Prince Zhu interrupted the flowing conversation between Yu Jin and Assistant Minister Zhao, saying impatiently, “Let’s eat first.”
After such a long journey, everyone was hungry. The meal was ready – simple fare of several large pots of bean rice, along with some freshly caught game brought by the guards. However, the game was scarce, only enough for the noble guests to enjoy.
The Crown Prince found it hard to swallow, complaining, “Rabbit meat is only fragrant when roasted with honey.”
The others twitched their lips but dared not speak. How could they? One word and they’d want to curse the Crown Prince till he bled.
Little Bull, lying beside Yu Jin, ate with relish, thinking to himself: This man is so noisy. One day I’ll bite his bottom and teach him to be quiet.
As the hastily eaten meal concluded, the Crown Prince wiped his mouth and asked Assistant Minister Zhao, “Where do you usually rest?”
“We’ve set up some grass huts and wooden shacks outside the city.”
The May weather was unfriendly to the dead, causing corpses to rot quickly, but it was much more comfortable for the living. Even with the earth as their bed and the sky as their blanket, they could make do. Having wooden shacks and grass huts for shade and shelter was considered quite good.
Assistant Minister Zhao, accustomed to a life of luxury in the capital, originally didn’t want to live so roughly. However, Qianhe County was too close to the capital. Any small incident could reach the Emperor’s ears. If he were to indulge in comfort during disaster relief, that would truly be courting death. He had been the Right Assistant Minister of Revenue for many years. If he performed well in this disaster relief effort, his position might be due for a change.
“How can people live in grass huts?” The Crown Prince frowned, then remembering to present himself well, he coughed and said, “You gentlemen are all important officials in disaster relief. If you’re not comfortable and fall ill, that wouldn’t be good.”
Assistant Minister Zhao secretly rolled his eyes but respectfully asked, “What does Your Highness suggest?”
“Isn’t there a place near Qianhe County that hasn’t been affected by the earthquake or plague?”
Yu Jin glanced at the Crown Prince, his heart skipping a beat. Now it seemed that A Si’s nightmare had some merit after all, as the Crown Prince was suggesting moving to a nearby village or town.
Regarding Jiang Si’s nightmare, it would be a blatant lie to say he firmly believed it would come true in reality. He was a man with a brain, after all, and no matter how devoted he was to his wife, he couldn’t help but have his thoughts and doubts.
But if A Si wanted him to believe it, then he was willing to believe. This had nothing to do with his brain, but everything to do with his heart. If A Si didn’t want him to stay in that town, then he wouldn’t go. What did it matter if the dream scenario would come true or not? At least it would put his wife at ease.
Yu Jin decided not to interfere, for now, coldly waiting for the final decision.
The others looked at each other. They understood – the Crown Prince wanted to find a safe place to idle away his time.
With the Crown Prince taking the lead, they were naturally more than willing. Staying in a town near the county would indeed be much more comfortable than living in grasshuts and wooden shacks, and it wouldn’t interfere with their daily inspection of the disaster situation.
Being impeached? Not possible, this was the Crown Prince’s suggestion after all.
Assistant Minister Zhao gave an eye signal to a subordinate official.
The official spoke up, “In response to Your Highness, there are indeed such villages and towns. The closest to Qianhe County are Dahe Village and Xiaohe Village, right on the edge of the county. From here, we can reach them after traveling a few more li. Besides these, there are several towns like Shuangyang Town, Jinli Town, Wuji Town, and others. Among them, the closest to Qianhe County is Shuangyang Town…”
The Crown Prince listened until his head ached and interrupted, “Forget about the villages. Tell me which of these nearby towns is the most prosperous?”
Prosperous?
The reporting official was stunned for a moment before replying, “In terms of prosperity, it certainly can’t compare to the county town before the earthquake, let alone the capital. Among these towns, the liveliest would be Jinli Town.”
The Crown Prince nodded slightly, “Jinli Town sounds good. How far is it from Qianhe County?”
The official replied, “Less than ten li from Qianhe County.”
“That’s quite close. Was it not affected by this earthquake?” The Crown Prince, hearing it was so close to Qianhe County, asked nervously.
Assistant Minister Zhao’s eye twitched slightly. The Crown Prince was showing such cowardice in front of local officials, even he felt embarrassed!
Several officials from the capital silently looked up at the sky. The Crown Prince was bringing glory to the court…
The subordinate official replied, “Strangely enough, while Qianhe County was hit by the earthquake and surrounding villages and towns suffered casualties to varying degrees, Jinli Town had not a single casualty, only a few collapsed houses.”
The Crown Prince was greatly satisfied upon hearing this and decided, “Then we’ll stay in Jinli Town.”
He made a show of looking at the sky and said, “It’s getting late today. Let’s go directly to Jinli Town. We’ll inspect the disaster situation in Qianhe County and comfort the people early tomorrow morning.”
Everyone hurriedly agreed, and the procession, led by local officials, set off grandly towards Jinli Town.
Jinli Town was a large town, the liveliest under Qianhe County. Standing on the town’s street, the Crown Prince was quite satisfied. It was much better than the ruins he had imagined. He decided to stay here.
Yu Jin mingled in the crowd, remaining silent. He was waiting. A Si couldn’t remember the name of the town. If he were to take A Si’s dream completely seriously, to be safe, he would wait until the Crown Prince had settled before taking action.
Under the arrangements of local officials, temporary accommodations were arranged. The place for the Crown Prince and others to stay was the residence of a local gentry.
The residence wasn’t large, but it was clean enough. The Crown Prince, after inspecting it, nodded with satisfaction and habitually reached out to pat Yu Jin’s shoulder.
Yu Jin habitually dodged.
“Seventh Brother, why are you being so distant? Your brother just feels close to you,” said the Crown Prince. Ever since Yu Jin had saved his son, he had become a reliable person in the Crown Prince’s heart, even forgetting about that severe beating.
He didn’t expect that while he had let it go, the other party would still be so cold.
Yu Jin said coolly, “I’ve been in the South for too long. I’m not used to sudden contact from others.”
“Uh, brother just wanted to tell you that this place is decent enough to stay. Let’s rest for now.”
“Mm.” Yu Jin nodded concisely, standing in the corridor as he watched the Crown Prince enter his room. He looked around the small courtyard, then raised his head to look at the sky.
The sky was azure, the sunlight brilliant.
Would this town become a pile of ruins one night, with no survivors due to an earthquake?
Yu Jin couldn’t help but think of the gentry who had welcomed them respectfully and given up the main courtyard, as well as the gentry’s daughter who had served them tea with a touch of unfamiliarity.
They had used the best the family had to offer.
And then there was the curiosity and excitement of the townspeople when they entered the town.
Yu Jin pressed his hand to his heart.
No one’s heart is made of stone. If it seems hard, it’s just armor to protect oneself.
Even without A Si’s entreaty, he would be willing to save the people of this town. Not for any fame, not even for the Great Zhou dynasty. For him, wanting to save people never had so many complicated reasons.
He was human, and he wanted to save people like himself. It was that simple.
Let it be considered as accumulating blessings for his and A Si’s unborn child.
Yu Jin walked into the room and lay down on the bed, pondering. A Si had said in her dream that the earthquake happened just a few days after the Crown Prince moved into the town. He couldn’t be certain which day exactly, but he was sure it wouldn’t be on the first day.
That being the case, he might as well have a good night’s sleep and deal with it tomorrow.