Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

The children's eyes lit up when they saw the dried meat in Lou Qianyuan's bundle, and they reached out to take it.

The adults were still very vigilant, and they had witnessed many people taking advantage of this time to commit murder and robbery.

Lou Qianyuan knew their concerns, so he picked up a piece of rabbit jerky, put it in his mouth, and chewed it heartily. Not to mention the children, even the adults couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

A child broke free from his parents' embrace, grabbed a piece of jerky, and stuffed it into his mouth, wolfing it down.

Only when everyone saw that Lou Qianyuan and the child were unharmed did they dare to reach out and take it. An old lady even burst into tears on the spot, thanking Lou Qianyuan profusely.

There wasn't much dried meat; it was only enough for a dozen or so people. However, this bag of dried meat brought everyone much closer together.

Lou Qianyuan sat down next to an older brother and asked, "Brother, where did you flee from?"

The elder brother sighed, "We fled from Qingzhou. What, you didn't come from Qingzhou?"

Lou Qianyuan glanced at Ruan Wan and Liang Kun behind him and said, "We came from Pingjiang Town. Our family is in the capital. We visited relatives in Pingjiang Town at the beginning of the year, but we didn't expect to encounter this on our way back."

Lou Qianyuan glanced at the man's expression, which remained unchanged, and continued to ask, "Has something happened in Qingzhou?"

At the mention of Qingzhou, the elder brother's eyes filled with tears, and he said in a choked voice, "Qingzhou is the lowest point along the river. Ten days ago, the imperial court designated Qingzhou as a flood diversion area, and the entire city of Qingzhou was flooded."

Lou Qianyuan was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a moment. It took him a while to recover from the shock. "Why didn't the imperial court provide flood relief? Why did they just release the floodwaters?"

"The rain is too heavy. I haven't seen such heavy rain in decades. It's like the sky has been torn open, and the water under the dam is rising too fast."

Lou Qianyuan suddenly thought of a problem: Qingzhou is still below Liuzhou, close to the Wudu River and the Dongyi. How could they have reached the capital in ten days?

Lou Qianyuan asked, "Brother, how did you get to the capital? You arrived here in just ten days?"

The elder brother looked at Lou Qianyuan with suspicion. "Didn't you come by boat? The water level has risen sharply, and the current is rapid, making the boat travel three or four times faster than usual."

"So that's how it is," Lou Qianyuan said. "It was raining when we were on the boat, so the boatman let us off halfway. My family and I walked back along the mountain path."

"No wonder you know nothing."

Lou Qianyuan talked with his elder brother for a long time and got a pretty good understanding of the whole disaster situation.

Ruan Wan, who was standing to the side, heard everything clearly. The country had no choice but to treat Qingzhou as a flood diversion area.

But how could they arrange for disaster victims to be resettled on a daily basis? They actually settled a few people in each town along the way, and my elder brother and his group were among the first to arrive in the capital.

If any of these disaster victims were to contract the plague, wouldn't this arrangement make it easy for the disease to spread throughout the country?

After following the disaster victims for two days, Ruan Wan and her group arrived at the foot of the city wall. Just as Lou Qianyuan had predicted, there were many checkpoints set up at the city gate.

Several hundred disaster victims had gathered at the city gate, and this was just the beginning; there would only be more in the future.

Why is the imperial court not taking any countermeasures?

All the disaster victims were kept outside and prevented from entering the city; everyone who entered the city was subject to questioning.

Soon it was Ruan Wan and her group's turn. The city guards sized Lou Qianyuan up and down, already mistaking them for refugees, but still asked as usual, "Where are you from, and why are you coming to the capital?"

"People from Beijing, naturally, go home."

The guard sneered; he'd seen plenty of people like this, trying to sneak in by trickery. He said, "Give me your address."

"The fifth house on the left in Shuanghua Hutong, Ronghua Street"

The guard thought for a moment, then immediately drew his sword and shouted at Lou Qianyuan, "How dare you impersonate a member of the General Who Protects the Nation!"

Liang Kun stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you! This is our young master Lou! Put down your knife right now!"

