Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife

Chapter 924: Chapter 924: Bailu Village

Chapter 924 Bailu Village!

Long Yue and Li Qingmu selected a carriage that wasn’t very luxurious but was comfortable enough to go out.

Before leaving, they left Xuan Xu and Yama behind to protect the Princely Heir and Commandery Princess at the mansion, to prevent any unforeseen incidents.

They could even go to Qi Yun’s place if they wished, which depended on the two little ones’ own thoughts.

Inside the carriage, Long Yue leaned back to rest while Li Qingmu was discussing the matters in the memorials with Qi Jingyu.

They talked about general matters, then Qi Jingyu suddenly looked at Li Qingmu and said, "Imperial Uncle..."

"Hmm?"

"You..."

"What is it?"

Li Qingmu slightly frowned, wondering why his big nephew was looking at him with such a peculiar expression?

He frowned, unsure of what to say?

In his confusion, he suddenly saw a stretch of woodland ahead, pointed at it, and asked, "Is that the group of villages you mentioned?"

Li Qingmu pointed towards a stretch of woodland, through which several rural houses could be seen.

These villages were where they were headed.

"Imperial Uncle, the land annexation here is particularly serious; many families have fallen apart. If it weren’t for a local official who couldn’t stand it and wrote a memorial, I wouldn’t have known at all."

Qi Jingyu said, sniffling, and when he saw the nearly destitute farmhouses in the woods, especially witnessing some villagers still busy, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic.

Falling apart, what does that mean?

Wives, children, parents, relatives, all could become prey!

Because many destitute people end up having to sell their wives and children to pay off debts.

This is simply a tragedy of human society!

In principle, such things shouldn’t happen right under their noses, but they did anyway.

Right under the Emperor’s feet, the people are displaced, families broken.

Qi Jingyu felt that if such things continued, being on the throne was unnecessary.

Li Qingmu said lightly, "It is truly a blessing for the people that Your Majesty considers them; these gentry and nobles oppress and exploit them everywhere, they should indeed be punished."

Qi Jingyu nodded, "Yes, crush them!"

He said this while waving his little fist vigorously, looking very excited.

Li Qingmu slightly rubbed his forehead.

This little Emperor, clearly a father now, yet still so brash, hasn’t changed at all; shouldn’t he be more stable?

Qi Jingyu probably realized he was too high-spirited, awkwardly stuck out his tongue at Li Qingmu, and then peeked outside.

"We’re almost there; this is a mountain road, Imperial Uncle and Imperial Aunt, you’ll have to trouble yourselves to come along."

Long Yue nodded slightly, "This is not a problem."

Subsequently, the three disembarked from the carriage and headed towards Bailu Village.

Bailu Village was famous because someone saw white deer here, and this place also had other herds of deer, known for producing precious medicinal materials like deer antlers.

So theoretically, with the riches from the mountains, the village’s life shouldn’t be good, but it wouldn’t be too bad either.

However, when they reached the village entrance, they saw some people in rags, scraping bark from the trees.

Long Yue knew why they were scraping the bark, but Qi Jingyu didn’t. His face full of curiosity, he went to inquire from an old man.

"Old man, what are you doing?"

The old man saw his luxurious clothing, recognizing him as a wealthy person, immediately snorted coldly, "Go away!"

Qi Jingyu was probably dumbfounded by this abrupt retort, looking at the old man with astonishment, "Old man, I haven’t offended you?"

Why are you so harsh to me?

Qi Jingyu, born in the Prince Mansion, had hardly interacted with commoners, how would he know their thoughts? Yet, Long Yue and Li Qingmu understood.

Long Yue smiled slightly, stepped forward, and saluted the old man, "Old man, we’ve come to investigate the land annexation case because the higher-ups have received complaints from the people about losing their homes due to high-interest loans, so we’ve specially come to have a look."

"You all..."

The old man saw that Long Yue looked kind and spoke gently, so he was rare to give her a friendly look.

"Old man, we are from the government, but rest assured, we are not the kind of government colluded with merchants."

Long Yue hurriedly explained, worried that he’d get agitated and treat them coldly.

The old man paused for a moment, then vaguely thoughtful, "You are... the officials sent down from above to oversee them?"

Huh?

Long Yue was taken aback again.

This old man seemed to know a lot?

She smiled, "Yes, we are sent down from above, you see..."

"Oh, oh, aye... officials protect each other!"

The old man sighed lightly, seemingly a bit disheartened.

Long Yue was awkward, quickly said, "Old man, we do not protect each other as officials do; we truly want to stand up for you, that’s why we came to check on the situation."

"Aye, difficult, too difficult, young lady, you do not seem like a bad person either, you could be considered good people who love the people, you all... being cautious and staying out of trouble might be better."

Long Yue once again found herself bewildered.

Why?

"Old man, we are dispatched by the court just to solve matters for you; why do you say it’s trouble? I’ve seen you all scraping bark, and that stuff is inedible and will make you sick if you eat it."

Saying this, Long Yue went to take the bark from his hand.

The old man recoiled as if touched by something, quickly shrank back, and dodged, "No, no, it’s edible, this thing can be boiled and is nice to eat!"

"Edible?"

Qi Jingyu then realized, were these barks scraped to be eaten?

Oh heaven, could such things be eaten?

In a flash, he felt his scalp tingle!

These people actually use this to fill their stomachs?

This is simply disastrous news!

It is disastrous news under his governance!

"Old gentleman, this thing isn’t edible, it’s very unsanitary inside, and it’s hard to digest, it will make you sick!"

Qi Jingyu was raised with luxury since young, how could he eat such things? He hadn’t even seen them!

Watching the people rely on this to fill their stomachs, he felt very uncomfortable.

"Get sick? No, no, we’ve been eating this; whenever there’s a famine and crops fail to grow, we live by this, some people even eat dirt and came back to life!"

"..."

Both Long Yue and Li Qingmu were speechless.

Eating dirt...

Could eating dirt sustain life?

This is nothing short of a myth!

Qi Jingyu looked at him blankly, "Old gentleman, eating dirt... have you eaten it yourself?"

"Ate it once, but almost died, then my son wouldn’t let me eat it again."

The old man sighed, "In truth, with my old arms and legs, if I die, then so be it, it saves grain, could leave a morsel of food for the children. Sometimes, I wonder if I should steam and boil myself; at least it would give the kids a meal? Aye!"

Hearing the old man say so, Qi Jingyu and Long Yue, the couple both felt their scalps tingle.

To think, it has come to this?