The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

"Sir, why didn't you let me give the food to that child just now?" The official who was just reprimanded couldn't help but turn around.

"Don't look back," Fang Jun's voice remained steady, "You can save him for a moment, but you can't save him for a lifetime. Besides, didn't you see those looming disaster victims around us? If we save one, what about the rest?"

"But there aren't many people..."

"That's because you only see these people. Do you know why I asked them to bring food and walk at night? It's because hungry and desperate people are irrational. They even eat people. Do you think that if you offer them food, you can walk out of this place unscathed?"

Fang Jun's calm voice made the official behind him break out in cold sweat.

Another official walked up and whispered, "I know you have a soft heart, but being soft-hearted at the wrong time will harm everyone."

"I know my mistake." The young official lowered his head in shame.

In fact, before they set off, Fang Jun had instructed t

hem not to help beggars on the road, but he saw the child and thought of his younger brother at home. He couldn't bear it for a moment and almost made a big mistake.

Fang Jun sighed. He was not heartless, but his purpose in this trip was to pacify the entire north, and he could not afford to make small mistakes.

This trip was difficult, and he knew it even before he set off. However, the emperor sent him, which was a trust in him. No matter what, he could not let this trust down.

The small city ahead was their second destination. Compared to the main city, the environment here was even worse, but none of the officials complained. They knew that just staying alive was already the greatest effort that the people here could make.

The official who came to welcome them was not well-off, with a thin face and bad complexion. When he saw them, his eyes brightened. "You are the disaster relief officials sent by the court. I didn't expect you to come in person. Please come in. We don't have much in the government office, so please forgive us for any negligence."

The government office in this small city was much smaller than the main city, and the furnishings were also old. Fang Jun looked around and couldn't find anything valuable.

After a brief conversation, Fang Jun got straight to the point, "What is the situation of the disaster here? I have brought some supplies. I don't know if they are enough."

The official of the small city clearly knew the situation here and gave a concise description of the disaster.

The more he listened, the more Fang Jun frowned.

Strictly speaking, the disaster here started at the end of April and has continued until now. It hasn't rained a drop. Later, when they couldn't hold out any longer, the officials sold everything that could be sold for money and bought a batch of grain from outside to barely sustain them until now.

"Wasn't the military pay of the troops stationed in Subei used for emergency relief?"

"The bulk of it is in the main city. For small towns like ours or villages, any aid we receive is like a stroke of luck. The grain we received from above is only a little, and with so many people, it won't last long. Those who can leave have already left, but where can they go? The situation in the whole Subei region is the same."

"Has no one escaped outside Subei?"

"Well..." The small official looked hesitant and then continued, "It's impossible to escape outside. I have a relative who tried to leave Subei with his wife and daughters, but they disappeared not long after they left and still haven't been found."

"No wonder the officials in the court haven't received any news." Fang Jun pondered. It turned out that from the beginning, someone had deliberately prevented people from escaping from there. As soon as refugees appeared in other places, they could trace it back to the Subei region.

After learning about the situation, Fang Jun gathered people and set up a porridge distribution point outside the government office.

"Your Honor, there are many refugees outside the city gate." The gatekeeper came to report.

"They should have followed us here." Fang Jun remembered meeting some teenagers on the road just now.

"Should we let them into the city?" The county magistrate looked at the busy crowd. "It doesn't matter if they come in. There aren't many people in the city anyway. Maybe some of these people were originally from the city."

"Check them first and make sure there are no problems. If they are okay, bring them in. You guys go help them."

Fang Jun pointed to a few guards following behind him.

With the guards maintaining order, the people who came to receive porridge lined up obediently. The county magistrate's words were true. There weren't many people left in the city.

The porridge dispensers worked quickly, and it didn't take long for the long line to reach the end.

"Is this all the people there are?" Fang Jun frowned, looking at the people squatting on the side. Even though this city was small, there were still fewer people than he expected.

"Your Honor, I have an elderly mother who is bedridden. Could you give her a bowl of porridge?"

"What are you thinking? Your Honor's act of distributing porridge is already an act of kindness." Someone pulled him aside.

"I heard that the court has sent officials to aid the disaster relief."

The virtuous official personally came to this small county to distribute porridge. Those who could come have already come, but there are some elderly widows without children who cannot come, and can only leave it to fate.

"You, come here," Fang Jun called out to the official who had almost made a mistake on the way, "Who is more familiar with this place? Lead him around and send some food to the elderly who are bedridden at home."

"You are truly a virtuous person!" The people drinking porridge next to them couldn't help but put down their bowls and kowtow.

"Since the court has sent me over, I will save all those who can be saved. By the way, gather all the physicians here, I need some medicinal materials."

After major disasters such as droughts and floods, plagues often follow. Before coming, several imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital gave him some prescriptions to prevent epidemics, and he must take preventive measures.

