A Good Country Wife

Waiting for two or three days would have been bearable, but who would have expected the city gates to remain closed for an uninterrupted span of four or five days? This was not a time of war, and to hermetically seal the city gates without any reason for such a length of time was unprecedented in the entire history of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Of course, now that the refugees had left, they wouldn’t be aware that their presence was the cause. People simply felt that Ceng Lu was audacious to the extreme. Even if the Emperor was far away and aloof, one wouldn’t dare to be so rampant. Besides, Xin’an City was less than half a month’s journey from the Capital City. Could Ceng Lu truly believe that relying on the Empress from the Ceng Family within the palace, he could act so recklessly?

Let alone the fact that the current Emperor was enlightened and wise, and furthermore, the Empress Ceng was not as favored as she appeared to be. Anyone familiar with the inner dealings of the palace, and who also considered the external circumstances, would realize that Empress Ceng was but a pawn used by the Emperor to balance the forces within his harem, and moreover, one of insignificant weight. Ceng Lu acting so brazenly was simply courting death.

"Sir, we’ve gone through great lengths to transport this grain. Are we just going to turn around and take it back? Moreover, this is grain for disaster relief. This doesn’t seem proper. The Emperor takes disaster relief very seriously. If blame comes our way, although Magistrate Ceng will not fare well, I’m afraid we too will be implicated. We still need to weigh our actions carefully and proceed prudently."

Although Magistrate Ceng’s conduct was highly improper, it also seemed incorrect to simply turn around and head back to the Capital City. The deputy, who was quite loyal to the Grain Transport Officer Zheng Qin, had been sent specifically by his family to gain experience alongside Zheng Qin. Therefore, he had to consider Zheng Qin’s interest in every matter and raised concerns whenever he felt something was not right.

Though Zheng Qin was not the brightest, his redeeming quality was in being receptive to advice. "What you’ve said makes sense, but that damn Ceng has had us waiting outside the city for so long without opening the gates. Perhaps it’s deliberate. I really can’t swallow this animosity. If we were to accept this without protest, wouldn’t that be letting that scoundrel off the hook! And given the magnitude of his mistake this time around, I certainly haven’t forgotten our past feud. How could I miss such a golden opportunity? Keep a sharp eye out and think of ways to get back at Ceng Lu. With such a substantial bit of leverage, we must have him suffer a major loss."

"You’re right, but we must protect ourselves first and not give others a handle against us. In recent years, Empress Ceng has been quite prominent, and our family has been reluctant to confront her directly. If you truly blow the whistle on this matter, not only will the Ceng Family certainly retaliate, but even our clan might not stand by your side. If they then scapegoat you, the situation would be very unfavorable," the deputy said, knowing full well the details of the incident that occurred a few years back between Zheng Qin and Ceng Lu.

Zheng Qin understood this logic all too well as he had already endured it for so long; this was the second time. If he were to back down again, he felt the barrier in his own heart would be insurmountable. With a darkened expression, he said nothing.

Seeing Zheng Qin’s mood, the deputy couldn’t help but smile confidently, "Sir, there’s no need to be angry. There’s a saying: ’Vengeance will come when the time is right.’ Although we can’t do anything directly to give the Ceng Family an excuse to take action, the indiscretions Ceng Lu has committed are so astonishing and scandalous that they cannot be easily quelled. By not reporting to the Court, we’ve already shown considerable face to the Ceng Family. If this were to leak out through other channels... well, that would be none of our concern."