C192

Xue Duan Sheng was helpless in his heart, as he knew that it was surely because of the Zhao Clan that Xue Ruyun insisted on not living together.

Actually, this wasn't the fault of the Zhao Family. If they had to blame someone, they had to blame themselves for making such a mistake all those years ago. However, Lady Zhao and the others pushed this matter onto Xue Luoyun's hands. They blamed her for exposing this matter and causing the entire family to become like this.

When he thought about how Zhao Lin and the others had suffered quite a bit when they followed him here, Xue Duan Sheng didn't feel like blaming them anymore. What's more, Xue Ruoyun had her own way of thinking. Since she had already made her decision, she could do as she pleased.

"That's up to you, but you have to tell Father what it is." Xue Duan Sheng said in concern.

"Thank you." Xue Ruyun politely gave his thanks. It was truly laughable. This had always been the fatherly love that Xue Luoyun yearned for. But sadly, he came too late, so he didn't need it anymore.

Xue Shaoli couldn't sit still any longer when she saw Xue Duan Sheng loosen his grip. She had to let Xue Ruyun stay in the Xue Manor; he knew himself and his opponents well and would win a hundred battles. Every day, he would observe Xue Ruyun's every move and would also have more chances to make a move.

"Father, how can we do that? Big Sister came all the way here to find us. If we let her live outside, wouldn't that be proper? Wouldn't it make others laugh at our Xue Clan?"

Xue Shaolei started to treat Xue Ruyun well, uncharacteristically. This caused Xue Duan Sheng to feel gratified. It was still Xue Shaoli who was obedient and understood the general situation.

When Xue Lian heard Xue Shaoli's words, she looked at her in confusion and complained inwardly to Xue Shaoli.

When Madame Zhao heard this, she initially didn't understand it, but after thinking about it for a moment, she became happy. Indeed, Shao Li's thoughts were more meticulous. She must have known that Xue Muyun's resolution was firm, which was why she pretended to urge him. This was not only pleasing to Mu Sheng, it was also pleasing to the eyes of Xue Ruoyun and Duan Ling Tian. Furthermore, Xue Ruoyun wouldn't be living in there; it was truly brilliant.

"Second sister, what you're saying isn't right. Although she doesn't live with us, but our close sisterhood is not something that can be broken so easily." Big Sis doesn't want to stay away from us, she just wants to have one more place to stay. " Seeing Xue Shaoli disagreeing with him, Xue Lian began to argue with him.

"There's no need to argue, I've already made up my mind." Xue Luoyun was disgusted by their pretentious and hypocritical appearance. He was so disgusted that he put down his bowl of food.

"I'm done eating. Goodbye." After giving a salute to Xue Duan Sheng, he followed them out. Only Xue Lian and Xue Shaoli were left there winking at each other.

"The air outside is much better. It's so stuffy inside." Xue Ruyun flexed his muscles, sweeping away his previous nausea.

"Don't worry about them. Come, I'll show you the house." Mu Ying had already told Yun Zhi and Wei Ming to go find a room.

"How did you find it so quickly?" Xue Ruyun was pleasantly surprised and quickly caught up with Mu Ying's footsteps.

"En, let's go and see if you like it." Mu Sheng's eyes shone like the stars.

When the two of them walked over, they saw that the interior had already been cleaned. This was a small courtyard at the edge of the city. The road was convenient, but not noisy. There was a vegetable patch in front of the door, as well as a few peach trees. Behind the house was a vast bamboo forest. This room was exactly the same as the one he had always wanted.

He had only mentioned it once in a while, but he didn't expect the other party to be so attentive.

"It's great here. I like it so much." Xue Ruyun couldn't help but laugh. A devastatingly beautiful woman.

"It's good that you like it. Come, look, this is my residence on the east side, and yours is on the west side. The others also have their own rooms for it." When we get married, we'll live in the middle room. " Mu Sheng explained the situation to Xue Ruyun.

"What are you talking about? "Don't be ashamed." Xue Ruyun shyly lowered his head as he rebuked.

"What? If you want to go back on your word, it's already too late." Mu Ying hugged Xue Ruyun from behind, his eyes filled with tenderness.

"Aiya, let me go." Xue Ruyun bashfully struggled.

"Don't move, don't even think about escaping." Mu Yong said in a domineering tone as he tightly embraced Xue Ruoyun.

Xue Ruyun's face was red with embarrassment, but she still let him hug her.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The two of them stood under the night sky and looked into the distance, feeling an incomparable peace and harmony.

Originally, Xue Ruyun was still thinking about the strange things that had happened today, but the journey here had been tiring. Everyone was a bit tired, so he decided to take a break for now.

"Why does father look like this?" Xue Ruyun and Mu Ying entered the Main Hall. They wanted to ask about the strange phenomenon they encountered a few days ago, but when they entered the door, they saw only Xue Duan Sheng pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back and a bitter expression on his face.

"Sigh, during this period of time, there have been many people disappearing from the city. Today, there are also people reporting the situation." Xue Duan Sheng said helplessly.

"We've searched for a long time, but we haven't been able to find anything. Master is so worried that he can't sleep at night." When the Grand Master saw that the Prince was present, he hurriedly said that he wanted to seek credit for Xue Duan Sheng.

"The disappearance of a person has happened for so long that you're only starting to worry about it now. I really don't know what a county magistrate like you is doing." Who would have thought that Mu Sheng not only didn't praise Xue Duan Sheng, but instead criticized him coldly.

