Lin Ruoyan was taken back to her room by the maids for washing.
Lin Ze walked to Lin Yanxi's side and sighed, "Talk to your sister properly later. Your mother just passed away, and you're not often at home. She relies on the Crown Prince and got lost in her obsession, unable to wake up."
Lin Yanxi looked at the mess on the ground and then glanced at Madam Xu, who was standing at the entrance of the courtyard, peering in.
Madam Xu felt a shiver run down her spine under her gaze. She had witnessed this little girl's capabilities and quickly took a few steps forward, saying, "It has nothing to do with me. I never deprived them of food or anything they needed."
Lin Yanxi smiled as she saw Madam Xu's anxious explanation, as if afraid of getting into trouble.
Seeing her smile, Madam Xu was even more uncertain of her intentions and also offered a nervous smile.
Lin Ze said, "You and Shibai should go back first. I have something to discuss with Zhaozhao alone."
Lin Shibai, standing at the courtyard entrance, was about to turn to leave when Lin Yanxi called out to him and asked, "Eldest Brother, how is Tangchao... is she alright?"
She hadn't seen Tangchao since her return.
Lin Shibai paused for a moment and replied, "Yinyin has been pregnant recently. Tangchao's words displeased her just now, and she's been punished to kneel. If you want to see her, I can send someone to ask her to come over for a chat."
Lin Yanxi said, "No need. Just treat her well."
It was a pity that there was no longer any past to reminisce between them.
Zhao Yinyin had a bad temper, and it would be a hardship to live under her. This was Tangchao's chosen path, and she had to bear the consequences.
Lin Shibai vaguely agreed and quickly left.
Only father and daughter remained in the courtyard. Lin Yanxi turned to Lin Ze and said, "Don't worry, I'll persuade her properly."
She calmly observed Lin Ze's expression for a while and then asked, "Father, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Lin Ze's tired eyes revealed nothing of his thoughts. After a long pause, he shook his head and said, "No."
Lin Yanxi thought he would also plead for the Crown Prince, especially since his father had a teacher-student relationship with the Crown Prince. But her father said nothing.
This was for the best; it seemed her father had come to terms with it.
In a short while, Lin Ruoyan had finished washing up and changed into a new skirt. Her hair was styled in a double loop bun, making her look delicate and playful, though the young girl's face was still clouded with unhappiness.
Lin Yanxi didn't mind and took her in a sedan chair towards the outskirts of the city.
"Elder Sister," Lin Ruoyan said in the carriage, struggling with how to plead for the Crown Prince again.
Lin Yanxi slightly lifted her eyelids, glanced at her, and then looked away towards the window, saying, "Don't be in a hurry to speak yet."
Ruoyan swallowed the words she had intended to say.
As the carriage traveled outside the city, Lin Yanxi said, "Stop for a moment."
Her slender fingers lifted the carriage curtain and pointed towards a messy collection of sheds, signaling Ruoyan to look that way.
More than half of the sheds were empty, filled with a chaotic, dilapidated scene. Old people and children sat on the ground, their eyes dull and lifeless, devoid of hope.
"Why are we coming here? It's so dirty." Lin Ruoyan followed her elder sister out of the carriage.
The officials saw Lin Yanxi arrive and immediately bowed, saying, "Greetings, Second Miss."
Lin Yanxi asked, "What is the situation now?"
A soldier replied, "Reporting to Second Miss, after the heavy rain, most people have returned home. There are still some orphans and sick individuals remaining. Currently, everyone in the sheds receives one bowl of thin porridge daily to barely survive."
There were about a hundred people left in the sheds, many of whom were seriously ill.
A woman who had collapsed on the ground and coughed for a long time, as if on her last breath, had two children sitting beside her.
When she saw Lin Ruoyan approach, she used all her strength to grab her skirt hem.
Lin Ruoyan screamed in fright, "Ah!"
"What, what are you doing?"
She looked down and saw the two children beside the sickly woman, and her tone softened slightly.
The woman was as thin as a skeleton, using all her strength just to breathe. She frowned, struggled to get up from the ground, and knelt unsteadily, saying, "I... I'm at my end."
"This young lady looks kind, and is dressed like a noblewoman."
Her voice was hoarse, as if squeezed from her throat, weak and intermittent, making it uncomfortable to listen to.
"I beg the noble lady." Her words trailed off, and with tears in her eyes, she looked at the two children, "I beg the noble lady to take these two children. This one... the elder one is nine years old and can already work."
"The younger one, the younger one can also... in a couple of years."
The elder child sobbed and clung to her mother, "I'm not leaving, Mother. I'll stay with you and take care of you."
Tears streamed down the woman's deeply sunken eyes. She pushed the child away and said, "I beg the noble lady to take these two children. Just provide them with a daily meal and a cotton-padded coat in the cold winter."
This was Lin Ruoyan's first time witnessing such a situation. She had lived a life of sunshine, like a small flower, and had never known that in the shadows, there were such people, whose eyes held no light yet were full of a yearning for life.
She no longer minded the woman's barely-covered, soiled clothes. She helped the woman sit on the ground and asked, "Do you know what illness you have?"
The woman shook her head, too weak to speak.
She looked at the two children and said, "Then, I'll find a doctor in the capital to see you first. If... I'll take care of these two children for you."
The elder child blinked her round eyes and said with a choked voice, "Thank you, Sister."
