The Fallen Nation System, Turning the Tide - Chapter 86: Yellow River

Chapter 86: Yellow River

“Were you bribed by someone?”

After Xu Ying came ashore, she searched everywhere for food. Unfortunately, it was deep winterplants withered and wild fruits were scarce. The gnawing hunger made her dizzy and faint, sharply increasing the likelihood of starving to death. Xu Ying found this somewhat unacceptable; starving was too slow and agonizing. It would be better to find another way to die.

Dazed and disoriented, Xu Ying walked for an unknown duration before spotting a household. She raised her hand and knocked on the door.

A woman around forty years old emerged insideneatly dressed and efficient in demeanor. Through the door, she asked, “What brings you here, Young Lady?”

Before Xu Ying could open her mouth to speak, her physical strength reached its limit. Darkness swept over her vision, and she fainted.

When she woke again, her eyes met roof beams. Xu Ying, still groggy as if booting up, heard a woman’s voice beside her: “Young Lady, you’re awake?”

A face entered Xu Ying’s field of view, overlapping with the woman she had last seen before losing consciousness. Xu Ying sat up and expressed her gratitude: “Thank you for saving me, Madam.”

“My surname is Hua, everyone calls me Hua Danniang.” Hua Danniang looked Xu Ying up and down, from the quality of her clothing to her dignified bearing, and guessed, “Young Lady, were you abducted by child abductors on your journey?”

Xu Ying was startled. “Why would you ask that, Madam?”

Hua Danniang smiled faintly. “Your dress may seem plain, but the fabric is actually of excellent quality. Your every movement reveals extraordinary graceclearly, you were raised in a wealthy household. Most likely, you were taken by child abductors but would rather die than submit, so you threw yourself into the water. I’ve seen such things many times.”

Xu Ying glanced down at her clothes and grew wary. “Are you a brothel madam?”

“I was once,” Hua Danniang reluctantly admitted. “But the Emperor issued an edict to shut us down. With dozens of mouths looking to me for food, I had no choice but to flee. I’m searching for good families to entrust my delicate girls to, so they can live out their lives in peace.”

“Weren’t you all conscripted into palace service or labor?” Xu Ying was astonished, immediately suspecting that her officials had deceived her, feigning compliance while acting otherwise.

If this were true, she would deal harshly with everyone involved upon her return.

Hua Danniang sighed. “But there are so many peoplenot everyone can be taken in. These days, the court investigates strictly. They say courtesans are heartless, but I think scholars are the fickle and ungrateful ones. Since officials are forbidden from visiting brothels, every administrator fears being associated with prostitutes and losing their positions due to impeachment. Others are no betterfor the Winter Examination, they’re afraid others will use this against them. They refuse to accept my delicate girls and forbid any contact with us. They won’t even hire us for work. If this continues, I’m afraid we’ll starve…”

Xu Ying was appalled. So she herself was the root causeshe hadn’t considered everything thoroughly. Society looked down on those women and cared little about their plight. If they died, they died; it would even spare the trouble of arranging for them.

Hua Danniang brought over a bowl of watery porridge containing only a few grains of rice. She seemed somewhat embarrassed, afraid Xu Ying would disdain it.

Xu Ying silently accepted it, tilting her head back to drink. Her gaze drifted past the window, where several pairs of round, clear eyes watched her. Upon meeting Xu Ying’s eyes, they realized they’d been spotted and scattered in an instant.

“Who are those…” Xu Ying asked in surprise, seeing a group of girls who appeared to be around seven or eight years old.

Hua Danniang responded matter-of-factly, “They were all originally sold here by their parents. After the establishment was shut down, they had nowhere to go, so they came with me.”

Xu Ying felt a pang of discomfort. Hua Danniang hesitated for a moment, then took the empty bowl from Xu Ying’s hands and said tentatively, “Since you’ve eaten my humble meal, I’ll swallow my pride and ask for a favor in return.”

“Judging by your attire, you must come from a distinguished family. Since you haven’t truly fallen into disgrace, could you take a few people with you when you leave? You can choose anyone you like – Chuntao is clever, Mangzhong is honest. They’re not only diligent but also utterly loyal and would never betray their master. At the very least, you could take them back to work in the kitchen as humble servants chopping wood or tending fires. I beg you to give them a way out!”

“Don’t worry, Auntie, I’ll make proper arrangements for them,” Xu Ying reassured, gently pressing Hua Danniang’s hand.

Overjoyed upon hearing this, tears welled up in Hua Danniang’s eyes as she clutched the bowl and began to kneel in gratitude for Xu Ying’s acceptance. Xu Ying quickly stopped her, saying, “There’s no need to thank me, Auntie. This is what I should do.”

“You’re truly a good person, better than the emperor himself! That damned dog emperor only issues reckless orders, using confiscated silver to feed those corrupt officials, completely disregarding the lives of us lowly people…” Hua Danniang choked up.

Xu Ying felt as if an arrow had struck her knee. Well, it was true that she had issued orders without considering all circumstances.

After resting at Hua Danniang’s home for several days, getting to know each of the beautiful women and young girls, and listening to Hua Danniang’s complaints about the emperor, Xu Ying could only respond with an awkward smile.

The search guards soon found them. Worried they might frighten the children, Xu Ying hurried them out of the courtyard.

The guards were overjoyed and called back, “Your Majesty is here!”

Before long, Sun Wanyun and Sun Zhuo pushed through the crowd and rushed to the front, their worried expressions melting away as they breathed sighs of relief.

