Feng Yunshu nodded. "I see..."
There were many peddlers shouting on the street. "Freshly baked meat buns! Thin skin and juicy filling, still steaming hot!"
"Wontons! Fragrant and delicious wontons! Would you like a bowl, sir?"
Feng Yunshu watched the bustling scene on the long street and felt an indescribable sense of contentment. This kind of life must be the peaceful days that everyone longed for.
"Your Highness, I can see that the people in the capital are truly living in peace and happiness," she said to He Lanyan Ting.
Hearing this, He Lanyan Ting's expression changed slightly. "My lady, do you know that many things are not as simple as they seem on the surface? Perhaps what you see is just the tip of the iceberg."
"Hmm? What do you mean, Your Highness?" Feng Yunshu was a bit confused.
He Lanyan Ting took her hand and walked a few steps forward before turning into an alley. After turning left and right several times, Feng Yunshu noticed that there was no one around and became even more puzzled.
"Your Highness, where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll know later," He Lanyan Ting replied.
Feng Yunshu followed He Lanyan Ting with a belly full of doubts. Finally, he stopped.
"Kind sir, miss! Please give us some alms! My two children haven't eaten or drunk anything for several days. They're starving to death..."
"Please have mercy on us!"
Just now, they were still on the bustling long street. Suddenly, they heard these endless wails and pleas for alms. The contrast between the two was extremely strong, which made people feel shocked, as if they had suddenly fallen from heaven to hell.
Feng Yunshu saw that the alley was full of ragged and emaciated people. Some women were so thin that they were just skin and bones, but they still tried hard to feed the babies in their arms.
This scene was like countless needles piercing into Feng Yunshu's heart, making her feel extremely painful.
"Your Highness, this..." Feng Yunshu frowned involuntarily and bit her lower lip tightly. She turned to look at Ziyuan. "Ziyuan, how much silver did you bring? Take it all out and distribute it to these people..."
Ziyuan nodded and was about to take out her purse when He Lanyan Ting stopped her. "Don't do that."
Ziyuan stopped her action and looked at Feng Yunshu hesitantly. "Miss, this..."
Feng Yunshu looked at He Lanyan Ting in confusion. "Your Highness, what do you mean? Why don't you let Ziyuan..."
He Lanyan Ting looked at Feng Yunshu with deep eyes. "My lady, you can relieve them for a while, but how can you relieve them for a lifetime?"
Feng Yunshu was stunned for a moment. He Lanyan Ting glanced at Yan Qi beside him. Yan Qi immediately stepped forward and looked at Feng Yunshu.
"Reporting to the princess, the prince doesn't mean to stop you from doing good deeds. In fact, the prince also sent me here to do good deeds before. But unexpectedly, in order to get more food and silver, these people even fought with each other and even killed the old and weak women who were powerless..."
Feng Yunshu felt a chill running down her back and her head was buzzing.
Before she could react, He Lanyan Ting took her hand and walked to her side, blocking her sight when she turned to look.
"Your Highness, but..." Feng Yunshu wanted to say something else, but He Lanyan Ting ordered Yan Qi beside him. "Since today is the Mid - Autumn Festival, each person should get a mooncake."
Yan Qi quickly understood what He Lanyan Ting meant. He nodded and walked towards the long street to buy mooncakes. In a short while, two waiters came over with trays full of mooncakes.
Feng Yunshu didn't look anymore. She silently tightened He Lanyan Ting's hand and quickened her pace to leave the alley.
He Lanyan Ting turned to look at her. His eyes flickered slightly and he reached out to pat her on the back. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have let you see these things."
Hearing this, Feng Yunshu quickly shook her head. "No, it's not. Your Highness, I don't blame you. I'm just a bit... a bit heart - broken."
At this point, Feng Yunshu couldn't help sighing. "Your Highness, why are there so many hungry and cold victims in the imperial city?"
"The current emperor is too busy to care about the people's living pressure. In order to recruit troops and prepare more troops and supplies, he has greatly increased the tax and forcibly taken away many young and strong men to fight on the battlefield."
"Many local people suffered from natural disasters. Coupled with the high tax, they really couldn't make a living. So they begged all the way to the imperial city, thinking that the imperial city should be able to relieve them a little. But the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Feng's faction sent troops to beat these refugees and drive them into this alley. They are not allowed to leave this place for half a step, otherwise they will be beaten to death on the spot."
"What? There's actually such a thing?!" Feng Yunshu was extremely angry after hearing this. "So many victims are treated so roughly. Doesn't the emperor know anything about it? How can he just ignore it?"
"Do you think the emperor doesn't know?" He Lanyan Ting's face darkened slightly. "If the emperor didn't acquiesce, do you think Prime Minister Feng and the Crown Prince would have the guts to do such things in the imperial city?"
"Is the emperor crazy?!" Feng Yunshu was greatly shocked. "As an emperor, doesn't he know the simplest and most basic principle of governing the country that the people are the most important, the state is second, and the ruler is the least important? If things go on like this, the whole Dan Kingdom will surely be destroyed by him, and in the end, it will still be these ordinary people who will suffer!"
He Lanyan Ting looked at Feng Yunshu in surprise. "My lady, you actually know these imperial strategies? Your skills really surprise me. Were all the immortals in the past as versatile as you?"
Feng Yunshu blushed at his words. Xiaoling, who was beside her, couldn't help but look at her master silently after hearing what the prince said, and then sneezed very loudly.
"Master, you've found a really good husband. As the saying goes, love is blind. I didn't expect that in Prince He Lan's eyes, you are omnipotent!"
"Xiaoling! You're actually laughing at me! Well, you've really got a big nerve!"
"No, no. Master, you heard wrong. I was just saying that the weather is nice today. Master, I'm hungry... I want to eat big drumsticks!"
"Eat, eat, eat. With your performance today, no drumsticks for you... Only mooncakes with five - kernel filling for you!"
"Wuwuwu... No, master. Xiaoling doesn't like mooncakes with five - kernel filling... It's too hard to chew!"
"My lady?" Seeing that Feng Yunshu didn't respond for a long time, He Lanyan Ting couldn't help but remind her.
Feng Yunshu came back to her senses and looked at He Lan with an embarrassed smile. "Your Highness, you're overpraising me... To be honest, only you think I'm versatile. In fact, what I know is far less than that of my senior and junior brothers, let alone one - ten - thousandth of my master's knowledge."
"Oh? It sounds like your former master was very powerful?" He Lanyan Ting asked.
Feng Yunshu nodded. "Yes, very, very powerful!"
After the group returned to the long street, since there were more pedestrians on the long street at this time, He Lanyan Ting didn't let go of Feng Yunshu's hand. Soon, they became the most eye - catching couple in the crowd, and the rate of people turning to look at them was almost off the charts.
"Hey, look! Who are this couple? The man is handsome and the woman is beautiful. They're simply amazing!"
"Judging from their luxurious clothes and decorations, their identities must be either rich or noble. Maybe they're some royal relatives or high - ranking officials..."