klisemfg Chapter 393 Eating human blood steamed buns
Chapter 393 Eating human blood steamed buns
Zhao Yan ate very little so that her child could eat more, which is why she fainted from exhaustion while moving goods.
"Haitian City doesn't seem to be affected by the flood. Even with a large influx of refugees and the government opening granaries to distribute food, the people shouldn't be in such dire straits, right?"
Song Ruozhen looked at Chu Junting with confusion in her eyes. The famine was so severe that the royal family took it very seriously, and the situation should have eased by now.
Chu Junting was naturally aware of this as well. Haitian City was still some distance from Pingyang City, and if things were already like this here, one could only imagine what the situation was like in Pingyang City; it would only be worse.
"This matter must be thoroughly investigated," Gu Huaixu said in a deep voice.
Anyone with eyes could see that there was something wrong with this situation, but the local government did nothing, simply letting things continue as they were without reporting it to the imperial court.
Everyone's hearts sank, but their expressions remained unchanged.
Song Jingshen hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He had been to Haitian City to do business before and had dealt with the Jiang family, the richest family in the city. He knew that the head of the Jiang family was not a good person. Many businessmen were rich but heartless, but to treat human life so lightly was really too much.
"What do we do now? Go straight to the Jiang family or ask around first?"
Song Zhiyu felt bad looking at the situation, but he had no experience in dealing with this kind of thing, so he could only look to Gu Huaixu and Chu Junting.
"Yunyang, take some men and visit the rice shops in Haitian City to find out about the grain situation and prices here," Chu Junting instructed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Chu Tianche had now figured out what had happened before and knew that this matter was very troublesome. Every time there was a disaster, it was inevitable that a group of officials who were inactive or even embezzled would be implicated.
This is the situation in Haitian City.
"Third brother, the people here not only go hungry, but they also have to work themselves to the bone just to avoid starving to death. They can only die from exhaustion."
"If this situation isn't resolved, countless people will be affected. We should first inquire with the county magistrate about the situation and then see how to address it," Chu Tianche said.
Ling Qian'er nodded, "The magistrate must be most aware of these situations, and we must save these suffering people."
Chu Junting glanced at her. "You used to live in Pingyang City, so you might know something about the area. But do you know what kind of character the magistrate of Haitian City is?"
Coincidentally, the Ling family used to live in Pingyang City, which is a large city, much larger than Haitian City.
Moreover, according to his investigation, not only Pingyang City, but also the surrounding cities are under the jurisdiction of the Ling family, and Haitian City... may be one of them.
Ling Qian'er shook her head, slightly apologetic, and said, "Although I have been to the battlefield a few times, I have only ridden horses and practiced archery in Pingyang City. I don't know much about other cities."
After all, I am just a woman, and my father and brothers would never talk to me about these things.
“It’s normal that Miss Ling doesn’t know. Compared to ordinary girls, you already know a lot.”
While comforting Ling Qian'er, Chu Tianche said to Chu Junting, "Third brother, we've been on the ship for so many days, and it's noon now. Why don't we have lunch together first, and then find out more about the situation?"
Things have already progressed to this point, and there's no time to rush things. Going directly to the magistrate won't help if we don't investigate first.
Chu Junting nodded. He had already sent people to investigate, but it would take some time to figure out the situation.
The group randomly chose a restaurant. No matter the time, there are always wealthy people there, so although the restaurant wasn't very lively, there were still several tables occupied by people eating.
As they were preparing for the meal, Ling Qian'er looked at Song Ruozhen, who was dressed as a maid, and said, "Go and ask the waiter to bring another pot of tea."
She had noticed earlier that this maid knew medicine, and not only that, the King of Chu and the others seemed to be quite familiar with her.
It's not surprising that Grand Tutor Gu and the Song family are relatives, so it's not surprising that he knows the Song family's maid. But it's really strange that Chu Junting is also very familiar with a maid.
After much thought, there was only one possibility—this maid was from Song Ruozhen's side.
Thinking of this, Ling Qian'er found it ridiculous. Song Ruozhen was worried that the Prince of Chu would fall in love with other girls while he was away, but she couldn't come along, so she asked Song Jingshen to go south to do business with her, and even asked him to bring his personal maid along.
"I didn't expect Song Ruozhen to actually have such skills!"
Ling Qian'er sneered. She had always heard that the Prince of Chu treated Song Ruozhen very well, protecting her in every way, and that the Prince of Chu had been the one to pursue her from beginning to end.
In retrospect, Song Ruozhen's methods were brilliant!
When Song Ruozhen saw Ling Qian'er suddenly ordering her around, a hint of surprise flashed across her clear eyes. She met Chu Junting's displeased gaze and, as if about to speak, she preemptively replied, "I'll go right away."
We came here in disguise, so we can't let all our efforts go to waste. Besides, Ling Qian'er is no good person to begin with, and that strange luck proves that she is definitely not a good person!
Soon, the waiter brought over a pot of tea, while Song Ruozhen ate her meal outside.
After all, she was now a maid, so she couldn't eat with everyone. While eating, she took the opportunity to ask the waiter about the situation.
"Young lady, where did you all come from? You look like you're from a distinguished family, not ordinary people!" The waiter was also very curious.
Song Ruozhen smiled slightly, her expression revealing a hint of joy, "Actually, our young master is in business. Recently, there was a flood in Yangcheng, and many people were displaced. Rice prices have all gone up. How much have they gone up in your Haitian City?"
Upon hearing this, the waiter immediately understood and said, "You have no idea how much the price of rice, flour, and oil has increased. It has increased threefold, and I am only from our Haitian City."
The closer to Yangcheng, the more expensive the prices. The wealthy don't worry about it at all, but it's us ordinary folks who are pitiful; we can't even get enough to eat!
"So many?" Song Ruozhen feigned surprise and confusion. "Haitian City didn't suffer from floods. At most, some refugees have arrived here. Besides, didn't the imperial court allocate funds for disaster relief?"
Why did I see so many people unloading goods at the dock just now, all rice and flour? Why are the people still not having enough to eat?
"The refugees did come, and the government set up soup kitchens, but there was only so much soup, and it was gone in just three days."
Those wealthy merchants are all heartless. When they heard about the flood in Pingyang City, they bought back all the grain. Now that they know the prices are higher there, they are transporting all the grain there.
After all, it only takes a little more time on the road, but the money earned is much more, so all the nearby cities have suffered as a result!
The waiter sighed deeply, "These damned rich merchants are just profiting from human suffering!"