The sky was still filled with red clouds at dusk when the townspeople of Jinli began to leave with their families.
“Stop eating, stop eating! The officials are waiting!” The organizers appointed by the village head urged those still hurriedly finishing their dinners at home.
A man, forced to stop eating, slammed his rough porcelain bowl on the wooden table and grumbled, “What’s going on? I don’t believe in any divine dream nonsense. Now I can’t even finish a proper meal.”
“Alright, stop complaining. You’ll get a good amount of silver for those two pigs you can’t take with you.”
Hearing this, the man said no more. He wiped his mouth, picked up his fully loaded carrying pole, and headed out with his wife and children.
At the doorway, he cast a reluctant glance at the two fat pigs grunting in their pen before locking the door.
Many townspeople shared his dissatisfaction, especially when they were led to an empty field in the wilderness. Their discontent grew even stronger.
“You can’t be serious. Are we supposed to sleep out here in the wild tonight?”
“Exactly! Weren’t we promised tents? Sleeping like this will just feed the mosquitoes!”
“Mama, I want to go home—” A child’s cry rang out, making the adults even more irritable.
Several people stood up abruptly. “This won’t do! Let’s ask the village head. They can’t just leave us like this!”
The village head found himself surrounded by a group of people, feeling overwhelmed.
“Village Head, we can’t sleep like this. Even though it’s May, the nights are still damp, and there are so many mosquitoes. Adults might endure it, but the children can’t!”
“That’s right! We might as well go back home. Why sleep out here in the wild when we have perfectly good beds at home?”
Dizzied by the commotion, the village head shouted, “Everyone, please calm down! The officials have gone to summon soldiers to set up camps for us. Just wait a bit longer.”
“It’s about to get completely dark. Will those soldiers even come? Village Head, the officials must be deceiving you.”
The village head, feeling his face burning with embarrassment, put on a stern expression. “Fellow villagers, don’t speak nonsense. How could the officials deceive me?”
The townspeople collectively scoffed.
Weren’t the officials always deceiving common folk like them?
The village head coughed. “Ahem, what I mean is, even if the officials might deceive us, surely the Crown Prince and the Prince wouldn’t. Such noble persons, their word is as good as gold. They wouldn’t go back on their word. Besides, didn’t Prince Yan say he’d compensate everyone with silver? One fat pig is worth one tael of silver, and he’s giving two taels of compensation. That’s much better than raising the pig until New Year for slaughter. Don’t you all agree?”
At the mention of silver compensation, the voices of opposition weakened.
The village head thought to himself that Prince Yan’s move was clever. To appease people, nothing works better than money. It had always been so.
“Well, if that’s the case, let’s endure it for now.”
“Yes, let’s bear with it. We haven’t received the silver yet.”
“What if… they don’t give it to us in the end?”
As the townspeople were muttering among themselves, the sound of numerous footsteps approached.
“Look! The soldiers are here!”
Soon, a troop arrived from afar, bringing supplies with them.
Seeing so many soldiers, the townspeople fell silent, nervously watching as the military quickly set up tent after tent in the open field.
Just as the evening glow faded from the sky and stars began to dot the firmament, the once-barren field was filled with tents.
The elderly, women, and children were arranged to enter the tents first. In the end, more than half of the people still had no tents to stay in.
Yu Jin, who led the troops, heard their complaints and raised his voice, “We have a limited number of tents. I’m afraid we’ll have to inconvenience some of you.”
Faced with a prince, people didn’t dare voice their complaints openly. Someone in the crowd asked, “Your Highness, how long will we have to stay here?”
“At least two days, at most five days.”
Hearing this, the crowd immediately burst into discussion.
“We have to stay in this desolate place for several days? What if it rains? Even if it doesn’t, those of us without tents will be eaten alive by mosquitoes at night and scorched by the sun during the day…”
“Indeed, it’s too miserable. We’d be better off going back home…”
Yu Jin frowned slightly.
His sympathy was limited. He had done what he could. If some people insisted on going back, he couldn’t forcibly stop them.
“This prince indeed received a divine warning, saying that Jinli Town would experience an earthquake. It’s for your safety that we’ve relocated everyone here. Please bear with it for a few days. Wind, sun, and mosquitoes are at least not life-threatening.”
Some people secretly sneered.
If there was truly a danger to their lives, enduring these hardships would be worth it. But who knew if there would be an earthquake?
Among the thousand-plus residents of Jinli Town, most believed in the divine warning to Prince Yan, but there were always a few who didn’t trust such things and cared more about practical matters.
They wondered if the silver compensation promised by Prince Yan would be given, or if it was just a trick.
Just as they were pondering this, they heard Yu Jin speak, “I’ve brought the silver compensation promised to you all. We’ll distribute half today, and the other half when you leave. Of course, anyone who leaves early will forfeit their share.”
Upon hearing that half the compensation would be given immediately, people instantly cheered up.
Half was good! The compensation was already double what they expected, so half was enough to cover their losses… no, they were even profiting!
It was only May, and the pigs in their pens were still thin. The one tael of silver was calculated based on the price of fully grown pigs.
Watching the townspeople gather to receive their silver, Yu Jin let out a slight sigh of relief. By the time he returned to their new lodgings, it was already late at night.
Despite the late hour, the Crown Prince was still awake.
“Seventh Brother, you’re finally back.”
“Second Brother, you haven’t slept yet?”
The Crown Prince waved his hand. “Couldn’t sleep.”
After moving to Wuji Town, the Crown Prince was even more eager to return to the capital.
The accommodations in Wuji Town weren’t as comfortable as those in Jinli Town, and the gentry’s daughter here wasn’t as pretty as the one in Jinli Town…
“Well, I’m going to sleep then.” Unlike the Crown Prince who had been bored all day, Yu Jin had spent the day comforting the disaster victims in Qianhe County and the evening appeasing the people of Jinli Town. After all this trouble, he was exhausted both physically and mentally.
Seeing that Yu Jin was about to wash up and sleep, the Crown Prince hurriedly asked, “Seventh Brother, will there be an earthquake in Jinli Town?”
In the darkness, Yu Jin looked at the Crown Prince in the light from the courtyard. After a moment, he said calmly, “If it doesn’t happen, that would be best.”
Although he had followed A Si’s advice and temporarily evacuated an entire town, he didn’t wish for a natural disaster to occur.
Natural disasters could instantly destroy the homes people had built over a lifetime. It was too cruel.
The Crown Prince’s considerations were more practical. “But if there’s no earthquake, Father Emperor will surely reprimand you…”
Yu Jin smiled indifferently. “It’s fine. I’ve been to the Imperial Clan Court twice already. Second Brother, I’m going to wash up now. Excuse me.”
Watching Yu Jin’s silhouette disappear at the doorway, the Crown Prince felt a bit envious.
Why wasn’t Seventh Brother afraid of Father Emperor?
A fluffy tail swept by, startling the Crown Prince.
“Who’s there?”
Erniu gave the Crown Prince a disdainful look and walked away, wagging its tail.