ABBLEIP Chapter83

The clear and pleasant sound of birds outside the window awakened the sleeping person.

 

The fingertips on the bed moved, and Shen Qingzhuo slowly opened his eyes, his expression blank for a moment.

 

He had a good sleep last night because a familiar scent was always around him.

 

The sound of gurgling water rang in his ears, and hot and sticky memories came back to his mind. Shen Qingzhuo suddenly sat up and covered half of his face with his hand.

 

Help, why would he have such a shameful dream?

 

Is it because he has been holding back for too long…

 

Just as Lord Shen was reflecting on himself, there was a knock on the door.

 

He thought it was Xiang Chen, so he replied, “Come in.”

 

With a “creak”, a tall and strong figure appeared in front of the curtain. “Master, you are awake.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo was startled and subconsciously rubbed his eye sockets with the back of his hand.

 

What’s going on? Is he still dreaming and hasn’t woken up yet?

 

His master was wearing a snow-white undergarment, with cloud-like black hair draped behind his shoulders. He sat on the bed, rubbing his eyes in a daze. His charming and lovely appearance made Xiao Shen’s heart swell with sadness and numbness and was filled with tender love.

 

He quickly walked to the bed, wrapped his master’s hand in his palm, and smiled softly, “It’s me, Master is not dreaming.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo blinked his eyelashes and suddenly came back to his senses. “Why are you here?”

 

Xiao Shen gently rubbed the back of his cold, jade-like hand with his fingertips and replied seriously, “I came here on horseback.”

 

“You—” Shen Qingzhuo frowned, “Don’t interrupt, you know that’s not what I’m asking!”

 

“General Li has been unable to defeat the rebels, and I also received Master’s memorial. I feel that the situation in Suzhou is worse than expected, so I decided to come here in person.” Xiao Shen replied solemnly, “Don’t worry, Master. The Empress Dowager has been placed under house arrest in Changshou Palace. Lord Pei and Xie Gelao are in charge of the front court, so nothing will go wrong in the short term.”

 

“Cough, cough, cough…” Shen Qingzhuo coughed angrily, “Suzhou is already chaotic enough, and you are still causing trouble cough, cough…”

 

Xiao Shen quickly leaned forward to admit his fault: “Master, please don’t be angry. I will return to the palace as soon as I finish my business.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo stopped coughing and looked at his little disciple’s face. He couldn’t say anything harsh. He just sighed, “You are the emperor now. Who can stop you from doing what you are determined to do?”

 

“Master…” Xiao Shen held his hand and shook it coquettishly, “Master, don’t worry. If there is any unusual movement in Shengjing, I can return to the capital within seven days.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo was surprised: “This fast?”

 

It would take six days for the express memorial to be sent back to Shengjing, even if the soldiers did not eat or drink and several horses died. But his little disciple arrived in Suzhou in seven days?

 

He silently clasped his big hand and turned it over, and as expected, he saw that his palm was bloodied by the rein.

 

“Are you stupid…” Shen Qingzhuo’s nose was sore, and his voice became softer. “No matter how bad the situation in Suzhou is, with Master here, why do you torture yourself like this?”

 

“Alright, I admit it.” Xiao Shen moved closer to his master again. Seeing that he did not refuse, he rested his chin on his shoulder and said, “I have selfish motives…”

 

As for what his selfish motives were, Shen Qingzhuo knew it well without asking.

 

The atmosphere calmed down, and Xiao Shen raised his eyes and stared at the face close to him. The dark blue under the thin eyelids formed a sharp contrast with the pale complexion.

 

His master had lost a lot of weight compared to before he left the capital. Last night, he felt his flesh and bones inch by inch and was terrified at how thin he was. He was afraid that if he exerted too much force, he would break his master.

 

“Xue Shihang said that Master hasn’t had a good sleep for several days.” Xiao Shen’s tone suddenly became gloomy. “You haven’t eaten well either. When I’m not around, Master just doesn’t take care of yourself?”

 

“How dare you talk about Master?” Shen Qingzhuo asked back, pinching his thin face, “Why don’t you look in the mirror and see how heavy the dark circles under your eyes are ah?”

 

The two people with dark eyelids looked at each other for a moment and couldn’t help laughing.

 

After laughing, Shen Qingzhuo nudged his little disciple and said, “Stand up, I’ll apply ointment on you.”

 

Since he’s already here, then let’s solve all the problems quickly.

 

***

 

On the second day after Xiao Shen arrived in Suzhou, the troops escorting food also arrived smoothly.

