Chapter 217: Bowing to the Governor!
Chapter 217: Bowing to the Governor!
As the teacher had said, that night Manager Zhou had a Great Dream.
He saw Shangjing, he saw Western Xiao, he went south beyond the south, he reached north beyond the north. Through the Great Dream, he saw ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, and all the rivers, lakes, and seas unfolded before his eyes.
The Wine Tavern opened later than usual that day.
Manager Zhou slept until the sun was high. When he woke up, his expression was blank, but he clearly remembered every place from the dream, and he could even name them all.
It was so real, real to the point that it seemed he had truly traveled the whole world.
“Was it really a dream…”
Manager Zhou sat on the bed in a daze for a long time, momentarily confused about whether it was a dream or reality.
He thought about how worries of the day cause dreams at night, but even if it was a dream, how could it be that real and that vivid.
After getting up, Manager Zhou went to the book shop. He asked the knowledgeable Young Master there, and the places in the dream matched what the Young Master told him exactly.
What surprised the book shop’s Young Master was, “Has Manager Zhou just returned from Shangjing? He knows more than I do…”
Manager Zhou was dazed for a long time, until the tea on the table turned cold; then he snapped awake.
“I went.”
“I went in my dream.”
As he spoke, a faint smile appeared on his face, but as he smiled, a hint of redness filled his eyes.
Manager Zhou muttered, “At last, I have gone…”
The book shop’s Young Master was confused and did not understand what was wrong with Manager Zhou today, finding his talk odd and mysterious.
When Manager Zhou returned to the Inn, he seemed lost in thought, telling everyone he met, “I have seen, I have seen.”
But no one knew what he had seen.
The staff were frightened, repeatedly saying they should find a doctor for the Manager, but Manager Zhou refused.
This went on for half the day, and then Manager Zhou improved, no longer shouting, just smiling foolishly now and then.
The staff could only shake their heads, feeling helpless.
Manager Zhou glanced out the window, as if the heavy rain vanished from his eyes and the raging river calmed.
In his eyes, a boy seemed to appear sitting by the river’s edge. The boy wore simple clothes, staring at the big river, dreaming of many, many faraway places.
That boy was his past self.
“I have seen.”
Manager Zhou murmured.
This murmuring was spoken to the boy in his eyes.
The rain over Tongtian River still had not stopped.
Mu Cailiang rushed early to that riverside pavilion. After walking a long way, his shoes were covered in mud.
The wind by the river was strong, but he waited there until noon.
When he realized that the Young Master was truly gone, all that remained was a sigh.
He couldn’t wait any longer; this favor would probably never be repaid.
His thoughts returned to the river water. Last night, his benefactor said people downstream were already evacuating the villagers.
Mu Cailiang thought all night but couldn’t figure out who had such power to act under the officials’ noses.
He was still worried and wanted to see with his own eyes. But when he reached the riverbank and saw the water level, he was shocked.
“How…”
“It has risen so much!!”
It had risen more in that one night than in the past five days combined.
Mu Cailiang was alarmed, suddenly thinking of one possibility.
He dropped all other thoughts and bolted toward the river governor’s mansion.
The wind on the river was too strong, and holding an umbrella slowed him down, so Mu Cailiang threw away his umbrella and ran through the heavy rain.
Breathing hard, his eyes reddened by the rain, Mu Cailiang reached the entrance of the river governor’s mansion in just a short while.
“What do you want?”
The officials outside stopped him.
Soaked, Mu Cailiang gasped and called out, “I need to see Governor, I need to see Governor!!”
An official frowned and said, “Do you think you can see Governor whenever you please? Get lost.”
“How dare you force your way in!”
The two officials shoved Mu Cailiang back. He fell at the mansion gate, rolled a few times, and stopped.
Mu Cailiang opened his mouth, then shouted toward the building, “Yuan Xiude, come out and see me!!”
“Stop yelling!!”
Seeing this, the officials became angry and called more to throw Mu Cailiang away.
“Yuan Xiude, come out and see me!!”
Mu Cailiang still shouted stubbornly.
“Drag him away!”
An official lost patience.
But just then, the main gate swung open, and the person who came out was the river governor himself, Yuan Xiude.
“What’s all the noise?”
Yuan Xiude frowned, looking at who it was.
“Governor Yuan…” The official lowered his head and stood aside.
Seeing it was Mu Cailiang, Yuan Xiude gave a faint smile and said, “Isn’t this Mu? Why are you so messy?”
Then he turned to the officials holding Mu Cailiang and told them, “Aren’t you going to let Mu go?”
Once freed, Mu Cailiang stepped forward and asked, “When will you open the dam?”
“Didn’t I tell you already?” Yuan Xiude said impatiently.
Mu Cailiang said, “You must know about today’s water rise.”
Yuan Xiude observed him with interest and replied, “Does Mu believe I know?”
“Are you, are you going to open the dam early?!” Mu Cailiang said.
Yuan Xiude said, “If I do, what then?”
He gave a cold snort, looking hard at Mu Cailiang, “Mu Cailiang, I am the river governor now. Deciding when to open the dam is up to me alone. Earlier, later, when did it become your place to complain?”
“You…”
Mu Cailiang paused, suddenly calming down. He took a few deep breaths and looked back at the other man, the fire in his eyes gone.
Mu Cailiang said in a bargaining tone, “Could you not open early, just stick to the original time…”
Yuan Xiude was surprised that Mu Cailiang was speaking so softly now.
He thought about it and said, “I can’t do that. If the water floods, it’ll be my fault. I’d be blamed, making things hard for me.”
“But if you beg me, I might consider it.”
Yuan Xiude laughed; he said it carelessly, not expecting Mu Cailiang to actually kneel.
Yuan Xiude stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and said, “Enough, Mu. I don’t have time for your arguments. Don’t come here and cause trouble anymore—you’re no longer the river governor.”
With that, Yuan Xiude turned to go inside.
But suddenly, a voice spoke from behind.
“I beg you.”
Yuan Xiude froze and turned to look.
Mu Cailiang’s eyes were dull as he whispered, “I, Mu, beg you…”
Yuan Xiude snapped back to reality; he hadn’t expected Mu Cailiang—who always opposed him—to truly lower himself and beg.
“Mu, begging must be done like begging.”
Yuan Xiude wanted to see if Mu Cailiang would really kneel.
Mu Cailiang stared at him silently. After a moment, his legs bent down.
“Thump.”
Yuan Xiude felt disbelief and was momentarily speechless.
Mu Cailiang bowed his head to the ground and said aloud.
“Commoner Mu Cailiang!”
“Now bows to the Governor!”
The rain fell on Mu Cailiang’s body.
He knelt at the river governor’s mansion entrance. After that shout, only the sound of rain remained.
Yuan Xiude frowned.
Mu Cailiang had knelt.
But Yuan Xiude didn’t feel any joy; instead, he was irritated inside.
That Mu Cailiang was the one least accepting of him as river governor.
Though he now called out “Governor,” in his heart he still resisted.
It was pointless.