A bug appears.
Maro is Gaoshun's son and Bashin's older brother.
The Ma clan had produced many warriors over the generations, but Maro himself was gifted only in the literary side of things — or rather, he simply had no talent for the martial side.
And so, the duties of Jinshi's attendant fell to his younger brother, Bashin.
As for Maro, he was assigned to work as Jinshi's deputy in the office for the time being, and meanwhile, Jinshi set out on an expedition.
"Will Maro be all right?"
"Yes, I believe he'll be fine."
One and a half days of being jostled in a carriage. To wrap things up as quickly as possible, they changed horses at every town and rotated drivers along the way.
Even so, he'd brought along roughly ten subordinates, guards included.
For someone of Jinshi's standing, it was a rather small expedition, but making it a large affair would take too much time.
He wanted to inspect the site as soon as possible, so he pushed it through.
In exchange, he allowed himself a few indulgences when it came to personnel.
The person at his side now wasn't Bashin — it was Gaoshun.
Bashin was up on horseback, serving among the guards.
He felt bad for Bashin, but Gaoshun was still far better at assisting Jinshi.
He'd borrowed him from the Emperor.
There was also an element of payback — the Emperor had used Gaoshun to make his own workload easier, after all.
"He's always been frail, hasn't he? I heard he was recovering at home due to illness."
It was Jinshi who had insisted on dragging him along, though, so he'd feel terrible if Gaoshun's condition worsened again.
"When you say illness, it's the usual sort of thing."
"The usual?"
"Yes. This time, he clashed with his superior in the same department and ended up with a hole in his stomach. He vomited a tremendous amount of blood right onto his superior's desk, was carried straight to the medical office, and then retired. That was about three months ago, I believe."
He was absolutely not fine. Jinshi recalled that Maro had always been terrible with people, and whenever he had to deal with someone he didn't get along with, his stomach would act up.
Whether he'd read the worry on Jinshi's face or not, Gaoshun offered a word of clarification.
"I've assigned my daughter to assist him. Her baby has grown quite a bit now, and she's been saying she'd like to return to work."
"Then... it should be all right?"
Gaoshun's daughter — the elder sister of Ma Shan and Ma Liang. Already a mother of two, she bore a strong resemblance to Gaoshun's wife, with a fierce temperament to match. If anything, he worried it might place too great a mental burden on Ma Liang.
"We're coming up on it now."
Gaoshun looked out the carriage window.
Jinshi gazed outside as well, and amid the quiet pastoral scenery, a small village came into view. Among the modest houses, a large estate could be seen set further back.
"That place?"
"Yes. Shall we head directly to the village chief's house?"
"No, before that— Li Bai— could you call him over?"
Li Bai was a military officer who gave off a somewhat dog-like impression. He showed no particular unease upon seeing Jinshi's face, and his easygoing personality made him a valuable man to have around. This time, too, Jinshi had specifically requested him as an escort.
"Understood."
Gaoshun called out to Li Bai through the window. It would have been faster for Jinshi to call him directly, but it was better not to show his face too openly. He planned to wear a mask when outside.
It was the very picture of suspicious behavior, but if he invoked Gaoshun's name, the village chief probably wouldn't press the matter too deeply.
"What can I do for you, Lord Jinshi?"
Li Bai lightly hopped into the moving carriage.
Having known Jinshi since his eunuch days, this man didn't bother with roundabout forms of address like "the Lord of the Moon" — he simply called him Jinshi.
"You're from the countryside, aren't you? Looking at this village, what do you make of it?"
"What do I make of it...?"
"For a farming village, the houses are actually quite solidly built. They might look plain to someone of your stature, but they're well-maintained. That said, the locust damage seems to have been rather severe."
The reason they looked plain was that the pillars were badly tattered.
"I heard from my grandfather that locusts don't just devour crops — they even gnaw through house pillars and clothing alike."
It must have looked quite ragged.
"According to the report, the remaining grain was only what had already been harvested and stored in the warehouses."
"That's a headache."
Li Bai's face twisted.
"Actually, the timing might have been a stroke of luck, in a way."
If it had been during the wheat harvest, the damage would have been far worse. Or if they had gone further south, they would have been in rice-growing country, which would have been even more dangerous.
"It's hard to see from here, but there are dead insects scattered all over the ground. Since they'd already prepared extermination measures in advance, the damage was relatively light, all things considered."
Li Bai shook his head with a weary look and let out a sigh. It was a rather disrespectful attitude, but he was a man who generally knew his place, so it could be overlooked. Most importantly, it put Jinshi at ease. Gaoshun seemed to consider Jinshi's feelings on the matter as well and said nothing. If it had been Bashen, he would have bitten back.
"Well then, I'll be taking my leave. I don't want to end up on Bashen's bad side."
Before he could even step out, the carriage stopped. They had apparently arrived at the village headman's house.
Bashen did not seem pleased that Jinshi valued Li Bai. The dog-like man promptly stepped out of the carriage.
Jinshi put on his mask and stepped outside as well.
The village headman's house had some damage to its pillars and roof from gnawing, but it was still a perfectly respectable building. Jinshi could tell from Li Bai's mocking expression.
"It's less a house and more of an estate, really."
He went out of his way to say as much.
Waterways ran around the estate, and a pond sat in the center of the garden. It looked stylish enough, but the lack of greenery made it feel rather barren.
