122. Rin Dong

The road was slippery on a snowy day, and the carriage was not moving fast. Liang Shenyu took out the thin blanket prepared for the carriage and covered Rong Se with it, saying softly, "You've been traveling for half the night, and we're on the road anyway, so take a nap."

Rong Se leaned into his arms. Although she was still a little tired, she couldn't fall asleep for a while, so she sighed: "The aftershocks may be dangerous. I thought you would stop me."

Even though Liang Shenyu never said it out loud, Rong Se knew in the past few days that Liang Shenyu was afraid that something might happen to him because of what happened in Guzhuling that year, and he wanted to lock him up.

"It is dangerous, but it is also an opportunity." Liang Shenyu slowed down his tone and was silent for a moment before continuing, "Your Highness is right in terms of both reason and emotion. Your Highness is not afraid of taking risks, so naturally, I have no choice but to go with you."

After that, he added lightly: "You are free, you are the guide."

Rong Se was stunned and silent.

He then realized that although Liang Shenyu seemed to be the stronger of them, he actually kept the initiative in his own hands. Liang Shenyu would hardly object to any decision made by Rong Se, and the brave and skilled general had already offered his loyalty and sincerity to him.

It had been a long time since Rong Se had seen the stubborn Marquis Dingbei who had broken into the palace at night and insisted on eating dumplings.

Liang Shenyu has always been considerate, gentle, strong and indestructible.

Just as he was lost in thought, Rong Se suddenly received a kiss, which fell on his eyelashes, as gentle as a feather brushing against his face.

"Go get some sleep, my Lord."

"good."

Rong Se curled up in Liang Shenyu's arms. He should take a break and get enough rest before he could deal with things.

There was a moment of silence in the carriage.

Liang Shenyu held the person in his arms steadily, reducing the bumps of the carriage. When he lowered his eyes to look at him, his eyebrows and eyes unconsciously showed tenderness.

He is telling the truth.

From the moment he chose to follow Rong Se's path, Rong Se has been his guide.

.

It was naturally difficult to sleep well in the carriage, especially as Rong Se was worried about the disaster. He only took a short nap leaning against Liang Shenyu. It took more than two hours to reach Tong County. The carriage stopped at the county gate. The snow had not stopped yet and was still falling heavily.

The sky was dark and depressing, the ground was white, the wind was cold, and the distant mountains were shrouded in snow.

Before Rong Se, wrapped in his cloak, could get off the carriage, he saw a man in official robes hurrying up to him. There was a layer of snow on his official hat, and his hair and beard were covered with ice crystals.

"I am Zhao Lu, your humble servant. I pay my respects to His Majesty the Prince, and to the Marquis of Dingbei."

Rongse knew in his heart that this was Zhao Lu, the magistrate of Tong County.

"Master Zhao, there is no need to be so polite." Rong Se stood still before speaking, "What's the situation?"

Zhao Lu shook off the snow on his body. His eyes were slightly blue and his face was not good. In addition, he was covered in frost and snow, which made him look like a wolf. Hearing the voice, he smiled bitterly and said, "The natural disaster was sudden and the people were completely unprepared. The county was not bad. Only a few houses were burned down. The collapsed houses may not kill people. However, several villages under Yao Mountain were buried."

Rong Se's heart sank, "Have the imperial guards arrived?"

"We're here," Zhao Lu said hurriedly, "Governor Yun has already taken people to Yaoshan, but under the rubble, it's probably difficult to save anyone!"

"It's worth it even if we can save one living person." Rong Se did not allow any objection.

Zhao Lu was startled for a moment, then he responded and said, "Your Highness is a precious lady, but this... the government office has collapsed, and now the place is in a mess. I'm afraid there is no place for Your Highness to rest, this..."

"It's no problem." Rong Se waved his hands and looked into the distance worriedly.

The small county town was not as good as Kyoto. The city walls were not solid enough and were crude. Moreover, he saw that the earthquake had caused several parts of the city walls to collapse. Looking around, it was covered with snow, and it looked desolate and dilapidated.

"I am not here to enjoy myself." Rong Se wiped the snow from his eyelashes and said in a deep voice, "Is there a place to accommodate the people in the city?"

Zhao Lu said, "We have already set up a shed, but I'm afraid it's not enough."

As they talked, Rong Se and Liang Shenyu walked towards the county. Most of the roads in the county were dirt roads, which were originally bumpy. After the earthquake, there were even more cracks. The cracks in the ground were covered by snow. Rong Se almost stumbled and fell several times, and was supported by Liang Shenyu.

All that could be seen along the way were ruins. The imperial guards and county officials were busy digging people out from the collapsed houses. From time to time, living injured people were rescued, while there were also people who were completely silent. Sobs and cries were intertwined. At this moment, this was hell on earth.

"I have brought the royal doctor." Rong Se clenched his fingertips and made a quick decision: "All the people who can be relocated should be relocated to the city for resettlement. The seriously injured should be treated on the spot and relocated when they can withstand it. There may be many more aftershocks. There is not even a thatched hut to shelter from the wind and snow. It is not a place to stay for long."

Zhao Lu was shocked for a moment when he heard this. He thought that the Regent was just going through the motions, but he didn't expect that he really wanted to resettle the people. The man, who was nearly forty, felt a lump in his throat and knelt down on the spot, regardless of the cold winter wind and snow.

"On behalf of the people of Tong County, I would like to thank the Regent King for his kindness!"

Rongse has developed a sense of belonging to this world where he has only lived for a few months, but he is still not used to these strict rules and regulations, so he immediately pulls Zhao Lu up.

