Reborn to Become A Queen: The Real Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 352: The Sky is High and the Emperor is Far Away

Chapter 352: Chapter 352: The Sky is High and the Emperor is Far Away

Zhan Hui’s face flushed when he heard Dugu Yan call Chu Yin "little delicate wife".

He and Chu Yin were originally going to get married next month, but now there was a flood, and he still wanted to go on a relief mission.

Coming back from the disaster relief should not delay their wedding.

Zhan Hui smiled at the corner of his mouth, murmuring, "I left her a letter."

Dugu Yan clicked his tongue, "Young General is really thick-headed, why didn’t you get married first and bring Chu Yin along with you?"

Zhan Hui didn’t hear clearly what she said, and he had promised never to leave Chu Yin again, but it seemed like he had broken his promise already.

However, his grandfather supported him in going, and he wanted to go too. He was already thinking about how to compensate Chu Yin.

While they were talking, Zhan Hui heard the sound of galloping hooves behind him, a woman with a package on her back, urging her horse with her whip.

Zhan Hui reined in his horse and saw Chu Yin swaying from side to side on her horse, her hair a mess.

Chu Yin felt emotional that if it were not for Zhan Lan and Mu Yan traveling by carriage, she would not have been able to catch up.

"Stop the carriage!"

The carriage stopped, and Zhan Hui anxiously looked at Chu Yin; unexpectedly, she dismounted, limping towards the carriage where Zhan Lan was seated, and burst into tears.

She, a frail young lady who couldn’t even truss a chicken, had ridden her horse all the way in the dead of night, and it was already a stroke of great fortune that nothing had happened.

Zhan Hui was extremely worried afterward.

Zhan Lan hugged her and coaxed Chu Yin, "Stop crying, how did you end up following us here!"

Chu Yin sobbed, "My leg hurts so much, and that horse wouldn’t listen to me."

Zhan Lan looked at Chu Yin pityingly; dressed in men’s clothes, unaccustomed to riding horses, she likely had abrasions on the inner thighs from the saddle.

Zhan Hui held Chu Yin’s hand worriedly, "Are you alright?"

Chu Yin shook off his hand, "Don’t worry about me!"

Stupid Zhan Hui, not keeping his promise to her; Zhan Hui had left her again this time, and she wouldn’t easily forgive him.

"First, get on the carriage," Zhan Lan said as he saw the two feuding, helping Chu Yin onto the carriage.

Chu Yin, sitting in the carriage, took off the package from her body and said, "I’m not here to be a hindrance, nor am I here to chase after Zhan Hui. I heard that epidemics commonly follow disasters, and I’ve come to help."

Zhan Lan looked at Chu Yin, who had changed a lot after treating wounded soldiers on the battlefield.

She was no longer the carefree young miss, but gradually became a benevolent healer with a noble heart.

"Our Chu Yin is the best!" Zhan Lan praised Chu Yin, who immediately felt the pain in her legs subside.

She looked at Mu Yan, who was casting a glance at her, and said, "I’m not here to disturb your sweet moments, you can keep doing whatever you were!"

Mu Yan frowned at Chu Yin, with the people displaced and in distress, he truly had no interest in anything of that sort.

Zhan Lan pinched Chu Yin and said, "We’re not here for romance, you’re overthinking it."

Mu Yan looked at Zhan Lan and said, "We’re about to arrive, I’ll go check."

Zhan Lan nodded, knowing that Mu Yan wanted to leave her some private time with Chu Yin.

"Angry at my brother?" Zhan Lan asked.

Chu Yin shook her head, "Miss here isn’t in the mood to settle scores with him right now."

She lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside, "Look, the fertile fields by the road are all flooded, and there are people without homes. In the face of life, love and affection seem insignificant."

Zhan Lan nodded, acknowledging her growth. "Chu Yin, you have grown up."

A short while later, Mu Yan’s convoy arrived at Heiling, and Dugu Yan was ordered to mobilize the village soldiers.

The four of them dressed simply, all in men’s clothing, which made it easier to act.

Zhan Lan got out of the carriage and stood on high ground, only then seeing the situation at Heiling Reservoir.

There was a large breach in the reservoir, which the soldiers had temporarily plugged with sandbags, barely holding back the upstream water flow.

The downstream water remained turbid, mud destroying fields and houses alike.

The carriage was mired in mud, and they walked down the riverbank, waterlogged grain fields visible on both sides of the river.

On the hillside, one could see the commoners sitting there, covered in mud.

Each of their faces was filled with despair, their expressions numb.

An old man, his face smeared with mud, looked at his home and fields submerged, silently wiping hot tears away.

A child with a bloody arm was gnawing on a raw sweet potato, his hands filthy.

A woman cradling her month-old child tried to breastfeed, but had no milk, and started crying out of desperation.

...

This scene on the hillside was witnessed by the four of them.

These are the most ordinary people, who all they ask for is a peaceful life.

Yet, such simple desires for a full stomach and warm clothes are helpless in the face of natural disasters.

Zhan Lan took some of the dry food from the carriage and handed it to the woman holding the infant, her tears dried up.

The woman was at first stunned, then knelt and kowtowed before Zhan Lan, "Thank you, thank you..."

She wolfed down a chicken leg and then, turning away from the crowd, she opened her collar and coaxed her baby to feed.

Chu Yin crouched down to the injured little girl and said: "Sister will help you bandage your wound, bear with it, okay?"

The little girl clutched the raw sweet potato tightly, eyeing the masculine-dressed Chu Yin warily.

Chu Yin smiled, revealing two dimples, and pointed to her earring saying, "Sister is a girl."

Only then did the little girl relax her vigilance.

The eyes of the disaster victims turned toward Mu Yan and the others, filled with longing as they looked at the cleanly dressed group.

Even though the visitors were dressed plainly, their nobility of bearing stood out, accompanied by some black-clothed men who looked like guards.

The disaster victims dared to only stare from a distance, some bold ones stretching out their hands and saying, "Young Master, please give us something to eat!"

"Young Master, save us..."

Mu Yan looked back at Yun He and said, "Distribute all of the food we brought first, then start cooking and set up camp."

"Yes, Master!" Yun He immediately went to take care of it.

Zhan Lan spoke at Mu Yan’s side, "The relief grain from my sworn brother will only arrive this afternoon."

"Good." Mu Yan nodded, his expression grave as he looked across the river where there were many more victims.

"Local relief capabilities are limited and there are so many people still hungry; let’s go downstream to take a look," Mu Yan suggested.

"Good!" The others agreed.

Mu Yan, Zhan Lan, Zhan Hui, and Chu Yin traveled along the hillside towards the downstream.

Along the way, their hearts were deeply affected; Helin County was vast with sparse population, but nearly all the arable land had been submerged.

They heard the voices of the people along their way.

"The relief from the county office hasn’t arrived, and we common folk are about to starve to death!"

"Three years ago, the disaster was not as severe as this one, and yet so many people starved. Now the disaster is so serious, we may as well wait to die!"

"The court is corrupt, relief grain hasn’t arrived, by the time we’re dead, there’ll be no need for disaster relief..."

"Enough complaining, save your energy. Here, the sky is high and the emperor far; who cares if we commoners live or die!"

"Yeah, with just a bowl of thin porridge each day, and yet you still have the strength to talk, really..."

Mu Yan walked on, listening to the voices of the people, his expression growing colder and colder.