In this great drought, the crops had completely failed. Fresh pears like these were incredibly precious—perhaps even the emperor couldn’t get his hands on one!
Bai Lan held Yu Yangyang’s hand and pushed the pear back toward her. Her old, exhausted face was filled with tendernessThe Delicate Beauty Fleeing the Famine: The Sickly Obsessive Prince Spoils Her Rotten.
“Mother won’t eat it. Yangyang, keep it for yourself.”
Her voice was slightly hoarse, and her mouth was so dry that her saliva was already foaming a little. She was clearly thirsty.
Yu Yangyang paused.
For the first time, she seemed to understand a little of what those children who had been favored in her previous life must have felt like.
Yu Yangyang felt a little happy.
Her voice was soft and sweet. “It’s okay, Mother. Eat it. I still have plenty.”
She pressed the pear into Bai Lan’s hand.
Bai Lan’s expression became complicated. She couldn’t help saying, “My good girl, that old immortal treats you very well, but you can’t keep asking him for things. What if you take too much and he abandons you and leaves?”
Yu Yangyang thought to herself that wouldn’t happen. The system was already permanently bound to her.
She answered softly, “The old immortal said he’ll take care of me for the rest of my life. He’ll keep sending me lots of things. Mother, we’ll have plenty of delicious food in the future, and you’ll enjoy a good life too.”
So don’t hesitate to enjoy it!
Bai Lan was amused by her. Her face crinkled into a smile.
Though the woman who had suffered all her life didn’t completely believe it, she somehow felt a little hope rising inside her.
Bai Lan patted the back of Yu Yangyang’s hand.
“Alright, alright. Mother will rely on Yangyang to enjoy a good life!”
Yu Yangyang looked at her seriously.
“Mother doesn’t believe me? Then I’ll prove it to you.”
Yu Yangyang touched the water barrel beside them and secretly transferred more water into it until it was half full.
Then she touched the grain sacks.
The previously empty sacks immediately became full.
Inside were bright white rice grains and golden-yellow millet, packed into two small sacks.
The sight nearly dazzled Bai Lan’s eyes.
Ah, what clear and lustrous white rice!
Ah, what beautiful, fragrant millet!
The rice was even whiter than the finest polished rice Bai Lan had ever seen in the largest grain shop in town. The millet was more beautiful than even the most expensive yellow millet.
Later, when the famine became severe, refugees would raid the grain shops until all the rice and millet were gone.
Yet now, such high-quality grain had suddenly appeared in their own grain sacks.
Bai Lan’s voice trembled.
“T-These… they’re all ours?”
Yu Yangyang nodded.
“Yes, Mother. From now on, I won’t let you go hungry.”
Bai Lan suddenly covered her face and began sobbing.
Perhaps afraid of attracting the attention of others, she cried quietly and restrainedly.
“I’ve never… eaten this kind of rice in my entire life…”
Even when they had been able to eat rice, they could only afford the lowest-quality old rice.
And even that was something Bai Lan rarely got to eat.
At her maiden home, she had to leave the food for her brothers. After marrying into the Yu family, such things belonged to the first branch. Their second branch simply didn’t have access to them.
Yu Yangyang was at a loss.
It seemed she still knew far too little about the poverty at the bottom of this world.
She had thought this was already ordinary.
Bai Lan didn’t dare cry for too long. After all, these were tears of happiness.
She happily and reverently stroked the grain sacks over and over, her eyes shining.
“So beautiful… so beautiful. Yangyang, if you dream of that old immortal again, you must thank him properly.”
Yu Yangyang nodded, then continued.
“Mother, hurry and eat the pear. Don’t let anyone see it.”
Bai Lan nodded repeatedly.
“Alright, Mother will eat it right away.”
She took a bite.
The sweet, refreshing pear juice nearly made her cry from happiness.
It was simply too delicious!
The two of them quietly munched on their pears.
Yu Jin, who was sleeping nearby, turned over and murmured groggily, “What are you eating?”
Bai Lan swallowed what was in her mouth and calmly replied, “You heard wrong.”
