The little one instinctively looked in that direction.
He shifted slightly, but the next second, Ning Shao placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him seated.
“Don’t move.”
Ning Shao whispered, “I’ll go check it out.”
Ning Shao wasn’t just leading a guard unit because of his status—he had real skills.
Before Ning Shao could get close to the snowdrift, there was the sound of something breaking.
The snowdrift collapsed.
A faint cry for help echoed, and after a careful inspection, Ning Shao rescued the person calling out.
The man he pulled out was wearing tattered clothes.
The man shivered uncontrollably after being saved, his lips turning purple from the cold, and he could barely speak.
“T-thank you.”
The man stammered out his gratitude to Ning Shao, but after that, he said nothing else, looking dazed as if he were frozen stiff.
Ning Shao brought him over to the fire and had him sit down.
Before doing so, Ning Shao had already checked that the man wasn’t carrying any weapons.
Still, Ning Shao remained cautious and kept the man at a distance from the little one.
“Here, take this.”
Ning Shao heard the man’s stomach rumbling with hunger and handed him a warm, roasted flatbread and a water pouch.
The man was starving and didn’t refuse, wolfing down the food immediately.
The little one sat next to Ning Shao, staring wide-eyed at the man devouring the food. In a small voice, he asked Ning Shao, “Why is this uncle dressed so thinly?”
Considering the snowstorm, it was a miracle that the man hadn’t frozen to death in such thin clothing.
Ning Shao pulled the little one’s fur cloak tighter around him.
With one arm wrapped around the little one, Ning Shao asked the man, “Where are you coming from? Why are you traveling in this weather without warmer clothes?”
“I… I’m fleeing disaster.”
The man continued eating as he answered Ning Shao, “I’m from Meng County. There was a severe drought, and we couldn’t grow any crops. Just as the year ended, bandits came…”
“Staying home was impossible, so I left with my family, trying to find a way to survive.”
As the man spoke, his eyes reddened, and his eating slowed.
Seeing the man’s sadness, the little one’s expression turned somber as well.
The man took a breath and continued, “I heard that there are opportunities in Yanzhou, so I came here. Kind sir, do you know how far Yanzhou is from here?”
“It’s still a ways off.”
Ning Shao replied, “You should rest here for the night and continue your journey tomorrow.”
The man nodded gratefully.
As time passed, Ning Shao found a few sets of warm clothes and some rations from the carriage and handed them to the man. “Take these with you to Yanzhou. There are many places hiring laborers there. As long as you work hard, you’ll at least have food and shelter.”
“Thank you so much, young master.”
The man, holding the items, insisted on bowing his head to Ning Shao in gratitude.
The next day.
The man left, and the little one, watching his back, called for the guards: “Go take a look at Meng County. Don’t stay too long; just observe and come back.”
While in Yanzhou, the little one had investigated not only Yanzhou’s affairs but also situations in nearby areas, often reporting to his older brother.
Meng County was located to the north of Yanzhou.
Although the little one wasn’t familiar with the place, if things were truly as the man described, it was strange that his brother hadn’t mentioned any disaster in his letters.
Ning Shao watched as the little one sent people to investigate. He even assigned two of his own men to go along.
The carriage continued its journey.
Along the way, the little one intermittently encountered more refugees, and he gave them as much food as he could. But the number of people he could help was limited.
Unable to solve the problem himself, he entered the nearby county towns and instructed the local magistrates to set up relief points along the road.
The funds for this relief effort were personally borrowed by the little one.
These encounters along the way dampened the joy he initially felt about returning home.
Seeing that this was slowing down their progress, Ning Shao quietly sped up their pace to ensure they would reach the capital as soon as possible.
Solving the refugee crisis would ultimately require the imperial court’s involvement.
The little one’s attempts to solve it single-handedly were admirable but impossible.
After Ning Shao picked up the pace, it took them another two or three days to finally reach the capital.
Just before entering the city.
The little one didn’t rush to lift the curtain and look outside. He sat in the carriage, staring expectantly at Ah Wu in front of him. “Ah Wu, are you really leaving? Won’t you stay with me for the New Year?”
