Chapter 28: Chaos
The clouds obscured the moon, and the light in the pavilion dimmed again. The vision became more blurred, and other senses became more sensitive.
In the darkness, Yang Manyan could clearly feel his breath getting closer and closer...
Her heart was tense and she closed her eyes subconsciously.
But he suddenly stopped.
The emperor was somewhat annoyed and angry. He almost became like his disappointing son and was bewitched by Yang and lost his mind.
Having been the supreme ruler of the world for many years, he had always had everything under control. However, this Yang made him feel frustrated that he could not control himself.
Yang Manyan felt a little disappointed, but also inexplicably relieved.
But before she could start to rejoice, the man approached her again.
His physique was as strong as a mountain, and he easily overpowered the petite and fragile girl.
The emperor pinched her chin forcefully to fix her little face.
The violent gene in his blood seemed to be completely awakened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "In a few years, Shangyi Yang will die of illness. If you behave yourself, I will give you the status of a concubine."
Yang Manyan bit her lower lip tightly, tears streaming down her face.
**
At three o'clock in the night, the Crown Prince and his entourage arrived at Zhuozhou, which was ravaged by a locust plague.
In order to avoid alarming the local people, Xiao Yan specifically ordered that officials from counties and states along the way were not allowed to line the streets to welcome him, and he could only enter the prefectural government office in Zhuozhou surrounded by his entourage of guards.
The prefect Huang Dacheng saluted respectfully, but his hands were sweating with nervousness. This was the first time he saw the crown prince up close.
Perhaps in order to keep a low profile, the tall and thin boy only wore a light moon-white robe with a round collar and narrow sleeves. He looked outstanding, like the clear moon and the gentle breeze.
His every move and gesture reveals his noble and extraordinary bearing. No wonder people say that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a god who has descended to earth.
At this moment, Xiao Yan was thinking about the scene he had just witnessed. Wherever the locusts went, they blocked out the sky and the sun, leaving no grass growing. The people were crying out in hunger and cold, and there was wailing everywhere.
He looked solemn, "Zhizhou Huang, have the porridge factories in the counties and towns been set up? Have you found out the number of acres affected and the number of victims?"
Huang Dacheng was not originally very concerned about the locust plague as he was about to be transferred. Moreover, whenever the imperial court sent imperial envoys to local areas to provide disaster relief, they would cut the money at every level and embezzle it for their own benefit, leaving little left for the victims.
For example, more than ten years ago, when he was the county magistrate of Fanyang, he encountered heavy snow for months, which did not stop until the spring, and many poor and weak people froze to death.
The imperial envoy sent by the court to provide disaster relief at that time was Jiang Huan, the nephew of Empress Dowager Jiang. The carriages and horses transporting silver and grain had not yet arrived at the disaster area as they had already been emptied by people from the Jiang family.
Huang Dacheng had just entered the officialdom at that time, and his enthusiasm was poured with a basin of icy water by reality, and his ideal of serving the country was extinguished from then on.
But now that he knew the prince had come in person to provide disaster relief, Huang Dacheng's heart, which had been dormant for many years, was rekindled. He immediately rushed around to survey the disaster situation in person to prevent any mistakes or omissions.
After listening to Huang Zhizhou's report one by one, Xiao Qing frowned and pondered for a moment.
"I am escorting 10,000 dan of rice from the Beijing warehouse, more than 10,000 dan of millet from Fengtian, and 20,000 dan of silver from the Ministry's treasury. I am afraid I will need to intercept the grain passing through Shandong and borrow money for relief."
After arranging the procedures for disaster relief in the next few days, Xiao Yan continued in a gentle voice: "The porridge for disaster relief must not fall over when chopsticks are inserted, and the towels must not leak. I will inspect incognito, and those who violate the rules will be punished."
Huang Dacheng and the local officials behind him agreed repeatedly.
They were secretly shocked. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked elegant and generous, like a banished immortal. His tone was extremely gentle, but there was a kind of invisible pressure.
After the officials finished their work and left, Huang Dacheng looked around and found that the prince did not bring any maids with him. Suddenly, an idea came to him.
He smiled awkwardly and said, "It's not good for Your Highness to have no one to serve you. Would you like me to arrange a few maids for you?"
He was certainly not talking about an ordinary maid.
Xiao Yan raised his eyelids and glanced at him calmly, "Zhizhou Huang, I can see that you are a good official who is honest and loves the people, but you are trying to get ahead in the wrong direction."
After saying that, he walked into the wing room of the government office in the moonlight, leaving Huang Dacheng alone standing there in a daze.
Was he trying to get ahead in the wrong direction? Huang Dacheng was confused and couldn't help but think about what he had been trying to get ahead in all these years.
As I thought about it, tears welled up in my eyes.
After washing up casually, Xiao Yan sat on the edge of the couch and couldn't help but think of Yang Manyan who was far away in the imperial palace in the capital.
Her every smile and frown kept appearing in front of his eyes, and he didn't even know it. The corners of his lips were slightly raised, and a smile flashed in his eyes.
Thinking of her cute look when she called him "Xiao Zian" in a coquettish manner... his Adam's apple rolled and his body began to feel hot. He didn't dare to think about anything else.
Xiao Yan calmed himself down, took a deep breath, and tried his best to adjust his internal breath before he could suppress it.
In a month, at the latest, he would be back in Beijing, and then he would be able to meet Yuanyuan again, he thought.
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