“Oh.”
Yu Jin turned over and went back to sleep.
Bai Lan and Yu Yangyang exchanged glances and secretly giggled.
Bai Lan whispered, “We absolutely can’t tell your second brother.”
Yu Jin was such a blockhead.
Yu Yangyang nodded, her voice soft and sweet.
“Yangyang will only tell Mother. This is our secret.”
Bai Lan was overjoyed.
A secret between her and her daughter!
Those stinky men could stay out of it.
That night, the Gu family’s camp was unusually peaceful.
After finally finding a suitable campsite, they immediately began setting up without wasting any time.
They pitched tents, arranged chairs, set up beds, and laid down soft cushions.
Although they were traveling outdoors and living rough, the Gu family still did everything they could to provide the best possible conditions.
A man dressed in black with dark hair sat comfortably in a grand chair covered with a fur blanket.
He had sharp brows and bright, star-like eyes, with a face that looked as though it had been carved by a knife and chiseled by an axe.
It was an exceptionally striking face.
The slightly raised corners of his eyes carried an innate sense of authority, while beneath his seemingly casual demeanor lurked a chilling air of murderous intent.
Meals were probably the most troublesome part of every day for this man.
Even back at his residence, when he had bear paws, shark fins, and all kinds of delicacies before him, he was still extremely picky and found everything tasteless.
Now that he was traveling south before returning to the capital, with a severe drought ravaging the land and corpses scattered along the roads, there was hardly anything decent to buy.
Moreover, they needed to return to the capital discreetly without attracting attention.
The man’s slender fingers were wrapped around a string of Buddhist prayer beads made from high-quality golden-thread nanmu wood. Each bead had been finely polished and felt exquisite to the touch.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the meat and rice on the table.
A fleeting hint of disgust appeared in his cold, noble eyes.
“Take it away.”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “Don’t waste it. Yan Gui, you and the others can eat it.”
Anything belonging to their master was naturally of the highest quality.
They had no reason to dislike it.
It was just that… this was already the master’s… who knew how many meals he had refused to eat.
Ever since they had headed south, their master had barely eaten anything.
Yan Gui was deeply worried.
When he carried the food out, Yan Gui looked at the Gu family members waiting outside.
“The master has no appetite. Don’t prepare so much next time.”
The Gu family naturally nodded in agreement.
Once Yan Gui left, they immediately began discussing the matter.
“The master’s appetite isn’t good. If we can find something that will stimulate his appetite, perhaps we can win his favor.”
“Steward, take some people around the area and see if there are any fresh foods available.”
Gu Steward was holding several sweet potatoes he had bought from a farm woman, and he hesitated.
It was true that their master preferred sweet flavors.
But sweet potatoes…
They were hardly something suitable for a refined gentleman.
After thinking it over, Gu Steward still didn’t dare take the risk.
He mentioned it to Gu Huaisheng, then took the sweet potatoes away and roasted them himself.
Speaking of which, the aroma he’d smelled earlier had been incredibly tempting.
Gu Steward rubbed his hands together, suddenly looking forward to tasting them.
The moment the roasted sweet potato entered his mouth, it was so delicious that he nearly bit his tongue.
The steward’s eyes widened.
Good heavens!
How could there be such delicious sweet potatoes?
Had they been grown by immortals?
Gu Steward had already been hungry, so he quickly ate two sweet potatoes, one bite after another.
Inside the tent.
The man frowned and pressed a hand against his stomach.
Hunger had made his extraordinarily handsome face slightly pale.
Suddenly, a sweet, rich aroma drifted into his nose.
His fingers tapped lightly against the table.
“Yan Gui.”
Without making a sound, Yan Gui emerged from the shadows.
“What does the master require?”
…
Two roasted sweet potatoes were placed on the table.
The man frowned.
Hardly suitable for a refined palate.
But…
They smelled very good.
After hesitating briefly, he reached out and picked up one.
The cheap sweet potato instantly seemed priceless in his hand.
From the shadows, Yan Gui’s eyes widened in astonishment.