Qin Yining’s lips trembled as she gazed at the familiar city gate and once-familiar streets. The bitterness and sorrow in her heart flowed through her entire body like lava.

This was a place of many disasters and hardships. The people living here, besides enduring the ravages of war, were constantly tortured mercilessly by various natural calamities.

Could it be that Heaven truly wanted to kill everyone without leaving any survivors?

Although she hadn’t lived in the capital for very long, after returning to her ancestral roots, she had always considered this place her hometown. Though the time spent in this city was brief, it had been richer and more exciting than her previous fourteen years, leaving her with deep memories.

So among their group, Qin Yining was the one who least wanted to see the former capital in this state.

Pang Xiao put his arm around Qin Yining’s shoulder and patted it, then turned back to give orders: “Let’s enter the city and go to the government office first.”

“Yes.”

The originally spacious and flat streets now had deep chasms cutting across them, and most of the buildings on both sides had become broken walls and ruins.

The streets were filled with an aura of death. The air was mixed with the smell of lime, the lingering acrid odor from burning corpses, and the stench from bodies that hadn’t been disposed of in time.

It was now July, and the former capital was located in the south. In such weather, those buried under the rubble would soon emit unimaginable foul odors.

In such harsh conditions, ragged people had built crude shelters everywhere along the streets. Naturally, there were those houses that remained intact, only having wall cracks from the shaking, maintaining their overall structure—but those belonged to wealthy families.

Such well-preserved courtyards had been built with careful engineering and materials. Common people mostly lived in mud houses—how could they withstand the continuous earthquakes?

Qin Yining walked with tightly furrowed brows. Those streets, whether familiar or unfamiliar, had all become scenes of decay.

Pang Xiao knew she felt sad—this was her hometown after all. He couldn’t help but hold her shoulder tighter, protecting her in his embrace.

As their group walked toward the former “Shuntian Prefecture,” now the “Former Capital Prefectural Office,” the people they encountered along the way were so hungry they lacked the strength to even lift their eyelids to look at them.

They were truly starving.

The city’s supplies were insufficient, roads from outside to inside were blocked, grain in the city was limited, and shops with stored grain refused to open for business. Even with money, they couldn’t buy food.

And the court’s relief had never come.

They were people of Great Yan who had surrendered to Great Zhou, so they had little sense of belonging to Great Zhou to begin with.

Now, Great Zhou was exactly as they had expected—in times of crisis, the court forgot about these people, just like the former Yan Dynasty emperors who never thought about the people’s welfare.

So what difference did changing rulers make? Those meant to be abandoned would still be abandoned.

Along the way, seeing those emaciated refugees, Pang Xiao’s elegant sword-like brows furrowed deeply at his forehead.

“Sister-in-law Liu! Sister-in-law Liu!”

Just then, weak crying suddenly came from the roadside.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound and saw several disaster victims rushing toward a secluded alley at the corner of a wall.

In the alley, a withered woman hung from a thick protruding tree branch with her belt. Under the canopy of green shade, her worn skirt and bare feet swayed. Below her feet were scattered, overturned bricks and stones.

Qin Yining cried out in shock and covered her mouth.

Immediately, Pang Xiao covered her eyes with his hand.

Huzi hurried over to inquire and returned dejectedly. Amid the voices of disaster victims who lacked even the strength to cry, he said in a low voice:

“That woman was a widow. Her husband died of hunger and illness during last year’s famine. During the earthquake, her son and mother-in-law were both buried under their old house. Only she survived because she worked as a servant for a wealthy family in the city. But that wealthy family couldn’t afford to keep servants and drove everyone away. The woman had no hope of survival to begin with, and after starving for so many days, in desperation she…”

Pang Xiao nodded with furrowed brows: “I understand. Let’s go.”

The group continued forward, leaving those weak cries far behind.

However, how could such tragedies be rare in the city?

The courtyard wall of the former capital’s prefectural office had also partially collapsed from the earthquake and was obviously repaired afterward.

The main gate of the office was tightly locked. Pang Xiao ordered someone to knock.

The person who responded from inside was listless. Upon learning that the visitors were imperial commissioners, several people hurriedly worked together to open the gate.

Several pale-faced men looked anxiously behind Pang Xiao’s group, but only saw a carriage for transportation and horses—no grain supplies.

Disappointment flashed in their eyes, but they still respectfully invited everyone inside and carefully closed the main gate.

The local official Li Qitian had later assigned to the former capital was surnamed Gong, given name You, courtesy name Zhongtang. He was forty years old and had been a scholar during the Northern Ji Dynasty. He had always been valued by Li Qitian and was appointed as prefect of the former capital, governing the former capital and several surrounding counties.

Seeing Pang Xiao’s group arrive, Gong You hurriedly came out to greet them and pay respects.

After both sides exchanged pleasantries, they entered the front hall.

Gong You got straight to the point: “Your Highness, have you brought grain supplies on this trip?”

Pang Xiao smiled bitterly and sighed. Since he couldn’t directly say Li Qitian hadn’t allocated grain, he could only say: “This prince was worried about the situation here and came ahead. The grain supplies prepared by the Ministry of Revenue should arrive afterward.”

Gong You didn’t suspect anything and sighed: “The roads weren’t easy along the way, were they?”

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken so long.

Pang Xiao heard the implication and his smile became even more bitter: “This prince is also like a duck being driven onto a perch. Originally, His Majesty had appointed Prince Yan as disaster relief commissioner. Who knew that halfway through, Prince Yan would rebel and flee! This matter delayed us for quite a few days. His Majesty only later appointed this prince as disaster relief commissioner to replace Prince Yan’s duties.”

“So that’s how it was!” Gong You now completely understood: “That Prince Yan was truly ungrateful! His Majesty valued and trusted him so much, arranging for him to come because he was familiar with this place, all for the people’s stability. But he had the audacity to flee while taking advantage of the route!”

Seeing Gong You’s reaction, Pang Xiao knew he was a straightforward, passionate, and upright person. Working with such people required directness, which happened to be his preferred way.

“Sigh, let’s not mention him.” Pang Xiao sighed and asked: “How is the situation in the city? This prince saw no relief porridge stalls along the way?”

Gong You smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying bleakly: “Your Highness doesn’t know. This Great Yan former capital was long ago emptied out. During last year’s famine, sixty percent of the people died—sixty percent!”

Gong You painfully gestured with his thumb and little finger: “That Great Yan Dynasty’s fall wasn’t unjust at all! The incompetent tyrant caused people to become homeless. To be honest, when this official was appointed here last winter, the city was like a dead city all winter! That no large-scale plague broke out was pure luck.

“Who knew that the remaining forty percent would encounter an earthquake the following year? This time, who knows how many more died.”