The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 234 They were two contrasting individuals: one willful, the other selfish.

Pang Yunyi raised an eyebrow: "You're confused by this?"

That's why people say these civil officials are pretentious.

Even something like this could make him feel melancholic and sentimental.

"Then why do you think it is?"

"It's simple. The princess believed there would be an earthquake, so she was doing everything she could to save people. Isn't the weight of human lives enough...?"

As he spoke, Pang Yunyi's voice grew softer and softer.

Yesterday, Wu Zongyu and Zheng Xun went out, but he wasn't idle either; Wu Zongyu had also assigned him some work.

The area he went to was in the state capital, but it was inhabited by poor people.

There was a family with only two people. The mother was an unconscious madwoman who had given birth to more than a dozen children, all of whom had unknown fathers.

But how could a madman raise a child?

Half of her children were stolen and sold, and the other half died young.

In the end, only her son, who was born with a limp, survived.

The mother and son lived in a dilapidated house filled with foul-smelling clutter, where bold rats and bedbugs would crawl by from time to time.

Pang Yunyi told them that there might be an earthquake.

The oblivious mother picked at the fleas on her body, while her son, with a numb expression, smiled and said, "I know, what Princess Yuanjia said must be true."

"Now that you know, that makes things easier. I'm here to inform you that you need to move to a safe place with the others."

The son smiled, turned around and crawled to the side, precisely pulling out a piece of paper from a pile of messy things.

He unfolded the paper for Pang Yunyi to see.

Pang Yunyi bent down and looked at it for a while before he could recognize the few missing characters on the paper: "Yuan...Xiu...Academy..."

Hearing him read it aloud, the man was very happy: "I really want to go to Yuanxiu Academy. I heard there are many people like me there. My mother won't be bullied there."

Upon hearing the word "Mother," the mentally unstable old woman next to him reached out and hugged Pang Yunyi's head, saying, "My little darling."

After stiffly finishing her sentence, she withdrew her hand and continued to immerse herself in her own world.

As for why she hugged Pang Yunyi, it was because he was closer and happened to bend down.

The old woman reeked of a foul stench and was covered in layers of filth, and Pang Yunyi's face instantly turned green.

The man apologized to him, at a loss for words.

Pang Yunyi waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, I've notified you. Remember to come... oh no, I'll have someone pick you up."

In his eyes, the fact that the mother and son did not refuse to evacuate meant that they agreed.

He got up to leave, but the man stopped him.

He stuffed the piece of paper with writing on it into Pang Yunyi's hand: "Please give this to the princess for me, and also, please thank the princess for me. If possible, I would also like to visit Yuanxiu Academy."

Pang Yunyi suddenly realized that he wanted to ask the princess for help!

He was quite shrewd; he actually chose the most powerful figure to serve.

Fearing the man would harass him, Pang Yunyi stuffed the note into his pocket and left.

But he quickly forgot about it.

Today, he suddenly remembered it and went to inquire about what Yuanxiu Academy was.

He had assumed it was an ordinary academy and had even mocked the man for overestimating himself, thinking he could study just because he knew a few words.

But after finding out more, he realized the special nature of Yuanxiu Academy.

He asked around and learned that the other party met the admission criteria of Yuanxiu Academy.

So today he thought he would go and deliver the news to him and tell him the good news.

He pushed open the door to the dilapidated house again, where a mother and son were eating.

A bowl of white porridge was simmering in a pot covered in black stains.

The madwoman saw Pang Yunyi, held out a bowl to him, and said, "Little Bao, eat up, it's delicious~"

How fragrant can a bowl of plain porridge be?

And that bowl was way too dirty.

Pang Yunyi was about to refuse, but the woman's son hurriedly knocked the bowl out of her hand.

You can't eat it!

Pang Yunyi laughed angrily: "Who cares?"

He felt like a fool for coming to deliver a message out of kindness, only to be treated like a thief.

He was so angry that he turned around and left.

He returned only after estimating that they had almost finished eating.

Sure enough, the man had already divided the remaining porridge in the pot with his mother, eating it all up.

Pang Yunyi told him, "I've asked around. Although you're old, I can put in a good word for you and your mother at the academy so that you can make a living."

The man listened to him for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Pang Yunyi was startled by his laughter and muttered to himself, "He's sick."

The old woman next to him suddenly groaned, "Little Bao, it hurts, Mommy."

The man wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, climbed over to his mother's side, and gently coaxed her, "The pain will stop soon."

The woman was obedient; she continued to whimper, but stopped making a fuss.

The mother and son huddled together, blood foam constantly seeping from the corners of their mouths.

Pang Yunyi realized something was wrong, but it was too late to save them.

They put three whole packets of rat poison in that pot of porridge; it was incredibly bitter, but the old woman thought it smelled delicious.

The medicine took effect quickly, and before long, both mother and child lost their lives.

As the man lay dying, he smiled and said to him, "Sir, we are very grateful that you still want to take us with you."

"If only we had met you and the princess sooner. Yuanxiu Academy, I want to visit it in my next life. In this life, we won't be a burden to you."

Pang Yunyi felt that every word he uttered was like the murmur of an evil spirit, which would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life, tormenting him with guilt and unease.

He cursed the mother and child's corpses as despicable, but still gave them a proper burial.

As the memory ended, he touched the burning paper on his chest, his eyes dry and stinging.

It was the middle of the night, and he was still awake. The fact that he could run into Wu Zongyu here was naturally because he also had something he couldn't get over.

He remained silent and took another swig of wine: "Wu Zongyu, do you think you deserve this official uniform?"

Wu Zongyu did not answer; his mind was filled with the image of Bai Xiaohu's back blocking his way.

One of them is willful, and the other is selfish; neither of them can be considered a good person in the traditional sense.

However, Zheng Xun's appearance dragged them, who were high and mighty, into the midst of official duties and ordinary people.

Lost in their own thoughts, they took turns sipping their drinks, and the jar of liquor was soon empty.

Wu Zongyu shook the empty wine jar: "It's gone."

Pang Yunyi didn't move, his head hanging down, as if he were asleep.

Wu Zongyu stepped forward and nudged him.

But then I found him crying.

"Why...why are you crying?"

"I wish I were more perceptive."

"what?"

"Wu Zongyu, I will definitely become the great general who protects Dayong. Wu Zongyu, you should do your job well, and we will support each other, okay?"

Wu Zongyu still wanted to retire, but Pang Yunyi's crying was so pitiful that he even suspected he was using a self-inflicted injury as a ruse.

He did not respond to his request: "It's late, go back. There are still palace affairs to attend to tomorrow."