The Youngest Daughter, Chang Le

Chapter 64

After a long journey, people were tired and horses exhausted. The Zhu family turned off their lights and retired early.

Of course, there was an exception. Zhu Changle peeked out the door, worrying about the increasingly heavy rain outside. "It doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon."

"I doubt it too," Dingding said, squatting on a stool with poor posture. "Forget it, even that little mound of a city wall doesn't inspire any desire in me to conquer it."

"Weren't you the one who said you wanted to go run?" Zhu Changle sat back down and poured drinks for everyone. "You know, the alcohol here isn't bad. Xu Zheng said it's just bought from outside, not some famous brand, but I think it's no worse than some of those well-known wines."

Qiuli quite agreed with this statement; he also found the wine quite good.

Zhu Changle's eyes suddenly lit up. "What do you think about selling this wine outside? People would buy it, right?"

Dingding mocked her without mercy, "You and your random ideas. First, solve the problem of how to transport it out of here."

"That's what I have my big brother for. He'll definitely think of a way," Zhu Changle didn't take this issue seriously at all. "My brother always thinks a hundred steps ahead. If he chose to come to Yunbei, this place must have some advantage he knows about that others don't, or something he can make use of."

"So that's why you lured the Dragon-Breaking Sect here? If I were Ban Lian, I'd want to turn back as soon as I entered Yunbei." Mentioning this person, Dingding frowned, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a while. Was she not at dinner either?"

"She left to act independently after we arrived in Yunbei. Having followed Immortal Lady Wen for so many years, she must have learned something. The suggestion I made isn't bad for them, and Que Long is very clear about the difficulties they're facing now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Ban Lian come all this way."

Taking a sip of wine, Zhu Changle happily poured herself another glass. This wine was delicious; she'd have to send some to her master and the old monk later.

An extra cup appeared beside her. Zhu Changle grinned at Qiuli and filled it to the brim.

"If you drink my wine, you have to answer my questions."

Qiuli didn't even pick up the cup.

"You've already drunk so much of my wine before. Spitting it out doesn't count, buying more to give back doesn't count either," Zhu Changle preemptively blocked all of Qiuli's potential responses. "You only have one path: I ask, you answer."

Qiuli glanced at her, picked up the wine cup, and leisurely drank it all. Then he pushed the cup back.

Zhu Changle refilled it while doubting, "You're not planning to just not speak, are you? Writing is fine too."

Qiuli twirled his fan, his voice still hoarse, "Ask."

Zhu Changle clapped her hands together, thought for a moment, and asked the point that confused her the most, "Why are the people of Yunbei shorter and smaller than people from other places?"

"Probably related to the environment and diet."

Zhu Changle had actually thought along these lines too. She was about to ask her next question when she heard Qiuli continue: "It used to be better. It's regressed."

The use of 'regressed' in this context made Zhu Changle furrow her brow. Weight could be changed, but height was not something that could be altered by human effort.

However, what worried her more now was, "My family won't be affected, will they? Little An'an is still so small!"

"...You're overthinking it."

Zhu Changle also felt she was thinking too much. She propped her chin on her hand, took a sip of water, and asked, "Qiuli, do you know the reason?"

"I heard that previously, for nearly a year, there was no county magistrate."

Qiuli rotated his cup slowly, his speech more fluent than before, as if he had gotten used to talking more. Zhu Changle noticed this and applauded enthusiastically.

"Qiuli, your speech has improved so much!"

"..." Qiuli wanted to say that he was already this old, and didn't need applause for speaking. But then he thought about how he hadn't spoken for many years and had been pretending to be mute in front of everyone, so maybe applause was indeed necessary.

"Keep going, keep going."

Dingding grabbed a few salted soybeans and tossed them into his mouth. Even though there were four people present, it felt like only the two of them existed.

"There are regulations for the appointment of officials. If they can't arrive on time, they face the consequences."

Zhu Changle thought about what her brother had said about how soon their father had to arrive, and nodded.

"But this place had no county magistrate for so long. It's been abandoned, sacrificed to let its people and the water bandits wear each other out, to keep the rear safe."

Dingding almost hit his own nose with a salted soybean. "Did I misunderstand? Using the people here and the water bandits to wear each other out? What about their lives? Just because they were born here, they deserve to die?"

"So that's why Gu'an dared to dig up the river and change its course," Zhu Changle nodded. "That's why they want to keep Yunbei firmly under their foot, not letting Yunbei rise up. If Yunbei rises, Gu'an will be the place most directly affected. Very well, I'll definitely clear this river!"

Qiuli lowered his gaze. It was that simple. Right or wrong didn't matter; it was just a matter of self-preservation.

"Does this relate to why people in Yunbei are generally shorter?"

Qiuli dipped his finger in wine and drew two adjacent circles on the table. "Yunbei is penned in here, with only Gu'an as its neighbor. At the border between the two counties, who do you think it's meant to block?"

The answer was on the tip of their tongues. Dingding couldn't even eat his salted soybeans anymore.

"Yunbei grows millet, can harvest twice a year, but their staple food is bran and beans."

Zhu Changle was confused, "Then, what about the white, plump rice?"

"First, taxes. Second, stolen."

Qiuli crossed out one of the circles. "How can they grow tall when their main diet for years has been bran and beans?"

"Being robbed, is that another way for them to keep peace?" Zhu Changle pondered seriously. "Knowing they will come, deliberately letting them steal some rice, but everyone can keep their lives and survive."

Lan Ping suddenly spoke up, "If that's the case, there needs to be someone in charge. Who's in charge?"

They all looked at each other. This question... was a bit dangerous.

Qiuli's hoarse voice sounded, "When there's no county magistrate, the deputy magistrate acts in their place."

"If that's the case, my father is in for a big challenge," Zhu Changle muttered. This place was more complex than expected. They had to face oppression from Gu'an, survive under the threat of water bandits, and they had nowhere to seek help.

"The people here live such difficult lives," Zhu Changle sighed deeply. She had been to many places and seen many tragedies, but those were minority cases or individual incidents. Here, an entire county was suffering and struggling. There was no comparison.

"Wait a minute?" Suddenly realizing something, Zhu Changle sat up straight. "This place has been without a county magistrate for nearly a year?"

Qiuli nodded.

"This place doesn't look like it's been uninhabited for a year. Judging by the level of neglect, it shouldn't be more than two months."

"We can find out about this. We can ask father tomorrow, and if father can't answer, we can ask the deputy magistrate. But compared to this, I'm more curious about another question," Dingding looked at Qiuli. "Why do you know so much inside information? Why are you so familiar with the situation in Yunbei?"

Qiuli could have chosen not to explain, but seeing Zhu Changle also looking at him curiously, he said, "I just naturally know."

"..." How was that any different from not answering?