Muster the Troops

Prefectural Yamen · Rear Courtyard

Qi Zhou-shi, the prefect's wife, had moved into Shunan Prefecture the moment they arrived. She truly deserved her reputation as an expert at managing a household. Since the previous prefect had purchased another residence, the courtyard behind the yamen had long been used as a warehouse, piled high with belongings and left in a terrible mess. Though the yamen runners had tidied it before their arrival, it still felt scarcely inhabited.

Yet after barely a dozen days of sorting, the courtyard was already in perfect order. A landscape painting Qi Hongxin had painted himself hung in the main hall, and every detail had been attended to. The warmth of a home could be felt the instant one stepped inside.

But Qi Hongxin's mind was clearly not on any of this. Returning from outside, he dropped into the armchair beside the square table in the hall, his face and eyes full of exhaustion.

Calm before others, only now did he reveal his dejection.

Where was he supposed to find the money to eradicate the locusts?

A few tens of thousands of taels clearly would not be enough, but the water control office's hundred thousand taels of repayment could not be produced now either... Ah, it was difficult!

As he thought of these troubles, irritation filled his heart, and an itch rose from his throat. Covering his mouth, he began to cough.

"You..." Qi Zhou-shi came over just then. Two maids carried in several dishes, while she set a small jade wine flask beside Qi Hongxin's hand, then placed down a tiny wine cup.

Seeing that her husband was only a little over fifty, yet his face was already full of wrinkles, she could not help but feel distressed. After seeing him cough several times and pour