Chapter Thirteen: The Eastern Palace Treasury

  "Dinner is ready,"

  In front of a steaming large pot, the chef's assistant shouted loudly, his voice carrying a long tail sound that traveled far away.

  Actually, there's no need for him to shout, the front of the pot is already surrounded by refugees. They're all drooling and staring at the steaming hot pot, if someone hadn't been maintaining order, they would have rushed forward a long time ago.

  This is one of the relief points in Daxing County Government. It is responsible for relieving refugees from the east of Daxing City, and since most refugees come from the east, this place is given the most attention.

  Before the silver from the Ministry of Revenue arrived, Su Sheng couldn't wait any longer and directly used the silver in the county's Pan warehouse to start relief efforts for the refugees.

  "Don't worry, take your time," a clear voice calmed the crowded group, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl stood in front of the pot, comforting the crowd. The girl's face was delicate, her voice was exceptionally pleasant to listen to, and a pair of big eyes added a few more touches of beauty.

  Reaching out to take over the handed-over porcelain bowl, wooden bowl, each one is full, and then handing it over.

  "Thank you, Little Grass Sister." A boy in his early teens took over the bowl and thanked her as he looked at the food inside.

  "Zhùzi, eat quickly!" Little Grass couldn't say more, hastily took over the next bowl and continued to be busy.

  Zhuzi held a bowl of rice and came to one side, eating with big mouthfuls. While eating, he watched the busy little grass.

  He and Xiao Cao both came to Daxing as refugees, he was alone, while Xiao Cao had a father who could cook, this time the imperial court provided disaster relief, Xiao Cao and his father were selected together to help with cooking.

  The little grass is very kind and usually takes good care of the pillar.

  "I will definitely work hard and repay Little Cao sister in the future." Zhuzi said firmly, looking at his weak body.

  In his heart, he couldn't help but glance at the table not far away, where several officials were registering. This time, although the imperial court was providing relief through labor, he could still find work to do.

  The elderly said that in the past when the imperial court was providing disaster relief, they were allowed to eat for free. How is it that in a place as wealthy as Daxing, they still have to work?

  But working is good too. Although Zhang Wuji was only over ten years old, he could help the adults with some tasks, which would be enough to let him avoid starving again.

  "Recruiting people to clear the river course, anyone who wants to hurry up!" A middle-aged man with a small foreman's appearance shouted.

  "I'm going." Zhuzi quickly put down the bowl in his hand and responded.

  "Little rascal, can you handle it?" The little foreman squinted his eyes and measured the pillar with some doubt.

  "Uncle, I'm telling you the truth, my swimming skills are great. You said road repair is not possible for me, but cleaning up the river channel is absolutely no problem." Zhuzi patted his chest to guarantee it.

  "Alright, it's up to you!" The foreman hesitantly secured the pillar in place. Whether or not it would work out could only be known once the water reached the river; there was no room for deception.

  Zhu zi turned his head and looked at the busy little grass again, then followed the foreman away.

  ※※※

  "Shasha"

  The sound of peacock feathers rubbing against paper filled the entire room.

  Yang You sat in front of the main table, working hard to calculate the accounts handed over by Yao Si-lian, and a large pile of draft paper had already accumulated on the ground.

  Yao Si Lian sat at the desk on the left. His task today was not teaching, but being pulled by Yang You to help with the distribution of goods for the refugees.

  It's okay to let Yang You handle the calculations, but when it comes to these official matters, he's completely at a loss. Fortunately, Yao Si-lian is doing a great job, and has organized the disaster relief work in an orderly manner.

  "Your Highness, this is the newly arrived dispatch."

  Wang Xi pushed open the door and placed a thick stack of folded paper on Yao Si Lian's desk.

  "It's those county officials again sending over applications for disaster relief projects." Yao Si-lian picked up a book, took a glance and shook his head, saying helplessly.

  Since Yang You issued the order to replace relief with work, except for Su Sheng, all county magistrates were desperately pulling projects, and disaster relief was handed over to their deputies.

  Repair bridges, pave roads, repair water conservancy, build schools. In just one short morning, the submitted petitions exceeded more than a hundred times of this year's corvee.

  Moreover, some counties a bit farther from Daxing have not yet arrived.

  If all were reported, it would be estimated to be more than double.

  "Xinku Yao has finished reading." Yang You also smiled bitterly. In any era, officials are the same, whether necessary or not, they desperately pull projects, first get on horseback and then talk, pulling in funds is performance.

  He had no way to deal with these things, and could only rely on Yao Siyan himself to distinguish them. Fortunately, Yang You gave Yao Siyan a lot of autonomy, carefully selecting and prioritizing some necessary projects while rejecting those that were out of line.

  It's been another busy afternoon, and I've finally finished everything.

  "Her Highness Princess Wei requests your presence!" A palace maid came to report just as she finished.

  Yang You followed the palace maid back to the East Palace and saw Wei Fei sitting in front of a table, on which were placed four or five plates of steaming hot dishes.

