Han Yu was not in the mood to study due to the beating of gongs and the blowing of horns outside. On the other hand, Lu Zheng was happily eating.
Upon seeing that Han Yu was frowning, there was a faint glint in Lu Zheng’s eyes. “Where did Zixiao go? I haven’t seen him since this morning. He wasn’t present in the morning reading…” he asked inadvertently, interrupting Han Yu’s thoughts.
Han Yu came back to his senses and asked him rhetorically, “Have you not seen him either?”
Liu Zheng finished the plate of white cakes and drank a large bowl of hot tea heartily. The chill in his body disappeared completely. “I haven’t seen him… This plate of white cakes was his breakfast. He didn’t eat it and it has turned cold. It was such a waste, so I cooked it and ate it.” Lu Zheng patted his chest to guide the qi down. He gulped down a large bowl of hot tea. The warmth made him feel sleepy.
Han Yu curled his lips. He seemed to have foreseen Wei Ci’s embarrassed reaction when he found out that his food was gone.
Where was Wei Ci? He was being talked about repeatedly.
He was wearing a plain scholar’s costume and a cloak that could barely block the cold. With his two servants, they went to a slum that was affected by the serious snowstorm in a carriage.
The collapse of the slum, which had been in disrepair for a long time, made it even more difficult to travel on the already tough road. It was not easy for the people to go in and out. No gruel stalls were set up in the vicinity. Many families could not earn a living. The thin elders and children could only starve or freeze to death in the cold.
“Wei Langjun is here…” When he had just arrived at the alley, a seven-or-eight-year-old girl ran towards him joyfully.
After a while, more than 20 skinny old women and children under the age of ten came out holding bowls in their hands. Wei Ci asked his servant to stop the cart and lifted the thick quilt into the carriage, revealing four vats on top. Even though they were covered with lids, the sweet smell still drifted out.
“Don’t worry. Everyone will have a share.”
Although Wei Ci did not reveal much of a facial expression, good-looking people always had some privileges. The people were very touched by his gesture of providing food for them every day. They had already let their guards down and they were not afraid of the Langjun, who was as pretty as a fairy. Instead, they liked him a lot.
After a short while, three vats of steamed bread had all been distributed. The vat containing sticky congee was empty. The leftovers had also been scraped clean.
At that moment, Wei Ci realized that someone was tugging at his shirt. He lowered his head to take a look. A little girl whose face was covered in ash was staring at him with clear eyes. There was a hint of adoration in her gaze. Through those eyes, he seemed to have seen another child and his heart grew soft.
He crouched down, looked into the child’s eyes, and asked, “Have you completed the task I gave you two days ago?”
The little girl nodded her head. Her sallow face was somewhat flushed and she happily responded, “Yes! It’s all done!”
The collapse of the houses had crushed many people to death. The roads were blocked, separating the people living in the slum from the outside world.
Wei Ci hired the young men in the slum and provided them with three meals a day. He also gave them extra wages to clear up the rocks and snow on the roads. Otherwise, the huge cart behind them could not have been pushed in. Under the compression of the snow, more houses would be destroyed.
The little girl in front of him lost her mother in the snowstorm. The fallen pillar had broken her father’s legs and there was no way that he could work.
With the loss of the only labor force, one could imagine the life of the family of two.
Wei Ci smiled and gave her a task in which she had to remember the people who cleared up the snow and rocks. She was paid daily and she was also given warm clothing.
The child was very hardworking and did her job seriously.
“You’ve done a great job,” he praised.
The child beamed from ear to ear, revealing her gums; she had lost a few teeth. She seemed to realize that it was not appropriate, so she shut her mouth shyly.
Wei Ci asked his servant to settle the wages from the day before and asked his servants to unload the bags of food from the carriage. Each household was given some food.
“I won’t be coming again after two days from now. There is still some food and money here. Keep it.”
Wei Ci’s family had declined. A thin, dead camel was still bigger than a horse. Before the Wei family moved, they had left him with quite a lot of money, which was enough for him to live a life without having to worry about basic necessities. He had come to Shangjing with Master Yuan Jing for the assessment. He did not expect such a thing to happen at first, so he did not bring much money.
“Thank you… Thank you for your kindness…”
The crowd was expressing their gratitude towards him. Some old people even wanted to kneel down, but Wei Ci stopped them.
After leaving the slum, Wei Ci sighed anxiously. The strength of an individual was always weak. Even if he distributed his wealth, what could be saved?
The place Wei Ci was staying was far from the residences of the second prince. However, if he wanted to go back, he had to pass by it.
The farther away from the slum he traveled, the neater and more luxurious the surrounding houses were. The roads transformed from a muddy, dirt road to a neat, stone road.
It was very difficult to imagine that such slums and the houses in front of him were in the same area.
Seeing that there were majestic guards of honor clearing the way in front, he asked his servant to pull the wooden cart to the roadside so they could give way to the other party.
“Langjun, the residence of the second prince is on the street in front of us. Do you want to bypass it?” The servant was pushing the cart and spoke somewhat uneasily.
Hundreds of tables had occupied the entire street. Commoners were not allowed to get close and the servants could not enter either.
“Let’s make a detour, so as to not bump into the aristocrats and create unnecessary trouble.” Wei Ci looked down and hugged both sides of his cloak tightly. The frown on his face left some creases on his cheeks.
The residence of the second prince was originally the property of a high-ranking official in Shangjing. Later, he was convicted and the property was confiscated. The government gave the piece of land to the second prince. The house was rebuilt and renovated. Almost the entire street was the compound of the residence of the second prince, so making a detour would take a lot of time.
Wei Ci saw from afar that the small, side door of the residence of the second prince was open. Buckets of swill were carried to the swill cart.
After quite some time, the buckets of swill had all been moved. The scarlet side door had also been closed quietly.
Wei Ci heard the servants who carried the buckets of swill whispering to each other from quite a distance away. “Sigh. How are those swill? They’re clearly buckets of silver… The vegetables are intact. Only a small portion of it has been eaten and some of them haven’t been eaten at all. They’ve been dumped into the buckets of swill just like that and they’re treated as garbage… In the world outside of the residence, lots of people have starved to death… Even if these vegetables are given to the commoners, many lives could be saved…”
The other cook replied, “Do you want to die? What are you talking about? If the aristocrats hear you, losing your job is a small matter… You may lose your life. What rights do the rabbles have to eat the food that has been eaten by the aristocrats? The aristocrats are born with silver spoons in their mouths and they’re noble. We’re the bumpkins in the field and we’re born to be humiliated…”
“How dare you judge me? Look who’s talking…” The two cooks bickered for a while and sighed. They quietly snuck away from the back door of the residence.
It was as if Wei Ci was placed in an icehouse. The chill shot up to his brain from his feet.
A taunting pair of eyes cast a glance at him, making him feel suffocated.
“Your Majesty… You’re right…” he muttered. Hot tears welled up in his eyes and he almost cried.
