206, Confused

206, Confused

After Zhang Lingxuan sent Ye Zhuoran home, Lu Mingfei also followed his father back to their family's braised food shop.

It was already dark at this time, and their family was waiting for them to come back for dinner.

Seeing that there were no people on the street, and her husband and eldest son had just returned from picking up someone, Liu Sanniang asked, "Why did you come back just now?"

"We just sent Young Master Ye to the clinic, which delayed us a bit." Lu Youtian said.

"Send Young Master Ye to the clinic? What's wrong with Young Master Ye?" Upon hearing this, Liu Sanniang asked with a worried look on her face.

"It's nothing serious. Maybe the child caught a cold in the Imperial Examination Hall and fell ill as soon as he came out." Lu Youtian said.

"Yes, it rained these past two days and the weather suddenly became cold. These children stayed in the Imperial Examination Hall for a few days before coming out. I have heard that many students were carried out these two days. Fortunately, this child waited until the end of the exam before coming out, otherwise..." Liu Sanniang did not say anything else.

Liu Sanniang looked at her eldest son and asked, "Mingfei, are you feeling unwell?"

"Mom, I'm fine, you don't have to worry." Lu Mingfei said as he met everyone's gazes.

"It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay. Are you hungry? Let's eat first." Liu Sanniang felt relieved when she saw that her eldest son didn't look like he was in trouble.

Lu Qingfeng and Xu Yueniang were also at the braised food shop at this time. When they saw their adopted son coming back with a tired look on his face, they didn't ask him anything about the imperial examination.

Even the children in the family didn't dare to make trouble when they saw their brother looking tired, and they were more well-behaved than usual.

After having dinner with his family, Lu Mingfei did not stay in the store for long and took a carriage back to the courtyard on Chunxi Road.

The first thing he did when he came back was to ask someone to get him water for a bath.

After taking a comfortable hot bath, he sat on the recliner in the study, warming himself by the fire, and asked Zhang Qi to help him wipe his freshly washed long hair.

This is the bad thing about the ancients. Both men and women had long hair.

When he was little, he could ask his mother to cut his hair short. But when he grew up, everyone around him had long hair, and it was difficult for him to cut his hair short. He would become an outsider. So he could only keep his hair long and blend in with the crowd.

It's just that washing my hair is really troublesome.

“Knock knock—”

I heard someone knocking on the bedroom door.

Lu Mingfei knew who the person outside was without having to guess. Without even turning his head, he instructed Zhang Qi behind him, "Go out and help me invite the person outside in. Go back to the house and rest. I don't need you to follow me here."

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Zhang Qi stood up and went to open the door.

He was not surprised to see who was outside the door.

Zhang Qi had known for several years that his eldest brother often went out at night. However, there were some things he shouldn't have asked, so he never did.

It wasn't until one night two years ago that he saw the person appear in their yard and saw the person's face.

After hearing their eldest brother's introduction, Zhang Qi knew that this young master was their eldest brother's friend.

However, seeing the young man's extraordinary demeanor, he knew that their eldest brother's friend was probably not an ordinary person.

Zhang Qi knew from their eldest brother's instructions that the young master's identity could not be disclosed to outsiders. Therefore, he never mentioned the affairs of this small courtyard and their eldest brother's affairs to anyone, always keeping the secret for their eldest brother.

"Please come in, sir." Zhang Qi made a gesture of invitation and invited the young master into the house. He also closed the door before retreating outside.

Seeing a man dressed like a guard standing outside the house, Zhang Qi just took a look and turned to walk into the house. When he turned around, he glanced at the door of the yard and saw that it was still closed.

It is easy to imagine how the young man inside and the guards in the yard got in.

After entering the main room, Zhang Qi closed the door and then turned to go into the sleeping room.

In the east wing, Lu Mingfei turned around to look at the person who came in and asked Zhao Lang, "Why did you come here so early today?" He stood up from the recliner, picked up the copper kettle on the fireplace, and poured water into a cup.

"Come to see you." Zhao Lang looked at the young man in front of him.

Probably because he had just finished bathing, the boy had long hair draped behind his head. He was wearing a white undergarment inside and a thick coat outside.

He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt that Lu Mingfei looked much thinner than before.

"Sit down." Lu Mingfei sat down on the recliner he had just erected and asked Zhao Lang, "Have you had dinner?"

"Yeah." Zhao Lang sat down.

However, Lu Mingfei didn't quite believe what Zhao Lang said, "You don't look like someone who has had dinner."

"You should have some snacks to fill your stomach."

There happened to be snacks on the table, so he pushed them in front of Zhao Lang.

Zhao Lang took a look at the snacks on the plate. He reached out to pick up a piece, brought it to his mouth and took a bite, his eyes fixed on the young man sitting on the recliner looking at him.

