Relief

"It smells so good..."

Cuiqin stayed up until midnight and dozed off for a while, but was woken up by the fragrant smell outside.

Xiruo went out to take a look and came back to tell Cuiqin, "They're setting up a shed outside to cook rice porridge."

It has a very strong rice aroma.

Cuiqin walked to Lin Yunwan's side and asked, "Your Princess Consort, did you ask Lord Xu to order someone to make this?"

Lin Yunwan couldn't sleep either.

She pulled the blanket off her body, covering only her chest and below, and said, "The disaster victims outside have been waiting for so long; once they smell the aroma of rice, they certainly won't care about rushing through the city gates."

Cuiqin, who had also experienced hunger, said, "Then we can go out and distribute porridge to them, which will help stabilize their situation."

Lin Yunwan nodded.

Xiruo said to Cuiqin, "There's no time to build shelters now. The Princess Consort has also arranged for people to go out and collect houses from residents outside the city to build shelters."

Hearing this, Cuiqin finally felt relieved. She happily said, "Now that they have shelter from the rain, they won't cause trouble, and the Prince should be back soon..."

Lin Yunwan held the hot tea.

If everything goes smoothly, Jiangqian will be fine once Qi Lingheng returns to take charge.

Not long after, a watchman's drum sounded outside.

Xiruo's eyes brightened. "It's past the Zi hour, and the rain seems to have lessened a lot."

Lin Yunwan stood up and said, "Let's go out and take a look."

Cuiqin also wanted to go out, so she quickly got Lin Yunwan a raincoat and an oil-paper umbrella.

Master and servant went up to the city wall together.

The road was slippery due to the rain, and several burly female servants followed behind to help watch over Lin Yunwan.

"Your Princess Consort, look!"

"The rice porridge was sent out cart by cart, and the disaster victims dispersed, leaving only the scholars of the Green Gull Academy."

The area below was brightly lit by torches, and people were bustling about everywhere.

Lin Yunwan looked at the area covered with straw raincoats; the scholars were still unwilling to leave the books they were guarding.

Xu Tianyou rode over with a group of men and said sternly to the scholars, "Go and eat the porridge! We will move it into the city, but you are not allowed to go inside."

Everyone at the Green Gull Academy breathed a sigh of relief.

But one of the scholars rushed out and said, "Why should we trust you! You've kept us locked up outside for so long! I don't believe you can keep our books safe!"

Xu Tianyou picked up his gun.

But instead of pointing at the reckless scholar, he clenched his fist tightly, suppressing his anger, and shouted, "You're the only ones getting soaked? My brothers and I have been getting soaked for days!"

"If it weren't for... orders from above... I wouldn't have needed to come here in the rain to lie to you!"

The students of the Green Gull Academy began to waver.

A scholar, soaking wet, came out and asked, "May I ask, sir, whose orders were given?"

"Xia Jin, don't talk to him so much! Who knows if he's lying to us!"

Xia Jin turned to his classmates and said, "If he really wanted to lie to us, there was no need for him to go through all this trouble to move this much."

"Look over there, everyone. The soup kitchen has been set up. We are people who have studied the classics. Now that we have preserved the classics, we should become sages ourselves, not waste time here."

What he said made a lot of sense, and it immediately inspired the others.

"Yes, if anyone still has the energy, why don't you go and help distribute the porridge?"

"There seems to be enough porridge, but we still don't have enough manpower. The elderly, children, and women are all still hungry!"

Xu Tianyou looked at Xia Jin, and his grip on the gun loosened slightly.

Not all of these scholars were fools.

Xia Jin said loudly, "Let them have the books! Let's do what we can."

"If there's really something wrong with the book, we can deal with it then."

Someone recognized Xu Tianyou and said, "I know him! He's the Legitimate Son of the Jiangqian Guard Commander, Xu Tianyou. If our books are all destroyed, we'll go find him later!"

"In that case... let's go!"

The scholars gradually dispersed, and the few who were still unconvinced were no match for them.

Xia Jin hadn't left yet. He bowed to Xu Tianyou and said, "Thank you."

Xu Tianyou said, "I should be thanking you. Which family in Jiangqian do you come from?"

Xia Jin said, "My surname is Xia, and I am from Yu Region. My whole family is currently in the Capital, but I have come to Jiangqian alone to study."

Xu Tianyou clasped his hands in a fist salute to him and said, "Mr. Xia, please leave these books to us. Why don't you go and get something to eat?"

Xia Jin nodded, but finally couldn't help asking, "May I ask, sir, which official ordered you to escort the books into the city?"

The horse sneezed loudly; it was too cold.

Xu Tianyou didn't want to say anything, but when he glanced at the city wall, he saw that his wife had indeed accompanied the Princess Consort to see the situation below.

He said calmly, "Prince Huan Consort."

Xu Tianyou and his brothers said, "Get to work and move them! Be careful not to drop the books in the water. These books are too damp. We'll lay them down on a layer of dry straw when we get to the city."

Xia Jin was still shocked.

"Prince Huan Consort?"

She wasn't an official, nor was she a member of a prominent family; she was the Princess Consort of Prince Huan Consort!

He followed Xu Tianyou and looked up at the city wall. The firelight illuminated a woman, and even without getting close, one could tell that she was exceptionally beautiful.

"Princess Consort..."

"She must be Princess Consort who reads and loves books."

Xia Jin suddenly remembered the deceased Di Daughter the Lin clan.

He also thought of the Di Daughter of the prominent Lin clan in Jiangqian prominent families. Ever since he had met her by chance at Ci'en Temple, he had never had the chance to see her again. Later, he heard that the Di Daughter of the Lin clan had married Prince Huan.

Prince Huan was once a student of Grand Tutor Lin.

"Could it be...?"

Xia Jin choked up. Could it be such a coincidence?!

He looked up at the woman and actually smiled.

"If it really is her, and she's not dead... wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Xia Jin walked over to his classmates, hungry himself, and helped distribute the porridge.

They were starving, they swallowed hard, but they still had smiles on their faces.

"The Lin family's soup kitchen, the Prince Huan's Residence's soup kitchen, the Lu family's soup kitchen, and the Zhang family, the Xu family Chen family..."

The disaster victims and scholars remembered the families who distributed porridge very clearly.

City officials were also taking notes.

These will all become their political achievements and the glory of these porridge-giving clans.

Lin Yunwan also has a copy.

She frowned and asked, "No Su Family?"

How could that be? She had already spoken to the Su Family, and given Master Su's righteous and kind nature, he would never stand idly by.

Xiruo said, "I'll go and inquire about it."

She asked Xu Tianyou, after moving the books, was stationed at the city gate, in charge of the rice porridge carts, horses, and people coming and going.

He flipped through the booklet and said, "The Su Family's porridge cart went out with the Lin Residence's, and there were only two people in it."

Xiruo relayed her words to Lin Yunwan.

Lin Yunwan shook her head and said, "It must have been the Lin Residence who offered to take on this responsibility, putting it on the shoulders of both families. But when it came time to distribute the porridge, they only mentioned the Lin family and not the Su Family. The Su Family only sent two people; what good could they do? They just watched helplessly."

Xiruo pointed out incisively, "This money actually came from the debt they owed the Su Family."

Lin Yunwan said, "First, put the Su Family's sign next to the tent at Prince Huan's Residence, then find someone to invite Master Su and his son over."

Xiruo sighed, "Master Su has suffered greatly while in the hands of the Lin family."

Lin Yunwan couldn't just stand by and watch, but she also couldn't offer advice every time; it was up to Master Su himself to be wary.