Chapter 110

Chapter 110

All bullshit!

Everything the village head said was bullshit! Everything the li zhang said was bullshit!

All she wanted now was for her son to be alive again, for the murderer from Evening Glow Village to pay with his life. It wasn’t her son who cut off the water—he was just helping out. Her son shouldn't have been the one to die!

“Li Zhang, you can’t just wash your hands of this. You can’t just abandon us!” The old woman rolled around on the ground, and when no one came to help her up, she braced herself, got up, and charged straight at the Li Zhang’s front door. “If you don’t give me an answer today, I’ll bash my head against your door and die right here!”

The Li Zhang was sitting at the entrance of the main hall. When she lunged at him so suddenly, he was so startled he nearly fell off his chair. Luckily, his son was standing nearby and caught her in time, grabbing her by the arm and shoving her toward the direction of the Liziba Village Head. “Always yapping about dying, dying, dying—have you no shame? If you wanna die, don’t do it on my doorstep. Go home and die!”

“You want an answer? What kind of answer? Did we beat him to death? Coming to my house to demand justice!”

Showing up in mourning clothes and daring to come to his house, the Village Head’s eldest son’s face was grim. Some things his father couldn’t say, but he could. “Don’t blame me for being harsh. You were the ones who came up with the idea to cut off the water. Now that something’s gone wrong, don’t pin it all on my father! For crying out loud, you’re several villages—not just one or two, but several big villages! A whole bunch of you banded together and still couldn’t take down one Evening Glow Village. How many households do they have? How many able-bodied men? And you still have the nerve to come here and yell? If I were you, I’d be hiding at home, too embarrassed to show my face!”

Getting chewed out by a younger man, several village heads felt their old faces burning with shame.

“Nephew, that’s not fair. Your Peach Plum Village ain’t any better. Even if the Li Zhang won’t stand up for us, shouldn’t he at least stand up for his own village? Or are we just supposed to let this go, and let the dead die for nothing?!”

“Now we don’t dare block the water, and people have died—we’ve got nothing. How can we just swallow this anger?”

“If we do, sooner or later, those Evening Glow Village folks will be shitting on our heads!”

The village heads spoke one after another, especially the one from Hekou Village. His second grandson was still in bed, crying day and night about back pain, internal pain, pain everywhere. He’d seen with his own eyes how hard that hoe came down—it was brutal. At night, he dreamed of his grandson in a coffin.

He really regretted it. He should never have gotten mixed up in this. Even if Yujia Bend blocked the water, Hekou Village wouldn't have gotten much out of it anyway. They were too far away—even if the river held water, it wouldn’t reach their village. At the time, he’d been greedy and stupid, and when someone stirred up talk of conscription, his heart had immediately grown restless.

But it was too late for regrets. Now, the most important thing was to figure out how to calm the villagers down. Lives were at stake. A few deaths you could blame on bad luck, but too many—even if he tried to talk his way out, one mouth couldn't beat several. Everyone came to his house crying, demanding answers, arguing day and night till his head hurt. Life was getting unbearable!

“Li Zhang, we’re with you. Right now, we just need one word—are you gonna handle this or not?” The Hekou Village Head gritted his teeth, no longer caring that the Li Zhang outranked him. “If you won’t, we’ll have to take this to the county magistrate. We can't handle this, so we'll find someone who can. You approved the water blockade—you knew about it. When this goes to court and we drag you into it, don't blame us!”

It was a straight-up threat: if you don’t act, we’ll report you. You’re the Li Zhang—if this blows up, you won’t escape unscathed.

The other village heads quickly chimed in: “Li Zhang, we’re with you, but don’t make us lose heart. If this really blows up, no one will come out clean!”

Zhao Dashan munched on a flatbread. Though he couldn’t see much of the yard, just listening to the back-and-forth was entertaining enough.

He noticed his little sister yawning, so he picked her up, patting her back absentmindedly.

Soon, he heard soft snoring in his ears.

