The Grand Tutor glanced at him and felt a deep sense of respect.
He may not be as talented or eloquent as the top scholar in the Hanlin Academy in the capital, nor as brave and invincible as the soldiers on the battlefield. His official position is just a minor prefect, and anyone in the capital could easily crush him.
However, his benevolence and kindness in wholeheartedly caring for the people are the most precious qualities of any official in the world. His love knows no bounds, and he believes that no matter where he goes in the future, he will always be a good official who cares for the people.
The two fell silent, heads bowed, as they drank their porridge.
The steward brought out the boiled eggs, and the prefect ordered, "Go, take them to where they came from, look around at the children, and make sure that child finishes eating them before you come back. We shouldn't let these innocent children suffer."
Unfortunately, the number of eggs is limited.
The butler was moved, bowed, found a food box, put the eggs in it, and left with his men.
The Grand Tutor stood up, stretched, and was about to speak when he heard hurried footsteps.
"Sir, someone outside requests an audience!" the guard at the gate rushed in to report.
Xu Feng and the Grand Tutor exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with doubt. Who would come to see them so late at night?
The Grand Tutor glanced at the exhausted Xu Feng, waved his hand and said to the guard, "Go and persuade him properly. If there's anything else, tell him to come back tomorrow. He's had a long day and needs to rest."
Upon hearing the Grand Tutor's words, the guard felt sorry for his lord who was so devoted to the people. He turned to leave, but Xu Feng called him back.
"Who is outside the door?" Xu Feng asked calmly.
The guard turned around, recalled the appearance of the person outside the door, and replied in a low voice, "Judging from his attire, he seems to be from the capital."
Upon hearing this, Xu Feng was slightly startled. He glanced at the Grand Tutor and instructed the guards to bring the person in.
The guards naturally looked towards the Grand Tutor, and Xu Feng coldly said, "What, does my word no longer carry weight?"
The guard hurriedly bowed and apologized, then ran out quickly to fetch someone.
Xu Feng tilted his head and gave the Grand Tutor a cold look. The Grand Tutor had a long face. "It's just that I saw you've worked hard all day, and you still have to go over the porridge distribution and base construction tomorrow, so I thought you should get some rest early..."
Xu Feng interrupted him, "How can I sleep peacefully if the people have no home?"
The Grand Tutor gave Xu Feng a deep look, sighed, and said nothing more.
The guards led the people in, and Xu Feng and the Grand Tutor were greatly surprised when they saw the newcomers.
Xu Feng quickly bowed, "Lord Han, what brings you here?"
The Grand Tutor and the steward looked puzzled. "Lord Han? Which Lord Han?"
Han Yixuan took a few steps forward and quickly helped Xu Feng up, saying loudly, "Lord Xu, there's no need for such formalities. I've come on orders."
Xu Feng straightened up, a hint of surprise on his face. Seeing that the Grand Tutor and the steward hadn't reacted yet, he remembered that he had attended court when the new emperor ascended the throne, so he had seen Han Yixuan, but the two people beside him had never seen him before.
Xu Feng quickly introduced them, and the Grand Tutor and the steward realized what was happening and hurriedly bowed.
Good heavens! This is a favorite of the Emperor. I heard that he was on very good terms with the Emperor during the early years of the reign.
Han Yixuan didn't react much, and turned to Xu Feng to continue, "Her Majesty the Empress was worried about the disaster here, and she specifically explained the key points to the Emperor. The Emperor was also worried that someone was interfering, so he sent me secretly to find out the details."
What Han Yixuan didn't know was that Yun Qingluo actually had no experience; she had just watched too many TV dramas in her previous life. In one of them, someone got greedy for disaster relief supplies, so she kept pestering Mo Beichen to send someone to keep an eye on things personally.
As for the others, Yun Qingluo didn't know them well, so she could only drag Han Yixuan, this great traitor, into it.
After listening to Han Yixuan's explanation, Xu Feng finally understood why Han Yixuan had only brought four attendants. However, what Xu Feng didn't know was that these four seemingly ordinary attendants were actually the Emperor's Dragon Guards.
Indeed, how could the Emperor allow his own brother to come alone to gather information?
Han Yixuan glanced at the food that hadn't been cleared from the table yet. Xu Feng followed Han Yixuan's gaze and quickly apologized for the poor hospitality.
He then instructed the steward to remove the items and quickly serve tea.
The butler looked troubled, and Xu Feng frowned, dissatisfied with his behavior.
Seeing that Xu Feng did not understand his meaning, the steward could only whisper, "Sir, you have taken all the tea leaves in the manor and exchanged them for rice to help the people."
The implication was that there was no tea available.
Xu Feng looked somewhat embarrassed. He hadn't expected a high-ranking official to come to their impoverished place, so he hadn't left any tea for his guest.
Han Yixuan possessed great internal strength, and since they were not far apart, he still "accidentally" overheard the butler's words.
Turning back, he looked at Xu Feng with admiration, "When you asked to leave the capital to serve as an official in the local area before, I thought you were young and impetuous. Now it seems that you are of noble character and I was narrow-minded. Such a people-oriented official is a great blessing for our Sumeru Dynasty."
Xu Feng waved his hands repeatedly and sighed, "Lord Han, please don't say that. I dare not accept such praise. The people are suffering terribly. It is indeed my fault for not taking precautions."
When he first arrived in the area, he began preparing for flood prevention, but he was still young and impetuous and lacked practical experience. When the flood came, the people suffered greatly, and he did not play a significant role.
Han Yixuan frowned slightly, his expression darkening as he recalled what he had seen and heard outside. "The imperial relief supplies haven't arrived yet?"
Xu Feng was surprised that Han Yixuan discovered this as soon as he arrived, but he could only nod in acknowledgment.
"For some reason, the imperial edict has been issued, but the disaster relief supplies are still delayed. To be honest, the supplies Her Majesty the Empress sent earlier probably won't last more than a few days. If the relief supplies don't arrive soon, I'm afraid..."
No further words were spoken, but everyone present understood the meaning behind the unfinished sentence.
Han Yixuan was furious. "These mediocre people! The Emperor repeatedly ordered them in court to deliver the supplies as quickly as possible, and even provided a fine horse for the carriage. They should have arrived long ago. I came here only to investigate the situation and report the facts to the Emperor and Empress. But it seems that it's not that simple."
Then, he turned around and whispered to one of the Dragon Guards to find out the details and report back quickly.
The Dragon Guard accepted the order without hesitation and left. Upon closer inspection, the Dragon Guard's face still showed some anger, but everyone present was preoccupied with the matter of supplies and had no time to pay attention to the emotions of a mere guard.
The reason for the Dragon Guards' anger was simple: in their eyes, anyone who harmed the common people was a sinner, regardless of whether they were on or off the battlefield.
The supplies have been delayed, which suggests that someone has sabotaged them. Those people deserve to die.
Han Yixuan then inquired about the Empress's delivery of supplies, to which Xu Feng looked surprised, "Lord Han, you didn't know about this?"
Han Yixuan shook his head honestly; he had indeed not heard that the Empress had sent any supplies here.
Xu Feng sighed, never expecting that the Empress had secretly sent the supplies, a fact unknown even to the court officials.
At that moment, the group admired the Empress even more.
Do good deeds and don't worry about the future.
Her Majesty the Empress, truly deserving the title of Mother of the Nation.
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