The floods in the south have forced many people to change their travel plans.
The day after Fu Man'er's wedding, Song Kangcheng set off for the south. The disaster was severe, and the local officials were inactive and deceived their superiors, which led to a large number of homeless people becoming homeless.
The original text comes from Tower & Read Novels~&
As a high-ranking official in the court and a trusted person of the emperor, he was bound to be sent to the south. Before the imperial edict was even issued, he volunteered to go.
Fu Man'er and Xu Yi came to see him off, bringing with them a lot of medicinal herbs to prevent diseases.
"Please take care on your journey." Looking at Song Kangcheng's worried face, Fu Man'er could only say these words. She knew that Song Kangcheng was a good official who truly cared about the people.
Song Kangcheng nodded and then said to Xu Yi, "The disaster victims will soon flock to the surrounding towns, which will disrupt the order in the cities. I have written a letter, which I will give to your Lord He. You must help him protect the safety of the people."
Lord He was the highest-ranking officer in charge of the garrison troops of several nearby towns.
Xu Yi took the letter and assured Song Kangcheng, "Please rest assured, sir, I will do my utmost to protect the people."
Song Kangcheng glanced at the two of them again and suddenly smiled, "You're married now, why call me Lord Song? Just call me that like Man'er."
In fact, from the time they recognized each other until now, Fu Man'er has always called Song Kangcheng "Lord Song," and has never uttered the word "Uncle."
Xu Yi looked at Fu Man'er; he respected Fu Man'er's choice in this matter.
Song Kangcheng didn't press the two to change their tune any further. He was pressed for time and needed to get on his way immediately. "Alright, you should both go back now."
"Please be careful during this time. I will write to you once I reach the South."
After saying that, he stepped into the carriage, and Fu Man'er quickly followed. Song Kangcheng lifted the curtain and looked over.
He saw reluctance in his niece's eyes, and even though he didn't hear her call him "uncle" in person, he was still satisfied.
Fu Man'er hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, "Uncle."
Song Kangcheng was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly smiled with relief. He waved to Fu Man'er, "Go back quickly."
The coachman had already raised his whip. Xu Yi stepped forward, put his arm around Fu Man'er's shoulder, and pulled her aside a little, while also saying something.
"Take care, Uncle."
Song Kang-sung had a smile on his face as he left, which showed how happy he was.
Following Song Kangcheng's departure were Consort Ru and her son, who prepared to return home the day after Fu Man'er's homecoming.
On the day of their return visit, Fu Man'er and Xu Yi did not go back to the old house, but stayed in the town instead.
Read novels on TaDu, ad-free and free online!
After all, who knows when we'll see each other again?
The refugees are now scattered everywhere. It would be safer to set off as soon as possible before they head towards Yun Town.
When Madam Ru and her entourage arrived, the motorcade was a long line, mainly because they brought a lot of things for Fu Man'er. When they returned, Xu Yi suggested that they travel light and keep things simple.
In this way, it won't attract much attention, and the simpler and faster travel will also make it easier.
In addition, Xu Yi specifically went to Cao Zixuan and asked him to arrange a pair of bodyguards to escort Madam Ru and her entourage back to the capital.
After all, times have changed, and there's a fear of encountering refugees on the road.
When a person is starving, they are capable of anything.
Qi Jun left reluctantly. If Fu Man'er hadn't said that his concubine needed his protection, Qi Jun might have stayed in Yun Town or even followed Song Kangcheng south.
Some things are like blood flowing through our veins, like the old Marquis Qi, a general who fought on the battlefield, and Song Kangcheng, a good official who cared for the people.
Qi Jun is both courageous and hates evil. Although he is still a child, he will shout to teach corrupt officials a lesson when he hears about them, and he will feel heartache when he hears about the suffering of the people.
First published on: Tower > Read Novels
Before parting, Fu Man'er specifically called him aside. Because he couldn't go south or stay in Yun Town, Qi Jun's face was sour.
Fu Man'er had a mischievous idea. She stood on tiptoe and rubbed his head. Qi Jun just glared at her and didn't jump up and down as usual, shouting that it would damage his reputation as the young marquis.
"You just obediently go back to the capital. Don't even think about sneaking away on the way. If I find out, I'll chase you all the way south and give you a good beating."
"You'll have to consider how many bones you'll break then. I won't go easy on you like I did before, just because it was your first time."
To be fair, Fu Man'er's frowning and harsh words were quite intimidating, and even though Qi Jun was unwilling, he still nodded.
"I know, I will escort Mother back to the capital properly." Anyway, he only agreed to this matter, as for what he would do after returning to the capital, that was hard to say.
Fu Man'er thought that the child had finally come to his senses and was no longer a worry, so she patted Qi Jun on the shoulder with satisfaction.
"When I have some free time in a while, I'll come to the capital to visit you. I'll see if your martial arts have improved then."
Although they had only spent a few days together, Fu Man'er already quite liked Qi Jun.