“You’ve all gotten bold, threatening me now.” The Li Zhang let out a cold laugh, then something crashed to the ground, followed by a roar: “You threaten me, don’t treat me like your Li Zhang, but I still think of you as my own people. I wanted to tell you what I heard and saw in the county, and what my old friend warned me about!”

The Hekou Village Head stared at the firewood axe at his feet, his heart racing. He hadn't expected the Li Zhang to go after him like that.

“All of you, yapping about Evening Glow Village, Evening Glow Village—that’s all you care about! Let me tell you the truth: I didn’t go to the county to hide from anyone. I got a letter from an old friend inviting me for a gathering!”

“And guess what? Outside, everything’s already gone to hell!”

“Here in Qingzhou Prefecture, and across most of the Daxing Dynasty, it’s drought everywhere. Some places are already in a severe drought—crops are dead, wells are dry. I don’t know how many have died from the heat and thirst. In many areas, people are starting to abandon their homes!”

The Li Zhang pointed at them, his chest heaving in anger. Threatening him with the county magistrate? A bunch of fools, completely clueless!

The yard fell silent, no one daring to make a sound. When they heard about the severe drought in some places, everyone’s hearts tightened.

“Fleeing? Why are they fleeing?”

“Which prefecture’s people are fleeing where? Are any refugees heading our way? No, no—we don’t have much water either. We can’t let refugees come!”

“We have drifters here. Drifters and drought kill people just the same. Refugees won’t come this way.”

“How can wells stop producing water? Even with the scorching sun every day here, our old wells still flow. Are those drought-stricken places even hotter than here?”

Everyone was shaken by this news, forgetting all about Evening Glow Village and revenge.

“Severe drought isn’t even the worst of it—there are rebel armies outside!”

The Li Zhang took a deep breath, calmed himself, and slowly sat back down, ignoring the panicked faces at the mention of rebels. “With so many fleeing, the world naturally falls into chaos. And when chaos reigns, those with ambition rise up. From what I’ve heard, there are already several such rebel armies outside. They wave banners like ‘Slay the Evil Dragon,’ aiming to overthrow the court. They say…”

The Li Zhang paused, stomping his feet in agitation, hesitant to continue.

Everyone in the yard, including Zhao Dashan eavesdropping on the back slope, held their breath.

“What is it? Li Zhang, hurry up and tell us! Don’t keep us in suspense!”

“We’re all your people! What’s there to hide?”

“Let this go in one ear and out the other. This isn’t from me—I heard it. Don’t you dare spread it.” The Li Zhang warned them sternly, then raised a finger toward the sky. “Word outside is that he’s unworthy of his position. Heaven is displeased with him, which is why disasters fall year after year!”

The crowd exchanged glances, faces full of confusion. They didn’t understand.

“Li Zhang, who are you saying is unworthy? Can you be clearer? Don’t leave us hanging with half a story!” The Yujia Bend Village Head urged impatiently. “Honestly, you’ve said a lot but said nothing. Instead of dealing with Evening Glow Village, you’re rambling about refugees. Frankly, what’s the chaos outside to us? Qingzhou Prefecture is already an anthill—pierced through by drifters long ago!”

“A bunch of brainless fools!” The Li Zhang was both angry and exasperated. Talking to them was exhausting. And these were the people threatening to report to the county magistrate? Even if he stepped aside and let them, would they dare? Threatening him!

“You know the Emperor, right? All across the Daxing Dynasty, they’re saying our sovereign isn’t fit to rule. Ever since he took the throne, it’s been one disaster after another—snowstorms, earthquakes. The north suffers, then the south. This year is the worst yet—half the dynasty is in drought, countless dead! We in the south are better off, with forests to shield us. Even if it’s hot, the trees offer some cover, the rivers haven’t dried up, and the old wells still flow. But in the north, people started fleeing a month ago. It’s all plains there—months without rain, the ground cracked wide open. No water, and people died in droves…”

“The powerless flee; the powerful rebel. That’s how it started in the north. The word spread from there: it’s all because the Emperor sits where he shouldn’t. Heaven is angry, sending down calamities!”

“We common folk are all suffering because of the Emperor.”

“He’s no true dragon—he’s an evil dragon!”