The little one clung to Ah Wu’s hand, eyes full of reluctance.
Ah Wu had spent most of the year with him, but there were also months when he needed to return to Great Qing to make his presence felt and to check whether the Emperor was still alive.
To keep the Emperor hanging on, Ah Wu had even asked the little one to request some medicine from Shui Shui to prolong his life.
“Zai Zai, the New Year is already over. I’ll head back, and we’ll meet again in Yanzhou.”
“I want to let you go.”
The little one looked down at their joined hands, his voice full of grievance, “But my hand won’t let go by itself.”
Ah Wu: “…”
Ah Wu raised his free hand and gently rubbed the little one’s head. “Be good, Zai Zai. You’ll see your father, mother, and siblings soon. Don’t you miss them?”
“I do.”
The little one sniffled and added more names to his list, “I also miss everyone at Guan Shan Residence, and I miss Big Boss and Uncle Lian Qing. Big Boss and Uncle Lian Qing have both disappeared; I can’t find either of them.”
When the little one made a wish during the last prayer ceremony, it was for Big Boss and Uncle Lian Qing to reunite.
After making that wish, he had even asked Ah Wu to find a way to contact Big Boss and pass along the message.
Big Boss had written back.
He said that if Lian Qing returned, there was no telling in which corner of the world he might appear.
Lian Qing hadn’t immediately gone to Guan Shan Residence when he first returned; he had traveled to many places. Perhaps when he returned, it would be in some corner he had visited before.
Big Boss planned to search all those places.
After Big Boss set out to find Lian Qing, the little one went from having only Uncle Lian Qing missing to having both Uncle Lian Qing and Big Boss missing.
“We’ll find them.”
Ah Wu gently pressed his forehead against the little one’s, a gesture of comfort.
He coaxed the little one for a while longer in the carriage until the little one finally let go.
Before Ah Wu left, he transferred Ling Fu from the neighboring carriage into the little one’s carriage.
“Little Seven.”
Ling Fu sat down and patted his younger brother’s shoulder, skillfully reassuring him, “Ah Wu will come back soon. Don’t think about him.”
The carriage continued moving forward.
The noise of the bustling capital reached the little one’s ears.
Ling Fu pulled back the curtain, inviting his brother to look outside.
“Wow, there’s a fire-breathing performer!”
Ling Fu was excited, “And monkeys! Little Seven, look, that little monkey is so cute.”
“There’s also fried sugar cakes! Little Seven, I want to buy sugar cakes. Do you want some fried meatballs? I see meatballs and vegetable balls.”
“And there’s sticky rice cakes! You can drizzle honey on them.”
With Ling Fu’s non-stop commentary, the little one stuck his head out to see for himself.
The lively scenes outside were indeed captivating for the two children.
Seeing them peering out, Ning Shao smiled and asked, “Do you want to take a walk? It’ll be easier to shop if you get out.”
“Yes!”
The children all climbed out of the carriage, each accompanied by attendants, and began browsing the market.
Window shopping without buying anything wasn’t real shopping.
None of the children left empty-handed. The little one handed some of his purchases to Jiang Yan.
“Jiang Jiang, this is for Doubao.”
Jiang Yan’s younger brother was nicknamed Doubao.
The little fellow was adorable and had a keen sense of beauty. He would ask to be held by attractive people but shy away from those he didn’t find good-looking.
To Doubao, the little one’s face was even prettier than his own brother’s.
“You might as well visit him in person and make him even happier.”
“I’ll visit him in a couple of days.”
The little one hadn’t seen Doubao in a long time and missed him a lot.
Jiang Yan smiled and nodded, not following him and Ling Fu into the palace.
“My home is just ahead. I’ll head back directly. See you in a few days, Little Seven.”
“Mm! See you!”
After buying things, Jiang Yan and Chen Zhou went their separate ways.
The two princes lingered on the street for a while longer before heading back.
On the way back to the palace.
Ling Fu, adjusting his clothes, asked nervously, “Little Seven, do you think everyone will be surprised when they see me?”
In the palace, Ling Fu had always struggled with losing weight. But after spending a year with his younger brother, despite being a bit lazy at times, his brother had so much to do that Ling Fu was forced to join in.
