Chapter 273: Chapter 255, Rescuing People_1
By the end of August, the gates of Xingyun Prefecture were finally opened.
The gates had to be opened, for after nearly three months of closure, the city’s supplies had been completely exhausted, and now, many people had nothing left to eat.
The plague had been cured by then, and people could go out to make a living.
Daohua originally thought they could leave, but to her surprise, Xiao Yeyang decided to stay for the relief effort.
Governor Guo was in charge of the military affairs of Zhongzhou, Fenxi, and Jiguang provinces. This time, Jiguang suffered from a flood disaster and epidemic, all of which required his coordination.
Now that the epidemic was under control, a large number of disaster victims had yet to be settled.
Governor Guo was now extremely busy, and when Xiao Yeyang visited once, he found that his uncle had lost a lot of weight after not seeing him for two or three months, so he immediately decided to stay and help—that, and he also wanted to train himself.
Dong Yuanxuan and Yan Wenxiu thought about it for a night and also decided to stay.
“Originally, we came to Jiguang for disaster relief and training, but we didn’t expect to contract the plague before we could do anything meaningful. Now that we are well, we should do something worthwhile; otherwise, our trip would have truly been in vain.”
Hearing this, Daohua and Dong Yuanyao exchanged a glance.
Daohua looked towards Yan Wenxiu’s brothers: “I came to take you guys home, so whenever you decide to return, that’s when I’ll go back.”
Dong Yuanyao also quickly said to Dong Yuanxuan, “Brother, me too. After all, I will be going back to Zhongzhou with you.”
At this, both Yan Wenxiu and Dong Yuanxuan wore a helpless expression.
In the end, Dong Yuanxuan spoke up, “Then the two of you must stay inside the prefecture city and not wander off. Disaster victims are everywhere outside now, and it would be very dangerous for you two young ladies to go out.”
Daohua quickly nodded in agreement: “Don’t worry, we won’t wander off unless we are following you.”
Dong Yuanyao nodded as well.
In the days that followed, Xiao Yeyang and his group were all sent by Governor Guo to help. Daohua and Dong Yuanyao did not remain idle, either.
Daohua sent Xiaoliu back and brought several ships of grain; Dong Yuanyao also sent a letter back home, and the Dong Family gathered a batch of grain to send over.
The two of them set up a porridge stall at the city gate, providing porridge to the people.
“This breach in the river levee has brought no small calamity to the people!”
“Indeed, I heard countless good fields were submerged in Jiguang and many houses were destroyed.”
Dress as men, Daohua and Dong Yuanyao stood in front of the porridge stall, ladling porridge for people while talking quietly.
“It’s all because of those officials embezzling and being negligent in their duties. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be suffering these hardships!”
A voice laden with strong complaints and dissatisfaction reached the ears of Daohua and Dong Yuanyao; they looked up to see a dark, sturdy young man of about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a short tunic.
Seeing the surrounding people showing signs of agreement, Daohua thought for a moment and said: “You can’t generalize; not all officials are bad. There are many who are upright and honest.”
The young man smirked sarcastically, “You’re too naïve, youngster. Where in this world can one find truly good officials? Even if there are, they are nothing more than people fishing for fame.”
Feeling indignant, Dong Yuanyao put down her ladle and glared at the young man: “What nonsense are you spouting? If there were no good officials in the world, who would have gathered the medicine sent during the outbreak of the epidemic?”
“The porridge you’re drinking now, who got it for you? Who is out there now, going to different places for disaster relief and transporting grain? One must have a conscience; you can’t drink the porridge provided by officials and then speak ill of them.”
The young man was left speechless, and it was a while before he spoke faintly: “This porridge… It was gathered by officials?”
Dong Yuanyao: “Of course, listen well, these two porridge stalls, one is set up by the Provincial Governor from Zhongzhou, the other by the Magistrate from Xingzhou. If you don’t believe it, you can go and ask around.”
Seeing the people around nodding continuously, the young man looked at the fuming Dong Yuanyao, didn’t get his porridge, and just walked away with his head down.
Daohua pulled at Dong Yuanyao: “Why get so angry? That person probably had his home destroyed and just needed to vent his frustration.”
