At this moment, the man who had been treated slowly opened his eyes and weakly called out, "Mother..."
Hearing the man's call, the woman trembled as she replied, "Yes." Su Huaisheng motioned to the Jingji Army soldiers who were blocking the woman. The soldiers released their hold, and the woman rushed forward, throwing herself in front of the man and crying,
"My son! My dear son! It's so good that you're still alive. You scared me to death just now!"
Although the man had been saved, his eyes still looked extremely dull. Looking at his mother, he said, "Mother, I'm hungry."
He had been whipped by the Jingji Army just because he had snatched a food box from a candidate. Hearing his first words after waking up, the candidates behind showed a bit of pity on their faces.
Su Yuanyuan lowered her head and rummaged through her clothes. Su Zeqian beside her seemed to know what she was looking for. He took out an oil-paper packet from his own clothes and stuffed it into the man's hand, saying, "This is the dry food I brought with me. Eat it."
A green light flashed in the man's eyes. Ignoring his own injuries, he snatched the oil-paper packet from Su Zeqian's hand, tore off the paper in two or three strokes, and stuffed the cakes inside into his mouth frantically.
Seeing that he had gotten food, the refugees behind were not happy. They shouted one after another, "We want some too! We've been hungry for three months. We want food too!"
"Yes! We just want a bite to eat and to survive!"
"Kind-hearted lady, please have mercy on us—"
The refugees at the front actually knelt down in front of Su Yuanyuan and the others as they spoke. Seeing this, the people behind followed suit. For a moment, all the refugees knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging to Su Yuanyuan or the candidates who were on their way to Qingyi Garden for the special imperial examination.
Su Yuanyuan stood up and took two steps forward. She said to the crying and wailing refugees, "Everyone will get their share of food. I can guarantee that none of you will go hungry."
As soon as she said this, the refugees were overjoyed, but the candidates were not happy.
"Why should we give up the food in our hands? If we give it up, what will we eat during the exam?"
"That's right. The dry food in my hand was bought with the last of my travel money. If I give it to them, I'll be penniless. Who will have mercy on me then?"
"If you want to be a great benefactor, do it on your own. I'm not that noble."
"Yes, that's right!"
Hearing what the candidates said, the refugees shouted again, "You've lived in luxury and never experienced the pain of being displaced. How can you understand our sufferings?"
"Bah, you all look so decent but are going to take the exam to be officials. If you scumbags really become officials, you'll surely be corrupt officials who oppress the villagers!"
Seeing that the situation was on the verge of getting out of control again, Su Huaisheng frowned tightly, and Su Zeqian also looked worried.
"Everyone!" Su Yuanyuan's clear voice rang out. The two sides who had been verbally attacking each other gradually stopped and looked at her.
Although Su Yuanyuan didn't look very old, she had an air that couldn't be ignored.
Everyone was looking at Su Yuanyuan, waiting to see what she would do next.
After the young girl had attracted everyone's attention, she said to the refugees, "When I said I could guarantee that everyone would have food, I didn't mean that these candidates taking the special imperial examination should give up all the dry food they brought with them."
"They're going to take the exam today, and they don't have much dry food with them. Even if everyone here gives up their dry food, it can only relieve your hunger for a short while. But the method I'm talking about can guarantee that everyone will have food for three days, and even in the future."
After hearing this, there was a sudden murmur among the refugees.
After a moment, one of them said, "You're just a young girl. How can you guarantee that what you said will come true?"
"That's right. We've heard so many such illusory guarantees, but no one has ever fulfilled them!"
Su Yuanyuan asked, "May I ask which prefectures you're from?"
The man who had been treated and woke up by Su Yuanyuan said, "We... we're from Yong'an. Some of the others are from the southwest, northwest, and the south. We all gathered in Dayu Town."
Dayu Town was in the west of Shengjing City. It was a small town at the junction of Xingzhou, Langya County, and Shengjing.
Su Yuanyuan looked at the commoner who had questioned her just now and said, "I can guarantee that what I said will definitely come true. Because I'm the adopted daughter of His Majesty the current Emperor, Princess Fubao. My father is General Su Qing, the former General who pacified the northern barbarians and was famous far and wide. Standing here with me are my two elder brothers."
After a pause, Su Yuanyuan pointed at Su Zeqian who had always been by her side and said, "This one beside me is also the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang."
Su Zeqian was stunned, and a trace of joy flashed in his eyes. The young girl didn't ignore him. Did this mean that she had changed her opinion of him?
"We deeply sympathize with your experiences. As the people of the Great Chu, we're also willing to help you through this difficult time. In the next ten days, the Prince Qing's Mansion will set up porridge sheds outside the west city gate and find a suitable place for you to settle down. If there are able-bodied people in your family, besides getting enough porridge to feed the whole family, you can also get seeds and tools to reclaim wasteland and grow grain without paying any grain tax."
"But I also have a condition. You have to clear the way and let the candidates behind me go to Qingyi Garden for the exam." Su Yuanyuan pointed at the official road behind.
Su Zeqian quickly echoed, "I'm the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang. The Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion is also willing to set up porridge sheds outside the west city gate together with the Prince Qing's Mansion."
The refugees began to discuss again.
"This... this... is really feasible! Not only will they give us food, but they'll also give us a place to settle down and let us have land to grow on without paying grain tax. This is really great!"
"Yes. We've been displaced for so long. We've been looking forward to having a place to settle down. I... I agree. Let them go for the exam."
"Are you all stupid? Giving us food, seeds, and land without collecting grain tax? There's no such good thing in the world! It's obvious that they're just trying to appease us first and then find an opportunity to kill us all later!"
"Ah, how could it be like this? It turns out that this young girl has such a vicious heart."
"Yes, that's right. We mustn't agree to her!"
"Never!"
Seeing that the refugees who had been a bit tempted were easily persuaded to change their minds by some people, a faint smile appeared on Su Yuanyuan's lips. She took another step forward and said,
"If you don't trust me, I can give up this special imperial examination and stay with you until the Prince Qing's Mansion... and the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion set up porridge sheds outside, distribute grain seeds to you, and fulfill all the promises before I leave."
This meant that she was willing to be a hostage and stay with these refugees until the promises were fulfilled.