Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? Chapter 222

“Do your royal father, royal mother, and brothers not oppose your relationship with Ah Wu?”

By now, the whole world knew about Ling Rui and Ah Wu’s relationship. The attitude of the royal family of Qi Dynasty was clear—they showed no signs of opposition. In fact, Qi Dynasty and Great Qing were already in the process of setting a date for their grand wedding.

Many thought the royal families of both nations were going mad.

Teng Liang, who had studied with Ling Rui and Ah Wu during their childhood, knew how close they had been. Yet, even he was shocked that they were now openly planning to marry.

Ling Rui replied to Teng Liang’s question with a casual tone: “No, they don’t oppose it. At first, they wanted to, but once they realized that Ah Wu and I were truly in love, they no longer objected.”

Teng Liang: “…”

After a few moments of silence, Teng Liang finally said, “They are rather open-minded.”

Teng Liang was eager to continue their journey, and Ling Rui, understanding his urgency, quickened the pace to accommodate him. In just one day, they reached Teng Liang’s homeland.

As soon as they entered the country, Ling Rui was struck by the heartbreaking sight before him. Starving refugees and corpses littered the landscape, creating a scene so devastating that Ling Rui clenched his fists in anger.

“Little Seven, come here.”

Teng Liang, already accustomed to such grim realities, called out to Ling Rui, “I’ll get you settled.”

Ling Rui was given a room next to Teng Liang’s, and during the walk, he calmed himself down before speaking to Teng Liang: “The bodies… they need to be dealt with quickly.”

The temperature in the area was not low, and leaving corpses exposed would breed disease.

In times of disaster, as he had learned in lessons at Guan Shan Residence, corpses needed to be cremated.

Teng Liang was aware of this from his studies as well. With a sigh of helplessness, he responded, “I know the bodies need to be dealt with, but we’re short on manpower. Besides, the people can’t accept cremation.”

For the people, the traditional belief was that the dead must be buried.

Ling Rui frowned. “When I came through, I saw that they neither have the strength to bury their dead nor will they accept cremation. Leaving the bodies exposed is only making things worse.”

“But these aren’t insurmountable problems. As for the manpower you’re worried about, there are solutions for that too.”

In addition to bringing disaster relief food, Ling Rui had also brought strategies for dealing with the current situation. All of his plans were aimed at giving the people a chance to survive.

Ling Rui didn’t rest immediately. He had porridge prepared and instructed the refugees to line up as he began distributing the food—porridge, and a soup infused with medicinal herbs.

These provided the starving people with a glimmer of hope.

Ling Rui was so busy that he didn’t even eat properly himself. He didn’t ask Teng Liang to prepare any special food for him either; he just had a little of the porridge to fill his stomach.

Teng Liang did the same, drinking porridge alongside him.

“Teng Liang, here, this is for you. My sister-in-law made this dried meat for me. She said it can be stored for a long time, so it’s convenient to eat while traveling.”

Ling Rui handed some of the dried meat he carried with him to Teng Liang.

Teng Liang looked at the meat, hesitated for a few seconds, then accepted it.

The two of them sat on the ground, indifferent to the dirtiness. When people are exhausted, such concerns become trivial.

“This is really good. Thanks,” Teng Liang said, taking a small bite of the dried meat and complimenting Ling Rui.

Ling Rui smiled, his eyes curving with the expression. Just as he was about to eat some of the meat himself, he noticed a small child nearby.

The child’s clothes were filthy, but her face was relatively clean. She had big round eyes and fluttering eyelashes.

Ling Rui made eye contact with her and noticed that she was sucking on her fingers, without a bowl in sight.

The little girl looked to be around Pingping’s age.

Ling Rui could even hear her stomach growling.

“Hello there,” he greeted gently, his voice soft as he kept his gaze on her. “Did you get some porridge?”

The little girl shook her head.

Ling Rui paused for a moment before asking, “Where are your parents?”

She shook her head again.

Sensing his confusion, she removed her fingers from her mouth and softly said, “I don’t have any.”

Her father and mother were gone.

Upon hearing this, Ling Rui felt a heavy weight settle in his chest. “Do you have any other family members? Is there anyone left?”

“No.”

This little girl had lost all her family. Her relatives had given her all the food they had, which is why she had survived until now.

Because she was so young and had no family left, the little girl hadn’t known to line up for porridge. She was too timid to ask for food.

Ling Rui had only taken two sips from his bowl. He broke a piece of the dried meat into strips, soaked them in the porridge, and handed the bowl to the girl.

“Here, eat the porridge.”

Ling Rui sat down next to her and placed the bowl in her hands, encouraging her to eat.

The little girl’s last remaining family had died two days earlier.

Perhaps it was because the loss was still fresh that the hardships hadn’t completely stripped away her innocence.

She held the bowl of porridge that Ling Rui had given her and ate in big bites. After finishing half of it, she offered the bowl back to Ling Rui.

“Brother, you eat.”

Half a bowl of porridge wasn’t enough to fill the stomach of a child who hadn’t eaten in two days, but she remembered that the big brother had given it to her. He hadn’t eaten much himself.

Her thoughtful gesture warmed Ling Rui’s heart.

He took the bowl and, in front of the little girl, drank a sip.

Then he personally fed her the rest of the porridge.

“I’m full. You should eat a little more.”

Because of that bowl of porridge, Ling Rui and the little girl unknowingly grew close to each other.

The little girl snuggled up to Ling Rui, and when she looked up at him, her dark eyes were filled with trust and dependence.

“What’s your name?” Ling Rui asked.

Softly, the little girl replied, “Ping An.”

Ling Rui: “…”

He was stunned.