Picking up the ladle, Dong Yuanyao continued serving porridge to the people behind: “I just can’t stand it. I won’t mention your father, but I’ve watched my own father and seen how he serves as an official. He may have some characteristics of an official, but he genuinely works for the welfare of the people.”
Daohua: “…Alright, no more anger!” After speaking, she called over Wang Manman and asked her to take a bowl of porridge to the young man who had just left.
She noticed that the young man was accompanying an elderly gentleman.
Dong Yuanyao glanced over, curled her lips, and said nothing.
Daohua simply smiled without offering any explanation.
She didn’t have the same level of empathy as Dong Yuanyao, and she also understood that the person truly to blame was the officials who caused the river embankment collapse. Her cheap dad and the incident were entirely unrelated, so naturally, she didn’t mind.
In the blink of an eye, September arrived.
On the day of the Double Ninth Festival, Xiao Yeyang, following the orders of Governor Guo, escorted a shipment of grain to the neighboring prefectural city. As he passed through the city gate, he saw Daohua and Dong Yuanyao and asked,
“Would you two like to join me for a trip to the neighboring prefectural city?”
The eyes of Daohua and Dong Yuanyao lit up in unison, “Can we?”
Xiao Yeyang smiled, “Why not? It’s just taking two more people along.”
Daohua quickly said, “Then let’s go. Just wait a moment, I need to give someone a heads-up.”
Before long, the three of them arrived at the dock and boarded the boat.
Daohua stood on the deck, looking at the flooded fields on both banks, sighed, and then asked, “We can return today, right?”
Xiao Yeyang nodded, “Of course, we can return. If all goes well, we should be back by evening.”
An hour later, Xiao Yeyang and his company reached the dock of the neighboring prefectural city.
In response to the recent floods, the Emperor had been enraged, seriously dealing with a batch of officials. Now, the officials in Jiguang were all diligently fulfilling their duties, fearing that any slip-up would lead to accountability.
Consequently, Xiao Yeyang’s handover went very smoothly.
“Little Prince, rest assured, these grains will be put into disaster relief immediately,” said the official.
With an unchanging expression, Xiao Yeyang indifferently replied, “I have delivered every single grain of food. If the disaster situation is not brought under control, that would be an issue for you, Magistrate. In that case, you’ll need to explain it to the Emperor yourself.”
The Magistrate’s body involuntarily shuddered.
At the bow of the ship, watching the stern-faced, unsmiling Xiao Yeyang, Dong Yuanyao tugged at Daohua’s sleeve, “The Little Prince is quite intimidating when he’s not smiling.”
Daohua looked closely and pursed her lips without responding.
It might have been because she was very familiar with Xiao Yeyang, or possibly because she had seen him disguised as a beggar, but either way, she wasn’t very afraid of him.
Soon enough, Xiao Yeyang returned, smiling at the two women, “Alright, my task is done. On the way back, we can sail more leisurely, taking it as a sightseeing trip.”
“Great!”
Daohua and Dong Yuanyao had no objections. They had come out for a leisurely trip in the first place.
Along the way, the three of them stood on the deck, joking and laughing when suddenly they heard cries of alarm from the shore. They leaned out to see that a section of the riverbank had collapsed, and several people were falling into the water.
Xiao Yeyang immediately ordered the boat to stop and called over the servants who could swim to save the people, then prepared to head personally to the stern to oversee the rescue.
Daohua and Dong Yuanyao wanted to follow, but Xiao Yeyang stopped them.
“The stern is narrow and chaotic. Don’t come over; be careful not to fall into the river.”
Daohua quickly said, “Then you should be careful too.”
Xiao Yeyang nodded and then turned to leave.
While Daohua and Dong Yuanyao awaited news, cries for help came from ahead.
Daohua immediately looked and saw that the riverbank in front had also collapsed, sending two elderly people tumbling into the water.
“Quick, save them!”
The people on deck looked around in panic, and then someone said, “Miss Yan, all the swimmers have gone to the back to save others, and we don’t know how to swim.”
Daohua was startled, quickly turning her eyes to the two elderly people being swept toward them in the river.