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Chapter 169 Too Late
According to the rules of Dajin, only high-ranking officials of the third rank or above were eligible to attend court meetings. Even Bai Qihong, the Minister of Works, was only of the fourth rank and had no chance to stand in the court. The Langzhong and Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Water Resources, who were only minor officials of the fifth rank or below, could not even think about it.

Therefore, even though they were considered Beijing officials in the past, they had never had the opportunity to meet King Xiaoyao, and naturally they did not recognize Lu Qing.

But at this moment, seeing the handsome Taoist priest with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes speaking in such a loud tone, she couldn't help but feel uneasy, and didn't dare to react rashly. She stared at Bai Qihong with both eyes, wanting to see what his attitude was.

Bai Qihong listened to Lu Qing's words without changing his expression. He politely bowed to him and turned to instruct the two people beside him: "You and your men continue to work. While it's not raining, hurry up.

I'll be back soon."

Of course the two men would not stop him and quickly agreed.

Bai Qihong had a wooden face. He gestured to Lu Qing and the others and led them to the other side. Not far from the ditch, there was a shack that looked like a temporary structure. It had only a fairly wide and thick thatched roof to provide shade and shelter from the rain. There wasn't even a wooden board around it. However, the view was wide. Sitting inside, one could see everyone around them.

Seeing this, Fu Wen and Fu Lu consciously stood outside the shack. Fu Lu was a burly man with a broad build. Although Fu Wen seemed much smaller than him, he was still tall and mighty among ordinary people. The two brothers stood shoulder to shoulder with their hands behind their backs, and immediately turned into a wall of flesh, preventing people outside from seeing what the people inside the shack were doing.

Bai Qihong then clasped his hands together, lowered his head and bowed deeply: "Your humble servant greets His Majesty!"

Lu Qing had no intention of hiding his identity in front of him, and he acted very relaxed at the moment, without any need to put on airs. He gestured for Zhu Yu to sit down with him, and then extended his hand to Bai Qihongxu, saying, "Minister Bai, please sit down and talk. I'm traveling incognito, so you don't have to be so reserved."

I heard before that Minister Bai was ordered to build a canal in Huazhou, and I happened to be passing by here today, so I came to take a look."

Bai Qihong straightened up, his face and hands still stained with mud from carrying by the ditch, and he did not look like a fourth-rank official in Beijing at all.

He frowned slightly, his expression looking a little serious, and shook his head at Lu Qing: "Your Highness shouldn't come here."

"Why do you say that, Minister Bai?" Lu Qing asked knowingly.

Bai Qihong knew that during the years when Lu Qing was sent to Shanqing Temple to copy scriptures and pray for blessings, he was accepted as a lay disciple by Qiyunshan. Now, seeing him with two guards, wearing Taoist robes and with several young people dressed like Taoists, he didn't think it was strange.

Seeing that Lu Qing had no intention of avoiding the other two, he said directly, "Recently, some bad news about Shuo Kingdom has spread to the capital. The relationship between the prince and Shuo Kingdom is unusual, so we should avoid suspicion at this time."

Zhu Yu looked at Bai Qihong calmly and saw that he looked serious and seemed to be giving Lu Qing a sincere reminder without any other intentions.

This surprised her a little.

Bai Qihong is Zhao Bi's son-in-law, and he also holds an official position in the court. Logically, he should be closely related to the interests of his wife's family and they are in the same boat. How could he be so kind as to remind Lu Qing?

After hearing what Bai Qihong said, Lu Qing said nothing and just looked at Bai Qihong silently.

Bai Qihong didn't feel awkward being looked at like this. He guessed what Lu Qing hadn't said explicitly, so he spoke for him: "Earlier in the capital, the prince sent someone to clear General Cao's nephew of his grievances, and I heard about it.

My father-in-law Taishan and the prince have always been at odds. General Cao has a close relationship with my father-in-law's family. The prince is broad-minded and puts justice first, which makes me deeply admire him.

I'm a man without great ambitions, having achieved nothing of note in my career, yet I shamelessly call myself a gentleman. The disputes within the court have nothing to do with me; I act solely according to my conscience.

"I see, thank you Minister Bai for reminding me." Lu Qing smiled and nodded, "I had no intention of passing through here, but I heard that floods were becoming increasingly severe in some places in Huazhou, so I thought of taking my fellow disciples with me.

Shanqing Monastery has always been hailed as a blessed place by His Majesty. Perhaps if I ask my fellow disciples to perform a ritual, the clouds and rain will stop, and the sky will clear up."

Bai Qihong was stunned for a moment, glanced at Zhu Yu and Yan Daoxin, and without giving Lu Qing any face, he simply waved his hand and said, "I appreciate your kindness, Your Highness.

But in my opinion, it is not necessary to hold such a ceremony.

Before I came to supervise the work, the provincial government was at a loss. They invited many monks and Taoist priests, performed countless rituals, and opened many Taoist temples, but it was of no avail.

Other places in Huazhou are fine, but the situation in this area has reached a critical point. The people are almost starving. If the water accumulated here cannot be drained out as soon as possible, I am afraid that people will die. There is really no time to waste on other things, and no food or sacrifices can be provided.

Therefore, I appreciate the prince's kindness on behalf of the people, but let's forget about the rituals and the temple."

"We've come all the way here, and it's true what Minister Bai said about Huazhou. This area is the worst hit." Lu Qing said with a willing attitude, then asked, "Is there something special about this area?"

"Your Highness, you may not know that half of Huazhou's territory is flat, and the other half is mountainous. This place is the mountainous area near Shuo State.

The terrain in this area is extremely low-lying, surrounded by a mountain and several ridges. As long as the wind direction is wrong, the dark clouds will be blown over the mountain and into the area surrounded by mountains, and they will never be able to blow out again. They can only wait until the rain falls and the clouds disperse by themselves.

Unfortunately this year, the wind was blowing this way, so the clouds wouldn't disperse, and the rain hardly ever stopped."

Bai Qihong was a man of straightforward character. He had been troubled by the canal construction in Huazhou for a long time. He had mentioned it to others before but no one took it seriously. Now that Lu Qing asked about it, he couldn't help but vent his bitterness: "As early as two or three years ago, I wrote a letter to the emperor requesting permission to build a canal in Huazhou.

Huazhou usually has little water, and farming is restricted by the water shortage. The harvest has been unsatisfactory over the years. In addition, the terrain here is special, and floods are more likely to occur in years with bad winds. Therefore, it is most necessary to build canals to divert water.

During droughts, water can be diverted from the rainy areas of Lizhou to the water-scarce and drought-stricken areas of Huazhou, thus solving farmers' farming problems.

During floods, canals can be used to drain excess water to prevent farmland from being flooded.

However, Huazhou had never experienced a flood in the past. There were only occasional droughts, but no problems had ever occurred. This matter had never been taken seriously, and my father-in-law also advised me not to mention it again.

It was put off again and again, and this year, it suddenly rained for days without a clear day. The emperor finally approved my request and asked me to bring people to repair the canal...

But...it seems like it's too late!"

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　　(End of this chapter)