Zhou Qiongyue didn't pay much attention to the affairs of the Lu Mansion afterwards. Only two months later, she heard from the servants that "Lord Lu made a mistake and was demoted to Liangzhou. On the way to Liangzhou, Lord Lu's family, not counting the servants, all of the more than ten members of the family were killed by bandits."
After listening to this, Zhou Qiongyue paused her hand as she was turning the pages of the book and said calmly, "I see," without any extra reaction.
Although Zhou Qiongyue appeared to be very calm, the fact that she did not even turn the page of the book vaguely revealed her inner unrest.
Seeing the princess like this, Gulan and the others did not make any noise to disturb her, but just fanned her quietly.
Zhou Qiongyue was lost in her own thoughts when she heard the sound of someone beside her greeting. She turned around and saw Yuan Bohua striding into the corridor.
Zhou Qiongyue also extended her hand and let Gulan help her up. She bowed to Yuan Bohua and said, "Your Highness!"
Yuan Bohua strode forward and took Zhou Qiongyue's hand, "Didn't I tell you that we don't need to be so polite when it's just the two of us?"
Gulan, Fang Fu and the others lowered their heads, pretending that they didn't exist.
"Oh!" Zhou Qiongyue responded without saying whether it was good or bad.
Yuan Bohua directly took Zhou Qiongyue's hand and sat on the chair where she had just been reading. "You are just perfunctory to me! I really can't do anything with you."
Yuan Bohua spoke in a very doting manner, but his eyes kept looking at Zhou Qiongyue.
Zhou Qiongyue looked at Yuan Bohua in confusion, "Is there something wrong, Your Majesty?"
"Have you heard the news?" Yuan Bohua asked this question with some trepidation. He didn't know whether he was a cruel and ruthless person in Yue'er's mind?
Although he is, as Yue'er's husband, it shouldn't be too much for him to want some privilege of "beauty in the eyes of the beholder"!
Zhou Qiongyue didn't know what she was thinking. This was completely contrary to her values in her previous life. She always reminded herself to adapt to the norms of this era.
But sometimes, she couldn't control her inner thoughts. She wasn't trying to sympathize with anyone, she was just a little conflicted. She would have a nice meal later, and that should be all right.
As Zhou Qiongyue said this, she held the book she had just been reading in her other hand, her eyes wandering off into the distance. "Your Highness, are you talking about the news about Lord Lu's family? No wonder Your Highness came so quickly."
"Hmm!" Yuan Bohua responded, and for a moment he said nothing else. He really wanted to ask Yue'er what she thought about this matter. But when he felt the sweat on Yue'er's palm, he suddenly didn't want to ask anymore.
For a moment, the two of them were silent. Finally, Yuan Bohua couldn't help but explain a few words, "This was not done by me. To be precise, I just spread the news that Lord Lu and his family took all their belongings with them to take up their new posts. I didn't hire the bandits."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiongyue looked at Yuan Bohua with bright eyes, and anyone could see the joy in her eyes.
Zhou Qiongyue was naturally happy that none of this was done by Yuan Bohua himself. As for the outcome, it could only be blamed on Lord Lu and his men's lack of strategic planning skills and luck.
"I'm happy now!" Yuan Bohua felt that the princess was too simple and easy to coax. Although he didn't find her personally, he was also the reason, wasn't he? He was also very happy.
Zhou Qiongyue looked up at Yuan Bohua and said bluntly: "Even if it is true, I don't think the prince is cruel. It's just that I was raised a little naive, and sometimes I would compete with myself."
Zhou Qiongyue wasn't trying to coax Yuan Bohua; she was the biggest beneficiary of his actions. It was estimated that no noble lady from a good family would have any intentions towards Yuan Bohua in the future.
What if the prince doesn't like me? I might lose my life and bring trouble to my family. Who wants to die when they can live?
Besides, Yuan Bohua was so good to her, she couldn't just put down her bowl and curse!
"Really?" Yuan Bohua stroked Zhou Qiongyue's hand, with a dazzling smile on his face.
Zhou Qiongyue nodded hurriedly. Fearing that Yuan Bohua might not believe her, she added, "I'm not such an ungrateful person."
Yuan Bohua's eyes were so passionate when he looked at Zhou Qiongyue at this moment. How could he not like such a princess!
The atmosphere between the two of them instantly became ambiguous, and even Gulan and others who were fanning themselves around them tacitly retreated away.
As the weather got hotter, the water level in Yuan'an City's wells also dropped. Zhou Qiongyue had to consider moving to a farm outside the city if necessary.
However, as soon as Zhou Qiongyue put forward this idea, Yuan Bohua opposed it.
Yuan Bohua was mainly worried about the safety issues outside the city. Sometimes when people are extremely hungry, they can do anything.
Yuan Bohua also analyzed the situation in detail with Zhou Qiongyue, and Zhou Qiongyue immediately realized that she had taken it for granted.
In fact, they could also return to their hometown or go to the south or north and come back after the drought is over. But the emperor has not left yet, and if they leave, their wealth and prosperity will probably end.
The most important thing right now is to wait for the emperor's decision.
As Yuan An's condition worsened, Zhou Qiongyue grew increasingly irritated. This was her first time encountering such a disaster, and she was inevitably panicking. Fortunately, she managed to maintain composure.
As time went by, Yuan Bohua became busier and busier, and basically did not return home until dark. Zhou Qiongyue saw that Yuan Bohua was getting busier and busier, and she knew that the disaster was getting worse.
Zhou Qiongyue left early in the morning in a carriage. She had submitted a letter to the palace two days ago, and today she was going to the palace to see her aunt. She hadn't been to the palace for a while, and Zhou Qiongyue wanted to go to the palace to see if her aunt needed anything.
Zhou Qiongyue sat in the carriage and, as before, lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to look outside.
The once bustling streets were now only occupied by a few stalls selling handicrafts, with no food stalls at all. It was said that many of the restaurants in Yuan'an had closed down.
The restaurants that are still open now all have strong backgrounds and channels to obtain food.
Zhou Qiongyue also saw a few beggars lying under the eaves of houses on the street, which was impossible in the past.
What's more, she saw several little girls on the street with grass stuck in their hair. Are they going to start selling their daughters?
Zhou Qiongyue felt very sad and surprised when she saw these. It had only been about half a year, and so many people couldn't make ends meet?
Only now did she truly begin to understand what Xie Zixin meant by the hell on earth.
Zhou Qiongyue looked at the desperate and lifeless eyes of the sold child, and her heart was full of helplessness.
But she didn't have much ability, so she could only decide in her heart that she would send people outside the city gate to recruit people to work on her farm tomorrow! She would give them food as wages.
She didn't really want to serve porridge at the city gate. After all, there were many families serving porridge at the city gate! Adding her family wouldn't improve things.
She wanted to keep those hardworking and desperate people and their families alive, and there was nothing else she could do.
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