As soon as the group arrived outside the capital, they saw a large number of refugees blocking all the gates leading into the city.
Long Yuan frowned upon seeing this. "Ying Yi, go and find out what's going on?"
When Old Man Su heard what Long Yuan said, he looked at the little guy.
If he remembered correctly, when he first went to his house, the person in front of him was clearly introduced as Wang Er, and the older one was called Wang Yi.
It seems these are just fake names.
Old Man Su suddenly said to Long Yuan, "Although you and my granddaughter have opened a workshop in Peach Willow Village, we don't plan to trouble you anymore."
However, you can come and visit Yao Yao whenever you have time.
Upon hearing this, Long Yuan knew that Old Man Su meant he wanted to separate from him.
Grandma Su also agreed that her husband was right.
Logically speaking, having the help of a high-ranking official would indeed make one's path smoother.
But if this high-ranking official can't even protect himself, or if he has a bunch of enemies, then they are just farmers who don't want to get involved.
Why would someone choose to leave the capital city for such a poor and remote rural area? Their family situation must be very complicated; otherwise, what parents would be willing to let such a young child wander outside?
Yingyi returned quickly and replied to Longyuan, "Master, these are all refugees, coming from the cold, remote northern regions and the border."
From just over eight or nine hundred at the beginning, there are now over 2,000 people.
Uncle Wang frowned and asked, "Yingyi, didn't you ask why the court didn't try to help these refugees?"
"Uncle Wang asked around and found that the imperial court had already settled over a thousand people in nearby villages from the very beginning."
The villages are now so small that they can barely accommodate anyone, and the imperial court is distributing porridge to them every day.
The number of people gathered at the city gates now totals approximately 1,000.
As soon as Shadow One finished speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away.
"You corrupt officials, I don't believe that even though we're right under the capital, the emperor only allows us refugees to have such a small amount of soup to drink."
Upon hearing that these refugees were quite bold, Long Yuan told Su Muyao and the others not to go inside, and that he would take Yingyi inside to see what was going on.
As soon as I entered, I saw several soldiers restraining the people who had caused trouble earlier.
"Look, everyone, this is the imperial city we fled from, hoping to find a way out."
"Yes, it's outrageous that they would bully us ordinary people right under the nose of the capital."
At that moment, someone in the refugee crowd said, "The emperor is incompetent and immoral, which is why God has sent down this disaster. The emperor should abdicate and give way to a more worthy person."
“We’ve come all the way to the capital, and the emperor is still living a life of luxury in his palace, ignoring the lives of us ordinary people. He should let the most capable people take the place.”
Long Yuan looked at the crowd and saw that no one knew who was saying what. Soon, the people began to discuss it amongst themselves.
"Yes, we've come all this way to the foot of the capital. The emperor must know about this situation and be trying to find a way to settle us down."
"Why else would it be that they're only thinking of themselves?"
“He is our emperor, yet he doesn’t care about the lives of us common people. He should abdicate.”
Immediately afterwards, someone started shouting "Step down, step down, step down" from the crowd, and no one knew who it was.
News of the situation outside the city quickly reached the palace.
Su Muyao, standing not far away, also frowned. According to the information Yingyi had just gathered, this emperor was not bad; at least he had settled the first few hundred people who had arrived.
Now, before the emperor has even come up with a solution, some people are already saying this, which shows that someone is doing it on purpose.
Leading these refugees to force the emperor to abdicate suggests that even the royal family is not without its troubles.
Long Yuan retreated without making a sound. He knew that this matter must be related to the Prince of Xiaoyao, and he had to return to the palace as soon as possible.
He approached Su Muyao and took out a jade pendant from his waist, handing it to her.
"Here you go. If you ever need my help in the future, just go to the palace gate and send this to the East Palace. Someone will come to fetch you to find me."
When Su Muyao heard the words "Eastern Palace," she already knew the identity of the little boy in front of her.
"You are the current crown prince."
This statement is not a question, but a statement of certainty.
Grandpa Su and Grandma Su stared wide-eyed at the two children's conversation.
Seeing Long Yuan gently pat Su Muyao's little tuft of hair, he said, "The promise I made before still stands. I will always protect you no matter what."
No matter how outrageous your actions are, no one can touch you.
This jade pendant represents my status as the Crown Prince, so I can simply show it to anyone of high status.
Furthermore, after we return to the palace, I will find some top-notch guards to protect you.
Su Muyao nodded in satisfaction as she listened to the little boy's words.
Now that we've revealed our identities, you're still using "me" to refer to you, so we guess we're friends now?
"You're probably going back to figure out where to put these refugees, right? I do have a solution."
Upon hearing this, Long Yuan quickly asked, "What method do you have?"
"Since you have this identity, how about we continue our cooperation?"
"Tell me, what kind of cooperation method do you envision?"
Su Muyao suddenly chuckled mischievously, "It's very simple. I'll provide the money, the effort, and the formula. All you need to do is contribute your reputation. We'll split it 80/20."
Upon hearing this, Long Yuan knew without a doubt that the "eight" referred to her, and he himself was the "two."
"I believe there should be quite a few here. These refugees can be used as helpers, whether it's building houses, doing manual labor, or setting up workshops. All of these require a lot of manpower."
"We don't need to look for laborers now, do we?" Su Muyao had thought that since she had come to the city, she should naturally work hard.
Now that we know this young boy has such a high status, we won't be afraid of others sabotaging our business if we cooperate with him in the future.
"But the materials, land, and other aspects are not a small sum."
Long Yuan thought that if he were to come up with so much money, it would be difficult for him to do so in a short time, since even though he was the crown prince, he had a limited amount of money at his disposal.
Moreover, his own father's empty treasury was in dire straits, so he couldn't very well ask the old man for money.
"You don't need to worry about the money; just think this method is feasible."
“It’s possible, but you may not know that the prices here are incomparable to those in Taoliu Village, so your little bit of money is probably just a drop in the bucket.”
Su Muyao thought to herself that she owned most of the national treasury, and that even the emperor of this dynasty was not as wealthy as she was.
"Of course I know, these are not things you should worry about. Go and take care of your business first!"
Let's find a place to rest in the city first. My grandparents must be tired from the journey."
Longyuan bid a hasty farewell and went to report to the palace.
Upon arriving at the palace, the palace's spies were practically exploding in excitement.
Everyone said the crown prince was dead, so how did he suddenly reappear?
The Carefree Prince's Mansion
A servant rushed in to report, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened."
A middle-aged man in his forties was lying on a large soft couch, embracing two women on either side, looking quite pleased with himself.
Feeling quite annoyed at being suddenly disturbed, he wondered, "What on earth is causing this commotion?"
The beautiful concubine beside him picked up a grape and offered it to the prince's lips.
"Your Highness, please calm down and try some. These are newly arrived crystal grapes."
The man opened his mouth and took a bite. "Not bad, not bad, but the taste is still a bit inferior to yours."
Then the beautiful concubine let out a coquettish snort, "Your Highness, you're so annoying, always teasing me."
The servant kneeling below trembled. "Your Highness, a spies from the palace have reported...that the Crown Prince has returned."
Suddenly, the carefree prince stood up and asked, "Who did you say? Who's back?"
"It's the Crown Prince... Long Yuan."
The carefree prince suddenly flew into a rage and slapped each of his concubines, shouting, "Get out of here! Can't you see I have something important to say?"
The two beautiful women quickly bowed and withdrew.
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