Lu Mingfei returned Zhao Lang's gaze and asked, "I've been taking the exam in the Imperial Examination Hall these days, and I don't know the situation outside. Regarding disaster relief, has the court come up with any response policies?" Having been taking the exam in the Imperial Examination Hall these days, they can be said to have been isolated from the outside world for several days.

Zhao Lang shook his head and said two words: "No."

Although he had expected this, knowing that so many people had died in the north and the court had not yet provided any disaster relief, Lu Mingfei was still somewhat disappointed with the court and the emperor, the people in power.

"I'm afraid that in the eyes of these people, the lives of ordinary people are worthless." Lu Mingfei said with a sarcastic smile, shaking his head. The people he was talking about included the emperor in the imperial city, the officials in the court, and those members of the aristocratic families.

"It's already August. In another month, it will start snowing in the north. If the imperial court doesn't send any food for disaster relief, who knows how many people will die of starvation, freezing, or disease by then."

From June to August now, in the past two months, many areas in the north have been severely affected by the disaster.

However, more than two months have passed, and so many people have died in many places, but the court has not yet come up with a disaster relief plan, let alone sending people to provide disaster relief.

There was a war in the north this year, and the court was unable to provide military pay and food to support the soldiers in the north.

Lu Mingfei would be lying if he didn't feel disappointed by the authorities' disregard for the lives of ordinary people. This flood would undoubtedly lead to crop failure in many areas. Winter would arrive in a month, and by then, the people would be plagued by cold, hunger, and disease. Who knows how many more people would die.

I am afraid that the people who can escape the flood may not be able to escape the coming cold winter.

Although, as early as two months ago, Lu Mingfei had asked his father to take in refugees from outside the city. Over the past two months, his family has taken in quite a few refugees. However, in the face of natural disasters, ordinary people can do very little. At this time, the country needs to step in.

However, the person who should take action does not take action.

The emperor of a country sits in the imperial city, enjoying peace and prosperity every night, but he doesn't care about the lives of the people who are suffering from disasters. And the officials in the court, each of them is in office, but they don't do their job, don't do anything for the people, and only think about how to get promoted and make money all day long. It's really ridiculous!

Is such an emperor and such a country really worthy of his loyalty? Lu Mingfei was confused again.

In fact, Zhao Lang had already sent a letter to his father a month ago, reminding him to organize manpower for disaster relief and distribute food and medicine to the people in the disaster-stricken areas. However, his letter had been sent for over a month, so his father should have received it by now.

However, there has been no reply from the other side so far.

The person he sent hadn't replied yet. So Zhao Lang didn't know what the situation was like in Beijun.

For a moment, the two of them were speechless.

Zhao Lang saw that Lu Mingfei didn't look as energetic as usual, so he knew that he must be tired after staying in the Imperial Examination Hall for a few days. "You must be tired. Get a good sleep. I'm going back first. I'll come find you tomorrow. Some things can't be rushed."

"Okay, I know. Take care." Lu Mingfei stood up and watched Zhao Lang leave.

When he heard the footsteps leaving outside, Lu Mingfei knew that Zhao Lang had taken his men away.

He didn't even pick up the things on the table, but walked towards the bed, took off his coat, and got into bed.

He kept dreaming that night, and he felt like he was stuck in a quagmire and couldn't get out. He was haunted by nightmares, unable to break free or wake up.

…

When I woke up the next day, I could hear the sound of raindrops hitting the roof tiles.

Lu Mingfei lay in bed, unable to recall the dreams he had that night. However, he knew they were not good dreams.

"Shh, don't make any noise, you'll wake up your brother."

"Don't talk."

"I didn't say anything, you did."

“…”

Hearing the sound of several children talking outside the door, Lu Mingfei couldn't help but find it a little funny.

Then, he heard his father's voice outside, as if he was chasing someone away.

"You guys, hurry back to the room over there and don't get your clothes wet." Lu Youtian outside drove the three boys into the main hall.

Looking at the silent room, Lu Youtian said with some concern, "Why is this child still sleeping at this hour? Is there something wrong?"

Hearing his father mumbling to himself outside, Lu Mingfei finally called out, "Dad, I'm awake."

"Oh oh oh, you're awake. Were those guys waking you up just now? Have you slept enough? It's almost noon, why don't you get up and eat something before continuing to sleep?" Lu Youtian asked his eldest son through the window.

"Okay, I'll get up right away." Lu Mingfei originally wanted to stay in bed for a while, but when he heard his father say it was almost noon, he didn't stay in bed any longer.

He sat up from the bed, picked up the clothes hanging at the end of the bed and put them on, then he opened the quilt and got out of bed.