Adoption brings disaster

Speaking of which, the Seventh Prince's banquet was cancelled. Although it was not my fault, it was caused by me, and I still feel very sorry about it.

Although I didn't show it on my face, I was still worried in my heart. I should find something meaningful for the Seventh Prince to pass the time.

It's just that due to the characteristics of the times, apart from playing chess and reading, everything else is just something that playboys play with, and none of them are suitable for the Seventh Prince to kill time. This makes me a little anxious.

But I didn’t expect that the Seventh Prince’s mouth seemed to be blessed.

The whole country was begging the Dragon King to calm down and stop raining, but the Dragon King seemed to be deaf. The more they begged, the more rain fell, and the heavier it got.

The seventh prince simply said that the sky would clear up, and it cleared up the next day.

When the weather cleared up, the Seventh Prince no longer had to be trapped in Qianqiu Pavilion, and I no longer had to rack my brains to think of ways to help him pass the time. This actually saved me a lot of trouble.

It has been raining for so long, and many more things have come up, some of which need to be dealt with urgently. Therefore, I am very busy every day and have to organize everyone to be busy every day.

The rest is fine, Chunyu Ada will handle it himself, and I don’t need to worry too much.

However, most of the books in the study are rare copies that the Prince of Zhenbei found for the Seventh Prince. If they are damaged, it will be impossible to get them again.

Therefore, you need to be very careful when drying books. Moreover, these books need to be dried in the sun for several days and sent to a special store for maintenance.

So I asked Chunyu to select a few maids who were careful and steady in their work, and asked them to take out the books carefully one by one. I then opened them carefully and checked them, and then put them gently on the shelves to dry.

In this way, the books were naturally not damaged at all, but I was extremely tired.

It is said that these days, because there are so many things going on, everyone is already very busy. Xiaoshan doesn't know why, but he keeps making mistakes.

It would be fine if there were mistakes, but they were all everyday things and very simple things.

For example, when I was tidying up the warehouse, I almost dropped a basket of porcelain on the ground. Another time, when I was drying clothes later, I used too much force and tore several pieces.

Although everyone was quick-witted and did not let Xiaoshan cause much trouble, when they saw Xiaoshan's appearance, they all knew that he had something on his mind.

I also know that he is not in a good state, so I always pay attention to him. I will only pay attention to the mental health of my employees after the book-drying incident is over.

After a few days of drying, the books were completely dry. I asked A-Da to send them for maintenance. I called Xiaoshan over and said, "You've seemed distracted these past few days. Are you in trouble?"

Seeing me ask, Xiaoshan quickly thanked me and apologized. I waved my hand and said, "I'm not trying to blame you. I just want to tell you that if you have any difficulties, just tell me. I always have more solutions than you. Even if I can't help you, the Seventh Prince is here, and he can always solve it."

In fact, there is no need for me to intervene in the troubles encountered by Xiaoshan, a low-level servant. Ada and the others can handle it. It’s just a matter of saying so.

Xiaoshan thanked me profusely, knelt down immediately, and sobbed as he told me about his difficulties. However, Xiaoshan hesitated for a long time and I didn't understand a word he said.

Xiaoshan already spoke with a strange accent and kept crying, which made me very upset. I frowned and said, "Don't cry. Speak slowly and carefully."

"Xiaoshan's hometown suffered a disaster, and his family sent someone to deliver a letter saying that he would come to the capital soon. However, it has been more than a month now, and he should have arrived long ago, so he is a little worried." Chunyu knew that I couldn't understand Xiaoshan's accent, so he hurried over to translate.

There are at least several million people in the capital. Finding a few ordinary people here is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I didn't have any good ideas at the moment, so I could only say, "How about I give you a few days off and let Ah Da accompany you out of the palace to look for your family?"

"That's what we planned to do. We asked the master to let Xiaoshan go out to find his family. The master has always been kind and will definitely agree. But we couldn't go out of the palace yesterday. It seems that many refugees came to the capital." Chunyu said with some concern.

"Refugees?" I asked in confusion.

"After suffering a disaster and having no place to make a living, they have no choice but to seek a living elsewhere. They are originally good citizens, but local officials, fearing that it will affect their own achievements, falsely accuse them of being refugees and drive them away at will. I saw this when I was in Fengzhou before. These disaster victims were left with nothing at the end, and some even resorted to cannibalism. It was truly horrible."

When Xiaoshan heard the words of the Taoist priest on the roof, he was so scared that he was stunned. Then he cried even louder and crawled to my feet, grabbed my feet and sobbed loudly, saying something. Now, even Chunyu couldn't understand what he was saying.