 

The long procession was endless, and the grain carts were filled with rice grains. When the army entered the city, the victims stared blankly at the grain, wanting to rush over and grab a handful to put in their pockets, but they were afraid of the fully armed soldiers, so they could only stumble along with the procession, hoping to pick up some leftovers.

 

Shen Qingzhuo stood at the city gate and said calmly, “When people are extremely hungry, they can do anything. If someone rushes to grab food at this time, the rest of the people will rush over. Anyway, the result is death, so it is better to die full.”

 

Xiao Shen stood beside him and whispered, “I know… what it feels like to be hungry.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo gave Lord Xue a look.

 

Xue Shihang immediately shouted with full energy, “Don’t be anxious! This is food sent by the court! It will be distributed to the disaster victims soon! Let the food team enter the city first!”

 

Those victims turned their heads and looked at them, with only numbness left on their pale faces.

 

The imperial court provided disaster relief time and time again, but in the end they did not see even a grain of rice. They had long since given up all hope.

 

“This time, the court sent a senior official to personally escort the food.” Shen Qingzhuo took over the conversation, “I assure everyone here that every grain of food will be delivered to the victims.”

 

Soon the victims discovered that this time it seemed to be really different.

 

After the grain was counted and stored, Lord Shen prepared to organize the first opening of the warehouse to release grain.

 

Regional Governor Luo, with a big belly, stood behind him, staring at the full warehouse with his eyes shining. “Lord Military Advisor, this food…”

 

Shen Qing glanced at him, “What’s wrong with the food?”

 

Regional Governor Luo looked around and pulled the sleeve of Lord Shen, “My Lord, can we have a word?”

 

Xiao Shen frowned in disgust, resisting the urge to chop the pig’s hoof into pieces, he followed his master silently.

 

Governor Luo noticed that he was following him and winked at Lord Shen again.

 

Shen Qingzhuo replied calmly, “This Little Lord is a close friend of mine. If Governor Luo has anything to say, please speak directly.”

 

Close friend?

 

Xiao Shen raised his eyebrows slightly and suppressed his restless heart.

 

“Alright, then I’ll speak directly.” Governor Luo frowned, “Lord Shen doesn’t know that the price of grain in Suzhou is rising sharply. These grains are worth thousands of gold!”

 

“What Governor Luo means is…” Shen Qingzhuo hesitated for a moment. “But this is the disaster relief grain allocated by the court. It can’t be moved easily, right?”

 

In Governor Luo’s mind, there are no officials who are not greedy, only officials who are cowardly. So when he was investigating secretly, he also conveyed enough information to Luo Cheng on the surface. Sure enough, as soon as the disaster relief food arrived, he couldn’t wait to recruit him into the partnership.

 

“The emperor is far away, how can the court know?” Governor Luo lowered his voice, “Besides, if we transfer these grains to merchants, won’t they be sold to the people in the end? Different paths lead to the same destination, different paths lead to the same destination!”

 

Shen Qingzhuo’s expression remained unchanged. “What Governor Luo said makes sense, but since the imperial court has come, we should at least make a show of distributing some food first.”

 

Seeing this, Governor Luo smiled so hard that his face was shaking. “The lower official was right about My Lord! When we convert the silver, My Lord will take forty percent, and the lower official will take sixty percent. Does My Lord think this is appropriate?”

 

Lord Shen frowned slightly, seeming dissatisfied.

 

Governor Luo quickly explained, “The lower official has a group of officials under me, and they all need to have a share of the witnesses so that we can silence the people ah!”

 

Shen Qingzhuo’s eyebrows relaxed. “In that case, I will follow Governor Luo’s arrangements.”

 

After Governor Luo left triumphantly, Lord Shen’s face suddenly darkened. “Did you see? It is because of these corrupt officials who take human lives lightly that the people are in dire straits.”

 

Xiao Shen’s eyes were cold, “Don’t worry, Master. I will chop off his head and feed it to the pigs.”

 

“Come with me.” Shen Qingzhuo turned around. “I’ll take you to see what purgatory on earth looks like.”

 

As they walked through the streets, all they saw were emaciated disaster victims.

 

Some disaster victims fought each other for half a piece of blackened hard steamed bun until their heads were broken and bleeding. A mother holding a baby cried as she stuffed her cut wrist into the hungry baby’s mouth.

 

Finally, they arrived at the west of the city.

 

“In order to prevent the spread of the plague after the disaster, I ordered people to move the bodies of the victims who had died a long time ago here and prepare to burn them together.” Shen Qingzhuo stood far away on a high place and pointed at the pile of corpses. “Everyone there originally had a family and relatives.”