Lin Ruoyan's heart was filled with mixed emotions, but she managed a forced smile for the child.
"Miss, please help me too."
"And my child."
"Sister, please save my father."
Everyone in the sheds crowded around Lin Ruoyan, recounting their hardships.
An elderly man, who looked a bit older, said, "The river in our village has been dry for over half a year. The only well in town is controlled by officials, and a bucket of water is sold for two taels of silver."
He held up two cracked fingers and gestured repeatedly. Tears welled up in his weather-beaten eyes. "We farmers, we treat our land as we treat our parents. After paying taxes and transportation fees from a year's harvest, we don't even earn five taels of silver a year. And this small bucket of water is sold for two taels."
"The villagers were so thirsty that they went mad. They even... they even started drinking the blood of the dead."
"Later, I led a whole village of people to leave. We went everywhere to report the prefects for occupying the well and charging money, but it was the same everywhere; officials protected each other."
"I originally promised them that I would bring them back after the drought. But the whole village that came out with me is gone, and I'm the only one left. I can't take them back, alas, I can't take them back..."
After speaking, he slumped to the ground dejectedly, covering his face with his hands, and wept uncontrollably.
When the refugees saw him cry, they also silently lowered their heads and wiped away their tears.
---
"Your Highness, the secondary consort has brought the Third Miss to the refugee camp," Xiao Liu reported.
Shen Muzhou happened to be at the refugee camp that day to count the remaining people and disperse the refugees.
He stood among a group of officials, his posture tall and his appearance outstanding, making his demeanor exceptionally unique.
"Your Highness, I will handle this matter first." Two ministers knelt before him, awaiting his instructions.
Shen Muzhou looked indifferently at the two kneeling men before him, his expression unreadable. Perhaps it was his cold and arrogant demeanor that made people tremble; the two kneeling on the ground dared not meet his gaze.
These two had originally supported the Crown Prince. Since Shen Qingyun was imprisoned, they had approached Shen Muzhou to pledge allegiance two or three times, but Shen Muzhou had never responded.
It was impossible to fathom what he was thinking.
After a long while, their knees began to ache, and their hands, held at chest level, trembled slightly.
It wasn't until Xiao Liu mentioned that Lin Yanxi had arrived that Shen Muzhou's gaze softened slightly. "Mmm."
"Gentlemen, you may rise. Proceed as you suggested."
Since they were willing to pledge allegiance voluntarily, Shen Muzhou was willing to give them an opportunity to demonstrate their sincerity.
"That will be all for now. I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave."
The two ministers rose from the ground and exchanged glances. One of them said, "I heard a few days ago that Your Highness stormed into Yaohua Palace to save someone, even drawing your sword against the Empress. It was that beautiful secondary consort."
Another minister's interest was piqued, and he whispered, "Was it that Second Miss from the Grand Tutor's mansion who prayed for rain?"
"Of course, it was her."
"Tsk, no wonder the usually cold and cruel Prince, who disdained women, would be so attentive to her. The secondary consorts in the Prince's mansion are more than just beautiful; they are like celestial beings."
The two exchanged knowing smiles and fell silent.
By the time Shen Muzhou reached the refugee camp, Lin Yanxi had already led Ruoyan towards the granary nearby.
Two guards stood outside the room. Inside the simple room were only Lin Yanxi and Lin Ruoyan, with piles of grain and straw mats. The continuous rain had filled the room with a musty odor.
Lin Yanxi sent the guards away and had her own attendants guard the entrance.
"Ruoyan, you see, natural disasters are unavoidable, but they are not terrifying. What is terrifying is the human heart," Lin Yanxi said.
Lin Ruoyan covered her nose with a handkerchief, disgusted by the foul smell in the room. Hearing Lin Yanxi's words, she asked, "Do you mean that the Crown Prince did all these things?"
"Otherwise? My foolish sister, don't you think, no matter how much I dislike the Crown Prince, I am merely the legitimate daughter of the Grand Tutor's mansion? If he hadn't done those things, if there wasn't such overwhelming evidence, why would His Majesty not have ordered his release after being imprisoned for so many days?"
"And do you think a Crown Prince can be arrested just like that?"
Shen Muzhou asked Xiao Liu to stay and help at the refugee camp, while he went to the granary. The attendant at the door saw Shen Muzhou approaching and wanted to bow, but Shen Muzhou waved his hand, signaling him to dispense with formalities.
He held a small jade rabbit carving, which he had seen on the street that morning and thought it resembled Lin Yanxi, so he bought it as a surprise for her.
As he reached the door of the granary, he heard people inside seemingly discussing him. He hesitated and stopped.
Lin Ruoyan said, "Elder Sister, Mother is gone, and Father is busy with who knows what every day. Elder Sister is also going to marry into the Prince's mansion and spends all her time with Shen Muzhou. I'm all alone, with no one to care for me or pay attention to me. Only the Crown Prince comes to talk to me every day."
Lin Yanxi said, "Who says you are all alone? I will not stay in the Prince's mansion. After I avenge Mother, I will take you, Father, and everyone in the Grand Tutor's mansion, and leave the capital forever, never to return."
Shen Muzhou heard every word from outside the door. His hands hung by his sides, his grip tightening on the small jade rabbit, his heart sinking as if into an abyss.
She wanted to leave?
And leave the capital forever, never to return...