Chapter 131: Chapter 133 The Other Side of Dugu Wu
Dugu Wu whispered softly,
“Damn servant, deserves to die.”
In a hundred jin of grain seeds, it was almost always adulterated with sand and stones, and the remaining seeds were also molded and old.
If these were taken back and sown, even without any natural disasters and with favorable weather, the harvest would still fall short.
Indeed, that was the case.
Feng Bailing gave a bitter smile.
In that life, when she begged on the streets, she had witnessed a tragedy.
The villagers of a village, due to consistent poor harvests and inability to pay taxes, went to inform the officials; but the officials protected one another, leaving the villagers with nothing but a beating and no follow-up.
In desperation, the villagers, armed with firewood knives, killed an agricultural officer of the seed institution, and several villagers wrote a blood letter to appeal for justice before they hanged themselves on the street.
The incident caused quite a stir, and the one who later came forward to investigate the case was also Dugu Wu.
Though notorious for his brutality, Dugu Wu was, undeniably, a good official.
In one breath, Dugu Wu executed more than ten agricultural officers from the seed institution, and the case eventually even implicated the Eldest Prince… Dugu Wu later discovered there was a problem with the seeds.
But that was all three years later, and not long after, Feng Bailing starved to death on the streets.
What became of the Eldest Prince in the end, Feng Bailing no longer knew.
“How do you know there’s something wrong with the seeds?”
Dugu Wu glanced at Feng Bailing.
“My lord, you don’t understand the ways of officials. There are few officials who are not cunning. I’ve been out and about, I know that commoners who offend officials are subject to various kinds of retaliation. It’s no surprise that you, a high-ranking official, are unaware.”
Feng Bailing smiled, but through her words, a sense of vicissitude permeated.
When she was begging on the street, she watched Chun Liu being beaten to death, she saw countless officials treat commoners worse than pigs and dogs.
Such is the cold reality of the world; this is Great Chu.
After three years of begging on the streets and adopting the 22nd-century view of equality for all, Feng Bailing’s mannerisms toward others were no longer the same as before.
Dugu Wu couldn’t help but give Feng Bailing another look; the woman, though ordinary in appearance, had an indescribable charm.
“Madam, go to Prince Shun’s Mansion and find Housekeeper Zhu, tell him Dugu Wu has given you a hundred jin of grain seeds for you to take back. After the harvest, return it to the Prince Mansion.”
Once Dugu Wu had finished speaking, Feng Bailing couldn’t help but glance sideways.
Wow, even a dog of a man shows mercy occasionally.
Dugu Wu took another look at Feng Bailing.
“About today’s matter, may I ask for the lady’s esteemed name?”
“I’m called Xiao Bai, thank you for helping me out just now.”
After saying this, Feng Bailing grabbed Dugu Wu’s hand and squeezed it firmly.
Dugu Wu’s eyes sharpened.
“This is called a handshake, a courtesy from my hometown. When people meet, we shake hands to show respect.”
Feng Bailing held the handshake with natural grace for a while before letting go of Dugu Wu’s hand.
To open the first aid kit would consume the seventh sense, and Du Gu’s Great Replenishing Pill shouldn’t be wasted.
Seeing her composed demeanor, any puzzlement that might have arisen in Dugu Wu’s mind dissipated.
Having traveled and fought in many places, he had seen much and understood that different lands and dynasties had varying folk customs.
Some unenlightened places even used their wives to entertain foreign guests.
“Please keep today’s matter confidential, madam. I need to investigate further. I am Dugu Wu, newly appointed official of the Ministry of Revenue.”
Feng Bailing thought to herself, it seemed that the events due three years later were about to happen sooner.
That was good; it might prevent the villagers from committing suicide.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Dugu Wu, Feng Bailing saw an official who claimed to be the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue rush over in haste.
“I won’t delay your work any longer, we’ll meet again.”
Feng Bailing clasped her hands in farewell and returned to the seed institution.
Dugu Wu watched Feng Bailing, still in line, and fell into deep thought.
Earlier, after that agricultural officer had been beaten by Dugu Wu, the other officers from the seed institutions had heard that Dugu Wu, the formidable Minister of Revenue, had arrived.
Even amongst civil servants, Dugu Wu’s reputation was formidable; the agricultural officers feared they would be next and dared not mistreat the farmers anymore.
In the afternoon, it was Feng Bailing’s turn to buy seeds.
“I’d like to buy some fruit, vegetable, and medicinal herb seeds.”
Feng Bailing stated her purpose.
“We have ginseng, Lingzhi, and Polygonum multiflorum seeds in the seed institution, but germination is not guaranteed. There were no ginseng seeds originally, but you are in luck; we just received a batch this morning. There’s a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, each with a different price.”
The agricultural officer said while taking out several bags of seeds.
Feng Bailing spent twenty taels and bought about a dozen types of medicinal herbs and over ten types of fruit and vegetable seeds.
Just as she was about to leave the seed institution, she saw a man in brocade clothes walk in.
The man had a pale face without a beard and no Adam’s apple, looking somewhat familiar.
As soon as they saw the person, the farmers hurried forward with a smile.
“Mr. Zhao… Mr. Zhao, have you come to get flower seeds?”
Feng Bailing gave the man another look, a memory coming to mind.
Wasn’t that Mr. Zhao from the Empress’ side, favored by the Empress, and although not yet thirty years old, considered the second-most powerful in the palace?
What was he doing at the seed institution?