Looking at the food in front of him, although Liu Hong always advocated frugality, he couldn't refuse since it was sent by the Empress Dowager.

The court is now relatively stable, so it's fine to make improvements from time to time.

Thinking of this, a wave of hunger washed over me again.

Liu Hong picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, he had a great appetite.

Soon, Liu Hong had eaten most of the food that Xiao Hong and the others had brought.

Seeing Liu Hong eating so heartily, Xiao Hong, who was standing by, smiled slightly.

"I'm full!!"

After shoveling the last grain of rice into his mouth, Liu Hong wore a satisfied smile.

"Now that Your Majesty has finished eating, I will return to Chang Le Palace to report to the Empress Dowager!"

After the palace maids had cleaned up the leftovers, Xiao Hong bowed to Liu Hong and then took her leave.

Liu Hong smiled and nodded, "Alright! When Xiao Hong returns, please convey my gratitude to the Empress Dowager!"

"promise!"

After Xiao Hong and the others left, Liu Hong got up and slowly walked to the outside of Deyang Palace. Looking at the palace, which was already lit up with lanterns, Liu Hong's thoughts drifted to the surroundings of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Hong narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured softly, "I wonder if they're eating well!"

Feeling a sense of satisfaction in his stomach, Liu Hong couldn't help but think of the common people, the refugees, the soldiers guarding the border, and the officials in those harsh and cold places.

Inside the Liaoxi Prefectural Governor's Office, although it was already dark, a faint light still emanated from the office where Yang Biao was located.

Yang Biao, the then governor of Liaoxi, was still busy handling the complicated government affairs within Liaoxi.

With a creak, the door opened, and a servant walked in carrying a tray, followed by a servant from the prefect's mansion carrying a cotton coat.

This servant was a member of the Yang family. He had followed Yang Biao from Yuyang to Liaoxi ever since Yang Biao left the Yang family. He had been responsible for Yang Biao's food and daily life and could be described as extremely loyal.

Only he could enter the house without Yang Biao's permission.

The moment the door opened, a gust of cold wind blew in, and the temperature inside dropped sharply. Yang Biao, who was engrossed in handling government affairs behind his desk, felt a chill run through him. He glanced up at the two people who had entered, then lowered his head again to examine the official documents in his hands.

"Young master, it's getting late. You've had a long day; it's time for dinner!"

The servant approached and looked at Yang Biao, who was still busy with government affairs, with some concern. As he spoke, the servant placed the tray on a table.

"Okay! Let's leave it there for now, we'll talk about it later!"

Yang Biao didn't even look up, still busy processing the official documents in his hands.

"Young master, it's cold. If we wait any longer, the food will get cold!" The servant couldn't help but advise Yang Biao as he busied himself.

"I said I'd talk about it later!"

Yang Biao frowned, somewhat displeased at being disturbed, but didn't even glance at the servants or the steaming food.

Seeing his young master like this, the servant opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words that were about to come out, and could only helplessly stand aside.

About half an hour later, Yang Biao finally approved the last official document, which was considered a barely acceptable end to his day's work.

Ten days ago, the temperature in western Liaoning suddenly dropped, and countless poor people have frozen to death or suffered frostbite because they could not withstand the cold. Many people also chose to flee south.

(At that time, western Liaoning roughly corresponded to the present-day Huludao and Jinzhou areas.)

In an instant, official documents from various counties in western Liaoning flooded onto Yang Biao's desk like snowflakes. All sorts of difficulties, like mountains, weighed heavily on Yang Biao, making it hard for him to breathe.

Immediately, Yang Biao, authorized by the emperor's secret letter, opened the official granaries in various parts of western Liaoning to provide relief to the people of western Liaoning. At the same time, he began to organize the people to repair their houses and used every means to help the local people withstand the severe cold.

Although various measures have achieved some results, the situation is still not optimistic, and people are still freezing to death or suffering from frostbite every day.

"Sigh~"

Putting down the official documents in his hand, and thinking of the series of figures from various places about people freezing to death or suffering from frostbite, Yang Biao couldn't help but sigh deeply, then closed his eyes and gently rubbed his brow.

Everyone says it's a bitter and cold place. When Yang Biao first arrived in Yuyang, the weather wasn't too cold, so he didn't think much of it. But after arriving in western Liaoning and winter set in, he realized what bitterness and cold really meant.

"Young master, you need not worry too much. The situation in Liaoxi has stabilized. I believe that with the efforts of the Emperor and you, Liaoxi will surely be able to pull through!"

Seeing Yang Biao's worried expression, the servant beside him couldn't help but offer words of comfort.

"Sigh... I hope so!"

Yang Biao sighed softly, then got up from the table and stretched his limbs.

Feeling hungry, Yang Biao couldn't help but look at the food on the tray.

"Young master, the food has gotten cold. I'll go heat it up for you right away!"

Seeing Yang Biao get up, the servant picked up the now-cold food and prepared to leave.

"No need, let's just eat it like this!"

Yang Biao called out to the servant, then went to the small table and took the food out of the tray.

"But...."

The servant, seeing the food had gone cold, wanted to offer more advice, but Yang Biao interrupted him.

"It's fine, heating it up would just waste a lot of wood! It's still edible cold!"

As he spoke, Yang Biao picked up his bowl and chopsticks, first scooped up a mouthful of millet rice and chewed it a few times, then picked up a piece of stewed radish and put it in his mouth, nodding as he ate.

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