Chapter 568: The Prodigal Son, Feng Zhen (I)

“The government office is flooded… this rainfall is rather heavy.”

Yang Si tied a knot on the side of his lower clothes, revealing two smooth and shiny feet which he dipped into the accumulated water. Placing the bamboo scrolls onto the shelves and having worked for more than half a day, he was exhausted and panting heavily. He almost couldn’t straighten his back.

He sat on top of the tables stacked on each other, then he laughed at him. “Jing Rong, oh, Jing Rong, you consume so much daily but you’re unwilling to exercise, aren’t you suffering from the side effects now?” They had only shifted a few bamboo scrolls yet they couldn’t straighten their backs.

Yang Si was already so fatigued that sweat drops formed on his forehead. Yet it’s hateful that Wei Ci continued to speak sarcastically and he turned to stare at him.

“You, you fox, don’t be too savage. When this task is finished, I will leave for a very far place and never see you, you black hearted fox.”

Yang Si and his pageboy were panting as they shifted the bamboo scrolls, while Wei Ci sat on the table to avoid the water, how unfair can this get.

Unfortunately, Wei Ci has a weak body constitution, if he does this manual work, who knows, he might collapse.

Wei Ci lifted his sleeves and pursed his lips, smiling. “If you can get out of this, then let’s talk.”

After stepping onto the Emperor’s bandwagon, you desire to get off. Where else does such a good deal exist? Yang Si’s fury was evident; this is the umpteenth time he regretted coming to Chengan district. If he had foresight, he should’ve stayed in Prince Changshou’s camp. In exchange for some meals, he sold himself to Jiang Pengji, this exploiter, it’s not worth it.

“You, you fox, if you refuse to tone down your personality, be careful or others will be scared off and reject coming.”

Yang Si knew Wei Ci had sent many letters to his friends with the intention to poach them over. However, this is a blackhole that once you jump in, you cannot escape.

Wei Ci blinked his eyes, then with an innocent face he replied, “Regarding this, Jing Rong need not worry. After taking account of the time, this important person should have taken the bait.”

Yang Si kept silent for a change then asked, “Did you say an important person?”

Are those who befriend Wei Ci just fat fishes to be made use of?

Wei Zixiao, doesn’t your conscience hurt?

What really made his heart ache is that he is probably one more “fat fish” in Wei Ci’s eyes as well. If not for him jumping into the trap of his own accord, he would probably also receive an invitation letter from Wei Ci. This scenario flashed through his mind and Yang Si felt his heart was going to burst, he hatefully wanted to throw Wei Ci into the water.

“You, you wretched fox, I shall pass judgement on you on behalf of the heavens. I will afford you a sudden death.”

Yang Si shrugged his sleeves, his pose looked like he was ready to engage Wei Ci in a life and death war. Watching both masters argue and make trouble, the pageboy at the side felt internally exhausted. Regarding hard manual work, his master only played a supportive role, the heaviest tasks still fell to him.

Chengan district’s pipe and drainage system hadn’t been repaired, the previous drainage pipes were broken and old. With two days of pouring rain, the city has become a vast expanse of water but luckily the water absorption wasn’t too severe. Yang Si brought along some men to drain the water urgently. It had just turned noon and the accumulation of water in the city has mostly been cleared. The other two districts are worse off than Chengan district but compared to last time, the situation has improved significantly.

This stormy rain eased the drought in the north, the dry and cracked fields were covered by a layer of water. The dry soil has also been transformed into soft mud.

Yang Si and the rest began to get busy, they must oversee the construction of the residences and they must also watch the kiln synthesis of the hollow tubes. After it is completed, they must send people to dig the irrigation canal so that the accumulated water can be removed. After it dries up, the hollow pipes can be inserted in…

Because the trial to use reclaimed land for farming will be conducted in Chengan district this year, the number of fields prepared for cultivation are numerous. The people still need to work through the day and night. Other than these chores, they must settle the refugees down, allocate the cultivated lands, update the household registry, provide financial assistance to the poor… all these chores must be settled.

Truly hateful that mothers didn’t give birth to us with more hands!

