CHAPTER 32: THIRTY-TWO CHAPTERS: THE LAND OF SHU

The next day, Zhao Yao naturally woke up, finding it was already the hour of Si. When he wasn’t studying before, he woke up at this time every day. Since he started studying this year, he could only sleep until the hour of Si on rest days.

Zhao Yao liked to sleep in and hated getting up early, which was one of the reasons he disliked studying.

"Yao Yao, why don’t you sleep a bit more? Are you hungry?" Liang Run said, "Uncle bought breakfast for you and kept it warm in the pot. I’ll get it for you now."

"Is there the sesame flatbread I love most?" Near Liang Run’s house, an old couple had a stall selling sesame flatbreads. The taste was exceptional, and Zhao Yao always ate them when he left the palace.

"Yes, yes, I bought plenty for you, and also got you soy milk and tofu pudding." Although he was a Prince, he preferred the common folk’s food.

"Great, I’ll go wash up now."

Tong Xi served Zhao Yao as he washed, and then served him breakfast.

Liang Run had already eaten breakfast and was sitting opposite, watching Zhao Yao eat.

Zhao Yao enjoyed the sesame flatbread, drinking soy milk, his small face full of happiness.

Seeing how much Zhao Yao was enjoying it, Liang Run laughed, "Is it that good?"

Zhao Yao nodded vigorously, "It’s delicious, so delicious."

"Isn’t the food from the Imperial Kitchen tasty?"

"The food from the Imperial Kitchen is tasty of course, but it lacks some human touch."

"Lacks human touch?" Liang Run looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Yao couldn’t explain it clearly for a moment, so he said, "Anyway, food outside is also delicious, not inferior to the Imperial Kitchen’s."

"I think you’ve had too much exotic delicacies, so you find the common folk’s food tasty."

"Uncle, that’s where you’re wrong." Zhao Yao put down his bowl, his expression turning somewhat serious, "In the palace, we don’t have exotic delicacies every meal. Whether it’s Father, Mother, or me, the ingredients we usually eat are common, without any rare exotic beasts."

"Ah?" Liang Run was full of surprise, "Really?"

"Of course it’s true, although the preparation of our dishes is more complex than yours, there’s no other difference. Even beef isn’t available every day; we can only have it during important festivals or banquets."

Liang Run was shocked, "I thought you had exotic delicacies every meal."

"Both Imperial Grandfather and Father are frugal, they don’t allow extravagance and waste in food. Their meals also just have a few dishes, similar to an ordinary family’s." Although his father didn’t favor him, even bullied him, and was not a good father, he was a good emperor.

It was the first time Liang Run heard of such things, and he was rather shocked, exclaiming, "I really didn’t expect that!"

"Although Imperial Grandfather established the Great Zhou, the world is not truly at peace. Aren’t there still many places with rebels?" From the founding of the Great Zhou by Imperial Grandfather, it’s only been over ten years. "The most important thing is that many people still can’t get enough to eat."

During Emperor Xia Ling’s reign, there were frequent natural disasters, either floods or droughts, and locust plagues, causing not a single grain to be harvested in many places. Moreover, there were human disasters. Officials exploited the people, blatantly seizing their land and food, leading to famine and death among many commoners.

After the Great Zhou was established, the weather has been favorable. Over the past ten years, there have been no natural disasters, but during the previous dynasty, much farmland was destroyed, with many becoming wasteland. In these ten years, while efforts have been made to recuperate and build the economy, it’s impossible to suddenly have a significant increase in grain. During the previous emperor’s reign, many granaries couldn’t be filled; grain remained scarce.

After the emperor ascended the throne, grain began to have a good harvest in many places, but the output was still low in many areas.

"The former emperor and the current emperor are truly benevolent rulers."

"Both Imperial Grandfather and Father have experienced famine, they value grain greatly, so how could they be extravagant and wasteful?" Imperial Grandfather and Father have been through hard times, they deeply understand the hardships of the common people and strive to improve their lives. "Although many problems are still unresolved, I believe things will get better and better."

"Life now is much better than it was before." Liang Run had experienced all sorts of natural and human disasters during his childhood in the previous dynasty. Although he was young then, he would never forget the suffering of those times.

"Uncle, did you go to the Ping’an Guesthouse?" Zhao Yao asked urgently, "Did you find out anything?"

