Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? Chapter 167

The little one’s eyes widened, wondering if he had misheard.

“You said they brought what?”

“They brought a lot of beautiful children,” Jiang Yan repeated, “These children are supposed to serve you in the residence.”

The little one: “…”

The little one was completely bewildered by this gift.

He stood up and, as he walked out, muttered to Jiang Yan, “We already have children in this residence. We don’t need more.”

These people must be out of their minds, sending him a bunch of kids—did they expect him to raise them for free?

Muttering as he went, the little one reached the entrance, where Ah Wu happened to be.

Seeing Ah Wu, the little one’s sour mood improved instantly.

“Ah Wu!”

“Mm.”

Ah Wu naturally reached out and took the little one’s hand.

The two of them stood close, exchanged a glance, and then looked away.

The children were still at the door, but the little one needed to deal with them first.

“You can all go back now,” the little one waved dismissively, showing no politeness. “I don’t have room for you here. Go back to your own homes.”

“Your Highness, we won’t cause you any trouble if we stay at the residence,” said a young boy in blue who, while indeed quite handsome, was not enough to sway the little one into letting him stay.

The little one shook his head firmly, refusing to let the children move in.

He was so resolute that it took a long time before the disappointed children finally left.

Watching their departing figures, Ling Fu, who had just arrived, couldn’t hold back his surprise.

“Sending gifts was one thing, but now they’re even sending people?”

The little one was just as baffled. “I have no idea.”

He truly couldn’t understand the thought process behind the adults’ gift-giving.

“Sixth Brother, Ah Wu and I are going out for a bit. Do you want to join us?”

“Where are you two going?”

“We’re going out to find some stones.”

The little one was still planning the road construction project, though it hadn’t started yet. He was currently preparing for it.

“I’ll pass.”

Ling Fu glanced at Ah Wu, who was standing next to the little one. He had already given up trying to compete with Ah Wu for the little one’s attention.

Ah Wu was just too quiet. Competing with him over the little one wasn’t even fun.

“You two go ahead, see you later.”

Ling Fu waved them off, then turned back inside to laze around.

This place was too poor—there were no fun spots or games to play.

Even the food outside wasn’t to his taste.

“Sigh.”

The streets outside couldn’t even compare to those in the capital, or even to those in the towns surrounding the capital.

With a heavy sigh, Ling Fu went back inside to lie down.

Meanwhile, the little one held Ah Wu’s hand, not letting anyone follow them as the two quietly left the residence.

“Ah Wu, why do I feel like you’re upset?”

After walking some distance, the little one tilted his head and shook Ah Wu’s hand.

Ah Wu pressed his lips together briefly, denying it. “I’m not.”

“You are.”

The little one ignored Ah Wu’s denial and insisted, “You are upset.”

The little one could tell when Ah Wu was in a bad mood, even though he didn’t quite understand why.

“Why are you upset? Did I do something to annoy you?”

“No.”

Ah Wu shook his head and said, “Maybe it’s just the weather. It feels a bit stifling.”

He blamed it on the weather, but the little one looked up at the sky and thought it didn’t seem stifling at all.

“Do you want to run faster?”

Seeing that the little one wasn’t ready to drop the subject, Ah Wu changed the topic.

The stones they were looking for were in a remote area. If they continued walking slowly like this, it would take them a long time to get there.

After considering the path ahead, the little one decided they should pick up the pace.

Once they were sure no one was following them, not even the guards, the two, big and small, darted out from the bushes.

A small white fluffy creature sat on top of the larger creature, its tiny paws tightly gripping the big one’s fur.

The little one was sitting facing forward, which meant that the rushing wind was blowing directly into its face. Ah Wu was running at high speed, and the wind generated by his sprint was fierce.

The little fluffball’s fur was puffed up from the wind, its big round eyes wide open, showing no intention of ducking down to avoid the breeze.

“Ah Wu, you still haven’t told me why you were upset earlier!”

Even while riding on his back, the little one continued to relentlessly ask the same question.

Ah Wu didn’t respond. He remained silent and sped up as if he hadn’t heard the question.

Why was he angry? Even he couldn’t quite answer that.

All he knew was that when he saw those well-dressed children earlier, a surge of hostility had welled up inside him.

Having grown up in the imperial harem, Ah Wu had seen plenty. He had witnessed others presenting beauties to the emperor.

Those beauties gifted to the emperor and the children now being given to the little one… Although the latter probably wasn’t as sordid as he imagined, seeing those children had still filled him with a sense of disgust and irritation.

“Ah Wu.”

