Chapter 1183: He Who Harms Others, Harms Himself

few sips of warm water and gently touched her granddaughter's sky-high braid, chuckling as she explained, "This child is disobedient. When I tried to take her away, she cried non-stop and insisted on...Unfortunately, the crowd at Sui Jintan didn't care at all.

"You can go and report wherever you please! We are not government officials. We're just here to help our master with his tasks. Now that our master has fallen ill from anger, who cares about you anymore!"

"That's right, a bunch of ingrates! They eat your food but won't help you with anything!"

"If we had known you were going to be like this, we would have fed our grain and vegetables to the pigs instead of giving them to you!"

The young and old at Suijin Beach weren't holding back, working hard with a string of insults coming from their mouths.

Some of the displaced people were still somewhat rational and asked loudly, “What are you talking about Who angered Lord Uncle to become sick We didn’t even speak to Lord Uncle!”

The village head roared at the villagers, "Get on the carts! Get on the carts!" The guards, too, should get ready. Then he turned his head and sneered in response with a chuckle.

"The one you've all been talking about these past few days, the Princess Kangle who's said to bring rain with a sacrifice, is only in her teens! She is our master's niece, the jewel of our Li family, and the mistress of Suijin Beach!"

Having said that, he waved his pipe and the caravan set off for home.

The displaced people were silent for a long time, looking at each other, all dumbfounded.

"His aunt, you said yesterday about that county princess who was supposed to be burned as a sacrifice for rain, is she the mistress of these people" A woman asked the temporary neighbor beside her.

The temporary houseguest might have scared them off, so they quickly waved goodbye.

"No, no, I was just joking! Besides, I heard it from Zhang Dashian. He said that if it rains sooner, they can go home sooner!"

"No, no, I heard it from others too." The man named Zhang Dashiun also refused to admit it, pushing it outwards as well.

This kind of back-and-forth, everyone has said it but also everyone has heard it from others.

It doesn't really matter who the source is anymore!

When someone is offended, they are left alone and ignored.

A clever vagrant took a bowl and secretly filled it with the half-cooked porridge.

As a result, he was also seen and joined in the scramble.

The refugees, who had just been quarreling fiercely moments ago, immediately went into a frenzy of grabbing and scrambling again.

Only half a bowl of porridge had entered my stomach, the other half was wasted in the scramble.

Someone was hungry, their mind clouded with hunger, and they went to grab those bags of food...

Several clerks, assigned to the household by the official, usually just drank cold tea in their makeshift shelter and watched others work, pocketing their wages without lifting a finger.

Now that all the Li family members are gone, only they remain. Before they could react, the refugees turned into a mob!

I can't live like this!

They couldn't stop him, and they didn't dare to. They were afraid for their own lives.

Under duress, they could only rush back to report.

The official in the Ministry of Households sipped his tea leisurely, when a small clerk running back breathlessly informed him, only then did he realize that a major event had been delayed.

He immediately found Li Lao Er's leave slip and went to find the Minister, who then found the Minister of Officials...

Thus, in the middle of the afternoon, the Crown Prince and several important ministers were discussing matters when a message arrived from Li Erzi directly challenging them!

Before anyone could speak, news arrived from the city defenses.

It turns out that those who had stolen food from the famine-stricken people ran away. Those who didn't manage to get any food were afraid of starving later, so they started making a fuss and demanding to enter the city. They have already surrounded the city gate so tightly that water cannot get through.

The city is closed to outsiders, and the outside world cannot enter.

The commander of the city defense shift was afraid of something happening and didn't dare to take responsibility, so he reported it upwards.

Now, several high officials frowned and were unhappy.

"How come Old Master Li suddenly fell ill, causing such a commotion outside the city"

"Yeah, even if he's sick, it wouldn't be necessary to pull everyone off."

The prince lowered his head and sipped tea without speaking. After a few moments of thought, he guessed the purpose behind the Li family's actions.

A flash of light crossed his eyes, but when he looked up, he made a face as if frowning.

