Chapter 120 Daiyu's Disaster Relief

As dusk settles, the city lights begin to twinkle.

Apart from the night watchman trudging through the mud, there were hardly any other people on the street.

Even in the busiest and most vibrant night markets of the capital, not a single lantern was lit.

The rustling snowflakes felt heavy as they hit people; if they hit the face, they even caused a sharp pain.

"This isn't snowing, it's like knives are falling..." Daiyu, bundled up tightly, stood under the eaves and reached out to catch a snowflake.

The snowflakes had sharp edges. Although they melted instantly when they landed on Daiyu's fair and tender little hands, they still left a red mark on her palm, as if something sharp had gently grazed it.

Daiyu felt a little cold and a little painful. She withdrew her hand and stared blankly at her palm until the red mark disappeared.

She no longer felt the excitement she had when she first saw the heavy snow. Looking at the seemingly endless snow, she was filled with indescribable worries.

"Granny," she ran back into the room and saw Yuan Hongqu painting at her desk.

Upon hearing Lin Daiyu's voice, Yuan Hongqu looked up and saw that the little girl's eyes were filled with tears. Her heart tightened, and she quickly went over and pulled her to sit down by the brazier.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy because you can't go out and play?"

Yuan Hongqu took a handkerchief and wiped away the tears from Daiyu's eyes, asking with concern.

Daiyu shook her head, her eyes seemingly able to speak, filled with worry and fear.

Yuan Hongqu understood immediately.

"Don't worry, I went out and asked around yesterday. It's snowing heavily here, and the further south you go, the less snow there is, and it won't be as cold as it is here."

"Really? Granny, don't try to fool me. I'm really worried." Daiyu didn't dare to say more, afraid that someone with ulterior motives would overhear. She knew that even if she didn't say anything, Granny would understand what she meant.

"Don't worry, Daiyu, I'm sure everything will be alright." Yuan Hongqu pulled her to the desk and asked her to do something else to clear her mind, so she wouldn't have to worry about Lin Ruhai who was still on his way.

When Daiyu arrived at the desk, she was immediately drawn to what Yuan Hongqu had painted.

"Granny, what is this you drew? It looks very strange."

“This is a ski, and this is the kind of sled that Wen Shuang mentioned the other day, also called a snow sled,” Yuan Hongqu said, pointing to the things in the painting.

"With these two things, we can walk on the snow. Won't it be much easier for Fangya and the others to go to the West City?" Daiyu was indeed very clever; she knew the specific uses just by hearing the names.

“Right, let’s have someone print it out tonight. It’ll be much easier to go to Xicheng tomorrow, and they won’t have an excuse not to go there,” Yuan Hongqu said.

"Granny, I won't eat those pastries and sweets anymore. I'll just eat some white rice and vegetables. Send the leftovers to the West City so they can eat more and stay warm..." Daiyu said, deeply moved.

“My little girl, I don’t need to skimp on anything from your mouth!” Yuan Hongqu laughed and gently pinched Daiyu’s nose.

Daiyu gave a playful humph, "Granny, that's my way of showing my appreciation! Gold and silver can't be eaten or drunk; we need food. I'm well-fed and warmly clothed, and I have a house to live in, so I'm not afraid of the cold. Eating a little less won't hurt. I heard they don't even have a place to live and are just huddled together for warmth. How can that be right? Granny, we should send them our extra quilts and cotton-padded coats..."

“It’s already being done,” Yuan Hongqu said. How could she hold such a kind girl back?

Daiyu had also heard about what happened to Fangya's family a couple of days ago.

Daiyu only heard that the western part of the city was difficult to reach because the snow was very thick and had collapsed many houses.

However, Yuan Hongqu knew the detailed version.

The Lin family sent people to Xicheng to help Fangya collect the bodies of her family members. When they arrived, they found that the snow had thickened overnight. Although they had made preparations, they were unable to dig the bodies of Fangya's family members out of the snow from noon to evening. When they finally managed to dig close, they found that the snow was frozen solid and they could only dig a little bit with a pickaxe.

If that's the case, it would be better to leave the body frozen in the snow until the snow melts a little before collecting it.

This situation wasn't limited to their area; it affected most families in the western part of the city.

So they spent the whole day working on it, but returned empty-handed.

The leader who went to the west city also told Yuan Hongqu something: most of the houses in the west city have collapsed. When they went there, they witnessed a house being crushed by snow, and they even helped rescue the people there.

Because most of the houses had been crushed, these people had nowhere to shelter from the wind. When they returned, they were followed by many disaster victims from the western part of the city who wanted to come to the inner city.

As a result, when they reached the edge of the inner city, they were driven out.

Unless they live in the inner city or have official documentation, people from the outer city are now strictly prohibited from entering the inner city; otherwise, they will be treated as thieves.

These people are now crammed together on the city wall outside the inner city; many will probably freeze to death overnight.

Yuan Hongqu returned late yesterday. After hearing the reply, she wanted to go out to look for someone, but found that curfew had been imposed outside.

Yuan Hongqu knew that there were people from the Prince Xian's Mansion in the outer courtyard of the Lin family.

It's like putting out a fire, but it seems the two brothers from the Rongguo Mansion haven't even made a move yet. We'll have to trouble Prince Xian once again.

Yuan Hongqu sent a message to the Prince Xian's residence, hoping that the Prince Xian's residence could lend a helping hand.

At the same time, she also used all the stoves at home to cook ginger porridge.

Steaming buns requires proofing the dough, which is too late, so I can only make pancakes instead.

After the Prince Xian's Mansion sent over the token, the Lin family left only one carriage behind, and loaded all the other carriages with hot porridge and pancakes, heading towards the city gate.

Yuan Hongqu went along last night. She heard there were about a hundred people at the city gate, but when she arrived, she realized there were more than a hundred people, probably three or four hundred.

Half of the Lin family members distributed food to the disaster victims, while the other half shoveled away the snow to expose the ground. The surrounding area was still covered with high snowdrifts, which could barely block the wind. Then, they lit the coal and wood that the Lin family had brought in the middle.

As soon as the Lin family finished digging the first snow pit, they heard the neighing of horses from the inner city. It turned out that the Prince Xian's mansion had also sent people over.

With many hands making light work, we finally managed to settle these three or four hundred people...

Originally, Hongqu had high hopes for the Jia family and did not want to be in the limelight. However, another day passed and there was still no movement from the Jia family. The government had not yet issued a response plan, so it seemed that they would have to do it themselves.

"We've packed up all the extra food, cotton-padded coats, and quilts we have at home. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll head to Xicheng first thing tomorrow morning."