The guard looked at the three ragged, disheveled men before him with suspicion, but the men's demeanor seemed genuine. He could only sheathe his sword and say, "You all stand here and wait. I'll send someone to fetch someone from the General's Mansion to identify you."

Ruan Wan and Lou Qianyuan stood at the foot of the city wall, looking at the disaster victims who were being held back outside.

They were all looking at her with pleading eyes, but Ruan Wan didn't dare to look at them and could only lower her head.

Every second was agonizing; Ruan Wan felt as if countless eyes were watching her.

Fortunately, a servant rode up on horseback soon after. The man recognized Lou Qianyuan at a glance and hurriedly knelt before him, saying, "Young Master, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Lou Qianyuan pulled him up, saying, "This isn't the place to talk."

When the guards saw that Lou Qianyuan was indeed the young master of the Lou family, they immediately put on a smiling face and escorted Lou Qianyuan into the city.

When the disaster victims waiting outside saw that Lou Qianyuan and his group had been allowed to pass, they rushed forward, trying to break through the checkpoint.

The guards drew their swords, glaring fiercely at the crowd. "Who dares to take another step forward?"

The crowd stood still, neither daring to move forward nor retreating, and the scene became extremely chaotic as everyone started talking amongst themselves.

At this moment, Lou Qianyuan stopped, walked to the city gate, and shouted, "Everyone, don't panic! The disaster came too suddenly, but please rest assured, the country will definitely not abandon you."

A man in the crowd shouted, "How can you guarantee that the government will take care of us? We have no food or water right now!"

"Rest assured, everyone. I am Lou Qianyuan, son of the General Who Guards the Nation. I guarantee that the country will find a way to resettle you all immediately."

Ruan Wan stepped forward and handed all the remaining gold and silver from her bundle to the guard at the door, calling out loudly, "Brother, use this money to buy some dry rations in the city and distribute them to everyone."

Lou Qianyuan immediately said, "Everyone, please line up and wait to receive your food."

Just then, the Lou family's carriage arrived. Lou Qianyuan led Ruan Wan into the carriage and instructed the servant, "A Jin, you stay here and make sure every disaster victim receives food."

Liang Kun followed behind on his servant's horse.

Ruan Wan looked at the long-lost capital city through the curtain. Everything was the same as before, still the bustling capital city, completely unaffected by the disaster.

The inside and outside of the city are completely two different worlds.

Lou Qianyuan drove the carriage and soon arrived at his house. After parking the horse, Lou Qianyuan helped Ruan Wan down from the carriage, and Liang Kun also jumped off the horse.

The three of them walked straight into the mansion, but were stopped by a servant at the gate, who treated them like beggars.

Lou Qianyuan angrily brushed his hair aside, his face almost touching the servant's. The servant was instantly terrified and knelt on the ground. He then immediately got up and ran back to the Lou residence, shouting, "The Second Young Master is back! The Second Young Master is back!"

Lou Qianyuan ignored him and went inside on his own. Ruan Wan and Liang Kun followed closely behind him.

After a while, an old man led a group of maids and servants running towards them. When he saw Lou Qianyuan, the old man knelt on the ground and cried, "My young master, where have you been all year? You didn't even say goodbye when you left. If something happens to you, how can this old servant explain to the master?"

Seeing the old woman crying so bitterly, Ruan Wan stepped forward and asked, "Didn't you tell your family when you left?"

Lou Qianyuan said awkwardly in a low voice, "If I tell you, I won't be able to get out."

Lou Qianyuan stepped forward to help him up. "Uncle Li, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

Uncle Li glanced at Lou Qianyuan and said, "You're doing alright. If you've suffered outside, come back soon."

"Stop talking, Uncle Li, we're hungry, go get us something to eat."

Uncle Li then noticed Ruan Wan and Liang Kun standing to the side and asked with a smile, "May I ask who this gentleman is?"

Lou Qianyuan deliberately looked at Liang Kun and said, "This is Uncle Liang. Have you forgotten? It's been twenty years. You probably won't recognize him. Oh dear, your young master is starving to death. You really won't be able to explain this to my father then."