After the several ministers had finished speaking, the crown prince hesitated for a moment before saying with a hint of helplessness, "Those people were originally just villagers from Suijin Beach. They were only acting on Li Bo's orders and weren't arranged by the government."

"Now that Master Li is ill, they all went back to attend to him, which is understandable. It's just that things happened so suddenly, and with no one looking after the refugees for a while, that's when trouble arose."

Several high-ranking officials exchanged glances, their expressions complex.

The prince grew up on the Shattered Gold Beach and adapted to its ways. He should indeed maintain some of its aspects.

This shows that the prince is loyal and righteous. After he ascends to the throne, it will be a good thing for them.

But right now, this heavy sense of loyalty and righteousness is just making things difficult.

Finally, several high-ranking officials discussed and sent a Ministry of Revenue official to visit him.

Of course, visiting the sick was a pretense. The true purpose was to allow Old Li and his family to regain control of the refugees.

The Master of Ceremonies still had some reluctance, he usually looked down on Li Lao Er's background. Now he was humbling himself to "beg" Li Lao Er, how could he be happy

Then...

"What, Lord Li is seriously ill and doesn't see guests" The magistrate sat in the carriage, his head dizzy from the heat. Hearing the servant of the Earl's Mansion say this, he was almost about to explode with anger.

The footman at the Earl's mansion grinned and replied, "Yes, sir, our master is indeed seriously ill. His eyes are closed, so he can't see guests."

The chief secretary was so angry he wanted to yell, but after thinking it over, he just rolled down the window and drove back...

The Crown Prince and several high-ranking officials listened to the Minister of Officials, who spoke in a furious torrent, condemning the Li family as if they had committed some heinous crime.

Several high-ranking officials were having a headache. Li La Er was really faking an illness and completely quit.

Even if they knew it was fake, they couldn't drag people off their beds and force them to continue taking care of refugees!

However, when the Prince heard the Minister's endless chatter, he simply said.

"Since the Imperial Advisor said that taking care of refugees is a small matter, Master Li should not be so irresponsible. From now on, why don't you take the refugees in, Imperial Advisor"

The minister was dumbfounded, his mouth agape as if one could fit an egg inside. He regretted everything and was utterly lost for words.

How could such a hot potato land on him

He was about to say something more, but the Crown Prince added, "Rest assured, the Ministry of Revenue will continue to allocate money and grain just as before. Not a single grain of rice or copper coin will be missing."

The egg that the Imperial censor had stuffed in his mouth immediately turned into gall.

He is the Minister of Revenue, so of course he knows best how much money and grain has been allocated by the Ministry of Revenue.

The provisions for the tens of thousands of refugees outside the city simply aren't enough!

Over the past few days, Li La Er tried every means to collect food from various households in the city, even resorting to exploiting the prince, barely enough to feed the starving masses.

Now it's his turn, what will he do...

It's not about the official saying bad luck brings misfortune, it's about how the Xin Du Pier remained lively even after nightfall because it was located outside the city walls and therefore exempt from curfew restrictions.

The vendor was diligently trying to sell the remaining fish and shrimp, hoping for a buyer who would give his business a perfect ending for the day.

There's also a passionate tavern worker, loudly touting his wares, "New arrivals from the Apricot Blossom Village! Fine liquor, gentlemen passing by, don't miss out!"

A few mischievous boys, wearing shorts and bare-chested, tanned as black mudskippers, ran around the streets. Occasionally, a passerby would be bumped into and couldn't help but scold them with a chuckle.

The children didn't take it seriously and continued to play.

One person looked out to the pier and suddenly shouted, “Wow, what a big ship!”

As the sound echoed, they all turned to look. In the gloom of dusk, a great ocean vessel emerged from the darkness, like some monstrous beast from ancient times, its menacing presence slowly coming into view!

Today's update is here ~~n the way."Li Lao'er readily accepted without hesitation. This wasn't a time for random delegation, after all. A journey of a thousand miles, across treacherous mountains and valleys, held countless d...