  "Nice to meet you, Mother." Yang You said with a bow.

  "Yu'er, come and eat something quickly, you've had a hard day today." Wei Fei helped Yang Yu up and pulled him to the dinner table.

  Wu's mother promptly handed over a bowl of well-cooked porridge. Yang You took it and drank it all in one breath, letting out a comfortable sigh.

  "You must be starving! Hurry up and eat something." Wei Fei hastily invited Yang You to have a meal.

  Yang You hurried for a long time and was already hungry, so he started eating in big mouthfuls.

  As the saying goes, a big appetite will exhaust his father's resources. Before long, all the dishes on the table had disappeared into Yang You's stomach.

  Wei Fei waved her hand, and the palace maid quickly cleaned up the broken cups and plates. All the palace maids also retreated under Wu Ma's lead.

  Yang You straightened his back and knew that Wei Fei had something to say.

  "Yu'er has grown up." Wei Fei said with a smile, "This time you did very well, this time you provided timely relief to the refugees and built a large number of projects, even the crown prince was not as good as you back then."

  Wei Fei's eyes welled up with tears as soon as she mentioned the crown prince, clearly having been overcome with emotion.

  Yang You felt embarrassed, because he didn't have any feelings for Yuan De Taizi at all. Wei Fei also didn't suspect anything, after all, the prince had been gone for many years, and Yang You was still young back then!

  "This is what the child should do, after all, these refugees were allowed to enter the pass by the child, and they will not be neglected." Yang You gently comforted Wei Fei.

  "This is your first time formally getting involved in government affairs. If there's anything you don't understand, be sure to ask the ministers for guidance in a timely manner and don't act on your own."

  Wei Fei said cautiously that she was afraid Yang You would be too impulsive in handling state affairs, being young and vigorous, and might easily turn good things into bad.

  But she didn't know that Yang You now had a thousand-year-old soul and wasn't the naive child raised in the deep palace.

  "Mother, rest assured, I will definitely follow your teachings." Yang You said seriously to Wei Fei.

  Wei Fei nodded in satisfaction and beckoned with her hand. Wu Ma came in carrying a tray.

  He reached out and took down the tray, only to see a delicate key inside.

  Wei Fei stretched out her hand and picked up the key, placing it in Yang You's hand.

  "Do you know where this key is from?" Wei Fei said with some mystery.

  "The child doesn't know." Yang You shook his head and said.

  "This key is the treasury key of our Taizi Mansion, where the wealth accumulated over decades by the Taizi Mansion is stored. Now that you have grown up and are the only heir to the Taizi Mansion, this key is now in your possession. As long as you think it's right, you can dispose of the wealth inside at will."

  Wei Fei pulled Yang You over, grasped the key and said solemnly.

  Yang You was stunned, he hadn't expected that the gift from Wei Fei would be something so valuable. He didn't care about these riches, as a traverser, he could even obtain enormous wealth without harming anyone's interests, just like a four-wheeled carriage, with time, it would definitely bring in a fortune, only needing some time to cultivate the market.

  Yang You suddenly felt a sour nose, he felt Wei Fei's strong love and trust for him.

  "The child will definitely not disappoint his mother's expectations." Yang You gripped the key tightly in his hand, with this wealth, many of his plans could be implemented ahead of schedule.

  He knew that Wei Fei must have found something unusual about herself, but she didn't suspect herself. Instead, she thought Yang You was stimulated by something when sending Yang Guang to Luoyang.

  After all, his actions over the past few days have been effective, and his desire for that position has gradually become apparent to others.

  It's clear that Wei Fei had also heard something, as a member of the royal family, how could she not be sensitive to such things.

  And these past few days, Yang You's performance has been stunning enough, but no one expected Wei Fei to make such a big bet.

  Yang You suddenly had an epiphany and thought of a solution to the problem of the refugees' lack of funds.

  "Wu Ma, do you think I'm doing the right thing?" After Yang You left, Wei Fei seemed to have been drained of her energy and fell onto the chair.

  "I don't know." Wu Ma appeared behind Wei Fei and replied.

  "You're still so cautious! We're like sisters, don't use the servant's address anymore." Wei Fei said with some reproach.

  Wei Fei waited in vain for Wu Ma's response and muttered to herself.

  "How can this matter be delayed, the opportunity only comes once, if you don't seize it, you will regret it for life. In the past, I didn't give it to Yu'er because at that time Yu'er didn't know how to fight, now Yu'er finally understands, even if it's just a temporary whim, with so much wealth at his disposal, he can still achieve something."

  "Besides, we have already fallen behind by a lot. Those two scoundrels' sons are almost established, one following the Emperor's side and the other guarding the Eastern Capital. Our Yu'er can only strive to catch up."

  Wei Fei was muttering to herself in the empty and spacious great hall, her voice almost inaudible.

  Madam Wu remained silent, standing quietly behind Wei Fei. In fact, she knew that inside was not only the savings of the East Palace for several years, but also the enormous wealth accumulated during the Crown Prince's era, which would be an astronomical figure.