“I, won’t, ask, anymore!”

Sitting on Ah Wu’s back, the little one noticed that the more he asked, the faster Ah Wu ran.

The wind was already blowing him every which way, and if Ah Wu went any faster, the little fluffball, whose paws had gone numb from the wind, wouldn’t be able to hold on!

His voice was fragmented by the rushing wind, and by the time Ah Wu slowed down, the little one suddenly fell off his back with a thud.

Ah Wu: “…”

Ah Wu came to an abrupt halt.

The little one, now lying on the ground, had fallen flat on his back, all four paws up in the air.

Ah Wu stopped and looked down, noticing that the little fluffball’s paws twitched a couple of times.

“Zai Zai?”

Ah Wu opened his mouth and gently picked up the little one by the scruff of his neck.

He crouched down and placed the little fluffball carefully in his arms.

The little one laid in his arms for a while, regaining his composure.

“Squeak, squeak, ouch!”

Once he had recovered, the little one kicked his paws in frustration, chirping angrily at Ah Wu.

“I told you to slow down!”

“My face hurts from the wind!”

“Look at my fur—it’s all tangled now!”

The little one’s complaints were met with Ah Wu’s quiet listening.

After hearing him out, Ah Wu lowered his head and pressed his large forehead gently against the little one’s small head.

It was his way of apologizing.

The little fluffball, having vented all his emotions, was easily pacified once his head was nuzzled.

“Chip, ouch.”

Don’t speed up again, okay?

The little one climbed back onto Ah Wu’s back, giving him a serious reminder.

Ah Wu let out a low hum, indicating that he understood.

The two of them set off again, this time with Ah Wu running at a much slower pace.

They ran for a long time before finally stopping at a stone quarry.

This quarry had been cordoned off by Jiao Da, forbidding anyone else from mining there.

While Jiao Da didn’t allow others to mine, he did have people mine for him, though not much. After all, he didn’t have much personal use for the stones himself.

Since he couldn’t use all the stones and had no one to sell them to, the quarry had been left abandoned over time.

The little prince looked at the large quarry and thought of the second item on his list.

Building roads!

“Ah Wu, we need to hire workers!”

The little one did a quick mental calculation of the current season. Now that the farming season had just ended, the villagers should have some free time.

“We’ll hire people from the village, and we can pay them for their work.”

The people here were incredibly poor. Aside from farming, they had no other sources of income.

The little one didn’t want to just give them money directly.

His teacher had once said in class, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

He could provide these impoverished villagers with a job. They would earn money for their work, and that was a fair trade.

Simply handing out money wouldn’t be a long-term solution.

“Do we have enough workers now?” Ah Wu had seen the little one’s plan and knew this was the next step.

However, this step required manpower.

“We have enough for now.”

The little one proudly lifted his head and said, “No one is stopping me from getting things done anymore!”

The governor and other officials were all flattering him.

Since the little one hadn’t threatened their interests, their attitude toward him was very favorable at the moment.

At this critical juncture, the little one didn’t want to start a conflict with them. He figured he could deal with them after he’d completed most of the tasks on his list.

Wan Ming shared the same sentiment. He knew that the governor wasn’t a good person, but for now, he had no desire to confront him.

He just wanted to do something for the people.

The people of Yanzhou Prefecture had suffered for far too long.

“Zai Zai is amazing.”

Looking at the proud little one, Ah Wu praised him.

The little one, being flattered, lifted his head and let out a howl.

After checking out the quarry, they headed back home.

On their way back, the little one wasn’t in the mood for more wind.

By now, it was evening, and the sunset stretched across the sky, while the rustling green woods surrounded them.

The little one strolled slowly along the fields.

As he walked, he stumbled upon an argument.

It was between some farmers in the fields.

“This land was doing just fine, and now you’re throwing things on it. Are you trying to ruin my crops?”

“I’ve never heard of this ‘land enrichment’ method! I don’t need it! It’s my land, and I’ll farm it my way!”

“Niuer, stop being unreasonable. You agreed to the tax exemption, and now you’re rejecting the method to enrich your soil. What are you thinking?”

“Village chief, this land is my last hope. I can’t afford to gamble on it!”

The old man called Niuer looked like he was over fifty years old. He sat in the field, refusing to let anyone use the soil enrichment method on his land.

The village chief, who had initially been furious, sighed heavily as Niuer started to cry.

“Niuer, I know this is your last bit of food. Your son and daughter-in-law are gone, your wife has passed, and now you have three grandchildren to raise.”

“You’re afraid that using this soil enrichment method might ruin your land and cut off your last source of food.”

