Blossom In Adversity - Vol. 2

C265. Life and Death Hangs by a Thread.

Chapter 265: Life and Death Hangs by a Thread

Yu Tao went alone but returned with five people.

“Miss, all the Seven Stars Bureau people in Xiangyang, except for the one sent to deliver the message, are all here now, awaiting your command.”

The few had already been instructed by Yu Tao, so they all saluted, “Subordinates pay their respects to Miss.”

Hua Zhi wanted to say she had no authority to command the people of the Seven Stars Bureau, and she dared not let them call themselves subordinates, but thinking about the current situation, she felt uncertain and could only nod to them, then looked at Shao Yao.

Shao Yao smiled, “Hua Hua, why are you being so polite? This is all an internal matter. Who dares to say anything? You all, introduce yourselves.”

From left to right, the five people stepped forward in turn, “Bo Fan, Liu Yun, Xie Xu, Zheng Qiao, Xie Ru.”

Each person in the Seven Constellations Bureau had their own number, and they would generally use that when acting outside. At other times, they would use their own names.

Shao Yao nodded, “Let me ask you, how is the current magistrate of Xiangyang?”

Bo Fan replied with a bow, “The magistrate of Xiangyang, Chen Hongyi, has been in office for two years. He has no achievements, nor any major faults.”

“It seems he’s taking the middle-of-the-road approach.” Shao Yao smiled sarcastically, but after the sarcasm, she felt quite bored.

Wasn’t it true that most officials in the court were like this?

They neither blocked anyone’s interests nor could they climb up steadily. As for doing things or not, heh, that wasn’t important. Sometimes she even felt that the entire court combined didn’t do as much as the Seven Stars Bureau.

Waving her hand to dismiss the few, Shao Yao leaned close to Hua Hua and looked at the map with her, “Do you see anything?”

Hua Zhi didn't look at her, but stroked her head soothingly, "Not so fast. If you're bored, go do something for me."

"What?"

"Make a big sand table, as big as you can."

Shao Yao's eyes lit up, "Yeah, since we can't leave anyway, we might as well play with that."

"It's not for playing," Hua Zhi traced her finger across the map. "From the map, we can see that water transportation is well-developed in this area of Jingzhou. I remember reading in some random book that people here primarily consider taking boats when traveling, so I want to use a sand table to conduct some quantitative simulations."

A sand table can be used for that?

Shao Yao's eyes widened. "I'll have people make one right away, and you'll see it today."

Hua Zhi watched her rush off as fast as the wind and didn't stop her. She was truly worried; she was hoping the rain wouldn't spread too far, otherwise, things would be disastrous.

Letting out a long sigh, Hua Zhi pushed the county gazette toward the sixth prince, "Places near water are bound to have suffered from disasters. Look for the records."

"Yes."

She looked back at the map but felt very unsettled. She finally put it down and walked to the window, looking at the pouring rain outside. It was almost noon, usually the brightest time of day, but now the sky was dark and gloomy, as if it were nearly nightfall.

In this group, not counting the few new people today and Wu Xiaoshuang whom she rescued, Bao Xia and Xu Ying were from the Hua family and trusted her completely. Even if she asked them to jump into the Wei River now, they probably wouldn't ask why and would jump right in.

Shao Yao listened to her in everything, and if it weren't for protecting her, she wouldn't have followed her here. Yu Tao and Wang Cheng were also tasked with escorting her, Xiao Liu was a prince, Gu Yanxi trusted her and put people under her nose, and even let her take them so far away.

Jiang Huanran, who had been running a fever for the past few days, had only come here because of her...

When she calculated carefully, she realized that the lives of all these people were in her hands.

No matter what, she had to bring the people she brought out back safely. If things got to the point where she couldn't, she would have to take people and leave first, whether it was taking a detour or changing the route. But if she did that, she probably couldn't be a good role model.

With this thought in mind, she became even more restless, wishing she could leave now.

Hua Zhi glanced back at the young prince, his brows furrowed in concentration. Her heart softened. She really quite liked this boy; sometimes she forgot he was a royal.

Whether he became emperor or the head of the Seven Stars Bureau in the future, at least for now, he was still a tender child. She couldn't help him with much else, so she could only try to add some color to his life during this stage, so that when he looked back on it later, it wouldn't be completely bland.

"Sister Hua, I found something here," the Sixth Prince looked up, meeting Hua Zhi's gentle gaze with a slight daze.

Hua Zhi walked towards him and asked, "What does it say?"

The Sixth Prince lowered his head and looked at the records, saying carefully, "It's just as you thought, Sister Hua. Xiangyang is built by the river, and there are floods every year, sometimes small, sometimes large. Last year was considered the best, with only some livestock losses and no casualties. The year before that was also relatively good. The worst in the past twenty years was fourteen years ago, when the disaster was widespread, and over six hundred people died. An epidemic broke out after that disaster, killing nearly a thousand people."

"Anything else?"

The Sixth Prince flipped back several pages, "There's one thing. The houses built near the river by later generations were built with stones. Although these houses are not beautiful, they are solid, and there are fewer collapses."

That was a good idea. As long as it was safe, beauty was not so important to the common people. As long as it could withstand the flood, they could clean it up and continue to live after the water receded. Even if they lost some things, at least they still had a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and their home would be in their hearts, so they wouldn’t be so panicked.

"See if there's anything else useful."

"Yes." The Sixth Prince lowered his head and continued to flip through the pages, but for a long time, he didn't turn the page. Hua Zhi couldn't help but take another look at him.

Sure enough, after a while, the boy couldn't hold back and looked up to ask, "Sister Hua, why do people continue to live there even though they know it's dangerous to live by the river? Take Xiangyang for example, isn't there any other place for them to live?"

How should she answer that question?

Hua Zhi thought for a moment, carefully choosing her words, "It's probably like you living in the palace because your ancestors lived there, and the Hua family lives in Hualin Lane because your ancestors settled there. That's what roots are."

Hua Zhi sighed softly, "On the other hand, the riverbanks offer fertile fields and a vital water source. They can irrigate farmland, provide fish for sustenance and even some extra income. It's where their ancestors have lived for generations. Unless they're facing a dire situation, who would willingly leave their homeland and become rootless wanderers?"

"I understand," the Sixth Prince responded, his gaze fixed on the Wei River that traversed the north and south. "The common people are not without wisdom, and they certainly see these benefits. But for them, leaving their homes is almost like being asked to give up their lives."

"Moreover, the good places are never theirs for the taking. They've been enduring hardship for generations. If life is tough wherever they go, why bother changing?"

The Sixth Prince sighed inwardly. "If I hadn't ventured out, how would I have known about this?"