Chapter 584 The Strange Little Boy

He Biyou was so happy about Yun Yichen's arrival that he forgot about the other adults who were also with him.

Seeing Yun Yichen being led by He Biyou to the temporary resettlement point, Lu Yuanbin couldn't sit still anymore.

"Fourth Brother, is Yun Yichen trying to take credit for this? He didn't even mention us brothers! We are princes! We came here in person to inspect the damage caused by this disaster. This is an immense favor. They are really disregarding us!"

Lu Yuanbin still considers himself an official sent to provide disaster relief, unaware that Yun Yichen had only intended for him to do odd jobs from the day he opened his mouth.

"Then what should we do, Fifth Brother?"

Lu Changqing looked at Lu Yuanbin as if seeking his opinion.

"Of course, we need to find an opportunity to deflate his arrogance."

Lu Yuanbin had been driven almost mad by Yun Yichen these past few days. Now that they had arrived at the border of Suzhou, he had no choice but to save face for himself.

Looking at Lu Yuanbin's confident expression, Lu Changqing smiled slightly and made no judgment.

In his opinion, Lu Yuanbin's attempt to cause trouble for Yun Yichen was like a hard-boiled egg hitting a rock. However, he wasn't kind enough to warn Lu Yuanbin, since a fight between the two wouldn't do him any harm.

With everyone preoccupied with their own thoughts, Yu Yichen, along with He Biyou, arrived at the resettlement site for disaster victims in the city.

Inside the resettlement site, everyone was performing their duties in an orderly manner, and they happened to arrive just in time for the government to distribute porridge.

"Lord He, are all the disaster-stricken people of Suzhou here?"

Yun Yichen looked at the group of people in the field, dressed in tattered clothes and looking like refugees, and couldn't help but ask.

"Alas!" He Biyou sighed deeply upon hearing this. "My lord, you may not know this, but this disaster is a once-in-a-century event, and it came on fiercely. Even though we organized rescue efforts immediately, the results were minimal."

Why did he have such a pained look in his eyes when he said those words? Anyone who saw him would call him a good official.

"What about the villages and towns? Why did I see so many refugees being kept outside the city when I came in?"

Actually, when Yun Yichen arrived, there weren't many people left at the entrance; most of them had already been driven away by the soldiers.

Speaking of this, He Bi's face darkened, and he became even more grief-stricken. "My lord, you do not know, those refugees are actually from the surrounding villages. Since the earthquake, I have had enough rice and grain sent to them. But seeing that the city is still distributing food, they hide the grain that was sent to them and come back to ask for more."

After He Biyou finished speaking, the local officials who had come with him to welcome Yun Yichen immediately echoed his sentiments.

"So it seems these unruly people are the ones who are truly greedy."

After Yun Yichen finished speaking, he looked at He Bi with admiration and said, "On the way here, I saw countless refugees fleeing one after another. I wondered if Lord He was neglecting his duties and refusing to open the granaries to distribute food. After hearing what Lord He said, I realized that Lord He is truly a responsible and good official."

Yun Yichen had never praised anyone in the imperial court, but today, when facing He Biyou, he praised him without reservation.

He Biyou and his group were naturally extremely satisfied with Yun Yichen's praise.

However, when Lu Yuanbin heard this, he felt that Yun Yichen was flattering them.

"Look at him in the capital, with his father backing him up, he's so arrogant. Now, he's only been in Suzhou for a day and he's already learned to flatter others. People who don't know him would probably think that so-called Lord He is the real imperial envoy."

Lu Yuanbin tried his best to show his dislike for Yichen, but no one else commented on his words.

Yun Yichen's character has been well-known in the imperial court over the years. Let alone asking him to flatter a local prefect, he would refuse to flatter even the emperor if he wanted to.

How could someone who wasn't even afraid of the emperor possibly be afraid of a local official?

"Fifth Brother, stop making wild guesses. Lord Ji has his reasons for doing this."

Lu Changqing offered a reminder, but received a glare from Lu Yuanbin.

"What reason could there be? They say even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. In Suzhou, it's still Prefect He who calls the shots. No matter how capable Yun Yichen is, he's just a figurehead imperial envoy."

Lu Yuanbin's face was nothing like Hugo's, but his words were the first to hit the nail on the head.

Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Although Yun Yichen and his colleagues hold high positions, that's in the capital, right under the emperor's nose.

The reason why we need to treat them with such respect is because we haven't yet infringed upon their interests, and we are willing to treat them with courtesy.

However, if they discover that Yun Yichen is harmful to their interests, this group of people will definitely turn around and bite him back. Even if they can't kill him in a short time, they will still scrape a piece of flesh off him.

Knowing this, Yun Yichen did not bring the little boy with him.

Since the little boy is the son of the magistrate, he is probably familiar with these people. If they find out that he already knows the truth about what happened in Suzhou, not only will he not be able to seek justice for Magistrate Zhou, but he himself will also soon be executed here.

"Fifth Brother, you'd better say less!"

Lu Changqing really didn't want to pay any attention to Lu Yuanbin. If Lu Yuanbin had thought things through more, he wouldn't have said such a thing.

Lu Changqing kept telling himself to be patient and not to provoke Yun Yichen.

Lu Yuanbin had endured this for so long, how could he possibly tolerate Lu Changqing acting as peacemaker once again?

"Say less, say less. I'm not trying to be mean to you, Fourth Brother, but you are a prince, can't you live like one?"

Lu Yuanbin retorted to Lu Changqing in an annoyed tone, then turned and followed the others.

As Lu Changqing watched his retreating figure, a rare look of gloom appeared on his face.

"Acting like a prince? From childhood to adulthood, apart from you few, when have I ever acted like a prince?"

From childhood to adulthood, apart from having royal blood and a hollow title while living in the palace, he probably wasn't even considered a prince by the emperor himself.

After saying this, Lu Youming quickly caught up with the group.

Because he kept his voice low, no one noticed what he was muttering.

"Your Highness, Lord Yun and the others are discussing matters. You should not disturb them."

Seeing that Lu Yuanbin walked up behind them and seemed about to break their conversation, Ji Wenjin quickly grabbed him.

“Your Highness knows they are talking business, but if they are talking business, why leave us all behind? This disaster is not something he can handle alone.”