The Li Zhang spoke half-truths. The lie was that he’d gone to the county to send something to his son; the truth was, he’d heard all this firsthand. He’d stayed in the county for days, waiting for his son’s reply. From the very first day, he’d heard these rumors and was terrified. So he’d asked his son about the prefectural city.

Just yesterday, he got the reply and had his eldest son drive the cart back overnight.

“My second son says the court has already crushed two rebel armies. But with the drought, rebels are sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain—wave after wave. The court can barely hold on!”

“This rumor is now known across the land. The people are calling for the Emperor to step down!”

Even when he first heard it, he couldn’t help thinking: if only the Emperor would abdicate. If he’d just step aside and let a prince or king favored by Heaven take the throne, wouldn’t the disasters stop?

All the people’s suffering was the Emperor’s fault!

He should willingly give up his seat to someone else.

But thinking it was one thing—everyone knew it was impossible. Even commoners fought over a few rooms when dividing a household, let alone an Emperor. Since ancient times, no Emperor had ever stepped down because of rumors. Unless he was dragged down, it wasn’t happening!

So the Emperor was furious. He executed a huge number of people spreading these rumors.

That’s what his second son wrote in his reply. Being in the prefectural city, he knew more than they did. He also said Qingzhou Prefecture was about to see war. Because the Emperor was angry, a reckless official had submitted a memorial urging the Emperor to abdicate in favor of his younger brother, Prince Cheng.

The reckless official said: Since Heaven is displeased with Your Majesty, you should reflect. Why not gracefully step aside and let Prince Cheng be Emperor? You’re brothers, born of the same mother—as close as can be. That way, you satisfy Heaven and quell the people’s anger—a perfect solution.

The outcome, of course, was his head on the ground.

Not only that, but the Emperor now hated Prince Cheng too, suspecting he was behind it all. After all, with several brothers, why single him out to be Emperor?

Therefore, Prince Cheng, who had originally not wanted to intervene in the chaos of the refugees in Qingzhou Prefecture, was forced to accept an imperial decree ordering him to immediately pacify the area. At the end of the decree, a note was added that the Empress Dowager was ill, and that he was to bring his mother and himself to the palace to attend to her.

On the surface, this was an act of filial piety, but in reality, it was taking them as hostages.

The Emperor’s stance was clear: if this matter was not handled well, Prince Cheng’s family would be separated by prison walls, or even parted by death.

Even the Empress Dowager’s genuine illness from crying could not turn the situation around.

The Village Head's second son said that Prince Cheng had already returned to his fiefdom, but the Emperor gave him neither men nor money, forcing Prince Cheng to send them a message a few days ago, saying he wanted to join forces with their Prefectural Soldiers to strike from inside and out, wiping out the refugees in one fell swoop.

The date was set for two weeks from now.

The Village Head was somewhat weary, too tired to explain all the ins and outs, and only said, "My second son said that there will be a battle in two weeks. The prince from the neighboring province, Prince Cheng, is coming to help our Qingzhou Prefecture kill the refugees. Then the refugees hiding in all directions will surely be desperate and lash out like cornered rats. He told us all to stay home and lie low until this passes."

"He also said that maybe after this battle, after the refugees are cleared out, they might be released."

"Then the sons and men you had conscripted will all come back. Even if you want to take revenge on the people of Sunset Village, wait for now. You can’t fight them now, but after your sons have been on the battlefield, killed refugees, and seen blood, can they still not fight?"

"The world outside is already in chaos. Everywhere, people are devouring each other, and everyone is losing their lives. If you've lost your sons, don't go crying about it. To put it simply, it’s all fate!"

"Go back, all of you. Go back and stay safe, guard your own little piece of land. You must understand in your hearts that countless refugees are now fleeing south. If you don’t take care of your crops and go hungry, how will you fight against the refugees from the north? Those people have long arms and legs and great strength. If you want to protect your fields, houses, wives, and children, you must have a full belly to have the strength to resist!"

"For now, don’t worry too much. Just focus on staying alive for now!"

"Only by surviving can you have the chance for revenge."