Noble Lady

Chapter 277 Can’t reach an agreement

Xue Chenyu was a little confused. "Du Jingyuan, do you think you are a box of goods? You are such a grown-up and you are about to get married. How can I let you go to the South alone?"

"Do you know what happens when there's a famine after a drought?"

Du Jingyuan thought for a moment and said sincerely, "To be honest, I don't really know. Besides the possibility of stealing food and money, there can't be anything worse, right?"

Xue Chenyu gave her a look that said "what do you think?"

Du Jingyuan paused, then said, "I don't know, but you know it, you can tell me, right?"

Xue Chenyu's head hurt even more.

"Once famine breaks out, it means people have been pushed to their limits. No one can guarantee whether they will fall below their limit and do something unjust or unjust."

"Were they the strong young men who became bandits, or were they the powerless women and children who were preyed upon, or were they the young children who were cannibalized? No one can tell."

She was worried that this kind of situation would happen, so she prepared so much rice early on.

She had to prevent that from happening no matter what.

Du Jingyuan thought for a moment and said, "I understand the seriousness of the situation. Fortunately, I have some martial arts experience. As long as I don't leave the team and go to dangerous places alone, I should be fine."

Then he looked at Xue Chenyu and said, "I really want to go. Just think of it as me fulfilling my last wish before getting married."

After getting married, there is no such freedom.

Although she is now a marriageable woman, she will still be watched closely.

"...Du Jingyuan, do you know what it means for you to go to a drought-stricken area at this time?"

"If you can come back safe and sound, it's fine. But if anything happens to you, I'll be a sinner for eternity. How can I find a daughter to return to your parents then?"

Du Jingyuan was stunned for a moment before she realized there was such a hidden danger. "I'm sorry, Xue Xiaoyu, I didn't think it through. I'll go back and think about it carefully."

"Yeah." Xue Chenyu didn't say much and let Yuzhu send her out.

Du Jingyuan left very decisively, completely different from her usual habit of eating and taking things.

Xue Chenyu knew her too well. Given Du Jingyuan's temper, the more she acted like this, the more unusual it seemed.

She didn't know how long she had been holding this idea in her mind, but now that she had brought it up, she would not give up easily.

"Du Jingyuan, you really gave me a difficult problem." Xue Chenyu pressed his temple.

At lunch time, Marquis Xue returned home.

He was supposed to be on duty, but he came back suddenly because he had to pack up and prepare to leave tomorrow.

Xue Chenyu was shocked. Usually, the three provinces and six ministries would drag their feet in dealing with any issue. How could they gather all the rice and grain needed for disaster relief so quickly this time?

Having this question, Xue Chenyu also asked Xue Hou in person.

Marquis Xue said, "This disaster relief effort is different from previous ones. The rice and grain raised in the capital is only a portion, and it will be divided into two batches. Lord Chen and I will go first, and the rest of the group will escort the grain later."

"Your Majesty has also ordered the prefectures and counties along the way to raise funds simultaneously. We will count the rice and grain along the way."

It is impossible to collect enough rice and grain for disaster relief in just five or ten days, so transporting it in batches is indeed the usual practice.

However, the practice of the prefectures and counties along the way to simultaneously collect rice and grain is quite unique.

"By the way, Father, I heard that Prince Cheng is over there now. Since he has received the imperial edict to act at his own discretion, can he open a warehouse on the spot?" Xue Chenyu asked.

Marquis Xue nodded, "Indeed, the last time the Crown Prince suddenly came to the capital, he was here to ask for that imperial edict to act with discretion."

Xue Chenyu was stunned for a moment, "The prince..."

"Your previous grain purchases were very large. Even if we wanted to cover it up, it would be impossible for us to do it completely without anyone noticing." Marquis Xue said helplessly.

"Furthermore, your mother even asked Datong Trading Company to lend their full support. They even hired the escort company to deliver food for you. How could the prince not have noticed?"

"You hope that if something happens over there, fewer people will go hungry. He works so hard for the same reason as you do."

Xue Chenyu's mind buzzed.

Although her father didn't say it explicitly, she just felt that what he meant was that the prince went to the south because of her.

How can it be?

But she didn't dare ask any further, for fear that if she asked something she didn't dare to hear, she would regret it.

After meal.

Xue Chenyu then found Mrs. Xue.

"Father is going to be an escort officer transporting grain to the south. What do you think?"

Mrs. Xue was a little stunned. "Why do you ask this suddenly?"

Xue Chenyu looked at her quietly without saying anything.

Mrs. Xue's heart skipped a beat, and she made a bold guess. "You want to go too?"

Xue Chenyu nodded.

"You, are you serious?" Mrs. Xue had some words on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them back.

It's not that she, as a mother, wants to pour cold water on this, but going south is definitely not a good idea.

There is a drought in the south, and famine will follow.

Once a famine breaks out, those people will leave their homes and head north because they have no rice or food to eat.

It is very dangerous to have people like this all along the way.

She was heading south against the natural trend, and as a woman, if she met the disaster victims, the consequences would be disastrous if some of them had bad intentions.

"Daughter, mother doesn't agree."

"Hmm... Even if I become a medicinal herb merchant and bring the caravan along, is that not possible?"

Mrs. Xue shook her head. "No. It's too dangerous."

Xue Chenyu pondered for a moment and sighed, "I know it's dangerous, but A Yuan came to see me today. She said she wanted to fulfill a wish for herself before getting married, and asked me to help her find a caravan heading south."

"I've tried to persuade her and analyzed the pros and cons with her. Although she said she wanted to go home and think it over, I think with her personality, she'll still go."

At this point, Xue Chenyu sighed, "Because I told her that if I found a caravan, I was afraid that if she pestered me in the future, the General's Mansion would not let me go."

"In order not to implicate me and to fulfill her own wish, she will probably leave secretly without telling the Du family."

Mrs. Xue was stunned: "Is she crazy? Going alone?"

She knew that Du Jingyuan had come to see her today.

But ever since Du Jingyuan reconciled with her, they had been in frequent contact, so she didn't think there was anything strange about it. She didn't expect there was this layer!

The drought situation is now critical and people there are already running out of food.

According to the news from the south, Shengjing has controlled the soaring grain prices, but it may be difficult to control the situation there in the short term.

"Then I don't agree either. Until this time, there will be a huge threat to the south. I won't agree to you joining in the fun."

Xue Chenyu: “Oh.”

"Oh?" Mrs. Xue frowned. "What do you mean by oh?"

"That means I understand. Since my mother doesn't agree, then I don't agree."

Mrs. Xue: What you said is useless.

……

The Xue family mother and daughter failed to reach an agreement.

But that did not prevent Du Jingyuan from leaving the house on a dark and windy night, after leaving a letter home to inform her whereabouts.

The next day, when the maid saw the letter, she was almost scared to death.