"This old servant will go right away, right away!"

As he spoke, Uncle Li led the maids away.

Lou Qianyuan instructed the maid beside him, "Quickly take Uncle Liang to the guest room to wash up and rest."

A maidservant accepted the order, gestured for Liang Kun to enter, and then led him to the guest room.

"Uncle Li is my family's housekeeper. My father has always been away from home, and my mother passed away early. Uncle Li raised me from a young age. He's a bit long-winded, but he's a very good person," Lou Qianyuan said with an awkward smile to Ruan Wan.

The Lou family, being both the emperor's brother-in-law and a general who protected the country, naturally held a prominent position, and their mansion was exceptionally grand.

Lou Qianyuan led Ruan Wan to a guest room. "Is this alright? Or you can stay in my room."

Ruan Wan quickly said, "That's fine. You should go back and wash up too."

Ruan Wan urged Lou Qianyuan to leave quickly, as she needed to wash up properly. She couldn't do that on the way, but now that she had the opportunity, Ruan Wan couldn't wait a moment longer.

Soon, a maid brought hot water and a change of clothes. Ruan Wan specially asked Lou Qianyuan to bring men's clothing, firstly for her convenience while staying at his place, and secondly to prevent being recognized.

Originally, Ruan Wan planned to leave after seeing him off, as the small pharmacy she bought in Liuzhou was still waiting for her.

Given the current situation, there's no escaping it, and it's unknown whether the disaster has affected Mengniang and Mudan.

A bath washed away the fatigue of the past few days, followed by the rumbling of my stomach, as I hadn't had a proper meal along the way.

Ruan Wan changed her clothes and opened the door, only to see Lou Qianyuan waiting at the door. He stood there, handsome and dashing, completely different from before. He had shaved his beard and had transformed back into the young master Lou.

He gestured for him to enter, saying, "Please, Young Master Ruan."

When Ruan Wan arrived at the living room, she was shocked to find that Uncle Li had prepared a table full of food, which could be described as a Manchu Han Imperial Feast. Even if ten more people came, they wouldn't be able to finish it.

Ruan Wan felt uneasy thinking about the disaster victims outside and looking at the delicacies in front of her.

Lou Qianyuan smiled helplessly, "Uncle Li was just too happy to see me back. He didn't expect this. I'll tell him to be more careful next time."

Seeing that Lou Qianyuan showed no intention of sitting down, Ruan Wan asked, "Aren't you going to eat with us? What about Uncle Liang?"

Lou Qianyuan said in a low voice, "I've prepared another meal in the main hall. Uncle Liang and I will eat together. The people in the manor don't know I'm lying, and it would be better if we were exposed."

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "Just tell Uncle Liang directly that we're pretending to be husband and wife."

Lou Qianyuan hurriedly waved his hand, "That won't do. If Uncle Liang finds out you're not my wife, he'll definitely come to your house and have your family come to pick you up."

Ruan Wan thought about it and decided against it. She planned to stay at Lou Qianyuan's house until the turmoil subsided, and then find a chance to escape.

Looking at the large table of food, Ruan Wan's appetite vanished instantly.

After a simple dinner, Ruan Wan lay on the soft brocade quilt, which was fragrant and comfortable. She hadn't felt so comfortable in a long time.

Once she relaxed, Ruan Wan quickly drifted off to sleep.

Inside the hall, Liang Kun had finished washing up and changing his clothes, and Lou Qianyuan sat down next to him.

Liang Kun asked, "Where is the young mistress?"

Just as Uncle Li was about to speak, Lou Qianyuan immediately said, "She's in the inner hall. Now that she's home, she naturally still has to follow the rules."

Liang Kun nodded and then sat down with satisfaction.

Lou Qianyuan asked, "Uncle Liang, are you going back to your own home, or are you staying here?"

Liang Kun ate a few mouthfuls of rice and said, "As a man from out of town, I definitely can't stay here. I haven't been home in a long time."

Lou Qianyuan immediately ordered, "Uncle Li, quickly send someone to clean Uncle Liang's house thoroughly, and make sure everything that needs to be purchased is ready."