The siblings exchanged a few words, and the caravan was about to set off. Qi Jun was still dressed in his bright red clothes, riding a tall white horse. The dashing young man attracted the attention of the girls on the roadside who frequently stopped to steal glances.
TaDu Xiaoshuo. >Say—*.—Free*No ads*>>No pop-ups, and>>-.*You can also interact with fellow book lovers>@.
Qi Jun tightened his grip on the reins, glanced back at Fu Man'er, and Fu Man'er smiled and waved at him.
Qi Jun shouted in a strong voice, "Let's go!"
The convoy slowly drove out of the city until the red figure became a small, indistinct dot, at which point Fu Man'er slowly withdrew her gaze.
Xu Yi pulled the man into his arms and whispered comfortingly, "Qi Jun is a good kid, he will surely achieve great things in the future."
It is indeed rare for a child who grows up being pampered to have a good character, and even rarer is that this child has a sincere heart.
Now that the country is at peace, if there were to be a war, there is no doubt that Qi Jun would follow in his father's footsteps, taking up a gun and riding a horse across the battlefield.
“Yes, he’s very clever.” Fu Man’er said this somewhat absentmindedly.
Xu Yi understood her; she was feeling down because she was suddenly facing separation.
She originally thought that this low mood would last for a few days, but what happened next left Fu Man'er with no energy left to be depressed.
The towns nearby had only heard bits and pieces about the natural disaster in the south, but as the convoys traveled back and forth, bringing more and more news, many people began to get restless.
Website: Ta^Read Novels, welcome to download -^
The first thing that broke out was the looting of food.
The Xu family were a merchant family. With Xu Genshan and Xu Genzhu around, they began stockpiling grain as soon as they heard about the disaster in the south. Of course, they did not buy grain in Yun Town.
Instead, they went to the north, where grain production is abundant. By the time the town experienced a grain hoarding outbreak, the Xu family had already transported the grain back and stored it away.
In just one morning, grain prices soared several times over, yet people continued to flock to grain stores to scramble for food.
Some people even fought each other over grain, and Fu Man'er happened to see two families fighting when she passed by.
She sent someone to summon the guards while simultaneously ordering others to separate the two families.
The already crowded grain store was even more packed with people because of the fight between the two families.
Many people in the town knew her, and seeing her step forward, some asked her to make a decision.
Fu Man'er looked at the sign hanging on the door, which showed that the price of grain had increased fivefold compared to usual.
Is this still selling grain?! It's practically sucking people's blood!
Read novels on TaDu, ad-free and free online!
Two families at the entrance were fighting to the death over grain, while the grain shop owner was instructing his employees to move more grain inside.
Finally, he impatiently coaxed people, "Go, go, go. Those who aren't buying grain, hurry up and leave, don't delay my business."
That profit-driven attitude is disliked by everyone.
When they arrived at Fu Man'er's place, the shopkeeper greeted them with a smile, "Oh, it's Miss Man'er, no, it's Madam Xu."
"You're here to buy grain too? That doesn't make sense. The Xu family is so wealthy and powerful; it's not like it's your turn to come out and buy grain personally."
Fu Man'er knew the owner of this grain store; he was a notorious miser, never spending a penny. And since his surname was Mao, many people privately called him "Mao the Miser."
"Manager Mao, the price of grain wasn't like this when I passed by your shop this morning. How come it has increased so much in just a few hours?"
As far as Fu Man'er knew, the first place in town to raise grain prices was this stingy grain store, and the prices kept getting more and more outrageous.
Faced with Fu Man'er's questioning, Mao Buba remained calm and even seemed somewhat aggrieved.
"Mrs. Xu, you have no idea how precious grain is these days."
Tower Reading @
"There are natural disasters in the south, and most of this year's grain will be sent to the south. In the end, there will not be much grain left for our people."
"It's not that I want to raise prices, it's that we're out of food. Even if I go to buy more, the prices have already gone up."
“You’re in business yourself. If prices go up at the source, do you think we small business owners won’t follow suit?”
“I have elderly parents to support and young children to raise. My whole family is relying on me to make a living. Unlike the Xu family, who are so wealthy, they can’t survive without making money.”
No sooner had Mao Buba finished speaking than someone in the crowd spat out, "You're talking nonsense! This grain is all old grain that you brought back before. It smells damp to me."
"You're just using this excuse because you want to make a fortune off us."
Mao Buba wasn't angry at all. Instead, he shouted to the onlookers, "If you think it's too expensive or the rice is bad, you don't have to buy it."
"But I can't say for sure about the price of grain. It's this price now, but in a little while, you won't be able to buy coarse grains at this price."
After saying that, Mao Buba asked the waiter to bring him a calligraphy brush, and then, in front of everyone, he began to change the price on the wooden sign at the door.
In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the price is going to go up again.
Tower Reading @
Just as Mao Buba was about to finish the last stroke, suddenly, with a whoosh, a sharp object pierced his ear and struck the brush, startling Mao Buba so much that he fell to the ground in shock.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com