"Now is not the time for Xie En. Disaster relief is more important. Search for survivors as soon as possible."

Just as Rong Se finished speaking, a sharp and miserable cry was suddenly heard from the ruins not far away, and it sounded like the wails of extreme despair.

Rong Se and Liang Shenyu looked at each other, and they immediately walked towards the direction where the sound came from.

When I got closer, I found that the person crying was a girl of about 11 or 12 years old. She was wearing thin clothes with several rips on her body. Her hands were dirty and bloody. There were two corpses on the ground, one male and one female. The blood had long since dried up. The little girl was lying on the female corpse, crying loudly, with tears rolling down her red cheeks.

"You are talking nonsense! My parents are not dead! My parents are not dead!"

It was the imperial guards who dug out the family of three. The county magistrate of Tong County was still missing, and most of the yamen officials were injured in the disaster. Therefore, most of the people helping with the rescue and search here were the imperial guards left behind by Yun Zhi. They were all covered in dust and at a loss.

When one of them saw Rong Se coming over, he quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness, this... when they dragged him out, he was already stiff. He was hit by the beam. The child survived because they protected him underneath. The two older ones must have died a long time ago. Only the child is left."

Rong Se felt a little weak.

He also didn't know how to comfort a child who was lucky enough to survive but only lived alone.

"First take her to the shelter for the disaster victims." Liang Shenyu said calmly, "When there are enough people, send them back to the capital together."

The imperial guards looked at each other in bewilderment, then turned around and tried to pull the little girl away, but the child clung to the female corpse and refused to leave, screaming hysterically.

"No! My parents are not dead! I want to be with my parents!"

Even Lan Ying was helpless and stamped her feet in anxiety.

Rong Se frowned and used his eyes to stop the imperial guards from taking her away by force. Then he personally stepped forward, squatted in front of the little girl, and said bluntly: "They are dead."

The little girl was stunned for a moment and cried even louder.

Bluebird covered her ears and sighed.

Rong Se exhaled and raised his voice: "Do you want to die here too?"

He didn't know how to communicate with the child, let alone say something like "Your parents are still alive" to lie to her. Disappointment after disappointment was even more tormenting, so he could only express his meaning in the most straightforward and simple words.

Sure enough, after she finished speaking, her crying became quieter, and the little girl's eyes were filled with fear and terror. Even though her fingertips were frozen red, she still lay stubbornly on her mother and refused to leave, even though the wind and snow were blowing hard.

Maybe it’s because of parents, maybe it’s because of fear, or maybe it’s both.

But Rongse didn't know how to tell her that no matter how hard she cried, the person she lost would never come back. He couldn't make such a young child learn to face the reality and accept it. But sadly, she had to learn the meaning of farewell in advance at this moment.

The cold wind stung her bones, and the snow hurt her face. Rong Se said to the little girl solemnly, "No one's parents will be with him forever. They have protected you. You have to be strong and live on."

The child was still young, but she was old enough to understand some words. She seemed to have realized the inevitability of separation, and her crying just now turned into sobbing, with tears flowing continuously.

Rong Se felt sad and suddenly couldn't bear to watch. She reached out and gently brushed the snow off the little girl's head. Rong Se whispered, "Don't make your parents sad. Let's go."

One of the older guards stepped forward at the right time and helped the still sobbing little girl up. The little girl suddenly asked Rong Se with tears in her eyes: "What about my father and mother?"

Rong Se stood up, leaned down to look at her, and whispered: "They will sleep well. Next spring, flowers will bloom where they rest. That is their gift to you, the strongest little girl."

The little girl was old enough not to be fooled easily, but she still asked, "Can Mom and Dad really still give me flowers?"

"Yes." Rong Se said softly, "When spring comes and flowers bloom, everything will be fine."

At the same time, he was silently looking forward to the arrival of spring.

Survive this cold winter and survive this natural disaster.

The disaster in Tong County was much more serious than Rong Se had imagined. Without advanced instruments, they could only rely on manpower to dig up the ruins one by one, which was time-consuming, labor-intensive and inefficient, but there was no other way.

Even if it was a wooden house, its collapse could cost lives. The worst case scenario was that food would be buried or even fall into the cracks in the ground or be burned by a fire. All the people's belongings were destroyed in an instant.

Rong Se went to take a look around the sheds that sheltered the disaster victims. Many people had been rescued. Some were lucky enough to escape on their own. They survived the calamity, but their belongings and relatives were taken away by the disaster. This was the first time that Rong Se saw the disaster victims, ordinary people who had no power to fight back against natural disasters. All that was left was numbness and sadness.

Lan Ying was strong and more skillful than a man, but later, Rong Se threw away his cloak and helped clean up the ruins. There were two aftershocks during the period, but they were only slight shakes. After nightfall, the first batch of rescued victims were escorted to the capital by the Jinbei Cavalry and the Imperial Guards.

Rong Se did not follow him back, but went back to the carriage with Liang Shenyu to spend the night together.

As soon as he got on the carriage, Rong Se collapsed inside and closed his eyes tiredly.

"Your Highness, Lan Ying just said that Yun Zhi is back." Liang Shenyu was in much better condition than Rong Se. Seeing that he seemed extremely tired, he felt a little reluctant, "...Your Highness, do you want to take a break before seeing him?"

But Rong Se had already opened his eyes and sat up, his gaze firm.

"Let him come over here."

Liang Shenyu hesitated to speak, but finally sighed and responded, "Okay."