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And, ‘Shen Zhongxing’ would rejoin their group a few days later with the justification of his frail physique.

Lin Wenyue had always kept herself within the boudoir, so she did not know about the matter of the

Shen Residence catching fire back in the capital. Once they had left the capital, the matter of the fire had quietly disappeared in the wind. After all, compared to the upheaval caused by the imperial court, the matters of the residence only had insignificant importance, hence, it was easily forgotten by the people after a few days.

This was also the reason why Shen Zhen had dared to use Shen Zhonxing’s name to roam around.

Even if the worst case occurred and his identity were to be exposed, he still brought along with him several other objects that could potentially save his life and prove his identity.

Their journey, this time, was secretly ordered by the emperor. The original ‘Official Shen’ had been reprimanded by the emperor and punished to reflect over his mistakes in isolation, so nobody discovered his noiseless departure. On the other hand, the Shen Family was pressed on all sides to raise money, so how could they have the time to keep an eye on the backstabber and ‘unworthy son’ who didn’t lift a finger to help them.

Contrarily, Shen Zhen did as he pleased, whereas Chu Jiao still had to deal with Lin Wenyue.

After their group reached the relay station, Chu Jiao and Lin Wenyue sat down to have a good conversation. It was also during this talk where they had clearly introduced their identities.

Lin Wenyue finally put down her previously harbored suspicions towards Fu Lai and heaved a breath of relief. Although she hadn’t seen her brother-in-law, she had finally seen her sister’s nominal ‘daughter-in-law.’

Chu Jiao was already too lazy to care about the proper way to refer to her considering how muddled their family hierarchy was, so she continued referring to her as ‘Lady Lin.’

While the two people conversed casually, Shen Zhen loyally stood behind Chu Jiao wearing a fiendish expression. The moment Lin Wenyu stepped inside and cast him a glance, she didn’t dare look towards his way again.

Only the heavens knew that she was terrified of these boors the most, and so, she didn’t have the heart to make small talk with Chu Jiao. She even forgot to inquire about Shen Zhen’s matter and sat on pins and needles as she finished her meal, quickly hiding back in her room alone after.

Chu Jiao burst into a fit of laughter. Why did the male leads of every world look at the female leads as though they were the enemy? She didn’t even need to lift a finger to break them up as the two would naturally begin to part ways themselves. She had so much free time that it was as though she was on a holiday and was travelling through different worlds to experience various love stories.

Once the person who had disturbed them finally and tactfully left, Shen Zhen boldly sat down and asked the waiter to serve half a catty of meat and a pot of Shaoxing Yellow Wine.

“Do you really think of yourself as a true hero of Greenwood¹

Refers to popular hero in Robin Hood style.?” Chu Jiao looked at the table filled with food and curiously raised a brow, “Or had you not eaten yourself full these past few days?”

Shen Zhen nonchalantly picked up a piece and chewed it up while explaining, “It’s not that I wasn’t full, it’s because there was someone who was still hungry.”

When they got off the carriage, Shen Zhen guarded Chu Jiao very closely, so Chu Jiao didn’t see the many refugees that dithered outside the shop, appearing emaciated and starved.

The drought from the Central Plains affected the lives of millions of people. Some people persisted in staying back at their hometown waiting for the imperial court to send relief funds while some others decided to head North because the closer they were to the capital, the more flourished they would become and the higher chances they’ll have of surviving this catastrophe.

Shen Zhen also had no ways of giving aid to everybody. If he were magnanimous and merciful, the refugees may have no end to their demands. At the same time, he could not reveal his valuables out in the open, so the only thing he could do was eat more now. As for the rest that he couldn’t finish consuming, he’ll ask Fu Lai to ‘throw them out to provide aid’ whenever he can.

After the policy of ‘Donating to Become an Official’ had been successfully implemented, the pressure from the national treasury had been greatly relieved and Emperor Xiyu had already immediately started to circulate the relief funds. In all likelihood, it would soon reap its results. One could only hope that these refugees would be able to wait for that moment to come.

Shen Zhen’s current mission was also related to this.

Although the national treasury was being stretched thin before, the ministry of revenue still managed to scrape together a bit of silver for the relief fund. Jiangnan has always been a fertile region for thousands of years and had always been fairly wealthy, so the ministry of revenue followed the practice of buying provisions from there and transported it directly to the Central Plains to provide some relief.

Although the money was sent and the grains had travelled across thousands of miles to the disaster stricken areas, the imperial court still received continuous urgent reports of numerous villages that were affected 600 miles away from them. The number of casualties and commotions continuously increased, causing Emperor Xie Yu to become furious, which soon led to the series of policies he implemented after.

Because he was preoccupied with appeasing the aftermath of the disasters, Emperor Xie Yu hadn’t had the time to look into this matter more closely. Now that the situation has been relieved, he finally had the time to clean up these pesky imperial vermins that leeched off the lives of the common people.

Shen Zhen received the Emperor’s secret order for him to head South and investigate the whereabouts of the grains and relief fund he had sent before. When necessary, he could take action first before making a report.

Naturally, Shen Zhen was loyal and devoted when he accepted the emperor’s decree in front of him but when he turned his back, he brought Chu Jiao along on the trip and treated it as though he was going for a walk in the spring.

If Emperor Xie Yu had come to know that his trusted official was currently indulging in a passionate rendezvous, one could only be afraid that he would be so furious as to take back the powers he had bestowed upon him.