Chapter 6: Overcome by Inferiority

The carriage arrived outside the city walls once again.

As Fan Dayou stepped down, the disaster victims became restless, as if they had caught sight of their savior. However, this only made Fan Dayou feel more ashamed. He glanced back with resentment at the young Emperor Ning Chen, who was wandering about like a street urchin.

He muttered to himself, "You heartless brat! A hundred thousand taels—a full hundred thousand taels—and you just let it go. How are these victims supposed to survive? Where am I supposed to find the silver for disaster relief now?"

He truly wanted to quit, but he couldn't bear the thought of abandoning these people; it would be worse than death.

Just as he was spiraling in misery, Ning Chen suddenly opened his large, watery eyes and called out with an innocent smile, "Lord Fan, come here for a moment!"

Fan Dayou had no choice but to comply, a gesture that piqued the curiosity of many victims. How could a dignified second-rank official be so easily bossed around by a mere child? Though, the child was quite cute.

Yet, they never expected that such a cute child could utter such devilish words:

"Lord Fan, aren't you just wasting money?"

"The porridge for disaster relief doesn't need to be this thick. Go, from now on, make the white porridge at least twice as thin—no, make it even thinner!"

"There's no need to use premium rice either. Add some husks or bran; as long as it keeps them from dying, it’s enough!"

"Also, starting now, cut the wages of all physicians and laborers by seventy percent. If they don't want to work, let the victims do it themselves!"

"Furthermore, there is no need for such high-quality materials for the shelters. As long as they don't collapse, that will do!"

"Remember, the funds are limited. You must be frugal!"

Ning Chen’s voice was loud, and everyone nearby heard him. The words instantly ignited the fury of the victims, and several even rushed forward to curse him:

"You little bastard, do you have any humanity at all?"

"How can someone so young speak such vicious words?"

Fan Dayou was beyond enraged and demanded, "You told me to follow your lead, and this is your way of providing relief?"

"These are the people of our Great Ning, living, breathing human beings! How is treating them like livestock any different from being a beast yourself?"

"They traveled such a long way to the capital to escape disaster; if we cannot even ensure they are fed and sheltered, are we even human?"

Ning Chen frowned and lowered his voice, "I’ll say it again: if you don’t want to do it, get out now!"

"Listen to me. If you do as I say, they will at least survive. Otherwise, no one else will care whether they live or die!"

"Also, arrest those who led the verbal abuse against me and interrogate them thoroughly. Do not let a single one go!"

"Remember, if you fail to follow my instructions, even by a single detail, I will have you removed immediately!"

With that, Ning Chen left with Little Anzi and a few guards.

On the road, Little Anzi lifted the carriage curtain to glance at the guards following behind. He leaned in and whispered to Ning Chen, so only the two of them could hear:

"Your Majesty, since you want to win over Fan Dayou, why not find a chance to tell him your well-intentioned plans? Why treat him this way? Aren't you afraid he will grow to hate you more?"

Ning Chen also lowered his voice, his expression grave, "Caution is the key to longevity."

"As the Left Censor-in-Chief, he managed to fall into Zhao Siwen's trap, which suggests that there are likely ears everywhere around him."

"I have no troops and no power. Once my true intentions are leaked to the Empress Dowager, I fear I won't even live to see her birthday!"

Little Anzi nodded but worriedly added, "But if this continues, will Fan Dayou ever understand your good intentions?"

Ning Chen beckoned him closer, and Little Anzi immediately leaned his ear in.

Ning Chen whispered, "This inspection trip outside the palace is my only chance for a comeback, so I must make the most of it..."

A moment later, after hearing Ning Chen’s explanation and plan, Little Anzi was stunned. Looking at the nine-year-old boy-emperor before him, a sense of profound admiration welled up in his heart. He finally understood why Ning Chen had proactively requested to leave the palace to supervise the relief efforts.

Everything had been meticulously arranged from the start. He couldn't imagine how a nine-year-old child could possess such a calculating mind. As he thought about it, his eyes filled with hope.

