On the Zhuoyang River, a small boat propelled by its boatman's sculling oar had been making its way upstream. By now, it had reached the upper stretches of the river where the Great Flood had failed to gather force.
The Great Flood back then had not been severe, and most houses and other buildings along both banks had escaped damage. Yet even now, some of the houses that had been swept away had not been fully rebuilt.
The farmland along the banks looked all right, with signs of the autumn harvest. The distant wisps of cooking smoke even lent the scene a measure of peace and tranquility.
Hui Mian stood on Qi Zhongbin's shoulder, rising onto his hind paws to gaze into the distance.
"Such a minor flood, and they couldn't even put things right here near Pingzhou. The Local Government does nothing, the locally donated relief silver is nowhere to be seen, and hardly any of the washed-out bridges have been repaired."
Qi Zhongbin slowly worked the sculling oar, his gaze calm throughout.
"There is some truth to calling the emperor the Son of Heaven. Rather than an honor, it is a responsibility owed to the way of the human world. When the Son of Heaven loses virtue, the order of things eventually falls into disorder, and so does the realm! For Great Gui, Zheng Yiming's appearance is a great calamity."
Hearing Hui Mian and Qi Zhongbin's words, Yi Shuyuan came out of the cabin. He no longer looked like the street vendor from Pingzhou City; his hair and beard had returned to their original appearance.
He smiled at Qi Zhongbin.
"That depends on what this so-called Great Gui truly is. Is it merely the name of a kingdom, or the countless common people gathered beneath it? What is