Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1204 Departure from Fuzhou

After Xu Yunyan issued the order to rush the harvest, he immediately returned to the council hall.

Inside the council chamber, Shen Zheng was making final arrangements: "While I am not in the residence, Xu Jingli will act on my behalf. Xu Jingli's will is my will, and everyone must unconditionally obey Xu Jingli's orders. Do you understand?"

Xu Yunyan had just reached the entrance of the hall when he heard the sound and stopped in his tracks, his mind filled with complex emotions.

The officials in the hall were stunned for a moment, then bowed and replied, "Your humble servants... will obey Your Excellency's orders."

Huo Tao lowered his eyes and sighed inwardly.

Lord Shen's trust in Xu Jingli was truly genuine and unwavering.

Liuyang Prefecture is currently facing a turbulent time. Whether it is the harm caused by "spiritual powder" or the locust plague, these are all major issues concerning the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. It is truly enviable that Lord Shen can entrust the entire Liuyang Prefecture to Xu Jingli without reservation.

But then I thought, if Lord Shen had entrusted Liuyang Prefecture to them instead of Xu Jingli, would they have dared to take it on?

Do they have the experience to understand Lord Shen's thoughts?

Do they... have that kind of courage?

"Rest assured, my lord, I will certainly guard Liuyang Prefecture and protect the twelve counties within it." As Huo Tao was thinking, Xu Yunyan stepped into the council hall, his voice steady: "I have already sent word to the twelve county governments that all counties will begin the harvest today."

Shen Zheng nodded, then looked at Huo Tao: "You should assist Xu Jingli in calming the people's hearts and prevent rumors from spreading."

Huo Tao accepted the order, and Shen Zheng then looked at Yi Mingli: "The matter of 'Ling San' should not be neglected either. If there is any news about Huai Shaoyong's parents, immediately take them into custody and wait for my return."

"Your humble servant obeys!" Yi Mingli bowed and replied.

"Alright, the rest of the arrangements are up to you, Lord Shen. Lord Jiang and I will depart immediately." Shen Zheng stood up, gave Xu Yunyan a deep look, and patted his shoulder. "I'm leaving the manor to you."

This time, Xu Yunyan didn't answer anything. Instead, he followed Shen Zheng out of the council hall and accompanied Shen Zheng and Jiang Zhiming for a while.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling, and a gentle breeze blew by. Shen Zheng looked up at the sky over Zhannan.

The sky remained clear, and the wind was still blowing from the southwest.

Unseen by them, a swarm of locusts, darkening the sky, is sweeping in.

"My lord, you must... take care of yourself." Xu Yunyan's voice sounded beside him, tinged with a hint of solemnity.

Shen Zheng snapped out of her daze and turned to look at Xu Yunyan: "Don't worry, I'll be back."

Xu Yunyan saw Shen Zheng and Jiang Zhiming off from the government office. Just as they reached the bottom of the stone steps, a carriage came speeding towards the government office, kicking up dust, and stopped right in front of Shen Zheng.

"Shen Zheng!" Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, the curtain was suddenly flung open, and Yu Shizhang jumped down without a care for his image, striding towards Shen Zheng: "Are you going to Fuzhou?"

Yu Nanshu and Cui Jinyin got out of the car one after the other, both sisters showing the same anxiety on their faces.

“We have to go. I can’t let the locusts fly into Liuyang Prefecture.” Shen Zheng gestured for Jiang Zhiming to get into the carriage first, then looked at Yu Shizhang and said, “Lord, Xu Yunyan has to stay in the government office to take charge of the overall situation. Our home… is in your hands.”

A heavy look appeared in Yu Shizhang's eyes, and he finally couldn't help but admonish him: "Remember, if anything changes, do not put yourself in danger. As long as you're alive, you can always make a comeback."

These were not just casual words of advice, but heartfelt words that Yu Shizhang kept in his heart.

Looking back over the past few decades, he had personally experienced three locust plagues. The most devastating one left the land barren and the fields littered with corpses of the starving. The government exhausted its manpower and resources, but could only barely protect a small patch of farmland around the city.

Even the best result... barely saved half of the rice.

The locust plague is so severe that it's difficult to reverse it by human effort alone; if even heaven isn't on their side...

Yu Shizhang didn't want to think about it anymore, but he knew Shen Zheng's personality.

Since they met, Shen Zheng has always strived for perfection in everything he does, never daring to, nor wanting to, disappoint the people.

But it was precisely because Shen Zheng had this kind of personality that Yu Shizhang was even more worried.

He worried that Shen Zheng would take all the blame on herself, and if the outcome was not as expected, Shen Zheng would be crushed by the heavy consequences.

After all, even the revered Lord Shen was still just a child in his eyes.

"Don't worry." Shen Zheng understood the worry in Yu Shizhang's eyes and assured him, "I know what's important and I will never put myself in danger."

Yu Shizhang gave her a deep look and waved his hand: "Hurry up and go, don't be late."

Shen Zheng nodded, turned around, and strode towards the carriage.

"Teacher!" Cui Jinyin's voice rang out from behind, followed by a series of hurried footsteps. "I'll go to Fuzhou with you!"

"I'm going too!" The footsteps changed from one to two, and Yu Nanshu caught up.

"Nonsense!" The footsteps turned into three, and Yu Shizhang scolded the two sisters: "Fuzhou is not the backyard of Liuyang Prefecture. When locusts pass through, they darken the sky and there is danger if you are not careful. How can you go there!"

“I can go!” Cui Jinyin actually climbed over Shen Zheng and onto the cart platform. While reaching out to Yu Nanshu, she said, “I became your disciple so that I could learn real skills from you! If there is any danger, I will stand in front of you and protect you. I will never hold you back!”

Yu Nanshu was pulled into the carriage by Cui Jinyin, and looked at Yu Shizhang: "Grandfather, I will be an official in the future. These things are unavoidable. Why don't I follow Sister Shen to broaden my horizons first!"

The reasoning wasn't bad, and the two were genuinely sincere.

Shen Zheng wanted to refuse, but seeing the intense gazes of the two men, she hesitated for a moment.

There was one thing that she dared not easily entrust to anyone other than Yu Nanshu and Cui Jinyin.

"I'm going too!" The sound of horses' hooves grew louder as Xin Ji rode up, glancing at Cui Jinyin in the carriage. "I already know about the matter in Yanzhou. My father should be arriving soon. I'll go with you so we can look after each other on the way."

Time was of the essence. Looking at the three pairs of expectant eyes in front of her, Shen Zheng thought for a moment and got into the car. "No matter what happens, you must not move without my permission. You must follow my instructions before you act."

"Yes!" the two sisters answered in unison.

"Alright then," Xin Ji reluctantly agreed.

The carriage rumbled away, raising clouds of dust. Yu Shizhang stood there, his brows furrowed.

......

Before leaving the prefectural city, Shen Zheng ordered Hua Duo, who was driving the carriage, to take two detours.

She first went back to the Shen residence to retrieve something, and then went to the cloth shop, taking away all the mirrors of various sizes from the shop.

The people at the cloth shop were utterly baffled by such bandit-like behavior.

Yan Qiao watched the carriage depart and said earnestly, "Your Excellency must have your reasons for acting this way."