When Xiaoshan was tired of crying and her voice had subsided, I pressed my temples and endured the headache and said, "Just because people can't leave doesn't mean the news can't get out. I'll ask Li Er to find a way to help you find them. Go draw a picture of your family, and I'll ask A Da to do it as soon as possible."

After hearing this, Xiaoshan thanked him profusely, and finally went to paint the portrait with a worried look on his face, accompanied by the spring rain.

Looking at Xiaoshan's back, I couldn't help but think, no wonder Mandarin is so popularized, it's really too difficult without knowing the language.

It is said that there are many masters among the people. No one knows what method Li Er used, but after the news spread, Xiaoshan's family was found within a few days.

We were all naturally happy when we got the news about Li Er, and we asked A Da to accompany Xiao Shan to watch from afar at the palace gate to reassure Xiao Shan.

But when Xiaoshan came back, his eyes were swollen from crying, and he still looked like he was worse than death.

When I asked, I found out that he had two nephews who were not seen this time and they were probably dead.

People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, and the moon waxes and wanes; it's impossible to have everything perfect. I don't know how to comfort people, so I can only ask Chunyu and the others to take better care of me.

A few days later, Xiaolu came to pay his respects to the Seventh Prince again, but the Seventh Prince was not at home, so I entertained him for a while.

Speaking of which, he got beaten by me last time and used the good stuff from the Zhenbei Palace, so he was very polite to me this time.

Although he still spoke in a ruffian tone, his manners were impeccable. From this point of view, he had some of the style of a young man from an aristocratic family, and even had more heroic spirit than some other young men from aristocratic families.

Seeing him like this, I also liked it, so I started chatting with him casually.

"I heard that no one is allowed to enter or exit the palace now. How did you get in, Xiaolu?"

"Yuan Qing, don't you know? Concubine Shu is my aunt, and His Highness the Tenth Prince is my cousin. Concubine Shu specifically requested the Emperor to allow me to enter the palace as a playmate for His Highness the Tenth Prince. I've been staying in the palace all this time and haven't left."

After listening to Xiaolu's explanation, I felt a little embarrassed. I just scratched my head and said, "I have been in the palace for a short time, so I don't know much about what goes on there. Please don't mind."

Xiaolu didn't care. He just waved his hand and said, "I didn't tell you. It's normal that you don't know. What's there to mind?"

After saying this, Xiaolu took a sip of tea and said, "Yuanqing, what are the two refugees you asked your chief manager to find for?"

I was curious about how Xiaolu knew this, and just as I was about to ask, Xiaolu said, "Your boss is no good. He does things in a big and ostentatious way. Now the whole city knows about this. If you tell me about the things in the capital, I can probably help you handle it secretly."

"It's nothing important. It's just the family of a servant in this pavilion. His hometown was hit by a disaster, and these people came to him for refuge, but they can't go in or out, so they asked people outside to help look for them."

Seeing Xiaolu was a little confused, I didn't intend to explain. I just smiled and said, "But how did you know this? Haven't you been in the palace all the time?"

"Originally, such a small matter would not have reached me. It just so happened that the person helping your chief storekeeper was one of my personal soldiers. Your chief storekeeper was using your name, and my personal soldier didn't know how to handle it. So he wrote a memorial to ask for instructions, and that's how I learned about this matter."

I see. I nodded to show I understood. Xiaolu laughed again and said, "My personal guard was also confused. Even if it was Yuan Qing's business, he would have handled it quickly. There was no need to ask for instructions. He wasted some time in vain."

Xiaolu spoke respectfully, and I didn't want to be arrogant, so I said thank you repeatedly and offered Xiaolu some tea.

Xiaolu picked up the teacup and felt it was very hot. He said impatiently, "Why is there no ice in your room?"

Xiaolu was too hot to drink tea and just kept complaining, "I don't know what's going on with this damn weather. It was freezing cold a few days ago, and now it's so hot. Even three big blocks of ice aren't enough in my aunt's palace."

"Ice is only used in the pavilion when Chongguang is here. I didn't think of it at the moment and I really neglected Master Lu. I will ask someone to get some ice right away so that Master Lu can cool down."

"Don't bother. I'm about to leave the palace. I just came to pay my respects to His Highness the Seventh Prince and Yuan Qing. I hope Your Highness will forgive me for being disrespectful to Yuan Qing before."

Logically speaking, Xiaolu is of noble status and should be well protected at this time. Why does he want to leave the palace at this time?

I asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you leaving the palace at this time?"

"There are some refugees entering the capital. My father is in charge of the capital's defense, so he asked me to lead a team of soldiers to drive these refugees out."

