Su Garden.
The inner courtyard's reception hall.
After Wei He invited Che Zhenzhong to sit down, Su Chan hurried to serve them tea.
Su Chan was now Su Garden's steward, overseeing its servants and maids. She alone was allowed into this inner courtyard.
Che Zhenzhong glanced at Su Chan, then quickly lowered his head, not daring to look any longer.
He raised his cup and took a sip, gathered his thoughts, and slowly said, "Over a month ago, I went to Sishui Prefecture with the agency's wagons, then asked a friend in the Sishui Commerce Alliance to help make inquiries-
"Heaven rewards those who persevere. After asking around through various channels, we finally found news of your father and mother-
"They're both in Sishui Prefecture, but in different places. Your mother was assigned to palace construction, while your father went with another group to dig a canal at the source of the Si River-"
Hearing that his parents were safe for now,
Wei Sheng let out a soft breath.
Then his brow furrowed again.
Although they had reached Sishui Prefecture safely, their present circumstances were hardly any better.
Especially his mother-
A woman, exposed to wind and sun, and forced to do backbreaking work hauling bricks and stones to build a palace-how could she possibly endure it?!
"My father asked a friend to approach the junior officer overseeing Black Mountain City's corvée laborers. He'll try to assign your mother lighter work-"
Seeming to notice Wei Sheng's worry, Che Zhenzhong offered these words of comfort.
Of course, he also knew that this supposedly lighter work was still only a cup of water against a cartload of burning firewood in the face of such heavy corvée labor.
But the Shunyuan Escort Agency's influence was limited. This was all it could do.
"Brother