Earlier, he had thought that this little girl was about the same age as his children Ping Ping and An An. He never expected her name would overlap with theirs—Ping An.

“Mom said, ‘Ping An, grow up.'”

The little girl named Ping An was still quite oblivious to the concept of life and death.

She talked about her father, mother, older brother, and sister. In the end, she blinked her eyes and said, “When Ping An grows up, Mom will come back.”

Others had told her that her mother, father, and siblings were all gone.

But her mother had said, when Ping An grows up, she would make her beautiful clothes.

“Ping An will grow up.”

Ling Rui gently patted Ping An’s little head and said softly, “Uncle also has two babies at home, named Ping Ping and An An.”

“You and Ping Ping and An An… you will all grow up.”

This little girl inevitably made Ling Rui think of his own children, softening his heart uncontrollably.

“Ping An, here, take this for the next time you’re hungry.”

Ling Rui searched his pockets and found a piece of candy, which he placed in the pocket of Ping An’s inner clothing.

Ping An obediently allowed him to tuck it away.

Watching their interaction, Teng Liang remained silent the whole time, observing everything.

He didn’t interrupt. He only quietly watched as Ling Rui held the sleepy little girl in his arms until she dozed off.

Her clothes were dirty, but Ling Rui showed no trace of disgust.

Once Ping An was asleep, Ling Rui turned his head and spoke softly to Teng Liang.

“Teng Liang, do you have an orphanage here?”

An orphanage was a place for orphans, something that existed in Qi Dynasty.

Teng Liang remained silent and shook his head.

There were too many orphans. Even adults could barely survive in these times.

If adults couldn’t protect themselves, how could children have any guardians?

Ling Rui pressed his lips together, surprised there wasn’t even an orphanage here.

“My teacher used to say that children are the hope of a dynasty.”

Ling Rui said, “No matter the circumstances, we cannot abandon the children.”

Teng Liang remembered what the teacher had said as well.

But with a bitter tone, he replied, “Little Seven, look at my situation here. I can’t do it.”

He met Ling Rui’s gaze and casually pointed to another child.

That child wasn’t much older than Ping An, but fortunately, he had just managed to get a bowl of porridge for himself.

He had no relatives by his side—another orphan, plain as day.

“You feel for Ping An, but look around. How many Ping Ans are there here?”

“One Ping An you might be able to save, but Little Seven, can you save them all?”

Ling Rui: “…”

“To build an orphanage, you need money, you need food, and I have neither.”

Teng Liang’s painful honesty weighed heavily on Ling Rui’s heart.

The two men stood there in silence for a long time, and though Ling Rui moved his lips, he couldn’t find the words to respond.

“Little Seven, it’s getting late. Let me take you to rest.”

After revealing his difficulties, Teng Liang didn’t ask Ling Rui for more help, nor did he push him to act like a saint and continue offering aid.

He simply stood up and was ready to lead Ling Rui to rest.

Ling Rui looked down at Ping An in his arms.

“Put her down.”

Teng Liang didn’t even glance at the little girl in Ling Rui’s arms. He only repeated, “You can’t save all the Ping Ans.”

“I know I can’t save them all, but at least this one, maybe I can.”

Ling Rui, holding Ping An, stood up.

He couldn’t save all the countless Ping Ans, but that didn’t mean he would stand by and let this one die.

Ling Rui was determined to take Ping An with him. Teng Liang didn’t argue and didn’t try to stop him.

They walked in silence for a while.

Just before they reached the courtyard, Teng Liang suddenly asked out of nowhere, “Little Seven, does Qi Dynasty not have so many Ping Ans?”

Ling Rui paused for a moment, then slowly replied, “No.”

Orphans like the one in his arms, left with no one to care for them, likely existed in Qi Dynasty, but certainly not in large numbers.

Even in the countryside, there were orphanages.

“That’s nice.”

Walking ahead, Teng Liang seemed to imagine the scene in Qi Dynasty and smiled faintly. “Your Qi Dynasty must be wonderful.”

No natural disasters, no human calamities, no widespread death.

Such a place was like paradise.

“Teng Liang, I—”

Hearing Teng Liang praise Qi Dynasty, Ling Rui instinctively felt uneasy.

If the world were peaceful, and everyone was well, he would be happy and proud to hear praise for Qi Dynasty.

But now, in contrast to Teng Liang’s tragic situation, hearing his praise only filled Ling Rui with sadness.

“Little Seven, we’ve arrived. Go rest, I’ll have someone bring you some water.”

Teng Liang cut off Ling Rui before he could finish and turned to leave.

Ling Rui watched his retreating figure for a long time before finally looking away.

Inside the room.

Ling Rui gently took off Ping An’s outer layer and laid her down in the bed.

Ping An seemed exhausted. Even after being carried all the way here and placed in bed, she hadn’t woken up.

She nestled into the blankets, her small face peaceful.

When the hot water was brought in, Ling Rui wiped her face and hands.

When Ping An’s face was being wiped, she started to stir, but Ling Rui freed one hand and gently patted her back, soothing her back to sleep.

Ping An was very obedient. With just a couple of pats, she would close her eyes and fall asleep.

After wiping Ping An down, Ling Rui quickly wiped himself as well.

Once everything was done, he still wasn’t sleepy.

Outside, it was pitch black, not even a single light. Ling Rui sat on the bed, quietly staring at the dark window.

At that moment, no one knew what he was thinking.

In the room next door, equally dark, Teng Liang was also sitting.

In front of Teng Liang stood several men dressed in black.

The men in black bowed their heads, waiting earnestly for their master to speak.

A crow flew across the night sky, letting out a hoarse cry as it perched on a low branch.

Its sharp, shrill call drowned out the sounds inside the room.

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