For a reservoir used for rice paddies, it was surprisingly elegant — but Jinshi decided to keep that thought to himself.
Jinshi stood behind Gaoshun.
The fidgeting village headman bowed to Gaoshun while sneaking glances at the suspicious masked figure that was Jinshi.
The interior of the house was probably quite impressive for a village headman's home. Beneath his mask, Jinshi listened to Li Bai's murmured comments and made his own guesses. Li Bai might seem simple on the surface, but he was perceptive.
"Please, come this way."
They were led to a room prepared for a banquet. For Jinshi, who had grown tired of palace cuisine, the meal might have been considered rough, but for a rural farming village, it was more than sufficient.
"..."
Gaoshun did not so much as glance at Jinshi, but he surely understood what his master wanted to say.
"We didn't come here for a banquet. Tell me the situation of the village right away."
"Y-yes"
Being accustomed to Gaoshun's courteous manner of speech, Jinshi's commanding way of talking sounded rather refreshing by comparison.
The village chief hurriedly had his servants clear away the meal and make space at the large long table. He seemed quite nervous about city officials showing up unannounced like this. The room had been thoroughly cleaned, with the windows arranged so you could see out into the garden. It might have been a garden he was proud of, but you could spot insect carcasses lying about here and there.
The village chief had brought a map of the village.
"Skip the pleasantries. Give me the essentials, but in detail."
"Right. It was half a month ago—"
The village chief began his account.
Half a month ago, dark clouds had appeared in the northwestern sky.
Wondering how there could be rain clouds when it wasn't even the rainy season, he kept watching—until an earsplitting noise drew ever closer. The black mass over the otherwise empty horizon turned out to be a massive swarm of locusts.
The swarm descended upon the village and devoured the rice before it could be harvested. The villagers fought back with torches and nets in hand, but no matter how many they killed or tried to catch, the locusts would not decrease. Worse still, not content to feast on rice alone, they began biting at the villagers' clothing, footwear, hair, and even skin.
The men caught locusts and burned them, caught and killed them, over and over.
The women and children retreated inside. The women killed insects that squeezed through the gaps, while the children trembled in the corners of the rooms.
The locust assault lasted three days and three nights.
"These are the clothes we wore at the time."
The village chief gingerly held out the garments. The sturdy hemp clothing was torn in places. Since the dye hadn't faded, it was clear the damage was not from age and wear.
"We made insect-repellent medicine, but against a swarm that massive, it was like a drop in the bucket."
Medicine still wasn't enough, then—Jinshi bit his lip.
"And then, over here."
The village chief stepped out into the garden and ran his hand along a single modest tree trunk.
"The lush green leaves were all eaten away."
The village chief let out a deep breath.
"The insects..."
"We killed what we could kill, burned what we could burn, and gathered the carcasses behind the village. Would you like to see?"
It was sure to be an unpleasant sight, but Jinshi had no choice but to look.
Led by the village chief, they headed toward the back of the estate. The closer they got, the more insect carcasses there were, squelching and crunching underfoot.
"......"
I'll spare you the detailed description. I can only say that a large hole had been dug, and a black mountain of them was spilling out from within.
Some of the guards apparently couldn't handle insects. They were covering their mouths, trying to hold back nausea.
"Is this all of them?"
Gaoshun confirmed with the village chief.
"This is what we were able to dispose of."
"Do you have any idea how many got away?"
"I haven't the slightest idea."
Gaoshun stroked his chin.
"Masen."
"Yes."
Called by his father, Masen stepped forward briskly.
"Go to the surrounding villages and gather details on the damage. On horseback, you should be able to return within the hour."
"Understood."
Masen immediately set off to ask the villagers about the surrounding villages.
Beneath his mask, Jinshi was raising and lowering his eyebrows.
"Is something the matter?"
Gaoshun asked Jinshi quietly.
"No—"
Here, what Jinshi needed to do included handling the aftermath of what had already happened. But there was something else he needed to do even more.
What would he do if the apothecary's daughter who had been sent here were present?
Jinshi suddenly crouched down to the ground.
The dead, motionless locusts had swollen, plump bellies. He recalled that locusts moving in swarms became darker in color and developed shorter legs. Indeed, they were plainly colored.
Jinshi drew a small knife from his sleeve.
"......"
He thrust the blade into the locust's torso with a wet crunch. Not a pleasant feeling. But Maomao would certainly do it if she were here.
He dismantled the locusts one by one.
The villagers cast suspicious glances his way, but they had no luxury to spare for curiosity.
Jinshi laid out the opened torsos in a row.
"This is..."
Gaoshun seemed to have realized what Jinshi was trying to do.
Jinshi was no expert on insect biology. But he could at least imagine what would be inside.
The swollen abdomens were packed with what looked like thin, yellow, tube-like strands.
It was autumn. Once autumn ended, winter would follow. The insects could not survive the cold — they entrusted everything to the next generation.
"Eggs?"
At the sound of Gaoshun's voice, Jinshi lowered his gaze.
What does a locust with a swollen belly do next?
"The locust plague isn't over yet."
Jinshi murmured softly beneath his mask.
"We burn the ground."
The surviving eggs had to be killed by fire.
In spring came the wheat harvest — and if the eggs hatched, the insects would have a feast waiting for them.