The system forced me to blow up the female lead's fishpond.

Li Zhuang remained silent for a long while, a look of worry appearing on his face. He quickly walked to the Second Prince's side and said softly, "Second Prince, there are many disaster victims here, and it might offend Your Highness. Perhaps I should..."

"Nonsense." Chu Chouchi frowned, interrupting him abruptly.

Li Zhuang was terrified; his body trembled violently, and his face turned as pale as paper.

He inwardly cried out in alarm and knelt down on both knees. "Your Highness, I did not mean to upset you. I was just worried about your well-being."

Seeing Chu Chouchi's impatient expression, Shen Zhizhi knew that his patience had reached its limit, so she quickly stepped forward to help Li Zhuang up from the ground.

"Official, please rise. His Highness the Second Prince is kind-hearted and cares deeply for the people and the country. Since he wishes to personally distribute porridge, let him go."

Li Zhuang nodded, wiped the sweat from his brow, and stepped back.

The porridge distribution continued, and with Chu Chouchi looking like someone owed him five million, the noisy crowd quieted down considerably.

Chu Chouchi awkwardly scooped up a spoonful of porridge and placed it in the bowl of a child in line.

The child, disheveled and with a dark complexion, suddenly brightened up at the smell of the sweet porridge. "Your Highness," he said, "my mother said you are the highest-ranking official here. Could you grant me an extra steamed bun? My mother hasn't eaten in a long time, trying to feed me. I'd like to give her an extra one."

"How dare you! Whose child is this! How can you be so rude!"

Standing behind Chu Chouchi, Li Zhuang glared at the child in front of him and shouted sharply.

The child was terrified by Li Zhuang's roar. He loosened his grip, and the bowl he was holding fell to the ground, spilling thick white porridge all over the floor.

Suddenly, a woman squeezed through the crowd, pressed the child down to kneel, and kowtowed repeatedly, "Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! This child is ignorant and has offended Your Highness! Your Highness, spare me!"

Shen Zhizhi glanced at Chu Chouchi with some trepidation.

He stood at the table, his gaze fixed on the woman who was kowtowing so hard she was almost seeing double. His expression was somber, and he seemed lost in thought.

"Get up."

Zhang Jiali was about to plead for mercy when he heard this sound.

Immediately afterwards, a slender, long hand reached into the basket in front of him, grabbed three large, white steamed buns, and handed them to the woman who was still kowtowing and begging for mercy.

The woman froze, looked up in disbelief, her eyes filled with astonishment.

Chu Chouchi held the steamed bun up for a long time, but seeing that she didn't take it, he became impatient and stuffed it into the child's arms.

This shocking scene sent chills down everyone's spines.

Shen Zhizhi rubbed her eyes hard, wondering if she was seeing things.

[Holy crap, has Chu Chouchi also been possessed by a soul?]

Ya Dan protested: "Of course, two soul transmigrators can't exist in one plane. I think Chu Chou Chi has been completely and slowly influenced by the host."

The woman's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she thanked the child repeatedly.

Li Zhuang hesitated for a moment before cautiously stepping forward and saying, "Your Highness, there are still many refugees. If we distribute these steamed buns like this, I'm afraid there won't be enough to go around."

Chu Chouchi glared at him irritably and threw the money pouch from his waist at him.

"Are all the steamed bun shops in the city dead? Go and buy all the steamed buns you can find in the city now. If you can't buy any, have them make them. They can get the money from the Red King's Mansion later."

"Subordinates take orders."

Li Zhuang took the money bag and turned to leave.

Witnessing all this, the disaster victims who were originally afraid of Chu Chouchi instantly became respect and love for him, while those who had insulted Chu Chouchi earlier felt ashamed and wanted to disappear.

Unexpectedly, this Second Prince, who was rumored to be cruel and ruthless, was actually so hardworking and caring towards the people. It was their narrow-mindedness and inability to distinguish right from wrong that made them so.

Pot after pot of porridge was cooked, finally filling the stomachs of the disaster victims.

After finishing their meal, they all knelt down and kowtowed to Chu Chouchi to express their gratitude.

They had fled all the way here, and thought that the imperial court's porridge distribution would be embezzled by corrupt officials. However, they did not expect that this time the Second Prince would personally distribute the porridge, which made them feel flattered.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wondering how they could have lost their minds and spoken so disrespectfully to the Second Prince.

Chu Chouchi glanced at them lazily, showing no sense of honor.

In other words, if he hadn't promised Shen Zhizhi, he wouldn't have bothered coming here at all.

Shen Zhizhi stared at the kneeling disaster victims, and seeing that Chu Chouchi had no intention of speaking, she spoke up: "Second Prince, the people are grateful to you, please say something."

Chu Chouchi frowned. Tsk, what a hassle.

"This prince is merely passing by, having nothing better to do..."

"Cough cough cough cough!"

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Zhizhi's rapid coughing interrupted his remarks.

Chu Chouchi squinted at him.

Then she winked at him and explained to the astonished disaster victims, "Ahaha, my throat is a little sore. Your Highness, please continue."

Shen Zhizhi was about to explode!

Chu Chouchi! Such a great opportunity! Say something nice to me!

Chu Chouchi glanced at her harmless yet threatening gaze, and the corners of his lips involuntarily turned up.

He coughed lightly, then said reluctantly, "I only came here today to do my part, so please don't take it to heart. Just live your lives well from now on."

Upon hearing this, the disaster victims were moved to tears and kowtowed again in gratitude.

"I have done as you said. Are you satisfied now?" Chu Chouchi turned to look at Shen Zhizhi, raising a slight brow at the corner of his eye.

Shen Zhizhi, her eyes full of smiles, took a step closer to him, brought her lips close to Chu Chouchi's ear, and whispered:

"Your Highness, you did a very good job."

As soon as he finished speaking, his back stiffened, and his heart began to beat faster.

The girl was clearly whispering in his ear, her breath so faint it was almost nonexistent, yet his heart still itched with a frantic itch.

Before he could react, the girl had already retreated and, with a grin, helped the refugee up from the ground.

Chu Chouchi stood there, his dark eyes fixed on the joyful and cheerful figure, momentarily lost in thought, a tenderness he himself was unaware of emanating from his phoenix eyes.

A corner of the city gate.

Shen Qinshou stared coldly at everything that was happening at the soup kitchen, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails almost dug into her palms.

She was right; Shen Zhizhi would definitely use the opportunity of distributing porridge to help the Second Prince get closer to him.

What right does a mere concubine's daughter have to fight her?

Shen Qinshou's eyes darkened, and the coldness emanating from them seemed to want to tear him to pieces.

He's just a second prince, isn't he?

She is the Crown Princess whom the Empress values ​​most. As long as she helps the Empress and helps the Sixth Prince ascend to the throne, she will still be the Crown Princess.

As for the Second Prince, since he is no longer useful, he should be discarded.

Thinking of this, Shen Qinshou looked away and turned to her maid, instructing, "Xiao Tao, go into the palace and see the Empress."

"Yes, ma'am."

……