Chapter 212: Bound to the Birth System, Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 213: The Road to Turning the Tables While Fleeing Natural D

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

Snow falling out of season like this truly means one disaster after another.

"Can you still walk?"

Shen Yao gazed at the gloomy sky outside; large snowflakes fell to the ground, and before long they piled up into a thin layer of white brocade.

Qi Chen shook his head. "We need to find a residence to rest as soon as possible. Continuing on in weather like this is too dangerous."

Especially after the snow, when the temperature drops, both adults and children are prone to catching a chill.

Medical care in ancient times was underdeveloped; even though they brought many medicinal herbs and a skilled physician when they set out, who could guarantee they would remain safe and sound?

Nodding, Shen Yao agreed with Qi Chen's words; no matter how things were arranged later, they indeed needed to rest now.

The travelers found a decent Yi Zhan to serve as a temporary foothold.

The Yi Zhan was not large; barely enough to house the group from the Qin Wang Fu, while the rich merchants who had come with Qi Chen could only stay temporarily in the Da Tang.

He arranged manpower to quickly scout the surroundings; regardless of their considerations, they could not stay long at a Yi Zhan in the wild ridge.

Shen Yao stayed in the best room at the Yi Zhan, and Qi Haochen was entrusted to the wet nurse and others for care.

A few children who could not stay still ran to Shen Yao's room, clinging to her and asking all sorts of questions. "Mother, when do we leave?"

Wei Yun leaned by the Window Side, opening only a small crack, and the gloomy wind blew in so coldly that she kept shrinking her neck.

"Close it quickly, be careful not to catch a chill and have to drink medicine," Shen Yao called out. "Soon enough; this Yi Zhan has no village ahead and no store behind. Staying here will only make things harder."

The people Qi Chen had sent out had not returned, but as far as she knew, there were villages and towns around.

They would likely have to trudge through the snow to find a foothold, waiting for the snow to truly stop before continuing on the road.

Wei Ying added softly, "Mother, will we be late arriving at Changzhou Prefecture?"

Wei Zhen pouted, her hair bun tied up with several beautiful gold bells hanging from it. "We'll definitely be late; I just don't know if the road will be difficult to travel."

The books she had read all described the miserable plight of common people when natural disasters struck.

Though they could not be considered common people now, how could human strength contend with the power of nature?

Wei Shi scratched his head; he had just gone out for a stroll with Eldest Young Master Wei Cheng.

The wind and snow outside grew stronger and stronger, the cold wind biting, with not a trace of the signs of spring returning to the earth and all things reviving from those past few days.

They were still young and did not understand what this situation meant, but for elderly people of advanced age, it was easy to associate it with some bad situations.

"You few, go out less recently. Getting frostbitten is not worth the loss."

After Shen Yao finished speaking, she also instructed Wei Cheng and Wei Ying, the two older ones: "Keep a closer eye on Shi'er and the others. If they really want to go out, they can go find the steward to arrange manpower."

"As for your maternal grandfather's side, remind them whenever you have the chance. There are many people and mixed eyes; never attract attention."

In this era, identity and status determine eighty percent of a person's destiny.

Even now, many people still held prejudices against Shen Yao, even though Shen Yao was already an Imperial Consort of the Prince.

The Shen Family was Shen Yao's ancestral home, and Shen Yao had given them plenty of care along the way, but she could not watch them twenty-four hours a day without letting up.

At times like this, they had to rely on the Shen Family itself to struggle and strive. Shen Yao could only provide some opportunities; whether they could seize a turnaround still depended on their own abilities.

This applied equally to Wei Cheng and the others, and Shen Yao faced it quite openly.

Not everyone had Qi Haochen's talent for reincarnation; if one was innately deficient, one could only strive later in life.

After chatting with the children for a while, until a commotion came from outside the door, Shen Yao then rose to see Wei Cheng and the others off.

Qi Chen made a sound of surprise. "Why did they leave? Are you worried about me coming back?"

Shen Yao smiled, and at the same time handed the wrung-out handkerchief to Qi Chen for use. "Your Highness jests. They can't stay idle; if not for me keeping them in check, they would have run off without a trace."

"I told them to go back and rest. Children's bodies are not as strong as adults'; catching a chill from the cold wind and falling ill would also affect the journey."

Speaking of the journey, Shen Yao naturally asked whether any news had been sent back by those Qi Chen had dispatched.

After hearing this, Qi Chen sighed helplessly. "Not yet. But there is only one county city around; with so many of us, I'm afraid we wouldn't be accommodated well if we went in."

As for food and drink, thanks to Shen Yao's grain hoarding behavior behind them, the food for their entire team was sufficient. Even with so many disasters and hardships along the way, not much was damaged; at most, some fresh ingredients were hard to come by.

But whenever they passed villages and towns along the way, they would spend money on various supplies.

Up to now, even if they stayed in the wild ridge under the worst circumstances, they could live a life free from worries about food and clothing for a long time.

"Not being well accommodated doesn't matter. What remains more outside is the problem of keeping warm."

Snowfall was a problem, and melting snow was another problem. The charcoal and firewood they carried were relatively few. Even if they occasionally cut some firewood when passing through mountain forests, it was but a drop in the bucket.

No one could have predicted the weather would be so abnormal; they were caught completely off guard.

"When those people return, as long as we can travel, we'll enter the city as soon as possible."

Although this was somewhat against the rules for him, imperial relatives and kinsmen also had to follow regulations.

However, special cases deserved special treatment. Thinking of the news about Jingcheng he had received, Qi Chen felt that his good imperial brother was temporarily unable to attend to him.

The areas around Jingcheng suffered the most from the earth dragon turning over. Now with such a heavy snow on top of it, tsk tsk tsk, it was better to first busy themselves with disaster relief.