Yang Si has been so busy that there are deep dark bags under his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot even though the government office has specially allocated a private chef to him. Yet his spirits are not uplifted… because this poor fellow has no time to eat, isn’t that pathetic!

Yang Si trembled and remarked, “I am going to write to them, telling them… this is a trap, they must not fall into this trap…”

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The originally calm and composed strategist is now acting like an aggrieved child. Wei Ci laughed. “These words are incorrect. When the number of people increases, the delegated workload will be less.”

If no one comes, won’t they themselves suffer?

His facial expression showed that he was tired of life. “In this lifetime, my last regret is knowing you. If there’s a next life, please stay far away from me!”

Wei Ci gave a brief smile then cheekily said, “There’s no use if Ci gets lost, more importantly, one has to avoid the lord.”

Recalling his past life, in order not to implicate Yang Si, he had minimal interaction with him, did Yang Si’s chores get any lighter? Still, he is exhausted and he feels like going on strike and refusing to work every day.

The Emperor has such a big heart and she is determined to do many things. Her position suggests that she wishes to condense thousands of years of work to be completed in decades. She works through the night and day so which of her subordinates are not bitterly catching up with her?

In the next life, if one is seeking peace, they must open their eyes wide and observe where the Emperor is, then avoid that location at all costs, only then can a carefree life be led.

Yang Si was so choked that he almost couldn’t breathe.

Shortly after, he whined and said, “Who did you say this fat fish is, do I know him?”

Everyone has a different group of friends; Wei Ci’s friends may not be Yang Si’s friends.

Wei Ci replied, “You might have heard of him. His name is Feng Zhen, his courtesy name is Zi Shi, he comes from Zhangzhou, Anshan county.”

Zhangzhou’s Anshan county? Isn’t that Prince Changshou’s allocated land? Based on Prince Changshou’s previous display as a “virtuous prince”, there’s no reason that his talented men will depart from him.

“Zhangzhou’s Anshan county, that place is located far from here. For your letters to go back and forth, it will take more than six months, how can you receive a reply so quickly?” Yang Si frowned. “This Feng Zi Shi, I have heard of him before, his reputation isn’t very good.”

Critically, it seems Feng Zhen is also a sickly man. Yet, the difference lies in that Wei Ci’s frailty is caused by illnesses while Feng Zhen’s is congenital since birth. With two frail people coming together, are they trying to play a joke on Yang Si?

Wei Ci said, “Zi Shi is a carefree person, he often says, “The time to engage in pleasures is now, it cannot be at a later time”. His health isn’t that great and has been frail since he was young, having such a free-spirited personality isn’t bad. It trumps a depressed heart and short-lived life.

Yang Si raised his brows, it seemed that Wei Ci seems like a person who wasted time on small problems in the past. All day long, he keeps his anxiety in his heart, does he have a right to say such words?

“Hearing from you, my interest is piqued.”

Wei Ci kept silent for a short while, then with eyes full of pity, he looked at Yang Si.

Such “interest” is undesirable.

If Feng Zhen really has talents and Wei Ci is unable to write letters to approach his friends in Zhongzhao, he really wishes he doesn’t have to recruit Feng Zhen.

The Emperor herself is already so hard to wait upon, so now that Feng Zhen has arrived, the days ahead will be out of control. To put it nicely, his temperament is free-spirited. To put it unpleasantly, he lives a wastrel life!

Wei Ci got acquainted with Feng Zhen in his previous life, it’s enough to describe his life with one word — unrestrained!

Doctors often deemed Feng Zhen to be sickly and that his days were numbered, thus he felt that since life is transient why not spend it enjoying himself. So he cultivated a variety of habits to waste his life away, to substitute cold dishes as cooked food, he visits the brothels every night, drinks till he gets drunk, he became so well versed in all these pleasures. Every day he thought of how to get into trouble, this affected the team dynamics in the Emperor’s team

The conclusion?

In his previous life, Wei Ci already knelt while Feng Zhen could still jump around enthusiastically!

Those who see ghosts don’t have long lives!