Gu Jingchun watched this scene and led Gu Jinxi slowly up the steps of the prefectural governor's mansion.
The evening wind whipped sand against her face, yet she stood tall, her voice piercing the twilight:
"Fellow elders! Natural disasters are unpredictable, but the human spirit never dies!"
"If this soup kitchen doesn't close today, new grain will arrive tomorrow!"
She took out Shen Hechuan's seal and held it high above her head.
"I have come on the orders of His Highness the Crown Prince. Even if it costs me my entire fortune, I will make sure every household's stove is smoking!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers.
The white-haired old woman tremblingly raised her bowl of porridge: "Heaven has opened its eyes and sent a living Buddha!"
The refugees held their rough earthenware bowls high above their heads, their turbid tears dripping into the still-warm porridge, reflecting shimmering light in the setting sun.
As Gu Jingchun gazed at the renewed life on this barren land, a bittersweet feeling welled up in his throat.
Beside her, Gu Jinxi watched the scene unfold before her, feeling her heart pounding faster and faster.
A powerful idea, which had been gradually taking shape over the days, reached its climax at this moment.
The matter should have ended there.
But I don't know who started it.
The people even started shouting that Gu Jing was a living bodhisattva, a goddess descended from heaven, and came specifically to save them.
In the future, we will definitely erect a goddess statue for Gu Jingchun and sculpt a golden body for her.
Gu Jingchun: ...
That's unnecessary.
However, judging from their expressions, they didn't seem to be joking.
Gu Jingchun then explained to them again that he was one of the Crown Prince's men.
He repeatedly stated that His Highness the Crown Prince would arrive soon.
"Since His Highness the Crown Prince is the heir apparent of the country, he will naturally consider everyone's needs in every way."
"Once His Highness the Crown Prince arrives, he will surely find other ways to help everyone."
After Gu Jingchun finished speaking, everyone began to praise His Highness the Crown Prince's wise move.
Despite this, everyone's eager gaze towards Gu Jingchun remained undiminished.
The idea of building a statue for her remained unchanged.
Of course, Gu Jingchun was unaware of all this.
They already knew that Gu Jingchun had killed Li Kui.
Over the years, Li Kui has oppressed them in various ways. In their eyes, whoever can kill Li Kui will be their hero.
For three consecutive days, Gu Jingchun stood guard at the door, personally supervising the distribution of porridge and grain to the people.
This also ensured that the people had a deep impression of her appearance.
By the fourth day, the food supplies were almost exhausted.
However, people from other places continued to flock to the area.
Just as the people were beginning to stir up trouble because they had no food.
Several carriages entered the city gate in succession.
Seeing this, Gu Jinxi, who was anxiously waiting, shouted out with joy.
"Mother, the grain you bought from elsewhere has arrived."
Upon hearing this, everyone realized that Gu Jingchun had actually paid for the grain out of his own pocket.
Their respect and admiration for her deepened.
After that day, Gu Jingchun ordered others to guard the place while he rushed to where his foster mother was.
Because Ye Wenxi had just told her that her adoptive mother's condition was worse than before.
Gu Jingchun couldn't wait any longer and immediately drove over.
Shortly after Gu Jingchun left, several fine horses hurriedly entered the city.
Shen Hechuan's worries these past few days can no longer be described simply as worry.
After settling all the refugees in Jizhou, he personally selected officials to temporarily act in place of the prefect.
After confirming everything, Shen Hechuan quickly arrived in Qi County.
He had learned from the refugees that the situation in Qi County was much more serious than he had imagined.
Moreover, the governor of Qi Commandery was notorious for his evil deeds and held absolute power in the region.
He was afraid that Gu Jingchun would be made difficult by them, and even more afraid that the refugees would harm Gu Jingchun.
To this end, he ran tirelessly for several days, killing several horses in the process, and finally arrived in Qi County in the fastest possible time.
But he never expected this.
Qi County was not as miserable as he had imagined.
The scenes of corpses strewn across the fields and refugees everywhere did not appear.
The people on the street were all smiles, and even when they looked at Shen Hechuan, they only had curiosity in their eyes, not pleading.
This made Shen Hechuan slightly puzzled.
The same applies to the secrets behind him.
He couldn't help but spur his horse forward and ask a question in confusion.
"Your Highness, this is not what I expected?"
"Based on our experience in other places, shouldn't there be corpses everywhere by now, and the people immediately crowding around to eat it?"
This question was answered when they arrived at the prefectural governor's residence.
At this moment, in the prefectural government office, all the people were queuing up in a very orderly manner to receive their grain.
Even the thin, small children were quietly queuing up.
After receiving the porridge, they would all express their gratitude.
This made the secrets of the heavens even more incomprehensible.
What's going on?
"Didn't we just receive news a few days ago that the prefect here, Li Kui, is oppressing the people, that there's no grain in the granaries, and that the people are almost starving to death?"
"Where...where did this food come from?"
Before Shen Hechuan could speak after Tianji finished speaking, a gasp was heard from the people on the roadside.
"Your Highness?"
"You just addressed this person as Your Highness, so is this the legendary Crown Prince?"
Immediately, everyone's gaze followed the man's and fell on Shen Hechuan.
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