Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 85 Empress Ma: Let me arrange a marriage for Magistrate Yang?

Seeing why Magistrate Yang Shaofeng's face suddenly darkened, Liu Sanshier cautiously asked, "Your Excellency?"

Yang Shaofeng grunted and frowned, saying, "I ask you, have you ever heard the saying that a great drought is always followed by a great flood?"

Liu Thirty-Two was slightly taken aback, then sighed, "Reporting to the lord, I have not only heard of this saying, but I have also experienced it myself. Does the lord remember that I once said that my great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather spent more than ten years reclaiming fifteen acres of wasteland, but after a drought, only five acres remained in my hands?"

Yang Shaofeng nodded slightly, "Of course I remember."

Liu Thirty-Two said, "The year after that drought was followed by a major flood. It seemed like there was continuous rain during the spring planting season, and when it was almost the Grain in Ear season, a heavy rain destroyed most of the wheat in the fields."

At this point, Liu Thirty-Two sighed again: "During the drought the previous year, my father had already sold ten mu of land to Liu Hongchang's father at a low price. Fortunately, because of this low price, my father was worried about a major flood the following year, so he stored some grain early on and managed to survive the flood. Otherwise, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to save even the last five mu of land."

As Liu Sanshier narrated, Yang Shaofeng's gaze gradually sharpened.

“Since a severe drought is inevitably followed by a severe flood,” Magistrate Yang said in a deep voice, “how do you plan to weather the potential floods next year? Do you still expect the imperial court to continue allocating relief grain?”

Liu Thirty-Two chuckled and said, "My lord, please calm down. Actually, we've discussed this matter privately as well."

Magistrate Yang grunted in agreement, signaling Liu Thirty-Two to continue.

Liu Thirty-Two said, "If it were any other time, we would definitely have made preparations earlier. But before this year's severe drought, the magistrate had already ordered the excavation of artificial lakes. By the time winter comes, our Ningyang County will probably have four large lakes."

"With the four large lakes, plus the Dawen River to the north, the Guang River, and the small ditches that the children dug along the fields, even if there is flooding, it probably won't be too severe, since this year's drought wasn't that bad."

"Therefore, we didn't make any special preparations, nor did we bother you with these matters, Master."

Magistrate Yang sneered and asked, "Not that bad? If it weren't for Daming Lake and those deep wells inside and outside the city, would you tell me it wasn't that bad?"

Liu Thirty-Two opened his mouth, and suddenly a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Magistrate Yang snorted coldly and scolded, "You've figured it out? A bunch of idiots! Because of your self-righteousness, the livelihoods of more than 500 households and more than 2,000 people in Ningyang County were almost affected!"

After scolding Liu Thirty-Two, Magistrate Yang snorted coldly and instructed Lame Five: "Tell the artificial lakes that are located in the east and north of the city not to fill them with water yet. The able-bodied men who were digging the artificial lakes should continue to dig the ditches after the work is completed."

After Limpy Wu bowed in agreement, Magistrate Yang took him back to the county office.

Since a major flood is possible, we must prepare in advance. Even if we are well prepared and no major flood occurs, it is still much better than being unprepared when a major flood happens.

……

Just as Magistrate Yang was racking his brains over a bunch of messy problems in Ningyang County, such as severe drought and floods, Empress Ma, far away in the capital, was also having a headache over Emperor Zhu Chongba's letter.

In the letter that Emperor Zhu Chongba specially sent to Empress Ma by express courier, besides the usual rambling about his longing for her, the rest was a request for Empress Ma to select a suitable maid from among her palace maids to act as a matchmaker for Magistrate Yang.

Empress Ma handed the page of the letter containing the matchmaking request to Zhu Biao, the Executive Vice Emperor of the Ming Dynasty: "Look at this, look at this, is this something an emperor should do? He actually made me, the Empress, act as a matchmaker and arrange a marriage for that Magistrate Yang."

After receiving the letter, Zhu Biao skipped over the rambling, mostly daily life and romantic content at the beginning and went straight to the last few sentences: "Choose a palace maid, preferably one who is both beautiful and virtuous. You can ask Tiande's wife or Boren's wife to take her in as an adopted daughter and then marry her to Magistrate Yang. It is best if both parties are willing."

Zhu Biao smiled, returned the letter to Empress Ma, and said with a smile, "This is the first time my father has used such methods to win over an official. It seems that this Magistrate Yang is indeed a talented person, and he has actually caught my father's eye."

Empress Ma nodded and said, "Then do you know why your father wanted me to choose someone in the palace to marry that Magistrate Yang?"

Zhu Biao lowered his head and considered for a moment before replying, "The intention behind having your son marry a girl from the Chang family and your fourth brother marry a girl from the Xu family is self-evident. I imagine that your other brothers will also marry daughters of noble families in the future."

"As for Magistrate Yang... he's probably chosen because of his clean background and lack of deep ties with the court officials. Women in the palace, of course, must be loyal to the imperial family."

"It seems my father intends to groom him into a loyal minister?"

Empress Ma hummed in agreement, a faint smile on her delicate face: "Your father, that's all he's accomplished in his life. Whenever he sees a promising young talent, he tries to win them over so they can be used by you in the future. It's just that his methods are a bit crude."

"Who cares if the methods are crude or not, as long as they work," Zhu Biao said with a smile. After looking around, he suddenly pointed to the palace maid standing behind Empress Ma and said, "Sister Jin'er, isn't Sister Yu'er just seventeen years old this year?"

The palace maid addressed as Sister Jin'er was slightly taken aback, while Empress Ma raised her eyebrows and stared at Zhu Biao, saying, "Well, so you've set your sights on someone close to me?"

Zhu Biao chuckled and said, "Mother, please calm down. If it were someone else marrying Magistrate Yang, I would be somewhat worried. But if it were Sister Yu'er, I would be very at ease."

After a moment's thought, Zhu Biao looked at Jin'er and said, "Sister Jin'er, if it were anyone else, I would definitely have Aunt Xu or Aunt Chang take her in as an adopted daughter and then marry her off. But if it were Sister Yu'er, I would like to take her in as a goddaughter and let her have a grand wedding. What do you think, Sister Jin'er?"

As Zhu Biao finished speaking, Empress Ma smiled and said, "Although you and Yu'er are not officially recognized as my daughters, I truly consider you my daughters. Now that Biao'er is willing, how about we become godparents?"

Jin'er's heart immediately began to pound wildly.

Whether it's the claim that Zhu Biao wanted to adopt a godparent, or the claim that the Empress agreed to adopt a godparent, it all reveals the same message: that Magistrate Yang was indeed valued by the Emperor and the Crown Prince. As long as he doesn't act recklessly in the future, even if he doesn't rise rapidly in rank, his official career will at least be much easier than others.

However, as His Highness the Crown Prince just mentioned, His Majesty intends to cultivate Magistrate Yang into a loyal and independent official.

A loyal subject...

As for the Empress's statement that she originally treated herself and her sister Yu'er like daughters, this statement is both true and false.

The Empress may treat her sisters as her own daughters, but are her two sisters truly her daughters?

no.

The Empress's daughter is a princess, and no matter what, the two sisters are just palace maids, at most favored maids, nothing more.

After much deliberation, Jin'er finally steeled her resolve and replied, "This servant thanks Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince on behalf of Yu'er. Jin'er and Yu'er will never forget the great kindness shown to Her Majesty and His Highness!"