The group stayed at the Yi Zhan for two days, then trudged through the sea of snow with difficulty to enter the city.

Fortunately, Qi Chen's reputation as an imperial clan relative was useful, and the officials at the county government office gave them corresponding respect.

If not for concern for his own image, Qi Chen wouldn't even need to buy a residence out of his own pocket.

"Better to spend money and buy it. After buying it, I'll feel at ease in my heart, and I won't have to worry about those royal brothers of mine causing trouble."

Qi Chen did not trust the character of his own brothers. Those big shots, once you peeled back the surface, were rotten inside, oozing corruption. None of them were clean and white.

Shen Yao had no comment on Qi Chen's gesture of waving his hand and throwing out a thousand gold.

Anyway, the rich had plenty of money; they could spend if they wanted to, and she could enjoy it along with them, couldn't she? The group temporarily settled in a small city named Yanggui County, and with their arrival, they added quite a bit of liveliness to this small city.

The simplest thing is that the still relatively stable house rental prices in the small city were forced to rise.

Not everyone can be like Qi Chen, buying the moment he says buy, unafraid of waste.

Even some wealthy households have the four words "meticulous calculation" engraved in their bones.

Spending money to make oneself live more comfortably is no problem, but expecting them to buy a house that will sit idle in their hands after just a few months of residence — that is a pipe dream.

……

"Concubine Shen, the Prince requests your presence."

The steward appeared at the back courtyard doorway, his face full of respect, inviting Shen Yao to the front courtyard study.

In Shen Yao's arms was Qi Haochen, clinging to her body; this child was lively and healthy, not well-behaved at all.

"Did the Prince say what matter it was?" Handing the child to the maid beside her, Shen Yao straightened her somewhat disheveled clothes, then draped a thick cape over herself and left with the steward.

Since taking up residence in Yanggui County, the snow outside had fallen intermittently for half a month.

As of now there was still no sign of stopping — simply tormenting people for no reason.

Circling past the corridor before her, Shen Yao arrived at the study, only to see the room's interior shrouded in swirling clouds and mist.

Qi Chen stood by the window, both hands clasped behind his back, eyes gazing into the distance.

Mid-March, clearly one should be wearing spring clothes and going out for an outing, but because of a sudden blizzard they were trapped in the small city, unable to leave.

"Prince"

"You've come"

Qi Chen smiled at Shen Yao, his tone sighing as he spoke the bad news of the road ahead being blocked.

"The capital's meaning is for us to wait here for now; with an imperial edict, arriving a few months late does not count as this King's dereliction of duty."

Qi Chen waved his sleeve; compared to when he had just set out, he appeared weathered and grave.

Shen Yao persuaded Qi Chen to set his mind at ease; the supplies they carried were ample, and the steward had not forgotten to send people to purchase daily necessities either — staying a while longer would be no great issue.

"This King is only worried about other problems; this snow has delayed the common people's spring plowing, and this year fears being another disaster year."

Disaster or not, the impact on Qi Chen is limited; as a member of Qi State's upper class, no matter whose grain is lacking, it is impossible for them to go hungry.

But the common people under his rule — Qi Chen's teeth ache; especially since Changzhou Prefecture is not like the Jiangnan region, able to plant and harvest grain two or even three seasons a year.

They naturally lack staple grain to begin with, and now a blizzard comes to ravage them — adding frost on snow.

Shen Yao: ……

Shen Yao's space does have quite a few high-yield, easy-to-grow seeds of various kinds.

But she cannot take them out for the time being, or rather, this buildup must be placed at the key moment.

Right now it is still far from the critical moment; Shen Yao can only advise Qi Chen to prioritize buying grain, and not bully those common people either — the grain merchants hoarding grain and those local landlords and wealthy households are the best targets for harvesting wool.

Qi Chen acts generously; these people hoard grain not out of a saintly heart — isn't it just to take advantage of chaos to sell at a high profit? Both sides have their own pursuits; hitting it off immediately, cooperation is also a very normal choice.

Ever since taking up residence in Yanggui County, Qi Chen's grain-buying actions have never stopped. He not only buys grain, but also does not let slip any other supplies that can be stored.

The Shen Family follows behind Qi Chen; even if they contribute nothing they reap full advantage, and even because of Shen Yao's connection, they now have some normal dealings with those wealthy households who previously looked down on them.

The proverb says opening one's mouth is progress; as long as one persists, hope lies ahead.

Nowadays Shen Dayou's whole family following behind the Shen couple — one cannot say how happy they are.

Although they still had dissatisfaction when they left Luo Zhou Fu, everything they have seen and heard along the way has made them understand how correct their choice was.

Relying on their own younger sister for food and drink is not embarrassing; what is embarrassing is failing to recognize one's own identity, not knowing the height of heaven and thickness of earth, having high aims but low ability, and lacking self-knowledge.

That's right, Shen Danian and Madam He have not muttered little behind the backs of Shen Er You and Shen Si Yu. Shallow eyelids — just look, they got quite a bit of silver money in hand, but without Third Sister this great backing, how much can they really save?

"Mother, you go visit Third Sister, remember to bring more of our family's pickled sauce vegetables.

Our Shen Family may not compare to the Prince's Mansion in wealth and nobility, but Mother's craftsmanship is good, Third Sister loves this flavor most."

Shen Danian was beaming with joy, Madam He chiming in with agreement and flattery at his side, instantly making Madam Zhou even more pleased and satisfied.

"Mm, I've noted it all; you lot don't idle about, pick up the work that needs doing.

Our Shen Family is not some wealthy and noble clan; spend silver money sparingly."

"Eh, Mother rest assured, we all understand."

"……"