Lu Yu choked a couple of times. "Lord Qian, you certainly have a sense of humor."
Just as the farce was about to end and the two hadn't even closed their eyes, someone reported from outside: "Disaster! Governor Wei and the Third Prince have been kidnapped by the mob!"
Qian Xingzhi had never been more speechless in her life.
When she met the General of the Northern Pacification and the Governor of Nanchuan, Qian Xingzhi learned that last night, upon receiving the news, they had rushed to Chengxin Temple without stopping, and happened upon a mob taking the two away. Yuan Bai was also nowhere to be found.
They didn't know if there were other secret passages in the temple or the mountains, and searched until dawn without finding anything.
The Governor of Nanchuan tentatively asked, "Lord Qian, could you perform another divination?"
"Again?" Qian Xingzhi absolutely wouldn't bite. She shook her head repeatedly. "I already performed one yesterday; it was really draining. And I've been up all night going up the mountain and back to the city. Please forgive my incompetence, my lord."
There was a moment of silence. Lu Yu coughed dryly twice. "It's not advisable to drag this out. Why not open the granaries and distribute grain as the mob demands?"
The Governor waved his hand. "Disaster relief has been going on for over half a year. The court has allocated so much silver, yet only about seventy or eighty percent has been rebuilt..."
"Seventy or eighty percent rebuilt?" Qian Xingzhi couldn't help interrupting. "Your Excellency, have you forgotten? I am also from Nanchuan. We both know whose pockets that silver went into."
Some things were always awkward and unpleasant to say outright. The high officials of Nanchuan passed the buck, none willing to give in. Qian Xingzhi sneered, "If the mob gets desperate and the Third Prince loses his head one day, which of you will take responsibility?"
The General of the Northern Pacification was also helpless. "This is mostly a long-premeditated action. Apart from the kidnapping of the Third Prince, three noble households have been burglarized. The thieves have only sent a message by arrow once. There hasn't been a large-scale uprising; it doesn't seem like the work of ordinary people."
Qian Xingzhi had already grown suspicious of Lu Yu. The timing of the Nanchuan uprising was too coincidental, and his behavior last night had been abnormal several times. She wondered if he was plotting something.
"In that case, let me make the decision," Lu Yu said. "We'll temporarily open the granaries to distribute grain to slow the disaster. All losses to the court will be compensated from the Lu family's private treasury. What do you gentlemen think?"
As soon as he said this, a chorus of approval erupted. Qian Xingzhi watched Lu Yu put on that gentle, jade-like mask again, and her suspicion deepened.
"Lord Lu always generously opens his purse. Nanchuan is deeply grateful."
Qian Xingzhi had heard before that Lu Yu often distributed wealth to help others, but seeing it with her own eyes still left her somewhat shaken.
The granary was located in Luo County. Qian Xingzhi again followed the others by carriage.
The streets were a bit more lively than two months ago. Qian Xingzhi felt a mix of emotions. This was Yan Zhaoshuang's hometown, not hers.
Reason told her she should sympathize or feel anguished that this land had suffered natural and man-made disasters, but the two months since her transmigration had worn her out, leaving no spare emotion for a completely unfamiliar world.
Luo County was one of Nanchuan's more prosperous areas. Qian Xingzhi settled into the inn and fell asleep immediately.
*
Spring was deepening. Yan Zhaoshuang went to the market with her mother to buy household items.
They laughed and chatted along the way. By noon, on the way home, they passed a shop selling bead strings. Yan Zhaoshuang spotted a rattle drum in the corner.
The shopkeeper hurriedly said, "This hairpin really suits you, madam. How about this: buy two more strings, and I'll give you a fifty-copper discount, and this drum for your daughter."
After leaving the shop, they ran into her father. They were all happy together when they heard a commotion in the street.
"Clear the way! Everyone out of the way! All except the shop owners, step aside!"
Sounds of fright everywhere. Soon, one by one, people knelt, with occasional whispers.
"...It's the Third Prince..."
"I heard His Majesty is on a southern tour with Consort Yan, accompanied by the Third and Fourth Princes..."
As the procession approached, the murmurs quickly died down.
Yan Zhaoshuang knelt properly on the ground. Bored out of her mind, she couldn't help fingering the small beads on the rattle drum.
"I want this."
Yan Zhaoshuang looked up. The Fourth Prince was pointing at her drum.
Yan Zhaoshuang was ten years old now. The rattle drum was no longer of interest to her, so she obediently extended her hand. "For you."
They were about the same age. She didn't understand why the Fourth Prince wanted it.
A look of anger and confusion appeared on the boy's young face. "You! You really don't know manners!"
Yan Zhaoshuang stood frozen, bewildered and at a loss.
Her mother was the first to protect her. "Please forgive her, noble one. My daughter has offended you."
That wasn't what the Fourth Prince wanted to hear. Not only was this place not as prosperous or lively as Shengjing, now there was no one even flattering him.
This commoner should have said, "Fourth Highness, it's this drum's fortune to be favored by you. Look, what else would you like?"
Everyone in Shengjing did that. This remote backwater truly was unspeakably barbaric.
So he erupted in fury. "How insolent! Disrespecting a prince deserves to be beaten to death!"
The street was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Her father stepped in front of her. "Please forgive us, Your Highness. It was truly unintentional."
The Fourth Prince was like a man in a rage, shouting and screaming. Yan Zhaoshuang had never seen such a maniac; it was even more terrifying than the idiot at Auntie's house on the corner.
"Enough, Fourth Brother. You're frightening her."
Following behind was the Third Prince. He had reached adulthood a few years ago, and the Emperor had grandly celebrated it, making him overshadow all the other princes for a time. He was now in his heyday.
The Fourth Prince fell silent; he was probably afraid of his good elder brother. But he couldn't hold it in for long and tattled. "These people were rude. They deserve punishment!"
"Enough, don't make a fuss," the Third Prince said with a smile, placating the Fourth Prince. He took the rattle drum and stuffed it into his hand. "It's just a broken drum. Can't your Third Brother find you something better?"
He ordered the guards to disperse all commoners. Yan Zhaoshuang, protected by her parents, moved along with the crowd.