“When you were thirteen, you were a very soft-hearted person,” Chu Yu said, sitting in the carriage with her eyes half-closed, reminiscing. “I was mischievous back then. I remember that year when Chu Jin and I visited your family. I found an ant nest and squatted under a tree to poke at it. You ran over and told me to leave them alone, saying that since they exist in this world, they should have a chance to live.”

“Is that so?” Gu Chusheng listened, feeling as if these past events were very distant.

He vaguely remembered these memories, having forgotten most of them since he turned sixteen. That year, the Gu family fell from grace. To protect his family, he escorted his father to the palace, sending him to the execution ground.

On the night his father was beheaded in the palace, Gu Chusheng knelt before Emperor Chunde, smiling as he bowed his head in submission. However, on the way home, alone in the carriage, he didn’t even dare to cry out loud.

From that moment on, he told himself that one shouldn’t invest too much emotion in others. You never know when you might have to betray someone or when you might lose them. It’s better to be cold-hearted.

By not investing in emotions and putting oneself first, one can live better. After all, he was already that kind of person.

A wicked son who could send his father to the execution ground – what right did he have to speak of benevolence and righteousness in this life?

Thinking back to his youth felt like an incredibly distant and long time ago. He could barely remember if it was those youthful experiences that led him to where he is today, or if he was always this kind of person, which resulted in such a past.

The carriage swayed back and forth, finally arriving in Yuan City. Chu Yu looked down at the vegetables in his hand and smiled, “Do you want to find the old man’s family?”

Gu Chusheng hesitated for a moment. Chu Yu decided for him, “Go find them.”

As she spoke, Chu Yu lifted the curtain for him. The scorching sunlight of Yuan City poured into the carriage. Chu Yu turned to look at him and said gently, “I’ll accompany you.”

Gu Chusheng remained silent for a long time before nodding and responding, “Alright.”

Due to Gu Chusheng’s injured leg, a guard carried him out on his back. Chu Yu followed Gu Chusheng into the government office. By this time, the aftershocks had mostly subsided, and civilians were gradually returning to the city.

In the city, some houses had collapsed, others were destroyed. Although there weren’t many casualties, some citizens were crying loudly over their ruined homes.

Life was already difficult, and although this natural disaster only resulted in property damage, money was more precious than life for some families. For them, it was already a catastrophe.

Walking along the official road with Gu Chusheng, Chu Yu sighed as she heard the thunderous cries of the people. Her gaze fell on the citizens as she said with difficulty, “Lord Gu, please listen carefully to these cries.”

Gu Chusheng remained silent, quietly listening to the wailing. He had never listened so intently to the cries of the common people before, because he never dared to. He feared that in the dead of night, he would recall those voices and be unable to sleep.

However, as he listened now, he discovered that these cries were different from the shrill, resentful sounds he had imagined. Instead, they were filled with bone-deep despair and helplessness.

In the face of the nation and fate, the power of these common people was indeed too small, too feeble. They couldn’t control natural disasters or foresee man-made calamities. For the first time, Gu Chusheng realized that compared to them, he had already grown into a person wielding a sharp blade.

They could only wail, while he already had the qualifications to fight back.

He arrived at the government office where Wei Qingping had already set up a free clinic. Although the casualties weren’t severe, many people had been injured in the strong earthquake. Patients lined up to receive treatment, and Wei Qingping organized people for orderly consultations. Gu Chusheng’s guard approached anxiously, saying, “Princess, please take a look at our lord…”

“Go to triage first,” Wei Qingping said without looking up. “Life has no hierarchy; severe cases are treated first.”

“Princess!”

“That’s how it is.”

Gu Chusheng spoke up, smiling, “Go to triage then.”

Hearing Gu Chusheng’s words, the guard had no choice but to take him to the triage area.

Gu Chusheng’s injuries weren’t severe, so he waited on the side. While waiting, a subordinate came to report on the disaster situation. Gu Chusheng listened quietly, furrowing his brow. Chu Yu noticed his frown and approached, asking in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Chusheng shook his head, saying, “It’s nothing.”

Chu Yu nodded and said, “I’ll go out and help.”

Gu Chusheng acknowledged, clearly deep in thought. Chu Yu helped suppress riots and count food supplies. By nightfall, as Chu Yu was preparing to rest, someone came saying, “Miss Chu, Lord Gu requests your presence.”

Chu Yu was taken aback. She looked at the time, initially wanting to refuse, but remembering Gu Chusheng’s expression earlier, she knew he must have some difficulty he couldn’t discuss in front of others.

She hesitated for a moment but ultimately stood up and followed the attendant.

Gu Chusheng’s leg was now fixed with a splint, which looked rather comical paired with his elegant attire. Chu Yu entered and, seeing the splint on his leg, laughed, “It’s not broken, is it?”

“Thanks to you,” Gu Chusheng also smiled, shaking his head. “It’s not broken, it’ll heal in half a month.”

As he spoke, Gu Chusheng handed a ledger to Chu Yu. She took it, looking confused, “What’s this?”

“This is the current food storage in Yuan City.”

Gu Chusheng explained. Chu Yu opened the ledger and quickly furrowed her brow. It detailed the total amount of food in Yuan City and the extent of the disaster.

“The granary in Yuan City is almost empty,” Gu Chusheng sighed. “Yao Yong has transported all the food away, probably to Qing City for military use. The food I brought is enough to aid Yuan City, but to aid all of Qing Province…”

Gu Chusheng looked troubled. Chu Yu looked on silently. Qing Province was the most severely affected, with the neighboring provinces of Bai, Kun, and Luo all experiencing varying degrees of tremors, but not to the extent of Qing Province. However, if it were just disaster relief, Qing Province wouldn’t be in such dire straits.

