A Good Country Wife-Chapter 630 - 624_1

"Emperor, take care of your dragon body, and don’t let anger harm your health," Li Sheng, the butler, seeing Huangfu Jing so agitated, hurriedly advised, his heart secretly mourning for Empress Ceng’s wife. The Emperor had always held prejudice against Empress Ceng’s wife, and restrained himself from acting upon it; however, with Ceng Lu’s incident now, even if the Emperor did not deal with Empress Ceng’s wife at present, her fate would surely not be good. freēnovelkiss.com

"Enough, there is no need to advise me. If I could be so easily angered, I would have died of rage long ago. Leave now, and today’s matter must not be mentioned to anyone, especially not a word in front of Empress Ceng," Huangfu Jing ordered coldly. With internal and external troubles besetting the court, he did not plan to move against Empress Ceng for the time being. Since she was a piece on the chessboard, she should be utilized to her full potential; casting her aside now would be a pity.

"Yes, this servant obeys," Eunuch Li, serving by the Emperor’s side for many years, felt a shiver run through his body upon seeing the Emperor’s expression and retreated from the room with trepidation.

Ceng Lu had never expected such misfortune, that a mishap would occur at such a time, and to encounter his old nemesis swaggering before him no less. Seeing Zheng Qin’s demeanor, it was clear he knew of Ceng Lu’s actions in Xin’an City these days. It would be surprising if he didn’t leak this matter upon his return to the capital.

As Ceng Lu worried and seethed with anger, he cursed the advisor and the butler mercilessly, "What are you all good for? I entrusted you with the affairs of the Government Office, and this is how you handle them for me? You’ve caused such a mess. What if that whelp Zheng Qin goes back to the capital and reveals my actions?!"

"My lord, please forgive us. It was our negligence. We didn’t expect Zheng Qin to be so cunning. He surely intends to scheme against my lord. It would be best if my lord sends a message back to the capital soon, to prepare your family and possibly lend you a hand when necessary,"

Although relief funds from the court had been distributed, it didn’t much affect Lin Yue. The displaced people sheltered by Lin Yue saw only a small portion leave, while the majority preferred to stay. Firstly, by this time it was past the planting season, and even if crops were planted, the harvest would not be promising. Even with the court’s relief grain distributed, it would be hard to sustain them. While staying with the Zhao Family, they received excellent food and treatment. Moreover, once Xin’an City’s gates opened and order was restored, Lin Yue had settled the promised wages with everyone, indeed paying more than other households, as mentioned by the Zhao Family’s servants. Except for those who were particularly homesick or had worries on their minds, the displaced people chose to stay.

At that moment, Lin Yue also stood in her own fields, gazing at the crops that were largely destroyed by the prolonged rains, her heart aching unbearably. Not to mention the cost of the seeds sown, the manpower alone was costly. Hopes for a good harvest had now been dashed. Fortunately, it was still possible to replant; corn and sweet potatoes could still be grown.

In fact, Lin Yue’s land was better off, with a third of the crops preserved, thanks to the farmhands and servants who had followed the master’s instructions and dug the drainage ditches deep enough. However, people in the village were not so lucky, with almost all their crops destroyed, especially those close to the riverbanks, which had long been flooded.

Farmhouse families rely on these crops for food. It’s not just Lin Yue who merely felt distressed, but for them, it was akin to losing half their lives. Now, even if they wanted to replant, they lacked seeds. Everyone was gloomy. If not for the wages earned from working at Lin Yue’s, life would have been unsustainable.

Lin Yue had already donated seeds to the villagers once before, and naturally did not plan to do so again without compensation. It was not that she couldn’t afford it—there were plenty of sweet potatoes in the cellar—but she didn’t want to encourage such dependency. Favors for rice become grudges at the next measure; what should have been a kind gesture became an entitlement. Encouraging this habit of taking advantage of others as a matter of course, like how the village elders had pressured her to offer her family’s grain to save the village. A shameless act was deemed right by most, and if she didn’t contribute, she was letting the village down. What kind of logic is that?

Although Lin Yue didn’t hold a grudge over this matter, she certainly learned her lesson. Thus, even upon seeing that the village’s crops were destroyed, she deliberately kept silent, disappointing many villagers who had expected her to donate seeds to the village for free. They couldn’t help but complain, feeling that Lin Yue was too unapproachable, that her wealthy family was not saving their neighbors in dire straits, their hearts growing colder. Some even went directly to the village chief.

"Village chief, I beg you to speak to Erhu’s wife on our behalf. After all, we’re all from Zhao Family Village, sharing the same ancestors. If the village faces difficulties, she can’t just watch and do nothing, right? Maybe you could plead on our behalf. We don’t ask for much, just some of those sweet potato seeds, maybe ten pounds or so," a daughter-in-law spoke up matter-of-factly, assuming the responsibility of saving face while the men worked at the construction site.

"That’s right, village chief. Didn’t Erhu’s wife already give each family ten pounds of sweet potatoes before? Now that the crops in the field are ruined, those ten pounds are wasted. She might as well do another good deed," another daughter-in-law chimed in casually, feeling it would be simple for the affluent Zhao Erhu family to part with ten pounds of sweet potatoes. If they didn’t help, they were no different from merciless landlords and bullies.

The village chief glared at these daughter-in-laws who made such presumptuous requests, feeling genuinely irritated. Had the Zhao Family not done enough for the village? Was it because of such actions that they fostered a lack of gratitude?

The village chief was a fair man and moreover, Erhu’s wife had previously helped his own family. He wasn’t like the others who were shallow and unappreciative. He felt indignant on behalf of Zhao Erhu’s family and thought the generosity they had shown before was wasted, having only nurtured a pack of insatiable ingrates.

"Why should they? Has the Zhao Family not helped the village enough? Does their family owe the village anything? Why should they keep helping you over and over again? Look at all of you, acting so entitled. If Erhu’s wife hadn’t solved the issue with the displaced people, who knows what would have become of the village by now! Yet, not a bit of gratitude from you. I feel cold inside just thinking about it. You want me to beg Erhu’s wife to help you? I don’t have the face for it; I can’t do such an ungrateful act."

The village chief’s words made the group of daughter-in-laws a bit embarrassed, and a twinge of guilt rose in their hearts. Perhaps they had gone too far, but they felt helpless with the crops destroyed. If Erhu’s wife did not assist, what would they do? After all, she had helped many times before; why not continue being kind?