When many sword-bearing guards suddenly appeared outside, Hua Danniang panicked, instinctively thinking government officials had come to demand more payments from her. She frantically gathered her belongings, but then vaguely heard the words “Your Majesty.” Stunned, she secretly peeked through the window.

She saw everyone treating Xu Ying with deep respect – not merely formal courtesy, but genuine reverence born from within. Though Xu Ying remained approachable and amiable, Hua Danniang keenly detected an aura of natural authority that came from regularly issuing commands.

Hua Danniang gasped sharply, remembering all the complaints she had voiced before Xu Ying. Her heart felt as if struck heavily, her body seemingly split in two. Her widened eyes couldn’t blink back to normal as she murmured dazedly, “Your Majesty…”

Xu Ying instructed Sun Wanyun to fetch provisions and cook several large pots of plain porridge for Hua Danniang and the others. Watching everyone gulp down bowl after bowl, then contentedly pat their full bellies, Xu Ying finally felt satisfied.

“How is the situation in Youzhou?” Xu Ying remembered official matters. Logically, with her missing for so many days, Youzhou should have descended into chaos by now.

Zhang Yu brought joyful news to Xu Ying: “Your Majesty’s foresight is truly remarkable. We indeed flushed out Yang Jing, who attempted to seize power by holding Prince Yong’s Heir hostage. However, Princess Huaiyang captured him in one swift move. All the rebels were executed. Additionally, the Cui and Wang clans attempted to flee westward with their entire families but were promptly discovered by the Princess…”

Xu Ying widened her eyes, her heart trembling with fear. “Surely they weren’t all killed too!”

Zhang Yu grinned, his eyes crinkling. “Not quite. To intimidate the other families, Her Highness Princess Huaiyang only executed the Wang family’s promising son. The rest were thrown into the imperial prison, awaiting Your Majesty’s return for judgment.”

Xu Ying swallowed hard, feeling as though Zhang Yu was deceiving her. Her fourth sister had always been gentle and soft-spoken, never even raising her voice in anger. She probably couldn’t even hold a knife steady to kill a chicken. How could Zhang Yu make her sound so ruthless? What did “executed all” and “only killed” even mean?

“Have you been bribed to feed me false information?” Xu Ying refused to believe it.

Zhang Yu cried out in protest, “How could Your Majesty think that? My loyalty to you is as clear as heaven and earthI would never dare deceive you!”

Sun Wanyun vouched for Zhang Yu but cleverly picked up on Xu Ying’s underlying concern. She added words to help restore Xu Lang’s image: “The situation was critical. The rebels were determined to fight to the death. To protect Princess Huaiyang, the Imperial Guards had no choice but to eliminate all the rebels. As for the young master of the Wang family, he impulsively attempted to assassinate the Princess. The guards responsible for her safety acted hastily and, in the heat of the moment, accidentally killed him.”

Xu Ying let out a soft sigh of relief. She knew ither gentle sister would never be so cruel.

“Princess Huaiyang’s safety is paramount. In similar situations going forward, prioritize protecting her above all else,” Xu Ying instructed.

“Yes,” Sun Wanyun and Zhang Yu replied in unison.

Zhang Yu quietly muttered to himself, “Truly, when sisters are of one mind, their sharpness can cut through metal. One plays the villain, the other the saint. Those who become emperors or stand by their side are no easy opponentsespecially Xu Ying. She first lulls everyone into a false sense of security with her gentle approach, making them think she’s easy to bully. But once someone truly crosses her, she devours her prey without mercy.”

Thankfully, he had pledged his loyalty early and avoided standing against her.

“By the way, are you aware that during the brothel crackdowns, not all the courtesans were sent to Youzhou?” With Youzhou now stable, Xu Ying had no choice but to shift her focus to more pressing matters.

Zhang Yu replied, “This… I am not entirely sure. I’ve only heard rumors that many brothels fled with their silver before the crackdown, making it impossible to register all the courtesans.”

Xu Ying pondered the issue. Those who escaped were also a problem. Society would not accept them, and they would likely be forced back into their old profession. Simply shutting down brothels was not a solutionYouzhou could not accommodate so many people. The root of the problem lay in creating more job opportunities for women.

“I’ve reviewed the Ministry of Works’ proposal on managing the Yellow River. It’s the same old approachbuilding embankments. Sun Wanyun, Zhang Yu, what are your thoughts?”

Sun Wanyun responded, “Your Majesty, I have personally seen the Yellow River and heard accounts of its course changes destroying farmland. After accompanying you on inspections and reviewing the Ministry of Works’ records, I believe the root of the problem lies in soil erosion upstream. If we can reinforce the soil upstream, strengthen the embankments in the middle and lower reaches, dredge the river channels, and construct reservoirs to divert and store floodwaters, we may be able to mitigate the Yellow River’s flooding.”

Zhang Yu thought Sun Wanyun was too naive. “The land and water are formed by naturehow can they be consolidated?”

“That’s an excellent question,” Xu Ying remarked with appreciation.

Throughout various dynasties, officials had focused extensively on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, while paying little attention to its upper reaches.

The main reason was that the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River were rich in mineral resources. The court stationed heavy troops there, continuously mined the area, constructed numerous palaces, and extensively felled trees. Managing this region was extremely difficult, with minimal visible results and little profit to be gained. It was far more lucrative to keep reinforcing the embankmentsmore projects meant more silver, which lined their pockets.