"Prince, what do you mean? Please explain." Xue Duan Sheng was so scared that he was trembling with fear. He hurriedly asked.

"What do you mean?" "You were once the Prime Minister too, why can't you manage this small piece of land properly?" Mu Ying couldn't be bothered to talk to him about it, and when he thought of what had happened previously, he immediately got angry.

"This, daughter …" Xue Duan Sheng looked at Xue Ruyun for help.

Xue Ruyun sighed, and then he began to talk about what he had heard along the way.

"Today, we have come precisely because of this matter. Clear Water County's central district may seem bustling with activity, but when we stepped into Clear Water County's territory, there were very few people out there. The streets were filled with scrawny people, all of whom were elderly and children.

"I see. This official is guilty, this official is guilty." Xue Duan couldn't stop himself from kowtowing.

Seeing him like this, Xue Ruyun's hair turned completely white, and he couldn't bear to watch this any longer.

"Is there something hard to say?" Xue Luoyun asked.

"Actually, when old master first arrived here, he already looked like this. The bustling scene in the city right now is something that Master became like after he came here. " As a local, Grand Master couldn't help but speak up for Xue Duan Sheng.

"Get up and explain what's going on." Seeing that there was a hidden meaning behind his words, Mu Ying allowed them to stand up.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Grand Master, go ahead." Mu Sheng pointed at Grand Master.

"Yes, this little one was originally a staff member of Qing Shui County, so I understand this place very well. Qing Shui County used to be a rich place. Relying on the watering of a clear river, the citizens could live a decent life, and this place was once called Little Jiangnan. " The Grand Master recalled that his mind was filled with beautiful scenes from that time.

"Unfortunately, good times don't last long. Five years ago, this river suddenly stopped flowing."

"Abruptly disrupted flow?" Xuelao Yun was amazed. The river might gradually stop flowing, but how could it suddenly stop flowing?

"Yes, this is strange. Every spring, as long as the spring water is released, the river will rise sharply, and the water will continue to be watered for one year, until the next spring. But that year, after the spring water was released, the water in the river not only didn't rise, it dried up very quickly instead. The commoners didn't pay much attention at first, thinking it was just the lack of rain this year. When Grand Master recalled this, he was still confused.

Xue Ruyun raised his head and glanced at Xue Duan Sheng. His face was full of surprise when he saw this, and it seemed that it was also the first time he had heard of this.

"After this river was cut off from the world, there was no water to water the fields. They dried up gradually, and eventually, there was no harvest. That year, there was a famine, and many people were starved to death." Thinking of the scene at that time, it was too horrible to look at.

Xue Ruyun imagined the scene at that time. The commoners were truly pitiful. They really couldn't bear it any longer.

"Many people could no longer live, and they all fled in all directions, begging for food. The fields have been left uncultivated and have gradually become desolate, which is why they have become like this today. " The Grand Master said, blaming the river for the lack of human life.

"Later on, the Old Master came here and led everyone to dig the river and bring the water from the Liang Mountain to this place. That was the reason for the current scene in the city."

"When this official first arrived here, I had already gone to inspect this Broken Stream River, wanting to restore the vitality of the past." Xue Duan Sheng slowly spoke when he heard his Grand Master's words.

"Oh, there's a way." Upon hearing that this matter was beneficial to the lives of the common people, Xue Ruoyun hurriedly asked.

"No, I haven't. I've lived for a long time, and the riverbed has dried up. I can't recover it by relying on the rain. I need a large amount of water to moisten the riverbed first." Xue Duan Sheng said.

"Then do you know the reason for this disconnection?" Mu Ying asked.

"It's been ages. It's impossible to find it." Xue Duan Sheng shook his head.

"Since the river had been cut off, I had no choice but to come over to draw water. "Bring the water from the Liang Mountain to the fields in the city, and after that, slowly expand it out of the city." Xue Duan Sheng spoke of his plans at that time. Looks like he did indeed do many things for this generation, or at least put in a lot of effort.

"Yeah, since the old master came here, he has been continuously draining water. It's just that this project is huge and there are less manpower, so the progress is slow. The imperial government cannot allocate the money, so the Old Master has to personally dig for it many times already. " The Grand Master agreed, as if he was complaining about the court.

Hearing Grand Master's words, Xue Luoyun sighed with emotion. It seemed that Xue Duan Sheng had truly changed quite a bit.

"You've applied for payment from the imperial government?" Mu Sheng was puzzled as he had never heard of this matter before.

"Yes, when this official arrived, he reported the matter truthfully. He even asked the imperial government to allocate some funds to repair the canal so that the people could rest. However, there was no disaster." Xue Duan Sheng said in a hoarse voice.

In fact, as an official for many years, how could the Prime Minister not know the rules of the government? He had long guessed that this matter was either because someone had stopped him halfway through the paperwork or because the money for the disaster had been cut off.

The reason why he said that intentionally today was because he hoped that Mu Ying would be able to help him. Reporting this matter up, it was also due to his careful consideration.

After Mu Ying heard his explanation, he understood what was going on. "Let's not pursue the matter of the drought in the land. But do you know why the people outside the city have decreased so much in the past few years?"

"This, I don't know." Xue Duan Sheng shook his head blankly.

"Isn't he out to run away to beg?" The Grand Master didn't know what was going on, so he boldly asked.

"He didn't go out to beg, but he was caught." Xue Luoyun helplessly reminded them. It seemed like they truly knew nothing at all.