Chapter 718

Yu Qian pondered: "On my journey, refugees from every county said their grain was donated by Daoist Priest Pan Yun of Mount Sanqing—is Mount Sanqing really this wealthy?"

"Wealthy? Mount Sanqing is poor," the old man said: "Master Wang, our Yushan County is famous for wasting money—his family was once very rich, but they spent everything building the Sanqing Temple, and later had to rely on their son for support."

Yu Qian: "Then where did they get so much grain and medicine?"

"The Sanqing Temple has no money, but Priest Pan does," the old man said: "The priest recently went to Japan to kill Japanese pirates to avenge the people of Quanzhou."

Yu Qian looked confused: "So?"

The old man gave him a look of "you're stupid": "After killing the pirates, everything in their lairs naturally became the priest's. I reckon he used all the gold and treasures looted from Japan to aid the disaster victims."

But before leaving, Yu Qian had waited outside the Grand Secretariat for seals to be stamped; at the time, Chen Liutao and Qu Zhixing were being questioned inside, and both mentioned that Pan Yun had distributed all war spoils among the martial heroes, leaving her unable to afford even five thousand taels for Jiangang's construction, eventually exchanging the operating rights of Zhang Weigang for the Yi family's lands.

Yu Qian didn't believe Pan Yun could hide wealth from the Embroidered Uniform Guard's eyes.

Even if she had, he didn't think that amount of money could buy such vast quantities of grain and medicine.

Yu Qian suppressed his doubts and followed the crowd to the charity yard.

Many people were already waiting outside the charity yard.

Young monks, young nuns, and young Daoist priests were organizing them into lines, placing two large pots along each wall beside the gate, steaming as they boiled rice porridge.

The fragrance of rice had already risen, drifting through the air, and noses automatically caught the scent.

Yu Qian's stomach growled like thunder.

The old man heard it, pulled out a bowl from his robe, and showed him how to tighten his belt: "Tighten your belt and you won't feel hungry—I smell this, it'll be ready in no more than half an hour."

Yu Qian imitated him, tightening his belt, then looked at the bowl in his hand.

The old man glanced at the bowl: "You didn't bring your own eating utensils, did you?"

Yu Qian said: "Lost it on the road."

The old man stamped his foot: "Oh no, how could you lose your eating bowl? No charitable household serves porridge and also provides bowls—you must bring your own. Look at me—I've been to several places, and my bowl's been to all of them."

Yu Qian gave him an awkward smile.

The old man looked around, then said: "Wait here—I'll borrow you one."

Yu Qian quickly said: "Please borrow two, my brother doesn't have one either."

Lu Yuan: … No need, he didn't feel that hungry.

The old man muttered and wandered off, returning a moment later with two chipped bowls.

"Borrowed from city folks—chipped, but you can still eat from them if you tilt them."

Lu Yuan saw the bowls weren't just chipped—they were stained beyond recognition—and hesitated to take them.

But Yu Qian already grabbed one, shoved it into Lu Yuan's arms, and thanked the old man repeatedly.

They didn't have to stand in line—they could sit on the ground.

Everyone had expended great effort just to arrive, so now they all sat.

Lu Yuan carefully wiped the chipped bowl with his sleeve hem, but Yu Qian couldn't sit still—he glanced around, then stood up.

Lu Yuan hurriedly rose too: "Big, big brother…"

Yu Qian looked toward the magistrate's office, gestured for him to stay seated: "Sit. I'm going to the county office."

The old man looked up: "Why are you going to the county office?"

Yu Qian: "On our way here, we passed a mountain—stones and dirt rolled down as we walked. That stretch looks unsafe—likely to slide or drop boulders. I'll inform the officials—better to remove the hazard."

"You should go, hurry, hurry."

Yu Qian used this excuse to enter the county office.

The clerk recorded the road segment and situation he described, then waved him off.

Yu Qian didn't leave—he looked around: "Where's the magistrate? Such a serious matter—doesn't the county magistrate handle it?"

"The office has its own arrangements. You've said your piece—leave now."

"This is urgent—many villagers pass that road. If no one acts soon, disaster will strike!" Yu Qian spoke for a long time without seeing Cai Cheng, so he refused to leave, walking out while shouting: "Where's the magistrate? I demand to see the magistrate and report this!"

"How dare you shout in the courtroom?!"

The clerk rushed to block him, but Yu Qian flicked his sleeve and sent the man flying.

Hmm—he might look like a scholar, but he was skilled in archery, horsemanship, and combat; as a candidate traveling thousands of miles to Jingcheng for the imperial exam, he was not only physically fit but also practiced Wu Gong.

After all, those in poor health often died from climate sickness and exhaustion;

those without Wu Gong might die at the hands of bandits.

Yu Qian realized he'd overexerted—he quickly pulled back, trying to catch the clerk, but with a rip, half the clerk's sleeve tore off. Yu Qian's pupils shrank—he grabbed the clerk's wrist with his left hand—then came a sharp crack…

Yu Qian: …

The clerk screamed: "Aaaah—! He attacked an official! Help!"

Yu Qian turned and ran.

The entire office had only four clerks—the rest were out on official business.

Most were hunting the Wang family's five members at Mount Sanqing; the rest were scattered across the city, continuing relief efforts and patrolling.

The clerk's scream drew the four clerks' attention—they peeked out, saw the chaos, and rushed out to chase Yu Qian.

Yu Qian had already vanished out the back gate.

The clerk and four clerks: …

The five shouted: "Don't go there—that's the magistrate's private courtyard!"

What was the magistrate's private courtyard?

It was the family compound for all office staff.

The magistrate, the commandant, and the registrar's families lived there—the magistrate occupied the largest portion, nearly two-thirds of the entire courtyard. Behind the back gate was a narrow corridor: to the left was the magistrate's home, to the right the commandant's, and further right-backward, the registrar's.

That meant half of the magistrate's house shared a wall with the office—so if Yu Qian ran out from there, whether left or right, he'd disturb the officials' families.

Involving their families? Unthinkable!

The clerk couldn't even bother with his own arm anymore; he broke into a run straight toward Yu Qian.

The county government office of Great Ming all share basically the same layout, and Yu Qian knew it like the back of his hand.

He could have charged through it with his eyes closed, let alone with them open.

He rushed into Cai Cheng's house in no time.

It shouldn't have been this easy, but it just so happened that Advisor Wu heard the shouting from the front government office and hurriedly opened the door to come check on the situation. The moment the door opened, a figure slammed into him, knocked him aside, and charged in.

Advisor Wu was sprawled flat on his back on the ground. The clerk and the four clerks ran past him in a chaotic scramble — by his hands, his legs, his face — nearly trampling him.

Advisor Wu: …

Yu Qian: …

He stared with a dark, stormy face at Cai Cheng, who was currently sprawled over a large rock kissing and cuddling. A storm was about to break.

(End of chapter)