The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more troubled he became. Just then, a servant came to report that Wang Wei and the others wanted to leave the residence to walk around and see the situation of the people in Honghua Prefecture. He could only suppress his irritation and accompany them out. When they passed by a dog-fighting establishment, Gao Junyan became interested and insisted on going inside for a match, despite the fact that the place was closed for business.

Li Shimin dared not offend them, so he could only have someone fetch the owner and let Wang Wei and Gao Junyan each select a robust dog to fight against each other.

Taking advantage of their high spirits and complete absorption in the fight, Li Shimin instructed Li Xuanba and Duan Zhihong to take good care of them while he quietly slipped out of the dog-fighting establishment. He wandered aimlessly through the streets, watching the people coming and going, his heart filled with an indescribable irritation and weariness.

“Second Young Master?” This familiar voice brought Li Shimin back to his senses. Looking up, he saw Yunyi standing across from him. She wore a light azure satin dress with scattered flower patterns, a silver wire and pearl camellia hairpin adorned with pearls in her hair, and matching earrings. Her entire appearance was fresh and charming.

Li Shimin hadn’t expected to encounter Yunyi here and was quite pleasantly surprised. Just as he was about to speak, Wu Laosan, who was standing beside Yunyi, spoke first: “Meixue, is this the Second Young Master?”

After Yunyi nodded, Wu Laosan hurriedly walked over and bowed to Li Shimin: “I heard from Meixue that while she was at the Governor’s residence, thanks to your care, Second Young Master, she was able to live peacefully and safely. This time she could come home to accompany this humble person for so many days is also thanks to you, Second Young Master. We truly thank you, thank you so much!”

Li Shimin quickly helped him up: “Uncle, there’s no need for such formality.” Then he asked tentatively: “You are Meixue’s father, aren’t you?”

Wu Laosan nodded repeatedly: “Indeed, that’s this humble person. We came out to buy some things and happened to encounter you, Second Young Master.” Then he said warmly: “Second Young Master, have you had lunch yet? If not, why don’t you come to this humble person’s home for a meal? I caught a roe deer and some wild pheasants just two days ago—they’re hard to find outside. Perfect for you to try something fresh.”

Yunyi tugged at Wu Laosan’s sleeve and said quietly: “Father, the Second Young Master has tasted all kinds of delicacies. How could he care for such simple fare? We shouldn’t disturb the Second Young Master.”

“Ah, girl, you don’t understand. In our Honghua Prefecture, wild pheasants are quite rare, and they’re fast runners too. Even though your father has been hunting for so many years, I’ve only caught a few.” Saying this, Wu Laosan addressed Li Shimin again: “What do you think, Second Young Master?”

Li Shimin thought for a moment, then smiled: “Then I’ll trouble Uncle Wu.”

Seeing Li Shimin agree, Wu Laosan was overjoyed and said to Yunyi: “Girl, you accompany the Second Young Master home first. I’ll go buy a few more dishes.” Without waiting for Yunyi’s response, he hurried away. Left with no choice, Yunyi could only accompany Li Shimin toward home.

After walking for a while, Li Shimin asked: “Why didn’t you accept that wintersweet plant?”

Yunyi replied indifferently: “Meixue is just a country woman. I truly dare not accept such a precious thing. I appreciate the Second Young Master’s kind intentions.”

Li Shimin studied her for a moment, then asked with concern: “Are you… troubled by something?”

“No.” Yunyi didn’t want to continue this topic and instead said: “But what about you, Second Young Master? How do you happen to be here? Don’t you need to accompany the two distinguished guests?” She hadn’t heard news of Wang Wei and Gao Junyan’s departure and assumed they were still at the Governor’s residence.

Li Shimin smiled bitterly: “It’s precisely because I need to accompany them that I’m here.”

Yunyi frowned: “But aren’t you neglecting the two distinguished guests by coming out alone now?”

“It’s fine. Xuanba and Zhihong are with them. Besides, a dog fight takes about an hour, and before that time is up, they probably won’t even notice whether I’m there or not.”

Yunyi nodded. Rather than saying Wang Wei and the others had come here on the Emperor’s orders to visit Li Yuan, it would be more accurate to say they had come here for pleasure—cockfighting, dog racing, singing, dancing, and women were all available.

Shortly after they arrived home, Wu Laosan returned with several small dishes and a small jar of wine. After seating Li Shimin, he skillfully plucked and bled the pheasant he had been keeping in the yard, reluctant to eat it himself. Then he took it to the kitchen and stewed a whole pot. After that, he made braised roe deer meat. Since there was quite a lot of roe deer meat and the plate couldn’t hold it all, Wu Laosan took some to share with the neighbors. When those people learned that Li Shimin was at Wu Laosan’s house, they all came over, each bringing something—some brought eggs, others brought freshly picked vegetables or winter dates, and one even brought a whole old hen. They all tried to press these things into Li Shimin’s hands, leaving him at a loss.

Seeing his reaction, an old woman thought he looked down on their gifts and said: “We know these things aren’t valuable, but they represent our sincere feelings. Please accept them and pass them on to the Governor.”

Li Shimin quickly said: “Auntie, you misunderstand. That’s not what I meant. It’s just that your lives aren’t easy either. You should keep these things for yourselves.”

The old woman smiled: “Actually, we’ve long wanted to thank the Governor, but we didn’t dare disturb him at the Governor’s residence. Since you’re here today, you must help us deliver these gifts.”

A middle-aged man beside her said: “Yes, ever since the Governor arrived, we people of Honghua Prefecture have finally been able to live good lives. We no longer have to worry about having our hard-earned money extorted from us, unlike the previous governor who seemed to want to scrape the very skin from our bodies.”

“Exactly, exactly! Besides that, the Governor also distributes rice and porridge at Jiyuan on the first and fifteenth of each month. A while ago, our few acres of poor land had a bad harvest, wages weren’t paid, and our family couldn’t make ends meet. Fortunately, we caught the rice distribution at Jiyuan and managed to get through. So you must accept these things.” The man kept trying to press the vegetables in his hands on Li Shimin while speaking, and Li Shimin, unable to refuse, had to accept them all.

Looking at the miscellaneous items in his hands, Li Shimin felt both moved and heartbroken. For these people living at the bottom of society, as long as officials didn’t extort their hard-earned money or oppress and harass them, they would be grateful and consider that person a good official.

But… wasn’t this the most basic duty of an official?

He handed the items to Wu Laosan to hold and stood up, bowing: “Thank you all for your kindness. I will definitely pass these gifts on to my father. Also, from now on, I will personally go to Jiyuan to distribute rice and porridge. If any of you fellow villagers have difficulties, please come to Jiyuan and tell me. As long as it’s something I, Li Shimin, can do, I will do my utmost without hesitation.”

His words delighted the people greatly, and they thanked him repeatedly. Looking at those simple, honest faces, Li Shimin’s heart became crystal clear, and the confusion that had been troubling him finally had an answer.

He had not done wrong. Their uprising was not only for the Li family’s survival, but also for these people who had suffered under tyrannical governance. If they had to sacrifice these very people to achieve victory, how would they be any different from Yang Guang? And who would still support them?!