"I went early in the morning and inquired with the staff. They said those people were very strange, staying cooped up in the room all day, even eating in their rooms. The staff never saw them leave." The Ping’an Guesthouse wasn’t far from where Liang Run lived, and he was familiar with the guesthouse’s shopkeeper and staff. When he asked around, the staff naturally shared what they knew. "It wasn’t until the day they checked out that they left their rooms."

Zhao Yao increasingly felt those people who went to the Pei Mansion were strange, "Did the staff say where their accent was from?"

"I asked, and the staff said they had an accent from Sichuan." The staff at the Ping’an Guesthouse dealt with travelers from all over and had developed the skill to identify regional accents. "Though they tried hard to disguise their accent, the staff still picked it up."

"Sichuan?" Zhao Yao was surprised, "They’re from Sichuan!"

"Sichuan is thousands of miles away from the capital, yet those people traveled all this way to the Pei Mansion to find something. It seems whatever they’re looking for is very important." Liang Run curiously asked, "What on earth could the Pei Mansion have that would be worth their long journey?"

Zhao Yao shook his head, "I don’t know."

"Could those people be related to the Pei Family?"

"Probably not," Zhao Yao speculated, "The Pei Family was wiped out two or three decades ago. If they were connected, they wouldn’t wait until now to investigate the Pei Mansion."

"The Pei Family was framed for treason back then, leading to their entire clan being executed, with everything of value taken. Not even a chair was left. What could possibly be there for them to search for?" Liang Run had visited the Pei Mansion and found nothing of value.

"Perhaps they heard something that convinced them there’s something in the Pei Mansion worth investigating," Zhao Yao thought aloud. "Uncle, you should ask the elderly in the capital about the Pei Mansion. They might have heard something."

"Alright."

Seeing Zhao Yao furrowed his brows, deep in thought, Liang Run asked, "Yao Yao, what’s wrong?"

"Sichuan is currently controlled by the rebels of the previous dynasty and doesn’t belong to the Great Zhou. I’m wondering if those people might be remnants of the previous dynasty?"

Liang Run was startled by Zhao Yao’s words, "Remnants of the previous dynasty?"

"It’s very possible they are with Han Zhong."

Han Zhong was a remnant of the previous dynasty. Twenty years ago, he competed with Zhao Yao’s Imperial Grandfather for the Yong State, but was defeated and fled with his troops to Sichuan. At that time, only two or three thousand soldiers followed him into Sichuan. Soon after arriving there, he declared himself emperor. Now, he has an army of hundreds of thousands in Sichuan.

While the former emperor was still alive, Han Zhong had once come out of Sichuan to attack Liangzhou, but was badly defeated by the emperor, returning to Sichuan in disgrace. Since then, he never ventured out of Sichuan again or attacked the Great Zhou.

The emperor wished to eliminate Han Zhong and reclaim Sichuan, but the terrain was complex and fortified, making it hard to conquer. Recovering Sichuan required a significant number of troops and supplies. The Great Zhou was newly established, with much to rebuild, lacking the resources to attack Sichuan. Moreover, there were other rebels to suppress in several provinces, leaving the court with no choice but to temporarily abandon the plan to reclaim Sichuan.

Once the insurgencies in the other states were fully quelled, the emperor planned to move to reclaim Sichuan.

The emperor was determined to take Sichuan back and wouldn’t allow Han Zhong to continue his rule there as a local king. Although no actions had been taken so far, the plan to retake Sichuan was continuously underway.

"Han Zhong’s men?" Liang Run spoke in a hushed tone, "That’s treasonous; how dare he send people to the capital?"

Zhao Yao considered this, Han Zhong was a remnant of the previous dynasty, and the Pei Mansion was also connected to the previous era. Han Zhong deliberately sent someone to search the Pei Mansion, suggesting the object might relate to the previous dynasty.

"They didn’t find anything in the Pei Mansion, so it’s unlikely they’ll return." If they did return to the capital, they would surely be discovered, putting themselves in danger. "Who knows if anyone from the Pei Family survived back then."

"Wasn’t the Pei Family entirely executed? How could there be any survivors?"

"Someone might have escaped." If someone did escape from the Pei Family, they would surely live in anonymity, making them hard to find.

"Are you looking for someone from the Pei Family?"

"Why would I look for Pei Family members?" Zhao Yao said, "Even if we tried, it would be hard to find them."

If they were truly found, it would only bring unnecessary trouble and danger.