 

Xiao Shen’s throat moved, and he turned around and led his master back the way they came. “I already saw, Master, let’s go back.”

 

“You have seen the corpses of soldiers on the battlefield. Now take a closer look at these civilians.” Shen Qingzhuo did not struggle but asked in a heavy tone, “Xiao Qi, do you understand the monarch’s responsibility that Master repeatedly emphasized to you?”

 

Days of hard work had left his face pale and haggard. The loose green robe covering his thin body made him look even more frail and fragile.

 

And between those picturesque eyes and brows, there was always a lingering sadness and sorrow. He felt sad for the disaster victims who were suffering and was worried about how to save more people.

 

At this moment, Xiao Shen’s heart twitched uncontrollably.

 

“I understand, Master.” After a long while, he held the cold hand tightly and promised piously and solemnly, “I will treat my people like my own children. I will do my best to protect my people.”

 

His beloved master had tears in his eyes for the people who were suffering at that moment.

 

Today he swore here that he would become a qualified king and ensure that his people would have no worries about food and clothing and would no longer be displaced or have their families broken up.

 

He knew that he still had a long way to go, but as long as his master was by his side, he would be fearless and invincible.

 

***

 

When he returned to the official residence, Shen Qingzhuo’s expression returned to normal.

 

“My Lord, Your—Lord Xiao Shen.” Xue Shihang came forward, “The first wave of opening the warehouse to release grain has ended.”

 

“Alright.” Shen Qingzhuo walked inside. “How is the situation in Suzhou’s grain market?”

 

Xue Shihang replied, “As My Lord expected, after the grain price in Suzhou went up twice, the rice and grain from the two surrounding states all flowed into Suzhou, and the amount of grain stored in the granaries skyrocketed.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo laughed: “The grain price in Suzhou has already become sky-high, but now the grain from the imperial court has arrived smoothly, and the merchants who hoarded grain are probably going to be anxious.”

 

“My Lord…” Xue Shihang glanced at the emperor, hesitating, “I’m afraid that with just those foods is far from enough.”

 

“Of course it’s not enough.” Shen Qingzhuo replied calmly, “That’s why we have to put out bait to catch big fish.”

 

The national treasury was empty, and there had been successive disasters. The granaries had long been emptied. Only half of the truck was filled with grain, and the other half was padded with straw to disguise as rice.

 

Xiao Shen immediately understood, “Master is trying to catch the wealthy merchants who buy government rations?”

 

“Stealing government grain is a crime for both buyers and sellers.” Shen Qingzhuo sneered, “Wait until we raid the granaries of those wealthy merchants, and then won’t we have food?”

 

By then, the normal supply of grain flowing into Suzhou will far exceed the demand, and grain merchants will be forced to lower the price of rice to the lowest level.

 

Xue Shihang nodded, “I think I also understand a little bit…”

 

At this time, a childish voice sounded: “Uncle Shen! Uncle!”

 

Shen Qingzhuo was startled, turned around, bent down, and picked up the pink-dressed girl who rushed over.

 

After this period of recuperation, her face became pink and plump, and she had two pigtails tied behind her head. She was wearing festive clothes and looked extremely cute.

 

Shen Qingzhuo’s heart softened when he saw her, and he couldn’t help but kiss her little face.

 

After this kiss, Xiao Shen’s expression suddenly changed.

 

“Uncle! Have some candy!” Baobao took the candy out of her mouth and stuffed it into Lord Shen’s mouth.

 

“No, Baobao, eat it yourself.” Shen Qingzhuo smiled and refused the candy covered with saliva and turned to look at his little disciple. “I forgot to introduce her. This is Baobao. I met her on the street on the first day I came to Suzhou, and I brought her back.”

 

Xiao Shen’s face was so gloomy that ink seemed to drip out. “Baby[mfn]The baobao XS used here means baby xD[/mfn]?”

 

His master had never called him like this before!

 

Baobao turned her head to look at the strange gege. Although he looked a little scary, she still called out obediently, “Gege!”

 

Xiao Shen frowned and didn’t respond.

 

“Wait a minute! You call the Lord uncle and Lord Xiao Shen gege?” Xue Shihang laughed, “Isn’t this a generation difference?”

 

Xiao Shen: “?”

 

The author has something to say:

The Wolf Cub: Master, you are picking up someone behind my back again!

The Master: Don’t get agitated, you are still my favorite cub!

The Wolf Cub: I don’t believe it, unless you are willing to eat my saliva…