger and Fang Zichen were there, anywhere was good.
Yu Ger and the others stayed in the adjacent courtyard. That one was smaller, with only five rooms, but it was enough. Da Mi and Aunt Jiang shared a room; Yang Ger and Xiu Ger—father and son—shared another; Dou Ger and the others could each have their own, but after two months on the road, the three had grown close and didn't want to separate, preferring to room together. Zhao Ger let them do as they pleased.
After rushing through the tidying, they went out again to buy pots, pans, bowls, and chopsticks. Zhao Ger didn't need to give orders—Xie Xiaoyu took the lead and brought the others along.
Physician Li had originally planned to part ways with them in Qinzhou, but he thought about how dangerous and poor Hezhou was, with a different climate from the capital, and how the two little ones were still small. If they caught a cold or fever, it would be convenient to have him around. Physician Li's wife loved playing with the children and wanted to come along too. Besides, Qinzhou wasn't far from Hezhou; she could wait until Fang Zichen and his family were properly settled before heading back. So they came along as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment