In the Jiangnan region, along the roads and in the mountains, disaster victims can be seen everywhere, and their numbers are increasing. Almost all the people passing by are refugees with sunken eyes from hunger.
You can't truly understand the shock of seeing refugees everywhere you look, with corpses of the starving everywhere – it's no exaggeration.
Many refugees are still traveling with their families to other places to seek refuge with relatives.
Seeing their tattered clothes, sallow skin, lifeless eyes, and desolate expressions, Su Xiu and the others held their breath and watched silently. Occasionally, someone would fall by the roadside, and they would rush over to help them up.
All the provisions prepared along the way have been used up.
Zhao Shu stopped on a rock, below which was a rushing river, its waves crashing against the rocks, displaying the fury of nature. The water was still yellowish-brown, not yet clear.
Looking down, you can see that the water level in the river has risen considerably. The river is not very wide, but even so, it is not the right time to cross it now.
It was raining heavily, the raindrops falling in a dense, continuous stream, as if they were about to engulf the earth in a world of water.
Wei Tingsi stood to the side, holding an oil-paper umbrella. "Didn't you sleep well?"
He noticed that Zhao Shu seemed a little unnatural, as if she was extremely tired.
Zhao Shu turned to look at him, forcing a reassuring smile, "It's nothing, just that my eyelid keeps twitching."
Her eyelids kept twitching all day, and she had a bad feeling about it.
Wei Tingsi's heart skipped a beat. He turned his head to look at the rushing river. His eyelids had been twitching all day, and he felt uneasy. He hadn't felt this way in many years.
After looking at her for a moment, she looked away and said gently, "Let's go back."
"kindness."
At this moment, in the capital, Huo Baichuan glanced back in the direction of Cining Palace, exhaled a breath of stale air, and Qiu Chengshi, whom he had met in the palace, happened to be leaving the palace as well. Seeing him lost in thought, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Didn't you bring your soul with you today?"
"What does the Emperor want with you?" he changed the subject.
When the conversation turned to business, Qiu Tangshi temporarily put aside the previous issue and said irritably, "It's all because of Zhou Lixing. He said that the national treasury is not full and refused to make up the difference. It makes me so angry! The academy is about to be completed, but the books haven't even been printed yet. You tell me, this son of a bitch is still deliberately making things difficult for me at a time like this!"
Huo Baichuan was listless and didn't seem to care much. Qiu Tangshi had been speaking indignantly for a while, but got no response, which made him even angrier. "Hey, did you not eat today? You look so weak. I'm talking to you about that bastard Zhou Lixing. Give me some reaction."
"The floods haven't been completely controlled yet, so take your time. Why bother arguing with him?" With Zhou Lixing's stingy nature, it's no wonder he'd agree to allocate funds willingly.
“Aren’t we collecting taxes from all the major families right now? The disaster relief funds aren’t coming from the national treasury, so why is he being so stingy? It’s precisely because the floods haven’t been dealt with that the academy needs to be completed as soon as possible…” He rambled on and on, but then noticed that Huo Baichuan was still listless, so he reached out and grabbed him, “What’s wrong with you?”
Qiu Tang, known as Qiu the Fox, was notoriously treacherous and cunning. However, Huo Baichuan got along extremely well with him. The two exchanged a glance and, without prior arrangement, chose a restaurant and went inside.
After they sat down, the side dishes were served, and the wine was poured, Huo Baichuan said, "I think I'm about to get married."
Qiu Tangshi spat out a mouthful of wine with a "pfft," and said, "What did you say?" Then he reached out and touched Huo Baichuan's forehead. "Hiss, no problem."
He muttered to himself, then pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, looking utterly incredulous.
Huo Baichuan watched his exaggerated performance, tilted his head back and drank the sake in his cup in one gulp, then slammed the cup down on the table with a "bang," and said, "You heard me right, I'm getting married."
After emphasizing it again, Akito Shigeru also dropped his exaggerated expression and asked seriously, "Who are you going to marry?"
"Zhao Shu." Huo Baichuan glanced at him, speaking without any shame, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
When Qiu Tang first heard those two words, he didn't know who they were. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Who is it?"
"The Prince Yong's daughter." Huo Baichuan said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction as he looked at Qiu Tangshi. Did he really have to make it so clear?
When Qiu Tang saw him get the short end of the stick, he couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. Huo Baichuan, standing opposite him with a cold face, was completely speechless, his face turning pale.
She laughed for a while, tears streaming down her face, before finally managing to stop. Her neck flushed, she asked, "Did you suddenly have an epiphany? Or is the Emperor going to betroth her to you?"
"I'm proposing to you, are you satisfied now?" A beautiful and virtuous woman is sought after by gentlemen, is this shameful?
However, in Qiutang Shi’s eyes, there was only naked mockery and schadenfreude, as if to say, “You’ve finally met your match!”
"She's not someone you can marry with just a marriage certificate, is she?" Over the years, Qiu Tang has come to know Zhao Shuyi quite well. This woman is no simpleton; she has the same demeanor as her mother back then, and is even more ruthless than her mother. She's not someone you can marry just by following your parents' orders and the matchmaker's words.
After saying that, before Huo Baichuan could say anything more, he continued, "You've had quite a few admirers over the years, haven't you? She seems to know you quite well, but I don't think she treats you that much... Pfft... Hahahaha..." Thinking of Huo Baichuan, whose standards were so high that he would have to go to great lengths to please Zhao Shu in the future, he laughed unkindly.
Across from him, Huo Baichuan remained indifferent, staring blankly at Qiu Tangshi, who was already quite old and about to become a grandfather, laughing heartily without any regard for his image. His gloating, almost mocking gaze made Huo Baichuan want to punch him.
"Have you laughed enough?"
Qiu Tangshi was not someone who cared too much about his image, especially in front of Huo Baichuan. If the two were born in the same era, they would definitely be close friends. Although there was a difference in age, their relationship was harmonious, and they were recognized as a pair of friends despite the age gap in the court.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
