The Story of a Destitute Noblewoman Farming

Chapter 143 The High Priest's Last Words

On the day before the New Year, County Magistrate Xu was enjoying the New Year atmosphere at home when Lu Linlang suddenly came to visit him.

Lord Xu knew that she was not someone who did not know etiquette. She came here so suddenly, so she must have something important to tell him. He quickly asked someone to invite her in.

In order to make Lord Xu believe her words, Lu Linlang also brought the elders of the clan with her. As for the people of Chongshan, they were unwilling to contact others and left after taking their things yesterday.

After hearing what Lu Linlang said, Lord Xu was also shocked. He hadn't recovered from the joy of the New Year when he heard such bad news. If it really happened next year, what would he do? Even worse, if bandits occurred, disaster victims caused trouble, etc., it would be a question whether he could still keep his position as county magistrate.

"Miss Lu, is what you said true? It's not that I don't believe it, but it's hard to accept such a thing."

"It's indeed what the Chongshan people said. They haven't come down the mountain for several years, but they unexpectedly came down the mountain the day before yesterday. We couldn't believe it, but we were even more afraid that it would really happen. My lord, I heard that the high priest is also from Chongshan. Why don't you invite him over or go to the Priest Pavilion to ask?"

"Okay, okay, I actually forgot about this. Let's go to the Priest's Pavilion now." Lord Xu also remembered that the reason for the appearance of the Chongshui High Priest was recorded in the files of their county government.

The files recorded that three hundred years ago, a very serious earth dragon turned over in Chongshan, and even the surrounding villages and towns were affected. However, the worst hit were the people of Chongshan. The magistrate of Chongshui County at that time heard that some strange people appeared in the mountains and they wanted to ask for help. The magistrate took the constables and yamen runners and walked for five days and five nights to bring their people back to Chongshui to find a doctor for treatment.

It was because they were moved by the county magistrate's actions that they said that a great witch had predicted the earth dragon's rebellion, but they still could not avoid it. The great witch's prophecy at that time was to let the tribesmen go out of the mountains to seek help. Fortunately, in the end, their tribesmen still saved their lives.

When the county magistrate heard that they had such a strange thing going on, he was very curious about their abilities, so their chief witch doctor personally used his divination skills to predict that there would be a flood in Chongshui in the summer of the following year, and he also pointed out the places that might be affected.

The county magistrate did not quite believe it at first. He just thought that Chongshui was rich in water systems, so even if a flood occurred, it was very likely. But who would have thought that in July of the following year, Chongshui had heavy rain for ten consecutive days. Unlike previous years, the rain was too heavy and Chongshui was flooded. The county magistrate thought of the witch's prophecy and immediately relocated all the people and property in those villages. On the second day after the relocation, the rain suddenly intensified, and a mountain torrent broke out, instantly razing several villages to the ground.

After seeing the tragic situation in Chongshui, the county magistrate could not help but break out in a cold sweat, so he went to find the witch doctor in person. The witch doctor told him that the county magistrate of Chongshui had saved their people, and they were willing to send someone to Chongshui to serve as a priest. Every October 1st, they would divine for Chongshui and predict danger in advance.

Until three hundred years later, they stopped sending people out. Lord Xu calculated carefully and found that this year was exactly three hundred years. It can be said that there was a will of heaven.

After listening to what Lord Xu said, Lu Linlang finally understood what happened that year.

"The worship of Chongshui has lasted for three hundred years. I can't believe how time has passed so quickly. Miss Lu, I actually believe this matter. I just want to ask the high priest to come forward and help with divination again."

A few people walked to the priest's pavilion, knocked on the door and went in, only to find that these priests seemed to have anticipated their arrival.

"The high priest returned to the embrace of the witch god this morning. Before he left, he locked himself in a room and said a lot. He called us over and wrote a letter, saying that if Lord Xu or Miss Lu arrived, he would pass it to you."

The high priest's eldest disciple took out a letter, his face full of sadness.

Lord Xu was also very surprised. Although the high priest was old, he had always been in good health. How could he pass away suddenly?

Several people walked into the hall and saw the high priest lying peacefully on the bed with his hands crossed, as if he was asleep.

Lord Xu went forward to check and found that his body was cold and he was not breathing.

"When did the high priest leave? Was there anything unusual he did before he left?"

"Yesterday, the high priest received a letter from someone in Xishan Village. He was very worried after reading it and asked us to boil water for him to bathe and change his clothes.

This morning, he asked us all to go out and he stayed here alone to do divination.

After he called us in, he gave us this letter, and then asked the eldest brother to be the next priest and asked us to listen to the eldest brother.

Later, he asked us to help him lie down on the bed, and told us that after he left, we and other brothers would send him back to Chongshan. He said that someone would come to pick him up when we arrived in Chongshan.

We were just about to deliver the letter when you arrived."

"That letter was indeed sent to the high priest by the Chongshan people through our people. The letter is written in their own words, and the Chongshan people wrote it in front of us."

Lu Linlang also explained the matter clearly.

"The letter is right here. It only has a few characters from the Chongshan people written on it. Master once taught us that these characters mean a natural disaster is coming."

The high priest's disciple took out the letter and explained it to everyone.

"Ah, I never thought the high priest would die like this. We almost couldn't see him off."

As Lord Xu spoke, he opened the letter. There were only a few words written on it, and the brief text was his last words.

"Miss Lu, take a look, these are the words left by the high priest."

Lu Linlang took the letter and saw that it read: "There will be a severe drought next year. I know I am powerless to prevent it. I am risking my life to see the sky. Fortunately, there is a chance of survival. The hope is Miss Lu."

"Miss Lu, what do you think the high priest meant? If you have any solution, please tell us quickly and slowly. We will act accordingly and save the people from this dire situation."

When Lord Xu thought of the last words in the letter, he thought of Lu Linlang's intelligence and believed that she must have a better solution, so he asked her for help.

"Master Xu, next year's matter concerns the lives of thousands of people. I must take responsibility. I spent the entire night thinking about a solution. Now it seems that the construction of the school will have to be postponed. The most important thing is to build a water conservancy project to store water.

Only by storing water can we have a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, we don’t know what the situation will be like next spring. I am afraid that it will not rain next year. Now there is snow, and we can use the snow to store water.

Another thing is to plant drought-resistant crops. The corn and sweet potatoes that Chongshui people used to plant, I think we can promote them throughout the county. If there is no rain from the beginning of spring next year, we can reduce the area of ​​rice cultivation.

By the way, the drought-resistant rice I researched last year hasn’t been tested yet, so I’m not sure if it can really adapt to growing in the land.”

"Okay, okay, I didn't expect that this ray of hope really lies with Miss Lu. Let's do it. From now on, I'll trouble you, Miss Lu. Please accept my greeting."

When Lord Xu saw that she had actually come up with a solution, the heavy stone in his heart finally lightened a little.