Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!

Chapter 296 - 288: The Whereabouts of the Little Crown Prince

"When we return later, Chu, accompany me to the pawnshop to pawn the bracelet for elder sister’s treatment. Her illness can’t be delayed any longer."

"Lady Yuan, we cannot do that." Chu Qianyun knew the significance of the bracelet to his wife and couldn’t bear to let her part with it.

"Aunt, you..."

Liu Chanyi was deeply conflicted. On the one hand, he wanted to cure his mother’s illness promptly; on the other hand, he couldn’t bear to see his aunt pawn the bracelet, which he knew was the only memory left to her by her mother.

Now, to discard it for the sake of treating his mother, he was at a loss for words, feeling both moved and deeply powerless inside.

Lady Yuan forced a smile to comfort the two, "Objects are dead, but people are alive. If we can’t utilize them well to bring value to the living, keeping them is pointless."

"But..."

Chu Qianyun wanted to say more but was interrupted by Lady Yuan, "Truly, elder sister’s illness can’t be postponed any longer. Do you want to just watch her suffer from the pain?"

Of course not; Chu Qianyun also knew that elder sister’s illness was getting worse, and if not treated in time, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Alright, why the long faces? Let’s go back! With some silver, we can even buy some seasonings. At this rate, soon there might not even be seasonings for sale."

Currently, it’s only a grain shortage, but who knows, later we might not be able to buy anything at all.

"Thank you, Aunt." Liu Chanyi sincerely thanked Lady Yuan. His uncle and aunt had sacrificed too much for the family’s livelihood, and he vowed to repay them well in the future.

"We’re all family; there’s no need to be so formal."

As they spoke, the three of them, appearing desolate, gradually disappeared at the end of the street.

Their conversation, however, was overheard entirely by Zeng Quan, who was leaning by the window on the second floor of the inn.

Inwardly he pondered, with the current situation making the lives of commoners increasingly difficult, there were countless people like those downstairs. If the government continued to be negligent and forced people down a dead-end road, rebellion was only a matter of time.

He couldn’t help but turn back to the person in the room and said: "I’m afraid Luoyang City is on the verge of chaos."

They were well aware of the tense situation in Luoyang City. They had been here for over seven or eight days and hadn’t gathered much information, constantly interrupted by the chaos in the city.

"In the current situation, the government should step in to mediate, providing some official grain to aid the people."

The government’s inaction made Yang Zihuan’s teeth itch with hate. He wanted to use his status to do something, but they were secretly traveling incognito and could not reveal their identity. Even with the desire to help, they were powerless.

They were on a secret mission and hadn’t brought many people with them.

After traveling around to get here, they found the situation was even more chaotic and wild than rumors had suggested.

"We’ve heard of Dayi Continent’s ferocity and barbarity, but experiencing it is worse." Yang Zihuan was furious.

Gu Ming took a small sip of tea and said, "Luoyang City has always been controlled by three major aristocratic families. The Prefectural Governor is just a puppet. Unless we can overthrow the aristocratic rule, we can’t help the people in any significant way. The court wishes to eliminate local forces that hold the economic lifeline.

After so many years of effort, the court has sent many people, and every governor has died under suspicious circumstances, yet the court dares not openly send troops to eradicate them. They still rely on them to prevent the Alle Clan’s invasion.

The Noble Alliance defends Tianqi against the Alle threat, and the court has to operate privately. If they push too hard, provoking them to unite with Alle against Tianqi would be counterproductive.

Such a delicate situation cannot be broken publicly. The aristocratic families actively prevent Alle’s invasion, and the court’s price is to leave them alone, leading to today’s situation.

Throughout his teachings to the Crown Prince, the entrenched local forces have been thoroughly embedded in his mind. After the Crown Prince’s ascension, they frequently discussed and analyzed the situation in various regions, considering how to resolve issues—these were their goals for the future. They planned to stabilize the Capital City, resolve disputes among Vassal Kings, and then address local problems. Unexpectedly, the situation changed so suddenly.

"So should we just let these people continue their rampant behavior?" Yang Zihuan was still furious.

Luoyang City, the most prosperous on Dayi Continent, should pay its tax grain on time. Yet it always dragged on, pleading poverty to the Ministry of Revenue, complaining about the hardships here. Even when officials were sent to investigate, they found nothing substantial, and it ended up paying taxes as one of the lowest-tier cities.

"Brother Zhihuan, calm down. Getting sick from anger only harms yourself. There are too many injustices in the world. All we can do now is find the Little Crown Prince quickly to resolve the root issue and remove these obstacles."

Zeng Quan helplessly comforted his friend, even feeling that his words lacked conviction. Not to mention that they hadn’t found the Little Crown Prince yet. Even if they did, it would take at least twenty years to cultivate him into talent. The situation was becoming increasingly complex, and he felt uneasy that they might not make it in time, fearing Tianqi would fall apart.

"Yes, we need to quickly find the Crown Prince." No longer tangled in the matters of Luoyang City, Yang Zihuan refocused, remembering the information they had received that the Little Crown Prince might have been sold to Luoyang City.

Previously, they had searched the Capital City thoroughly without finding any clues. Ultimately, it was from a gang of grave robbers that they extracted some anomalies. Although those two spoke incoherently, even involving tales of ghosts, they leaned toward human involvement, believing the Little Crown Prince was likely taken away by that woman.

At the time, they were stunned for a long while. How a lone woman could come and go freely from the heavily guarded Imperial Mausoleum without alerting anyone was beyond them.

Both the court and Jianghu were thoroughly investigated, and no such person was found. Even the extraordinarily wise Gu Ming couldn’t untangle the purpose of that person. When feeling helpless, news from outside the Capital City reached them.

After that day, a group of traffickers had sold a batch of children to Dayi Continent. Initially, they thought since the Little Crown Prince had been rescued, such a capable person wouldn’t lose him. However, trafficking children is a serious crime, so naturally, someone investigated further.

Unexpectedly, they rescued a child who was an excellent swimmer. He swam back to shore on his own and explained that there was a small girl among them holding a baby. They were saved by a sister, but to divert the pursuers, they got separated from her, ultimately caught by traffickers.

The jade pendant on the child was an item of the Empress, confirming that it was the Little Crown Prince.

Liu Yuanqing stationed himself in the Capital City, and the three proceeded with secret investigations through chilling winds and snow, tracking them to Luoyang City. Yet, just as they were discovering something, the city became increasingly unstable, on the verge of rebellion, making it even harder to find clues.