Chapter 1490 Numbness

Changli twisted a handkerchief to apply to his son's forehead. The servant came in and said, "Prince, the county magistrate is here."

Chang Li stood up and said, "Look after the young master. If anything happens, let me know."

"yes."

Chang Li arrived at the wine shop's private room, and the county magistrate stood up and asked, "I heard that the young master was ill. Is he feeling better now?"

Chang Li motioned the county magistrate to sit down, without much of a smile on his face, "This prince has some doubts and wants to ask the county magistrate, why didn't this place get the fish cakes and grain from the court?"

The county magistrate's heart tightened and he said, "I got it."

Chang Li sneered, "Did you give it to the people to save their lives?"

The county magistrate had sweat on his forehead. "It was distributed. Every household received food and fish cakes to save their lives."

Changli has already investigated and found that the current county magistrate is not a good person. The life-saving grain was indeed distributed, but not much, and most of it was sold privately.

The county magistrate did not want to continue discussing food, so he changed the subject and continued, "It is very difficult to buy meat now, and it is difficult to hunt wild animals in the mountains, so the unscrupulous Wu family has set their sights on the children."

As he said this, Xian felt a wave of nausea in his stomach again. It was so disgusting.

Chang's expression was deep, but he continued the conversation. He was no longer angry with the Wu family, but now he was calm. "The Liu family sold the orphan of a hero who had defended his home and country. Their heart is despicable. This prince has already written down the details and sent her back to the capital."

The county magistrate's calves were trembling, and he comforted himself that he had distributed food and fish cakes to every household. He was not afraid of being investigated, and he did not dare to look the prince in the eye. "The Liu family has been imprisoned and is awaiting their fate."

Chang Li picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. "The county magistrate should investigate carefully. My father once said that once a person's moral bottom line is breached, it is easy to spread. I think the Wu family buying a child is not an isolated case."

The county magistrate was stunned, his lips trembling, his head buzzing. If the truth was revealed, his career would be over, not to mention the embezzlement of grain and fish cakes.

Chang Li put down his teacup, "It's not easy to be born as a human being. Since some people don't cherish us and insist on being animals in human skin, then treat them as animals. What do you think, County Magistrate?"

The county magistrate swallowed his saliva and said, "I will check it out right away. Check it out carefully."

All he can ask for now is to make amends for his mistakes. As for silencing the prince, forget it. He wouldn't dare to do that even if he has a brain injury.

Chang Li waited for the county magistrate to leave, and then sat in silence. His chest was filled with anger. The Wu family bought the Liu siblings, not because they were short of food. When the search was conducted, the Wu family had a lot of food. What a beast.

It was two days later that Changli's letter was sent back to the capital and was delivered directly to the Ministry of Revenue.

When Zhou Shuren received the letter, he was discussing business with the Crown Prince. Shuren was very surprised to receive the letter. How could a family letter be delivered to the Ministry of Revenue? He opened it and handed the letter to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, please take a look at it too."

The prince took the letter in confusion, read it and slammed the table, "It's worse than an animal."

Zhou Shuren could see the anger in his eldest son from the words. When an honest man gets angry, it's scary. This mission will help his eldest son grow a lot. He regained his composure and said, "This won't be an isolated case."

The prince said sullenly, "Investigate, I will catch all these beasts."

Zhou Shuren gave an idea, "We are short of people to open up the wasteland. Since these people don't treat themselves as human beings, we can use them as animals."

The prince thought this was a good idea. "Death is a relief for them. The idea of ​​the Duke of Zhou is very good. Let them open up wasteland and farm until they die."

Zhou Shuren sighed and then said, "I think it would be best to send someone to counsel the orphans of the soldiers who come to Beijing, so that some of them don't become extremely psychologically unstable."

The little boy in the letter has been greatly traumatized and has serious psychological problems. His three views are not well-established. Just wait, there will definitely be a newspaper.

The prince pondered, "Your Majesty is right, but who should I send?"

Zhou Shuren wanted to say that he was the most suitable person, and that he was the best at brainwashing, but he couldn't mention himself, "Your Highness, please ask His Majesty."

The prince asked this, but he was thinking about Marquis Zhou. "Yes."

At the Zhou family, Zhulan was in a good mood. Within two days, the donated materials had been stored, and the house and greenhouse in the village were built together. Local people were hired to help, and with strength in numbers, the progress was quite good.

Li has lost a lot of weight in the past two days. She is very tired. "Mom, when will the orphanage start accepting orphans?"

Zhulan's good mood was gone again. There were still too many things to do. "We can start now. Let's start from the villages near the village."

As soon as she finished speaking, a female official came in and said, "Madam, the Queen Mother has sent a message that the orphans adopted by Dongcheng should be admitted to a private orphanage."

Zhulan was not surprised. "Yes, I will send someone to take over. When the house is built, I will take the children away."

After the lady-in-waiting left, Zhulan prepared to go to Dongcheng to see the children in person and asked housekeeper Ding to prepare the carriage.

Zhulan brought Li with her. Li sat by the window and kept looking outside. Zhulan asked, "What are you looking at?"

Li turned around and said, "Mom, let me see if there are any more beggars on the street."

Zhulan, "Don't look for it, it won't be there."

There were basically no beggars on the streets of the capital, all because the capital was constantly being rebuilt. In the absence of modern machinery, a large amount of manpower was needed, and beggars were also manpower. Older beggars were taken away to build houses and exchange their labor for food, while younger ones were taken into the imperial estate to farm, and some were taken away to be raised. Over time, beggars who made a living by begging were unwilling to come to the capital, for fear that their strength would be taken away.

Li stopped talking about the beggars and asked, "Mother, how many orphans do you think there will be?"

Zhulan, "We'll know when the time comes."

When they arrived at Dongcheng, Zhulan frowned as soon as she walked in. How could she explain it? The children had dull expressions and lacked the energy of a child. The boys were fine, but the girls were even more numb. They just followed whatever the old woman in charge said.

Zhulan observed silently and decided that she couldn't go on like this. She couldn't just muddle through. She had hope for these orphans. Their seeds were the inheritance.

Zhulan said, "The Queen Mother ordered me to take over these orphans."

The housekeeper said respectfully, "Word has been passed on. Here is the list of 173 orphans."

Zhulan motioned for Li to take it and went to see how much food was left. She did not speak to the children as they were being taken care of by the housekeeper, so she could not get anything out of them and went back not long after.

Li returned to the carriage with a frown on her face. "Mother, I feel so heavy-hearted. These children are not lively at all. If I speak louder, they will hide in fear."

Zhulan, "I know what's going on."

She has already figured out how to change the status quo.

After hearing this, Li was no longer worried. In her heart, her mother-in-law was the most capable, and she had learned a lot in the past few days.

Zhulan looked at Li and decided to take her with her wherever she went in the future. Li was the future wife of Marquis Zhou, and after her death, Li would continue her thoughts.