“An entire city’s granary emptied…” Chu Yu couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “Yao Yong is quite capable.”

Then she quickly realized, “What about Zhao Yue? Have you written to him? Is he not going to manage Qing Province?”

“Would he manage it?” Gu Chusheng looked up, sneering. “It’s already good enough if he doesn’t come to create more disasters.”

Chu Yu didn’t speak. Gu Chusheng seemed to be extremely angry. After a moment of silence, Chu Yu finally said, “I’ll go borrow some grain.”

“Who would lend to you now?” Gu Chusheng frowned. “You can’t expect Wei Yun or your brother to lend you grain. Now everyone can see that Zhao Yue intends to wear you down with Qing Province. Food is life now,” Gu Chusheng furrowed his brow deeply. “We need to think of other ways.”

“If it were just my brother and Wei Yun, it would indeed be difficult,” Chu Yu smiled. “But what if each of the hundreds of self-proclaimed kings sent a little? You took Yao Yong’s share from Zhao Yue’s hands, so consider Zhao Yue’s contribution. My brother, Wei Yun, Song Shilan, and I will each provide another share. For the rest, I’ll figure something out.”

“What way do you have?”

Gu Chusheng frowned. Chu Yu waved her hand, “Don’t worry about it, you scholar. I have my ways. Just give me a number, how much grain do we need?”

Gu Chusheng was left speechless. After a while, he finally blurted out, “Don’t get yourself killed!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, both of them were stunned. Chu Yu looked at him for a moment, then laughed, “Now that’s a bit more like your old self.”

Gu Chusheng didn’t speak. Chu Yu stood up, waving her hand, “Alright, I won’t discuss it with you anymore. I’m going to sleep now, I’ll set out tomorrow.”

Chu Yu took a few steps, then suddenly remembered, “Oh right, Yao Yong won’t come to cause trouble, will he?”

“What trouble could he cause?” Gu Chusheng sneered. “If he dares to come, I’ll kneel and beg him to save the common people. We’ll see who loses face then!”

Although Yao Yong had emptied Yuan City’s granary, as the leader of Qing Province’s army and with Qing Province being his maternal homeland, it would indeed be too unsightly if he completely ignored the situation.

However, Chu Yu was still worried and frowned, “What if he’s more shameless than you?”

“Don’t worry,” Gu Chusheng stopped teasing her and said, “Zhao Yue won’t let him come. Zhao Yue will abandon Qing Province now because he knows you all will take care of it.”

Chu Yu didn’t speak. After a moment, she sighed, “It’s hard to be a good person.”

“Take care of yourself.”

Chu Yu left without looking back.

Gu Chusheng sat in the room, inhaling the scent she left behind. After a long while, he smiled helplessly and lowered his head to start calculating the numbers she would need.

Chu Yu returned to her room but couldn’t sleep. After some thought, she got up and wrote a letter to Wei Yun.

Communication was difficult now, and she didn’t know when these letters would be delivered, but she still wrote a lot, sharing every little detail as if she wanted to share everything with him.

After finishing the letter, she pressed it to her heart, finally feeling at ease, and closed her eyes to sleep.

The next morning, Chu Yu was woken up by Wei Qingping pushing her, “Stop sleeping, wake up quickly, the city is under attack!”

Chu Yu woke up groggily, “At… attack?”

Wei Qingping slapped her on the head, anxiously saying, “Your Wei Yun has attacked.”

Chu Yu was a bit confused. Wei Yun was in Hui City, and attacking Yuan City next… wasn’t that to be expected?

“Wei Yun has attacked,” Chu Yu yawned as she got up. “Why are we in such a hurry?”

“No, when he came, all of Yao Yong’s people ran away. Those who didn’t run were detained by Gu Chusheng. Gu Chusheng opened the city gates for Wei Yun, and now Wei Yun has entered. Hurry up and wash your face, fix your hair. Do you want to meet your beloved looking like this?!”

Chu Yu was stunned. She turned to look at Wei Qingping and noticed that she was wearing a hairpin and had applied delicate makeup, obviously having taken care to dress up. After a moment of bewilderment, Chu Yu pointed at her and said, “At a time like this, you still have the mood for romance…”

“Romance doesn’t interfere with business.”

Wei Qingping thought seriously, then stood up, “Alright, I’m leaving. There are still many people waiting for me…”

“Wait!”

Chu Yu grabbed Wei Qingping, who turned back to see Chu Yu sheepishly asking, “Um, can I borrow some rouge?”

As they spoke, footsteps could be heard outside. Wei Qingping said calmly, “I’m afraid it’s too late.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the footsteps stopped. A young man in green robes and a fox fur coat stood at the door, his hands tucked into his sleeves, smiling as he looked into the room. Chu Yu used Wei Qingping’s sleeve to cover her face, but Wei Qingping forcefully pulled her sleeve away. Chu Yu then rolled to the other side, covering her face without saying a word.

Everyone else retreated, and Wei Yun stepped into the room, quietly sitting on the edge of the bed. After a while of not hearing any movement, Chu Yu turned her head and saw Wei Yun’s smiling eyes.

Chu Yu was stunned for a moment, then raised her hand to slap her forehead, feeling a bit deflated, “Ah, that little person Wei Qingping, what’s the use of calling me at a time like this!”

Wei Yun didn’t speak. He just quietly looked at her. Chu Yu sat up, asking curiously, “How did you get here so quickly?”

“I took advantage of the situation while Gu Chusheng was still controlling things in Yuan City and hurried over.”

Chu Yu nodded. At this time, Yuan City had just experienced an earthquake, the military was lax, and the city walls were damaged. Wei Yun’s timing was indeed appropriate. Wei Yun raised his hand to comb through her hair with his fingers, “Of course, there’s another reason,” he laughed, “I missed you.”