“But I have no choice either.”

The village chief said, “This is an order from above; we have to do it.”

“Our officials in Yanzhou Prefecture keep changing, and one by one, my family members have starved to death.”

“Village chief, when will this suffering ever end?” Niuer’s aged face was filled with despair.

Not far behind Niuer, under a large tree, laid a tattered mat. On the mat sat three children. The oldest was around seven or eight years old, and the youngest had just learned to crawl. Though their clothes were ragged, their faces were clean.

The youngest child crawled a little before starting to wail, sucking on his hand as he cried harder. The little one immediately recognized that the child was crying from hunger.

“Niuer, I’ve heard that the Seventh Prince has come to Yanzhou Prefecture, and this soil enrichment method was brought by him.”

“The Seventh Prince has a kind heart. Maybe the method he introduced will really work.”

The village chief continued trying to persuade Niuer, while the little one strode forward.

Instead of going to Niuer, he walked over to the three children.

“Here you go.”

He rummaged through his pockets and found only a few copper coins, which he handed to the eldest child.

He didn’t usually carry a money pouch; someone else always had it. It was lucky he even had these few coins on him.

After giving the coins to the eldest child, the little prince didn’t bother explaining anything to Niuer.

Once this batch of crops ripened, Niuer would know whether or not the soil enrichment method worked.

This batch of crops was early-season, so the little prince wouldn’t have to wait too long.

“Zai Zai, shall we head back?”

Seeing the little one still walking along the road, Ah Wu asked. This road led through several villages, and Ah Wu didn’t need to see them to know what they were like.

He knew, and so did the little one.

But even though he knew, the little one continued walking.

They passed through villages, seeing the rundown houses, the starving people, and how not a single person in any of the villages was overweight.

No one was overweight, but some were so starved that they had begun to show signs of edema.

The little one felt a deep sadness in his heart.

“Ah Wu, they are so pitiful.”

“I know.”

Ah Wu accompanied him through several villages before gently scooping him up and tossing him onto his back. “Zai Zai, you are already helping them.”

“Give them some time, and give yourself some time too.”

“Everything will get better.”

Ah Wu carried the little fluffball on his back, patiently comforting him.

The little one sniffled quietly as time passed.

The little one was in charge of issuing orders, and those who wanted to flatter him would ensure that every one of his commands was carried out perfectly.

“Your Highness, these are the routes from the villages to the county town, and from the county town to the Pronvice roads. I’ve marked them all.”

“I’ve also made the road signs that you requested.”

“And the names of each road are written here as well.”

Among all the people under the little prince’s command, Wan Ming had the strongest work ethic. Whether it was soil enrichment, road building, or hiring workers, Wan Ming personally oversaw every task.

Lately, he had been working so hard that he had lost quite a bit of weight.

The little one was worried that he might work himself to death.

“Lord Wan, you can delegate some of these tasks to others. Your health is the most important thing.”

The little one didn’t want to overwork someone as capable as Wan Ming.

“Here, have a bowl of soup to replenish your strength.”

After giving Wan Ming some soup, the little one invited him to stay for a meal.

Though Wan Ming was exhausted, he was brimming with energy.

He had put his heart and soul into everything he was doing—soil enrichment, road construction, hiring workers, and distributing free medicine to the villagers.

All of these actions by the little one were truly for the benefit of the people.

“Lord Wan, have they taken the medicine?”

During the little one’s last visit to the village, he had seen some people suffering from edema. He had brought medicine and a recipe, so after making a new batch, he had tasked Wan Ming with distributing it.

Wan Ming was efficient and resourceful. Instead of forcing the villagers to take the medicine, he had brought in doctors under the guise of free consultations, ensuring that the villagers took the medicine willingly.

“Your Highness, they’ve all taken it. Their conditions have improved significantly.”

“Good! As long as they’re getting better.”

The little one had learned a great deal during his time at Guan Shan Residence, from civil matters to military strategy and even medicine.

Now, he was applying everything he had learned for the benefit of the people.

If all of this truly brought good fortune—

That fortune wouldn’t belong to him alone but to everyone at Guan Shan Residence.

“Your Highness, on behalf of the people, I—”

“Alright, alright, no need to thank me, and no need to cry. I’m not crying anymore.”

Wan Ming, overwhelmed with emotion, would often find himself crying in front of the little one.

Whenever the little one saw his red eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

Under the little one’s firm insistence, Wan Ming barely managed to hold back his tears.

A few days later.

The day the little one had been counting down to finally arrived. The crops in the field were about to sprout.