Chapter 156: The east of the city is prosperous and peaceful, while the west of the city is suffering.

Sheng Ran frowned and raised her head.

The restaurant's signboard was inlaid with the words "Baiwei Ju" in gold, and a red silk silk hanging on the door lintel to celebrate the Saint's birthday was fluttering in the air with the warm breeze coming from the restaurant.

The store was warm and already filled with orcs. The sounds of chatting and laughing, the crisp sound of bone chopsticks hitting bowls, and the sound of boiling soup coming from the kitchen mixed together, exuding the fresh and lively atmosphere.

But all this came to an abrupt end because of the Saint's birthday party.

In addition to them, the other orcs waiting at the door also looked disappointed.

Sheng Ran looked at the tightly closed side door of Baiweiju and could vaguely see the waiters busy packing the ingredients. There were also several carriages with the "Shengci Mansion" logo parked at the door, obviously transporting goods.

[Just because of a birthday party, even ordinary people's meals are affected? ]

Unable to express in words, Sheng Ran could only complain to the system in her heart.

[Yes, the Saint Female was supposed to be a role model for the beast world, bringing benefits to the people. But now, a birthday party is squeezing out the livelihoods of ordinary people, forcing restaurants to close and leaving diners empty-handed. This isn't "benefiting" at all; it's clearly an abuse of privilege.]

The system was also filled with righteous indignation and complained unhappily.

Sheng Ran stopped at the door depressed and didn't intend to leave for a long time.

The waiter who stopped her looked increasingly embarrassed, "Sir, please go back."

"All the ingredients in the kitchen have been ordered by the people from the Saint Female Palace. The fresh dishes for the next few days must be saved for the birthday banquet. Our small shop can't afford to offend them..."

Yun Ling was in no mood to listen to his explanation. She quietly placed her hand on the short blade at her waist, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

He doesn't care about the Holy Female Mansion. As long as the master is unhappy, he would dare to take action against anyone, not to mention a waiter from Baiweiju, even if they are from the Holy Female Mansion.

As soon as her fingertips touched the hilt, Sheng Ran gently pressed it down.

She sighed helplessly and shook her head, "Don't be... impulsive."

The waiters would not lie. They were indeed following orders and were not deliberately making things difficult for them.

Yun Ling paused, but his eyes were still cold.

The waiter shrank back in fear when he saw the sudden drop in air pressure around Yun Ling, then quickly replenished his energy.

"It's not just us. The 'Juxianlou' and 'Hao Zai Lai Jia Chang Guan' up here are both closed today! If you two don't mind, there might be some small restaurants open a few steps outside the city."

Sheng Ran nodded, pulled Yun Ling and turned to leave.

After taking a few steps, I could still hear the waiter sighing behind me: "Alas, this Saintess Banquet is so bad that we ordinary people can hardly even have a hot meal..."

The two walked along the main street, and just as the waiter had said, the restaurants along the way were either closed or had wooden signs hanging on the doors saying "Ingredients sold out, temporarily closed."

Occasionally there are a few snack stalls that are still open, but they only sell pre-made cold cakes and dry biscuits.

The stall owner said that the fresh rice and flour had been taken away by "the higher-ups", so he could only sell the stock.

Sheng Ran looked at the empty streets, and her previous impression of the prosperity of the central city was instantly cast a shadow.

She clenched Yun Ling's hand and shook her head heavily, "It shouldn't be like this."

Sheng Jieyue held a grand birthday party, but the people in the city suffered terribly.

Yun Ling remained silent, but subconsciously slowed down his pace to match hers.

At first, he didn't understand why his master was so sad. He turned his head to look at Sheng Ran's slightly frowned brows, and saw the worry in her eyes towards strangers, and suddenly he understood.

Her anger was never because she couldn't eat, but because of the ordinary orcs who were affected by privilege.

Her heaviness was not due to the difficult situation, but to the suffering of the people hidden beneath the prosperous appearance.

This realization, like a ray of light, quietly shone into Yun Ling's heart.

He only knew his master's kindness before, but never thought about her "goodness", which had already exceeded the scope of a few beastly husbands like them.

Even strangers could make her worry.

Yun Ling considers himself to be an extremely cold and selfish person.

In the past, I only cared about myself, but after falling in love with Sheng Ran, the only person I cared about became her.

But Sheng Ran is completely different from him.

She had compassion for all things and was far warmer and more loving than he could have imagined.

Yun Ling couldn't bear to see her worrying about this alone, so she consoled her, "Perhaps this situation is just a special case, and only the city center is affected."

"Master, let's go to the west of the city." Yun Ling continued, his voice softer than usual. "I heard the innkeeper mentioned before that the west of the city is a civilian area, maybe... there are places to eat."

Sheng Ran looked up at him, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and then nodded: "Okay."

Turning from the main street into the alley on the west side is like stepping into two different worlds.

Their guess was correct. The Saint's birthday party had not affected this place, and life went on as usual.

But it's a completely different picture——

There were no bright yellow lanterns, no vibrant red silks, only low, dilapidated adobe houses with thatched roofs blown here and there by the wind.

Occasionally, a few skinny dogs passed by on the bumpy road. There was no aroma of food, only a faint smell of mold and herbs mixed in the air.

Is this also part of the central city?

Sheng Ran couldn't believe her eyes.

Several orcs wearing tattered animal skins and so thin that only bones were left were huddled in the corner. In front of them were chipped pottery bowls that were empty. They looked at the passers-by with numb eyes.

Not far away, a female animal holding a child was squatting by the well, carefully wiping the stains on the child's face with a rag dipped in turbid well water. The child's lips were cracked and he was humming "hungry" softly.

Sheng Ran's steps became slower and slower, and her heart felt like it was being weighed down by a block of lead.

She had seen the end of chapters in the wilderness, but she had never seen such a stark contrast - the city center was lavishly celebrating a birthday party, while the orcs here were struggling to even get enough food and clothing.

"There's a stall still open in front."

Yun Ling pointed to a small stall not far away, where there was a wooden stand with a few coarse pottery bowls on it, and a faint aroma of grains wafted in the air.

The two walked over and saw that the stall owner was an old orc with gray hair and wearing a patched brown coat. He was lowering his head and stirring the wild vegetable porridge in the pot with a rough wooden spoon.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Sheng Ran and Yun Ling dressed neatly, which was out of place with the shabby surroundings. A hint of vigilance flashed in his eyes, but he quickly lowered his head and continued to stir the porridge.

Yun Ling's eyes unconsciously softened when she looked at him.

"Father-in-law, give me two bowls of wild vegetable porridge and two pieces of multi-grain cakes."

He spoke softly, so as not to frighten the older orc.

The old orc paused, raised his head, and asked hesitantly, "Young man, are you sure you want to eat this?"

He pointed to the porridge in the pot. There were only scattered wild vegetable leaves in the porridge, and the multi-grain cakes were also ordinary, with no extra color. It was obviously made from the cheapest coarse grains.

"Although the restaurant on the main street ahead is closed, there's still a pastry shop. If you two don't mind..."

"Just eat... this." Sheng Ran smiled and shook her head. She took out a few copper coins from her pocket and placed them on the stall. She said slowly, "We are tired from the journey, so we want to drink some hot porridge."

She raised the corners of her lips, but there was a hint of pain in her smile.

Before setting foot in the west city, I never imagined that the gap between the rich and the poor in the central city would be so huge.

While the east of the city was bustling with joy and happiness, the west of the city was suffering.

Ridiculous and suspicious.