Chapter 583 Not Allowed to Enter the City

"Oh? You just lost a loved one,"

As Yun Yichen spoke, he approached the little boy and slowly took something out of his pocket.

Seeing his movements, the woman and the little boy retreated together, but the little boy showed no fear at all when he looked at Yun Yichen's covered face.

"Kill them or torture them as you please, but don't hurt them."

The little boy's words successfully amused Yun Yichen. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the little boy's face. Sure enough, the dark stuff was wiped off, revealing a fair complexion.

"Grandpa, this child probably isn't from an ordinary family, is he?"

Children from ordinary families naturally have darker skin and rougher skin because they have to help with chores from a young age. But the little boy's skin was fair and delicate, which is not something that ordinary people can raise.

The old man sighed deeply upon seeing this, perhaps it was all fate.

“What you say is true, sir. This child is the youngest son of Zhou, the Assistant Magistrate of Suzhou.”

The youngest son of the magistrate of Suzhou was dressed like this and mingled among a group of ordinary people.

Yun Yichen raised an eyebrow. He had only thought the child's gaze towards them was a bit strange, but he hadn't expected there to be something going on.

Seeing Yun Yichen looking him up and down, the boy stared at him without blinking.

"Child, come here!"

The old man beckoned to the little boy, then whispered something in the boy's ear. The boy looked at Yun Yichen and eventually walked towards him.

"Grandpa said you're a good official. Will you really seek justice for my father?"

He was just a child after all, and all his emotions were written on his face.

Yun Yichen looked at his smeared face, wiped it clean with a handkerchief, and then slowly said, "If your father is innocent, we will naturally seek justice for you. But before that, you must tell me what exactly happened in Suzhou."

Yun Yichen is usually very unapproachable, but after he lowered his guard and talked with these people, he unexpectedly gained their trust.

"You're a good person, I'm telling you."

In a short while, the boy let down his guard.

The three people—an old man, an adult, and a child—sat together and quickly explained the situation. It wasn't until Yun Yichen and the child mounted their horses that everyone recovered from the scene.

"Fourth brother, was that person just now really Grand Secretary Yun Yichen?"

Lu Yuanbin felt he must have seen wrong. How could that man, who was so disliked in the court, be the same person who was so approachable just now?

Lu Changqing narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yun Yichen's back.

"Fifth Prince, don't talk nonsense! Don't you recognize Lord Yun? Let's hurry up and leave!"

As he spoke, Lu Changqing mounted his horse, but he became wary of Yun Yichen.

Before this, he thought that the reason he and Lu Yuanbin came to this wretched place was because the emperor had given Yun Yichen some kind of hint.

But now it seems that Yun Yichen is indeed the chief minister who is deeply favored by the emperor, and he is also a person who is good at hiding his emotions.

The group left without warning. Lu Yuanbin glanced at the dirty family and, as if afraid they would target him, quickly mounted his horse and chased after them.

"Father, where do we go next?"

Their home has been destroyed, and apart from their family members, they now have nothing left.

The old man stared in the direction the group had left for a long time without saying a word. After a while, he stood up, leaning on his cane.

"Let's go back to Suzhou City!"

"But Father, the prefect of Suzhou won't let us into the city!"

The old man's son was clearly worried about turning back, since they had long since run out of food. They had eaten everything they could find in the past few days, and if they went back and found nothing, their journey ahead would be even more difficult.

"The prefect won't let us into the city, but Lord Yun is here, he won't abandon us."

The old man, having lived to such an advanced age, knew nothing of court affairs or what an imperial envoy was, but since it was the incorruptible Grand Secretary who had arrived, they were certain they would be saved.

The old man's words were full of trust in Yun Yichen. Since he had said so, the whole family immediately turned around and headed towards Suzhou.

When Yun Yichen and his men arrived in Suzhou, they saw the refugees being driven out of the city gate.

"The Imperial Envoy has come to provide disaster relief by imperial decree. All unauthorized persons shall quickly make way."

As Zhong Lin walked forward, he used his voice, imbued with internal energy, to send out his message. Sure enough, upon hearing that it was about disaster relief, the people all moved aside.

The guards at the city gate exchanged glances, and one of them immediately ran into the city.

"Welcome, Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy."

As soldiers guarding the city, they naturally knew the weight of this imperial envoy, so they treated Yun Yichen and the others with great respect and courtesy.

Yun Yichen naturally chose to ignore these people. After entering the city, Yun Yichen handed Young Master Zhou to Zhong Lin and instructed, "Take him and find a place to hide first. Remember not to let anyone find you. I will send you a signal after I have dealt with things here."

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Zhong Lin spurred his horse and quickly disappeared into the crowd with Young Master Zhou.

Upon seeing this, Yun Yichen slowly dismounted from his horse. His gaze swept over the shops on both sides of the road. The rows of houses were completely unrecognizable, and the entire street was covered with rubble and bricks, devoid of any trace of life.

"I didn't expect the situation to be this serious in the city. I wonder how many lives have been taken under these rubble and debris."

Having received the most upright education since childhood, Ji Wenjin was unconsciously moved upon seeing this scene.

Meanwhile, some of the men who were just as resolute as him were secretly wiping away tears, not for any other reason than for those who were weeping bitterly on those jumbled rocks.

In an instant, tens of thousands of people lost their homes, and countless others perished in this desolate city.

And these were just the beginning of their nightmare. After that, countless problems followed, making it difficult for them to bear.

"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy has arrived; I have failed to greet you properly."

A group of people who rushed over from a distance immediately cupped their hands and clasped their fists in greeting when they saw Yun Yichen and his companions.

Upon hearing the sound, Yun Yichen looked over and saw that the person was wearing tattered brocade clothes and even had a layer of mud on his face, as if it had been accidentally stuck on.

"You are the prefect of Suzhou, why bother?" Yun Yichen looked at the attire of the group and finally settled on the man in the lead, whose hair was turning gray.

"Yes, sir, it is indeed I!" He Biyou replied before looking up at Yun Yichen, who was sitting on his horse.

When his gaze fell upon Yun Yichen's half-silver mask, he was first taken aback, but after a moment, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"I never expected that the imperial envoy for disaster relief would be the Grand Secretary. Now I feel much more at ease."