Chapter Fifty-Nine: Distributing Relief Grain

Guli gazed at those eyes filled with a desperate will to live, at those emaciated hands reaching out in hunger… So many children lay limp in their mothers’ arms, barely clinging to life, and even nursing infants had already grown stiff, lifeless, for want of milk.

Guli could not guess what her elder brother, the Crown Prince, felt as he witnessed such misery—she only knew that she herself was deeply shaken.

At last, she understood why her brother had been so adamant about reclaiming those three thousand dan of grain from the bandits. Nothing was more important than the people.

They had concealed their identities throughout the journey, only daring to reveal themselves upon entering Li Huai County—had it not all been for this very moment?

To deliver these ten thousand dan of grain safely into the hands of the people was the only way to face the commoners who knelt in gratitude along the roadside, and the only way to live up to the hopes their father, the Emperor, placed in them from afar in the capital.

These people were her father’s subjects, her brother’s subjects—were they not hers as well?

The convoy stopped at the entrance to the county yamen. Magistrate Chen was already waiting there, and upon seeing the Crown Prince and Princess, he immediately led his officials and servants to kneel and pay their respects.

The Crown Prince waved his hand and pointed to the carts laden with grain behind him. “There is still daylight left. Quickly, have men carry the grain inside. Set people to husking the rice at once. Then establish relief stations throughout the city and organize the distribution.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Magistrate Chen had not expected the Crown Prince to begin issuing orders without so much as a sip of water upon arrival, but he understood well that the needs of the people came before all else. He immediately dispatched men to help the soldiers unload the grain.

“Guli, Miss Yu, you must be tired from the journey. Go and rest now,” the Crown Prince said.

Before he had finished speaking, Guli shook her head at once. “No, I want to help, together with you, Brother.”

Seeing how thin her face had grown, the Crown Prince’s heart ached. When they returned to the palace, he could only imagine the reproach they would face from their father and mother.

“Don’t be willful. Go and rest in your room,” he ordered.

Guli stood her ground, her gaze resolute. “I won’t. I want to help. I am a princess of this nation—how could I stand aside while the people suffer?”

“Your Highness, perhaps you should let the Princess assist,” suggested Lie Chang’an, seeing the Crown Prince’s stern look. He knew it was only concern for his sister’s well-being. “In my humble opinion, the Princess is not one to shy from hardship. She truly wishes to serve the people of Li Huai County.”

What else could the Crown Prince say? He knew his sister well; she had always placed the nation above herself, and could distinguish what mattered most. He could only nod in agreement.

The task of providing relief was enormous. Some soldiers were set to husk rice within the yamen, while others established relief stations at intervals throughout the city, distributing rice according to the official household registers.

For the homeless, orphans, and vagrants, a porridge station was set up in the eastern part of the city, where free hot porridge would be served daily.

Since it was a daunting task to husk all ten thousand dan of rice in a short time, most soldiers and constables were assigned to this work, while others maintained order at the various relief stations.

Meanwhile, Jasmine and two maids joined the yamen servants in the kitchen, preparing porridge so that the homeless and destitute could always have a hot meal.

As for Guli, the Crown Prince arranged for her and Lie Chang’an to oversee the porridge station in the east, while he himself and Yu Yang managed rice distribution at one of the relief points.