Arc 4 Chapter 10 Part 1
Looking at this ledger, although the Imperial Court allocates food to the Northern Mo City every year, only two or three rations out of ten reach the citizens.
One-third of the rations were annexed and divided amongst the City Officials. The remaining rations went to the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince, with each getting twenty percent.
In this case, no matter which one of them ascends the throne in the future, he was afraid that it would only benefit them.
In this way, the Mo City Officials, from low to high, were grasshoppers tied to the same rope1 . And on the side of the Capital, they had the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince to cover them. It wasn’t surprising that Mo City was like a tightly sealed container, going as far as not being able to hear any bit of trace about this matter.
“How this ledger was obtained was also peculiar. I can only say that the Heavens have eyes.” Yu Chiyan sneered, “The Mo City’s Prefectural Magistrate’s most favored concubine went to elope with someone and stole the Magistrate’s most treasured chest. The Prefectural Magistrate didn’t dare to go after it publicly and could only secretly send people to grab it. The small concubine was scared out of her wits, so she approached me. Inside that chest was precisely this ledger!”
“If it wasn’t for this ledger, I wouldn’t have known that the Crown Prince and Sixth Brother had something to do with it.” As Yu Chiyan said this, he ruthlessly pounded the table with his fist, “For the sake of their own desires, they put the lives of the citizens at risk. Do you think that this kind of person is worthy of being the Crown Prince?”
Fan Yin signaled for him to lower his voice, his face was as deep as water when he asked, “I remember you saying this before you came here, you told me that this plague was not a natural disaster but a man-made one. What is the explanation for this?”
Now that this was mentioned, Yu Chiyan’s eyes were filled with indignance once again, “I told them to go to the granary a few days ago, those people were just casually pushing their responsibilities onto one another. Afterwards, they weren’t able to withstand my resolute manner and followed me into the granary. But only after going to the granary, did I find out that this granary was filled with old millet and rotten rice. A lot of silt was even mixed in.”
“Later on, I went to the place where the porridge is being distributed.” Yu Chiyan looked at Fan Yin and Shen Jiayan, “Do you two know what kind of porridge was given? Muddy yellow water with several grains of rice mixed in! That’s porridge!”
“But it was already like that, there were still countless citizens of Mo City pushing and shoving to grab it.” Yu Chiyan said this then disappointedly sat on the chair, “Some people live a life of extravagance, this is my Da Yong2 ; some people die of hunger on the roadside, this is also my Da Yong. They only see the Capital and sing about its prosperity but they never thought that the citizens of the Northern Mo City were starving and living precariously.”
“The eyes of the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince were only on the throne but never looking at the whole world.” Fan Yin lowered his eyes.
""
Yu Chiyan covered his lips with a handkerchief and coughed a few times, “This ledger, I want to send it to the Capital. Since they did this, then they must pay the price for this matter.”
His handkerchief was stained with blood but his eyes were astonishingly bright.
“If neither the Crown Prince nor the Sixth Prince are suitable to be the Emperor, then have you considered that you(formal) are more suitable than either of them, Your Highness?” In the beginning, Shen Jiayan had only been quietly sitting and reading through the ledger. But now that he had opened his mouth, he had actually spoken such astonishing words.
Yu Chiyan’s whole body jolted. He looked at Shen Jiayan with a complex expression.
Shen Jiayan did not have the foolish, loyal way of thinking the ancient people have. He didn’t realize how treacherous his idea sounded at all, “The Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince have been doted on by a myriad of people since childhood. If you haven’t suffered, you won’t be able to understand the suffering of other people. If you can’t put yourself in their position, you will not have the capacity to accommodate them. After becoming an Emperor, they naturally won’t be compassionate towards the people.”
“But Your Highness is different. Cherishing the world, concern for the country and the people, I truly feel that Your Highness is much more suitable than them.” Shen Jiayan’s eyes were sharp, totally unaware of the great waves he had set off in Yu Chiyan’s heart.
Yu Chiyan never dared having any thoughts about getting that unattainable position.
He didn’t have a prominent background, nor did he have the valued attention of the Emperor. He didn’t even have a healthy body. For a long time now, he had only been dragging his sick body and continued to struggle whilst at death’s door.
But now, someone actually told him they thought that he was the most suitable for that throne.
“Who am I to challenge them for the throne?” Yu Chiyan quickly became sober from Shen Jiayan’s words, “The Officials in the Imperial Court have long chosen the factions they will support. Father Emperor also has someone in his heart who he is paying attention to. Meanwhile, I don’t even have any sort of leverage.”
Shen Jiayan pointed at the ledger with his finger, his eyes flickering with the brilliance of a newborn calf who doesn’t fear the tiger, “This. Isn’t this something you can use as leverage? If the Emperor saw this ledger with his own eyes, could he really still choose the Crown Prince to inherit the throne?”
Fan Yin took Shen Jiayan into his arms and blocked whatever he was going to say next. He raised his eyes to look at Yu Chiyan, “Yan’er, Yun Chen was just babbling nonsense. You don’t need to take them to heart.”
“No, Fan Yin, on the contrary, I think he’s right. After all, I don’t have anything anyway. Even if I lose, I won’t lose anything. At most, I will just die. If that’s really the case, I might as well go and try.” A touch of determination filled Yu Chiyan’s eyes, “I will return to the Capital with this ledger this very day. I will hand this place over to you.”
Fan Yin softly sighed, “Since you’ve already decided, I won’t stop you. This journey will be long and very dangerous. You must be careful.”
