The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort

Chapter 78 : Collapse of Plans

Time passed quickly and over twenty days had gone by, but the rain in the capital had not abated.

Just by looking at the pitter patter of the rain, it looked inconsequential, however, the incessant rain, regardless of day or night, just continued to pour. Within the capital, the widespread death of livestock had begun, not to mention what was happening on farmsteads; the whole kingdom of Great Jin was held captive under the shadows of torrential flooding. Just a few days ago, the water levels in the moat had begun to rise, gushing and destroying the dam, thus resulting in numerous drownings of the commoners who resided close to the river. The authorities sent to aid in the relief efforts were like a mantis trying to block a carriage[1], thus the management and control of the water overflow had become a matter of top priority.

[1] Tángbìdāngchē ( 螳臂当车 ) - (idiom) a mantis trying to stop a chariot / to overrate or overestimate one's ability and attempt something almost impossible.

The Imperial court had allocated large sums of silver to the various regions for disaster relief, and from all appearances, it had looked like a copious amount. Yet sadly, as it filtered down and exchanged hands with the various officials who as usual took their cut, by the time it reached the hands of the disaster victims, it was but a smidgen of bare bones.

As such, there was an increase in disaster victims. Moreover, many residences that had been submerged due to flooding resulted in even more homeless refugees. Soon many refugees in quick succession began to pour into the city. First, because the capital was on higher terrain, so was least likely to be hit by the disaster compared to other regions. And second, the capital was under the jurisdiction of the emperor, and people were hoping to get a chance to eat a hot meal distributed by the authorities.

Unfortunately, the rain water seemed to accumulate more and more, and with the increasing influx of refugees, the authorities were unable to sustain the massive need for food provision. Thus, three days ago the officials had ceased provision of food. Subsequently, the starving refugees began to scour the city and loot wealthy affluent homes. Naturally, these noble folks had personal guards so the antagonism between them and the refugees within the city started to escalate with each passing day.

The Jiang fu's provisions were still sufficient and there was enough to sustain the fu for quite some time. As such, everyone within its walls had not grasped the impact of the crisis. If one were to comment on what was different within the Jiang fu, it would be in regards to the Grand Councillor Li fu's Second Young Master, Li An. He could be seen entering the Jiang fu every other day without rhyme or reason and even then not doing much per se. With a courteous attitude he would simply chat with Jiang Quan . Jiang Quan was unable to cipher Li An's thoughts, but based on outward appearance, Li An didn't seem to harbour any hostility. Furthermore, there were even subtle gestures leaning towards establishing a close relationship.

Lian Qiao walked in carrying a basket of flowers and spoke out contemptuously, "Second Young Master Li is here again! If one didn't know, they would think that the Jiang fu was his home. It almost seems as though he no longer concerns himself about Eldest Young Master Li's injury and is ready to bury the hatchet.

Presently, Jiang Lisa was on the couch reading a book, and when she heard those words, her gaze moved slightly. There was never going to be any possibility of the Li fu burying the hatchet with the Jiang fu. Li Yang had become a cripple, and Li Dong and Li An were by no means magnanimous kinds of people. Li An's current behaviour was merely a pretense to show that he no longer considered Jiang Quan and Jiang Nancy as his enemies.