"Oh yes, have the physicians come along to check the conditions of these people. If they have symptoms such as fever, they need to be treated centrally. Also, tell everyone in the city to clean themselves up."

Fang Jun arranged everything step by step, and the people below followed suit, and quickly took action. Upon learning that the food sent by the court was sufficient and that they would not be abandoned, the people were enthusiastic and followed suit to help.

Originally, they were also going to arrange work for them. Before coming, Shen Yu specifically told him that if possible, try to let the victims exchange labor for food. Only in this way could the possibility of a riot be reduced.

The victims who came with Fang Jun and his team were also properly resettled.

Afterwards, the young man found Fang Jun and knocked his head heavily: "Sir, you saved my life. I am willing to do anything for you."

"That's not necessary. You were able to come here thanks to your own efforts," Fang Jun patted the shoulder of the young man who had already been cleaned, "What are your plans for the future?"

"I also want to be an official and be a good official like you!" The young man's eyes were firm.

Fang Jun's heart moved: "What about your family? Do you want to find them?"

"I have no family," the light in the young man's eyes dimmed, "I don't even know where they are."

"Can you read?" Fang Jun asked.

The young man nodded, "I can do it. I used to help people write letters."

"Would you like to work with me?" Fang Jun asked.

"Can I?" The young man was surprised.

"As long as you want to. But working with me will be tiring," Fang Jun said.

"I'm willing!" The young man nodded heavily.

That night, as usual, Fang Jun wrote about the situation in Subei for the black-clad people who were hiding nearby.

A few days later, Shang Junlin received the report from Subei.

"The situation in Subei is indeed bad. Fang Jun arrived outside the main city and found that the situation was completely different from that in the main city," Shang Junlin said, showing the report written by Fang Jun to Shen Yu.

"So all the military funds went to the officials in the main city, and only a small portion was used for the people? How deeply did the late emperor's people infiltrate Subei?" Shen Yu frowned.

He knew very little about Subei. In his previous life, there had been no major problems in Subei, and his attention had been focused on the south. Even until he died, Subei had not been very noticeable.

"I led the Subei army to resist the Beimo. I was severely injured several times in Subei. At that time, the Subei officials did nothing, which led to the occupation of most of Subei's territory by the Beimo. After I led the army to reclaim the territory, I severely punished them and separated the military and political power in Subei. Now it seems that my cleansing back then was not thorough enough." Shang Junlin's face was unhappy.

Shen Yu asked, "Those people actually let Fang Jun go elsewhere?"

Shang Junlin said, "Fang Jun can directly contact the Subei army, so they dare not act too recklessly for now."

Shen Yu said, "Based on what we know, those people probably couldn't control the Subei army. We can tell from the fact that they only dared to deal with people after they left the Subei territory. They are afraid of the Subei army."

As long as the Subei Army is not infiltrated, those people will not be a threat.

Shang Junlin said, "Gu Huai has also made contact with the people from the Subei Army. They will first investigate the problematic individuals within their own ranks, and once the infiltrators within the Subei Army have been identified and their true motives have been understood, they will take action against them."

Shen Yu asked, "Have you found anything in the King of Yue's territory?"

"We found evidence of his secretly amassing troops and buying horses," replied Shang Junlin, who was even more displeased when the King of Yue was mentioned. He stroked Shen Yu's hair and said, "Do you know why he approached you in the first place?"

Shang Junlin suddenly brought this up, and Shen Yu was taken aback. "To get closer to the Zhenbei Marquis's estate?"

"What is there to gain by getting closer to the Zhenbei Marquis's estate? Do you know what news I heard from Shang Jun Yue's fiefdom? Shang Jun Yue1 has a group of strategists, some of whom are skilled diviners. One of these strategists once said to Shang Jun Yue, 'He who obtains the son of the Zhenbei Marquis will obtain the world.'"

Just thinking about how the King of Yue had coveted Shen Yu from the beginning filled Shang Junlin with an irresistible desire to kill.

Suddenly, Shen Yu's mind suddenly went blank as if he had remembered something, or maybe he hadn't. He looked a little lost and asked, "So that's why he approached me and Shen Qingran at the same time?"

How many secrets were hidden in the past life that lay hidden in the timeline?

"It's just nonsense, the kind that only someone like the Prince of Yue would believe. Don't worry too much about it, I have already asked the Hidden Dragon Guard to find that person. No matter what the reason that person said that I will make him pay the price!" Shang Junlin said.

Just because of an unverifiable statement, Shen Yu had been deceived. This time, Shen Yu was clever enough not to be deceived, but what if he had been deceived by the Duke of Yue?

Shang Junlin couldn't even imagine that possibility.

"I won't think too much about it. It doesn't matter what the King of Yue thinks. I know you will protect me, right?" Shen Yu leaned on Shang Junlin's shoulder.

At this moment, he only had greater doubts about what had happened in his past life.