Arc 4 Chapter 10 Part 1
Looking at this ledger, although the Imperial Court allocates food to the Northern Mo City every year, only two or three rations out of ten reach the citizens.
One-third of the rations were annexed and divided amongst the City Officials. The remaining rations went to the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince, with each getting twenty percent.
In this case, no matter which one of them ascends the throne in the future, he was afraid that it would only benefit them.
In this way, the Mo City Officials, from low to high, were grasshoppers tied to the same rope1 . And on the side of the Capital, they had the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince to cover them. It wasn’t surprising that Mo City was like a tightly sealed container, going as far as not being able to hear any bit of trace about this matter.
“How this ledger was obtained was also peculiar. I can only say that the Heavens have eyes.” Yu Chiyan sneered, “The Mo City’s Prefectural Magistrate’s most favored concubine went to elope with someone and stole the Magistrate’s most treasured chest. The Prefectural Magistrate didn’t dare to go after it publicly and could only secretly send people to grab it. The small concubine was scared out of her wits, so she approached me. Inside that chest was precisely this ledger!”
“If it wasn’t for this ledger, I wouldn’t have known that the Crown Prince and Sixth Brother had something to do with it.” As Yu Chiyan said this, he ruthlessly pounded the table with his fist, “For the sake of their own desires, they put the lives of the citizens at risk. Do you think that this kind of person is worthy of being the Crown Prince?”
Fan Yin signaled for him to lower his voice, his face was as deep as water when he asked, “I remember you saying this before you came here, you told me that this plague was not a natural disaster but a man-made one. What is the explanation for this?”
Now that this was mentioned, Yu Chiyan’s eyes were filled with indignance once again, “I told them to go to the granary a few days ago, those people were just casually pushing their responsibilities onto one another. Afterwards, they weren’t able to withstand my resolute manner and followed me into the granary. But only after going to the granary, did I find out that this granary was filled with old millet and rotten rice. A lot of silt was even mixed in.”
“Later on, I went to the place where the porridge is being distributed.” Yu Chiyan looked at Fan Yin and Shen Jiayan, “Do you two know what kind of porridge was given? Muddy yellow water with several grains of rice mixed in! That’s porridge!”
“But it was already like that, there were still countless citizens of Mo City pushing and shoving to grab it.” Yu Chiyan said this then disappointedly sat on the chair, “Some people live a life of extravagance, this is my Da Yong2 ; some people die of hunger on the roadside, this is also my Da Yong. They only see the Capital and sing about its prosperity but they never thought that the citizens of the Northern Mo City were starving and living precariously.”
“The eyes of the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince were only on the throne but never looking at the whole world.” Fan Yin lowered his eyes.
""
Yu Chiyan covered his lips with a handkerchief and coughed a few times, “This ledger, I want to send it to the Capital. Since they did this, then they must pay the price for this matter.”
His handkerchief was stained with blood but his eyes were astonishingly bright.
“If neither the Crown Prince nor the Sixth Prince are suitable to be the Emperor, then have you considered that you(formal) are more suitable than either of them, Your Highness?” In the beginning, Shen Jiayan had only been quietly sitting and reading through the ledger. But now that he had opened his mouth, he had actually spoken such astonishing words.
Yu Chiyan’s whole body jolted. He looked at Shen Jiayan with a complex expression.
Shen Jiayan did not have the foolish, loyal way of thinking the ancient people have. He didn’t realize how treacherous his idea sounded at all, “The Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince have been doted on by a myriad of people since childhood. If you haven’t suffered, you won’t be able to understand the suffering of other people. If you can’t put yourself in their position, you will not have the capacity to accommodate them. After becoming an Emperor, they naturally won’t be compassionate towards the people.”
“But Your Highness is different. Cherishing the world, concern for the country and the people, I truly feel that Your Highness is much more suitable than them.” Shen Jiayan’s eyes were sharp, totally unaware of the great waves he had set off in Yu Chiyan’s heart.
Yu Chiyan never dared having any thoughts about getting that unattainable position.
He didn’t have a prominent background, nor did he have the valued attention of the Emperor. He didn’t even have a healthy body. For a long time now, he had only been dragging his sick body and continued to struggle whilst at death’s door.
But now, someone actually told him they thought that he was the most suitable for that throne.
“Who am I to challenge them for the throne?” Yu Chiyan quickly became sober from Shen Jiayan’s words, “The Officials in the Imperial Court have long chosen the factions they will support. Father Emperor also has someone in his heart who he is paying attention to. Meanwhile, I don’t even have any sort of leverage.”
Shen Jiayan pointed at the ledger with his finger, his eyes flickering with the brilliance of a newborn calf who doesn’t fear the tiger, “This. Isn’t this something you can use as leverage? If the Emperor saw this ledger with his own eyes, could he really still choose the Crown Prince to inherit the throne?”
Fan Yin took Shen Jiayan into his arms and blocked whatever he was going to say next. He raised his eyes to look at Yu Chiyan, “Yan’er, Yun Chen was just babbling nonsense. You don’t need to take them to heart.”
“No, Fan Yin, on the contrary, I think he’s right. After all, I don’t have anything anyway. Even if I lose, I won’t lose anything. At most, I will just die. If that’s really the case, I might as well go and try.” A touch of determination filled Yu Chiyan’s eyes, “I will return to the Capital with this ledger this very day. I will hand this place over to you.”
Fan Yin softly sighed, “Since you’ve already decided, I won’t stop you. This journey will be long and very dangerous. You must be careful.”