Perhaps due to the busyness, or maybe some slight discomfort with the climate, Ling Fu had indeed slimmed down considerably. His face was still a little round, but the change compared to when he left the palace was noticeable.
“They will be. Sixth Brother, you’ve lost weight and you look even better now.”
Little Seven’s words, sweet and sincere as always, made Ling Fu beam with happiness.
Before long, they arrived back at the palace.
The people in the palace had already received word of their return and were prepared to greet them.
Seeing so many people, Little Seven’s eyes curved into crescents with joy.
He went around hugging everyone, feeling as if he didn’t have enough arms to embrace them all.
After Ling Fu greeted everyone, he was met with a flurry of exclamations.
Ling Chen nodded approvingly and said, “Little Sixth looks much healthier now.”
Previously, Ling Fu had been pressured to lose weight because everyone feared his obesity might affect his health.
After receiving a bunch of compliments, Ling Fu was fully satisfied and went off to find Consort Ru.
“Little Seven, why do I feel like you’ve lost weight too?”
Noble Consort Yi frowned as she looked at her son, never seeming to get enough of him.
Little Seven lifted his face, offering it for his mother to pinch. “I haven’t lost weight. I’ve still got some chubbiness.”
“You’ve definitely slimmed down.”
Noble Consort Yi still thought he looked thinner. “We need to make sure you eat well and regain some weight.”
Both Noble Consort Yi and Emperor Ling hadn’t seen their son in a long time, and after doting on him enough, they finally let Ling Chen take him away.
Little Seven was also very comfortable in his elder brother’s company.
After touching the dragon embroidered on his brother’s imperial robe, Little Seven transformed into a little dumpling and made his brother compare which was cuter: the dragon or the dumpling.
Ling Chen, embracing him fondly, said, “The dumpling is cuter. Our Little Seven is the most adorable.”
After chatting and being affectionate for a while, Little Seven started to report grievances.
He began by reporting on matters in Yanzhou and then proceeded to talk about Meng County.
As Little Seven rattled off his grievances, Ling Chen sat at his desk, jotting down everything his little brother said. He even had Little Seven write out the appropriate legal consequences for the officials involved.
The two brothers shared a single desk, and if anyone from the court had seen them, they would have been thoroughly stunned.
“Little Seven, for you to have accomplished so much in Yanzhou in just a year, I’m really proud of you,” Ling Chen said, feeling both surprised and delighted by his younger brother’s progress.
It was a blessing for the Qi Dynasty to have someone like Little Seven.
Time flew by as they spent it in the palace.
Without realizing it, the sky outside had already turned dark.
“Dinner time.”
Ling Chen held his brother’s hand, leading him to dinner. “We can’t let our Little Seven go hungry.”
After dinner, Ling Chen wanted to keep his brother with him for a little longer.
The chief eunuch, who had been serving dinner, had poured alcohol for Ling Chen earlier. Now, slightly tipsy, Ling Chen was holding his brother and chatting, while Little Seven, as usual, was pleading with him to summon their little uncle.
Whenever Little Seven wanted to see his little uncle in the palace, he always had to ask his eldest brother.
When Ling Chen called for their little uncle, Little Seven would be able to sleep with him.
As Little Seven shook Ling Chen’s hand and softly pleaded, “Pretty please,” Ling Chen chuckled and promptly sent for Murong Xu to come over.
No sooner had Ling Chen sent for Murong Xu than a palace maid arrived with a bowl of sobering soup.
The palace maid was young and beautiful, sent to the palace from Ling Chen’s maternal family.
Back when the Empress had been implicated in a crime, her family had fallen from power.
Although the investigation showed that her family had no knowledge of her actions, they were still punished and left to retire in obscurity.
But when Emperor Ling abdicated and Ling Chen ascended the throne, the family, now in retirement, began stirring again.
“Big Brother, are you drunk?”
“No,” Ling Chen shook his head, denying it. “Big Brother can hold his liquor just fine. But Little Seven, stop shaking me, you’re making me see double.”
Little Seven: “…”
The little one, who hadn’t moved at all, sighed softly.
