"Liang Gong, based on the data from Amut's investigation, you will resettle the disaster victims, provide temporary shelter for those who are temporarily homeless, and assist them in resettling their lives. I want you to personally supervise the disaster assessment, relief, and post-disaster reconstruction process, and there must be no mistakes."
"yes."
After walking for so long, even if Yinzhen's body was made of iron, he was exhausted. With Geng Youran's help, he simply wiped his face and then fell asleep.
After sleeping for about an hour and a half, Yinzhen woke up.
The two ate a simple meal of dry rations, then disguised themselves and went outside.
"May the master spare some food?"
"Mother, wake up, Mother!"
The two walked side by side down the street, hearing cries of agony all around them.
Geng Youran took half a sesame seed cake from her purse and handed it to a child, asking:
"Children, why don't you go to the soup kitchen for some soup?"
The little boy wolfed down his food.
"I went, but I couldn't get one."
"Rob?"
Yinzhen and Geng Youran both frowned.
The imperial court clearly ordered the establishment of relief stations in multiple locations within the disaster area to ensure everyone's basic food rations, so why is looting still necessary?
"Child, what exactly is going on?"
The little boy didn't say anything, but kept staring at Geng Youran's purse.
Following the little boy's gaze, Geng Youran looked down at her purse, then took out a sesame seed cake from it and handed it over.
To everyone's surprise, the little boy didn't eat it; instead, he hid it in his clothes.
"I'm...I'm sorry, madam. I'd like to save this sesame seed cake for my mother."
Geng Youran squatted down and patted the little boy's head:
"It's alright, you're such a filial child."
The little boy then recounted in detail how he went to the soup kitchen but failed to get any soup.
It turns out that none of the soup kitchens here were set up by the government, but by wealthy families who used the government's name to set them up. There was a limit to the amount of soup that could be distributed each day, and if there was more, there would be none.
Yinzhen gritted his teeth:
"These people have some nerve."
After saying that, the little boy tugged at Geng Youran's skirt:
"Madam, you should leave. People as wealthy as you are easy targets for bad people. Some people here have already robbed many passersby in order to save enough money for their journey out of here."
Geng Youran looked up at Yinzhen with concern, then sincerely thanked the little boy.
The two continued walking, and the scenery was almost the same everywhere, with people lying unconscious from hunger by the roadside.
"Sir, let's go back."
Geng Youran couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she called out to Yinzhen.
Yinzhen stopped and glanced around; there were countless disaster victims lying on the ground ahead.
He then nodded and returned to his residence with Geng Youran.
After returning to his residence, Yinzhen recorded these events in detail.
At the same time, Yinxiang's memorial also reached him.
"Your Highness, this was sent by the Thirteenth Prince."
When Yinzhen opened it, he found that the situation recorded inside was similar to his own.
Geng Youran thought for a moment:
"Sir, while it's important to feed the disaster victims, there's another matter that needs to be addressed quickly."
"What's up?"
"We request the Emperor to send imperial physicians to various disaster areas to provide medical consultations, and at the same time, to procure medicines from other places and transport them here. It would be disastrous if highly contagious diseases such as malaria and dysentery broke out."
Yinzhen nodded, and then immediately wrote two letters to the capital: one requesting the imperial physicians to come down and examine patients, and the other requesting the emperor to send medicine to the disaster area.
At the end of both memorials, Yinzhen specifically requested that the Emperor send a special escort to prevent bandits or other people from intercepting and causing trouble along the way.
After that, Yinzhen wrote another letter to Yinxiang, instructing him to prepare medicines in advance for any eventuality.
After that, Yinzhen and Geng Youran disguised themselves every day to inquire about the situation in the surrounding area.
On the fourth day after arriving in Shifang, Nian Gengyao thoroughly investigated the bribery issues he had uncovered in the area.
"Your Highness, this is a golden opportunity to strike at the Eighth Prince and his ilk."
Yinzhen, however, did not think so.
He felt that Lao Ba was a gloomy person, and that Lao Ba might do something drastic to him this time, which would be a great loss for him.
"We've gathered enough evidence from the Thirteenth Prince's side. Organize it all another day, and arrest all these people tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, we'll take them back to the manor. As for the stolen silver, distribute it to the local people according to the number of people."
"Yes, sir."
Originally, Yinzhen's main task here was to arrest corrupt officials. Now that the matter was settled, he could return to the capital as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, on the way back to the capital, Yinzhen fell ill.
"Gao Wuyong, do we still have the yellow wine we brought with us when we left?"
"Master, there's not much left. We distributed it to the disaster victims a few days ago."
"Where's the medicine?"
"have."
"Alright, I'll wipe Master's body with yellow wine first. We'll be at the post station soon. Once we get there, go and brew the medicine immediately. Quickly, tell the leaders ahead, Nian Gengyao and Amut, to speed up! Hurry!"
"Yes, sir!"
Fortunately, Geng Youran noticed quickly. She knew that Yinzhen had a stubborn streak and would never admit to feeling unwell unless absolutely necessary.
If she hadn't seen how red Yinzhen's face was, his condition would probably be much more serious than just taking a few doses of medicine.
When Yinxiang learned that his fourth brother had fallen ill on the way, he quickly led his men to change their route and come to the post station to find Yinzhen and Geng Youran.
"Gege Geng, how is Fourth Brother?"
Geng Youran rubbed her temples, picked up her cup, and drank the leftover tea from the previous night in one gulp. She then said:
"The temperature has basically dropped, but I'm too tired and need to rest for a few more days."
"Gege, did you tidy up everything on this table?"
Yinxiang saw that the desk was covered with papers, recording the actual situation in the disaster area over the past few days.
"Yes, these places were all investigated by the Prince with me. Now that the Prince is ill, I have no choice but to write them down first. However, Thirteenth Prince, I may need to trouble you to transcribe them for me again. After all, it would be inappropriate for my handwriting to appear in a memorial."
Yinxiang nodded in agreement, and then picked up the blank paper in the pen case and began to copy it.
The two groups stayed at and around the post station for about three days, until Yinzhen's health had almost recovered, before continuing their journey to the capital.
Upon returning to the capital, Yinzhen, Yinxiang, Nian Gengyao, and Geng Youran (in men's clothing) went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation immediately.
"My lord, it's not appropriate for you to bring me along when you report to the Emperor."
"It's alright. Before leaving the capital, Father Emperor specifically asked you to go to the palace to see him. Why don't you go now to avoid bothering him again in the future?"
"yes."
Upon hearing that it was an imperial decree personally issued by the emperor, Geng Youran immediately obeyed and entered the palace with the others to meet the emperor.
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