amaotonovel Chapter 467 Sadness
Chapter 467 Sadness
Chapter 467
Then he turned and entered the tea stall, and soon he was walking towards the carriage carrying a bulging bag of things.
Seeing this, Ye Yi immediately dismounted and prepared to help. The shopkeeper smiled and waved his hand. Although he was quite old, his back was still straight, and he carried the rice bag with steady steps, showing no sign of any effort. "No problem, it's just a bag of old rice. I can still carry it!"
Ye Yi's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He turned to look at Luo Shuiyao, who was walking slowly towards him. He already had some guesses in his mind. He slowly withdrew his hand and said to the shopkeeper with a smile, "In that case, thank you for your hard work, shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper placed the rice bag firmly on the side of the cart and said, "It's okay!"
After saying this, he nodded to everyone and said, "My old tea stall is unattended, so I will go back now."
When he turned around and passed Luo Shuiyao, he bowed slightly and then slowly walked back to the tea stall.
Ye Yunzhou watched this scene quietly without saying a word. When Luo Shuiyao approached, he reached out to support her and helped her get on the carriage.
As the wheels started rolling again, the carriage fell silent. Luo Shuiyao saw him leaning against the window, his eyes deep, wondering what he was thinking about. His mind was racing, and she guessed a few things.
"How many days will it take for you to deliver this letter to the capital?" She was the first to break the silence.
Ye Yunzhou came back to his senses and said in a deep voice, "It will take more than three days."
Luo Shuiyao nodded and asked, "If so, will His Majesty take it seriously?"
"Of course it will."
Ye Yunzhou was very confident, "Your Majesty, although he has grown old and occasionally confused in recent years, he will not ignore the people."
Luo Shuiyao frowned and asked, "Then, in your opinion, what will His Majesty do? Besides, this trip back and forth could take at least half a month, at most a month. By the time he sends someone, will these refugees still be alive?"
"Besides, if we delay too long, the corrupt officials will have a lot more time to run around! Wouldn't that be too easy for them?"
The more she spoke, the more anxious her tone became. Her fingertips unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt. Her eyes showed both concern for the plight of the refugees and disgust for the corrupt people.
Seeing this, Ye Yunzhou reached out and gently took her into his arms to comfort her: "That being said, but aren't we here yet?"
"What do you mean?" Luo Shuiyao straightened up, not caring about being angry for the moment, and looked at him with confusion.
Ye Yunzhou didn't keep her in suspense. He lowered his eyes and looked at her, his gaze as firm as a torch: "If we had never met, perhaps we could only let them suffer. But now that we have met——"
He paused, a fierce look flashing in his eyes, "How could those corrupt officials have such a good ending?"
Seeing that Luo Shuiyao was still confused, he gently straightened her up and patiently explained, "Although I am in charge of the Hidden Dragon Division and usually work for Your Majesty, I am not completely unable to intervene in this matter. I will send this letter to the capital immediately, but I can also arrange for the resettlement of these refugees. As for those corrupt officials..."
He clenched his fists and said in a cold and hard tone, "I can just act first and ask for permission later!"
Luo Shuiyao couldn't help but open her mouth slightly in surprise. She had long heard that the Hidden Dragon Division was the sharpest blade in Emperor Yuanyuan's hands, specializing in handling secret tasks that others were not allowed to meddle in. But she had never imagined that matters such as supervising officials and providing disaster relief and ensuring the safety of the people were also within the scope of the Hidden Dragon Division's purview.
She looked at the emotions surging in Ye Yunzhou's eyes, her heartbeat unconsciously accelerated, and her eyes gradually became filled with admiration.
Ye Yunzhou's original intention was simply to soothe her anxious heart, but he unexpectedly caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar look in her eyes. Luo Shuiyao usually carried a distant and indifferent demeanor, but now, as she looked up at him, her eyes were startlingly bright. Even though he never prided himself on his power, being looked at like that made him feel a secret sense of pleasure, and even his tone softened unconsciously: "Don't worry, I'm here."
Luo Shuiyao regained consciousness and nodded heavily, "Then when we meet the refugees, we must carefully question them to find out who is so bold."
Ye Yunzhou responded softly, his palm unconsciously rubbing the black iron token in his sleeve. It was the exclusive token of the Hidden Dragon Sidusi. At this moment, the cold touch came from his fingertips, and the raised dragon pattern on it made his fingertips hurt slightly.
The teahouse and the refugees' shelter were only four or five miles apart. The carriage rolled over the bumpy official road, its wheels kicking up clouds of dust that swirled in the air.
As the sporadic noises grew clearer, Luo Shuiyao lifted half of the carriage curtain and saw from afar a dense crowd of figures lining the road ahead. At first, they were just blurry outlines, but as the carriage slowly approached, details gradually emerged.
…………
The men's tattered shirts fluttered in the wind like tattered flags. Several blackened iron pots, placed on rocks, emitted thick, acrid smoke, filling the air with a bitter odor.
There were still intermittent cries of children, but as the clatter of hooves and wheels approached, the cries suddenly ceased. Suddenly, an eerie silence fell. Almost simultaneously, the refugees turned their heads, their gazes fixed on the carriage, wary and uneasy, like frightened birds.
Ye Yi pulled the reins and dismounted from the horse almost at the same time as Chun Xing.
As the carriage came to a steady stop, Ye Yunzhou was the first to open the curtain. His moon-white robe concealed his former sharpness, and he looked like a young man from a wealthy family. He stepped over the shaft, reached out, half supporting, half hugging Luo Shuiyao, and steadily took her down from the carriage.
Across from them, the children, who had been crying non-stop, stopped crying at the sight of a stranger, and their eyes widened with curiosity. Perhaps because they were still young and inexperienced, there was no fear in their eyes, only ignorance and innocence.
But they were incredibly thin, their ragged clothes bagging their bodies and making them look even thinner. Their heads were unusually large, their cheeks sunken, and their skin sallow. Looking at them made one's eyes sore, and one's heart filled with bitterness and pity.
Seeing the carriage stop, the refugees' eyes grew even more wary. Almost subconsciously, young and older men stepped forward, firmly protecting the women and children behind them. But they were too thin, their bony frames unable to support the loose fabric. Even with their backs taut and their intimidating posture, their withered arms and sunken cheeks betrayed their weakness.
Even Ye Yunzhou and Ye Yi, accustomed to the suffering of the world, felt a pang of sadness at the sight. On one side stood a group of people dressed in plain clothes yet possessing a distinguished demeanor, while on the other were emaciated refugees in tattered clothing. The two groups faced each other on the official road, the atmosphere as stagnant as ice.
In the crowd, an old man, gaunt and emaciated, leaning on a wooden stick with a hunched back, took two shaky steps forward. The young man beside him hurriedly reached out to stop him, but he gently waved him away: "It's okay."
The old man's voice was filled with unquestionable stubbornness. His cloudy eyes swept over the Luo Shuiyao people, finally landing on Ye Yunzhou. He tried to straighten his hunched back and said, "Sir, do you have any advice for me?"
Before he could finish his words, he began to breathe heavily, and a sound like a bellows came from his throat. The dignity he had just maintained was instantly shattered into pieces.