***

Meanwhile, the indignant and frustrated Fan Dayou stood by the city wall for a long time. He truly wanted to resign; he didn't even fear death.

This wretched little emperor had not only cut the hundred thousand taels meant for relief but also insisted on treating these victims like livestock. He even ordered the arrest of victims just because they had cursed him. They didn't know the boy's true identity! By interrogating them, wasn't the emperor clearly looking for a pretext to frame them?

Without mercy or tolerance, such an emperor deserved to be dethroned. He regretted ever speaking up for the boy in the first place. But it was too late; he couldn't abandon the victims. If he walked away, it would hurt more than death. Yet, the little emperor had seized his only weakness.

So be it. As the boy said, if he followed those instructions, the victims would at least survive, even if treated like animals. Otherwise, if he were removed, none of the high-ranking officials in the court would care if these people lived or died.

Under the watchful eyes of the guards, Fan Dayou ultimately complied with Ning Chen’s orders.

However, to his surprise, shortly after the victims ate the porridge, most of them began to vomit and fall ill. He panicked. How could this be? He had used good grain!

Fortunately, some physicians who didn't care about the pay cut remained. Upon inspection, they realized the cause: the victims had eaten too much, and they had eaten too well!

After the physicians explained that people who have been starving for a long time cannot handle rich food—or even large quantities of food—Fan Dayou slapped his forehead, filled with self-reproach. He cursed himself, "Fan Dayou, oh Fan Dayou! You’ve never known hunger, you’ve spent your life buried in books, and you know nothing of the world. You are a disgrace to the literary world; all those years of study were for nothing..."

Suddenly, he paused, looking suspiciously toward the city. "Could the little emperor have foreseen this? No, that’s impossible. If he had, why not say so directly?"

"And if he had such foresight, he wouldn't have ordered me to arrest those victims..."

Just as he was muttering, a subordinate rushed over. "My Lord! My Lord! Those victims have confessed!"

Fan Dayou was stunned. "Confessed? Confessed to what? They are just victims. Did you frame them..."

The subordinate interrupted, "My Lord, those who led the cursing and rioting are not victims at all!"

"They are locals from the area. When they heard we were providing relief and that the food was good, they decided to be lazy and pose as victims to get a free meal..."

Boom!

Fan Dayou’s mind went blank. Posing as victims? Such a thing existed?

He hurriedly confirmed, "Are you sure? All of them? Are you certain there's no mistake?"

The subordinate replied, "My Lord, I would stake my life on it. Their household registrations have all been checked..."

Fan Dayou was completely bewildered. This was the first time he had ever been in charge of disaster relief. He never imagined it would turn into such a farce.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look toward the city again. Could the little emperor have known about the imposters too? How could that be?

However, soon another report came: "My Lord, it's bad! The contractors building the shelters for the victims have started fighting..."

"Fighting? What happened?" Fan Dayou asked.

The subordinate reported, "It seems someone couldn't stand it anymore and accused the contractors of being greedy, profiting from the disaster relief funds with no conscience."

"Profiting from relief funds? How did this happen?"

Fan Dayou rushed to investigate. It turned out that after Ning Chen ordered the seventy percent wage cut, some unscrupulous bosses refused to continue working, while some laborers and a few contractors were willing to carry on. The conflict between them led to them exposing each other’s secrets. Many contractors had inflated their prices to the government while paying the laborers a pittance under the guise of "charity." They were literally feeding on the blood of the victims!

Having understood the situation, Fan Dayou felt a deep sense of defeat. He slapped himself hard. He never imagined that his first time in charge of disaster relief would result in so many farces. Truly, reading ten thousand books is not as good as walking ten thousand miles. He had lived all these years in vain.

Beyond the self-reproach, he was now even more curious: was the little emperor just stumbling upon the truth, or had he known about these filthy undercurrents all along? If it was just luck, how could he have guessed everything correctly? But if he had known, then this little emperor was truly terrifying.

Thinking of this, he slapped himself hard again.