Chapter Sixty: Tireless Dedication
The Crown Prince and the Princess personally doing good deeds for the people—such fortune is a rare blessing that comes once in a century. By tending to the suffering of the common folk with such diligence, they made the people of Lihuai County feel they had encountered a benevolent ruler and were living in an auspicious era.
Yet, Gu Li was deeply astonished by this arrangement.
Why would her brother, the Crown Prince, have Yu Yang accompany him?
Every time Gu Li observed the way her brother looked at Yu Yang, an uneasy feeling grew inside her.
Heavens, could her brother possibly harbor feelings for this mysterious Yu Yang?
Gu Li had always sensed that Yu Yang was no ordinary person. If her brother truly fell for her, it would not bode well.
With this worry in her heart, Gu Li followed Lie Chang’an to the eastern part of the city to distribute porridge.
Disaster relief and saving the people came first; she could only suppress her anxious thoughts for the time being and focus on ladling porridge, handing bowl after bowl to the hungry, pale-faced crowd.
Despite their starvation and exhaustion, the people conducted themselves with remarkable dignity. After receiving their hot porridge, each one knelt and bowed, offering heartfelt thanks to the Princess and General Chang’an. Tears welled up in Gu Li’s eyes at the sight.
The small, frail children took the hot porridge in their dirty hands, and when their eyes met Gu Li’s, they would say, “Princess, you are more beautiful than a celestial maiden.”
These people had endured the agony of famine, yet harbored no resentment, and remained full of gratitude. It made Gu Li feel they were indeed a kind and warm-hearted people.
Every sincere word of thanks, every grateful smile, every child’s honest compliment became her solace and conviction, day after day, standing beneath the blazing sun, tirelessly giving porridge.
Even Yu Yang, accustomed to a life of wandering and independence, was astonished at the brother and sister, privileged since birth, persevering under the scorching sun each day, distributing porridge and rice to tens of thousands. Only General Chang’an, once forged by military hardships, could withstand such toil.
Yu Yang had thought herself tougher, having roamed the world since childhood, than these siblings raised in the palace. Yet when it came to aiding those in dire straits, neither of them uttered a word of complaint. They rose at dawn, returned late at night, and persisted for an entire week without faltering, leaving Yu Yang deeply ashamed.
But she was still nursing her injuries, and the Crown Prince knew she could not endure the strain, so he ordered her to rest for a day at the governor’s residence.
The Crown Prince led his soldiers to continue the relief work at other locations, while Gu Li and Lie Chang’an remained at the eastern city to distribute porridge.
“Princess, you’ve been working too hard lately. Why not rest for a day as well?” Lie Chang’an suggested.
Even Yu Yang, the woman of the martial world, could not bear such hardship—how much more must Gu Li have endured? Yet she never uttered a complaint, rising early and working late each day, personally ladling porridge for the needy.
Her once delicate skin was sunburned, her forehead peeling, her hands covered in calluses, her complexion pale, and she had grown markedly thinner.
Not only the Crown Prince, but even Lie Chang’an felt an indescribable ache in his heart seeing her like this.
“No. If I cannot endure even this, how am I worthy to be Father’s daughter, how am I worthy to be a Princess of the Li Dynasty?”
Knowing her stubbornness, Lie Chang’an did not press further, and silently accompanied her toward the eastern city.
Gu Li still harbored her concerns. Today, seeing the Crown Prince’s tender gaze toward Yu Yang, she could not help but ask, “Lie Chang’an, what do you think of Yu Yang?”
It was the first time Lie Chang’an had heard Gu Li address him in such a serious manner.
He realized this was a question that required careful consideration.