Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Chapter 170 Breaking the pot

At the residence of Lord Li, the prefect.

The plan was given to the prefect, Lord Li, for review. Luo Yu and Murong worked in unison, explaining all the principles and plans to Lord Li one by one. Looking at the drawings, it became clear at a glance.

As for the house that cannot be built on a high place, Luo Yu also drew a design drawing.

Originally, Ye Yucheng thought that Miss Luo Yu was just summarizing what she had seen, but he didn't expect that the house she drew was even more surprising. It clearly looked like she designed it herself.

The first floor of a house is not for living; it is built with stone or brick, providing stability and strength. The second floor, constructed from wood, is suitable for direct living, a brick-and-wood structure. This type of building has a stable foundation, making it impervious to flooding. Even if water rises to the first floor, it won't soak the second floor, preserving food supplies.

Luo Yu looked at Ye Yucheng with a hint of doubt in his eyes, and immediately explained: "This building has existed since the Spring and Autumn Period. It was widely used in small places during the Tang Dynasty. It's just that you don't know about it. It's nothing new."

Lord Li nodded and praised, "I have seen these buildings made of different materials in the Ministry of Works in the capital, but I didn't expect Miss Bai to be able to memorize the construction methods and even draw them. I am truly impressed."

"Girls like us who stay at home spend all our spare time writing and painting. Why don't you ask Master Murong? The picture book I created is very popular in Liangzhou City. Our Liangzhou City Library is also very popular because of it."

"If one day our Wangzhou is fully rebuilt and the people begin to live normal lives, I also hope to build a free library as you said, so that everyone can have the opportunity to learn to read and develop our Wangzhou step by step."

"Master Li is very thoughtful."

The most pressing issue to be resolved now is to hold a meeting with the magistrates of each county to finalize the plan, and then rush to start construction. It would be best if the construction can be completed before next year's rainy season.

Fortunately, there is strength in numbers, and as long as the civilians have food to eat, they will work hard.

However, money is also a problem. Lord Li's face, which had just relaxed, immediately became frowning again.

"I wonder if Lord Li is worried about the lack of treasury?"

"Miss Bai is truly intelligent. She guessed what I was thinking right away."

"That's right. I've roughly calculated that even if we work hard to transport grain ten more times, we can only earn a few hundred thousand taels of silver. Even if we take out all of this money, it's just a drop in the bucket."

"I dare not. These are the achievements of several princes. Their interests cannot be used."

"Don't worry, their remaining profits are naturally untouchable. I've also thought about the rest. I'll divide it into several equal parts. The Imperial City Division will get one, Lord Li will get one, and Miss Qin and I will also voluntarily donate one share to help the disaster victims."

"Miss Bai, do you really think so?"

"Of course, as long as I don't lose money, that's great! I don't lose a penny and I'm helping the victims. You all make money, isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"

"We at the Imperial City Bureau don't need this money. We just need to keep some for food and drink."

Ye Yucheng didn't expect Miss Bai to be so determined, so he naturally couldn't let her down.

Lord Li sighed and said, "My share will naturally go towards helping the victims. Then I'll see if I can submit a memorial to the court and ask for more disaster relief funds to rebuild Wangzhou."

"I do have an idea, but I wonder if Lord Li would like to hear it?"

"Miss Bai, please tell me. There are no other outsiders here."

Luo Yu smiled and looked at Ye Yucheng, the envoy of Ye City.

Ye Yucheng's eyes darkened, and his tone was cold: "I only care about Baihu's affairs."

"That's good."

Luo Yu put away the sly smile on his face and said slowly, "We should take this opportunity to expose the dirty deeds of the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion. It would be best if we could alert the emperor."

"This evidence is not easy to obtain."

"Miss Qin came back and told me that she encountered many government officials along the way, and she caught them all. When the time is almost up, she plans to capture them all. These people will be the best evidence."

"What if these people don't admit it?"

"It's okay. We have plenty of time now. We can just lure the snake out of its hole."

Ye Yucheng's eyebrows moved. This woman was really cunning. She even dared to touch people from the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion.

Seeing Lord Li's serious face, Luo Yu knew that he must have a lot of evidence against the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion.

"If we don't alert the Emperor this time, they'll continue to act recklessly. I think it's better to catch them all at once. If the Emperor is really angry, he'll at least confiscate their property. Then, won't the disaster relief funds come in?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Yucheng, Lord Li, and Murong were all shocked.

She actually came up with the idea of letting the emperor confiscate the Marquis's property and use the money as disaster relief to help Wangzhou City.

In the past, Murong only thought that Miss Qin did not follow the rules and did not care about women's etiquette. But now he finally understood that Miss Luo Yu did not care about any rules or etiquette at all. She did not even realize that she was a woman. Her previous obedience seemed to mean that she did not care about these things.

Lord Li had certainly heard about the relationship behind the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion. He had never dared to make any move, fearing that he would be throwing an egg against a rock. But now, with Miss Bai's idea, he felt reassured.

"I heard that the Marquis's eldest son's younger sister is the Emperor's most favored Concubine Mo, and her son is also the Emperor's most favored, the Fifth Prince. Before the Empress gave birth to a prince, it was rumored that the Fifth Prince had the greatest chance of being named heir."

Ye Yucheng uttered a cold voice: "Master Li!"

Lord Li immediately said "eh" and shut up.

Luo Yu smiled faintly, guessing that there must be a reason why Lord Li was demoted.

"These things are not surprising. We are all family now, so what can't we talk about? Besides, she is just a favored concubine. It won't be long before the emperor likes younger and more beautiful ones. After all, beauties are always inexhaustible."

After saying this, he glanced at Lord Li meaningfully.

Lord Li immediately shook his head: "That's not the case with me. I only have one wife, my wife."

Luo Yu chuckled and said, "Master Li, you misunderstood. If one day you can do whatever you want, you will know that this is a very happy thing, which is rare for you men."

The faces of several people became increasingly gloomy.

Murong observed Luo Yu carefully and found that she did not seem to be mocking men, but rather treated it as a normal phenomenon.

He was secretly surprised. Could it be that she was really a concubine in the palace? Because she was not favored by the emperor, or because the emperor was fickle, she had a completely clear understanding of men and finally chose to escape from the palace?

At this moment, Murong actually hoped that she was really a palace maid.

Luo Yu stood up, bowed to Lord Li, and prepared to leave.

August arrived unexpectedly, and the triennial provincial examination was here again. Special officials from the central government would soon go to Wangzhou. Although Lord Li was extremely busy, he at least felt more confident.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, they decided to burn their boats.