Xiaolu spread his hands as he spoke, looking helpless.

"I don't want to go in such hot weather, but my father said that the important task of managing the capital's defense will eventually be handed over to you. If you don't practice now while I'm still here, what will you do in the future? I can't persuade him, so I have no choice but to go out of the palace in the scorching sun to drive away the refugees."

When I heard Xiaolu say this, I also thought about the people's difficulty in surviving, so I said, "When people are forced into a corner, they will do anything. These refugees are mostly pitiful people. If you can let them go, then let them go."

"I have taken note of Yuan Qing's teachings, but this matter has its own rules and regulations, and we must follow them. I can't just act arbitrarily."

"You're a good kid, I believe you can do this well. You better protect yourself outside and don't let yourself get hurt."

"Thank you, Yuan Qing. I'll be leaving now. Tell His Majesty the Seventh Prince that I'll come back for a drink with him after I've dealt with this matter."

I looked at him with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Next time you come, I will cook for you some snacks and we can have a good drink together."

After seeing Xiaolu off, I waited in the pavilion for the Seventh Prince to come back. However, he came back much later than usual today, at least an hour later, which made me a little worried.

When the Seventh Prince came back, I noticed that he didn't look very well either, so I asked, "Chongguang, why did you come back so late today?"

It would have been fine if I hadn't asked, but as soon as I did, the Seventh Prince got furious. He said angrily, "Recently, a group of refugees have poured into the capital. Yuan Qing, you know about this, right?"

"I know about this. I can't leave the palace because of this. How could I not know? You are in the palace. How did those refugees offend you and make you so angry?"

"It has nothing to do with those refugees. Today the professor asked us to express our opinions on the refugees, and I started arguing with the prince."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is very well-mannered. I'm afraid it wasn't that quarrel that caused the incident, but you scolded him unilaterally." I said with a smile.

The Seventh Prince was furious after hearing this. He glared at me and said, "What do you mean by excellent self-cultivation? He's just a hypocrite seeking fame and reputation. Only someone as ignorant as you could be deceived by him."

The Seventh Prince was very angry, and I didn't dare to upset him at this time, so I could only respond nicely.

I didn't dare to say anything, but the Seventh Prince stared at me and asked, "How did you know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so well-mannered? Da Da and Er follow you around every day. When did you meet in private?"

I didn't dare to correct the Seventh Prince's words, so I could only say, "I've never met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I've only heard about him from others. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

I quickly changed the subject.

"Is there even a need to ask? These refugees don't stay in their homeland, but wander around everywhere, causing trouble everywhere. Naturally, they should be killed as a warning to the rest. Not a single one should be spared, otherwise everyone will follow their example and that would be disastrous."

"What does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince say?" I asked again.

"What can he say? He should convince people with reason. He should politely send these refugees back and educate them, so that they will learn etiquette and shame, and they will never do such things again in the future."

"You two have different opinions. You should take the essence and discard the dross. Why are you arguing again?" I asked in confusion.

"There's nothing good about him; it's all just dregs. If everyone knew etiquette and honor, the world would be peaceful. What would be the need for war?"

After hearing this, I roughly understood why they were arguing, so I asked again, "What did the professor say?"

"He's just a good-for-nothing. What can I say? You asked me to come back and ask Yuan Qing what you think."

"Did he ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to go back and ask you?"

"I can't remember clearly, I don't think so." The Seventh Prince thought for a moment and then said as a matter of course, "His Royal Highness's Qing is also a drunkard. He plays a flute in the garden every day. It sounds terrible and he is a coward. I scared him a few times and now he hides when he sees me. How can such a person be compared with Yuan Qing?"

Although the Seventh Prince is domineering, he is honest and doesn't like to lie. It seems that the professor is more inclined to the Crown Prince's point of view. However, this is normal. After all, he is a civil servant. If he were a military officer, he would most likely be inclined to the Seventh Prince.

I understood the reason and laughed, "Do you think an ant can shake a tree?"

The Seventh Prince was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "If an ant can shake a tree, then a mantis can also stop a chariot. People should be humble and accept the weak. Some things are impossible. Don't daydream."

"The fairest thing in this world is that everyone has only one life. An ant has only one life, and a tree has only one life. Even if an ant is determined, it can still shake the tree. Your idea is not wrong, but when you understand that an ant can shake a tree, you will have a better way."

"Ants cannot shake a tree. My current idea is the best solution."

The Seventh Prince didn't know that what he said with such confidence would soon be slapped in the face.

As for how the refugee issue will develop, let’s wait and see in the next episode.