Chapter 680: The Old Woman

Watching Chen Yan's departing back, Sizi puffed his cheeks again and glared at him angrily.

At that moment, Gao Yang walked over, turned his head and said, "Sizi, he doesn't seem to be taking you seriously, does he?"

"Let him see how formidable you are."

Xiao Sizi rolled his eyes: "You can quit too; you're no better a thing either."

"I already know; last time Brother didn't say those words at all, you tricked me."

"Indeed, someone who stays under the covers can't become two different kinds of people."

"Let's see as we go."

Gao Yang: "......"

Ahead, Li Shimin saw Chen Yan catching up, surveyed the surroundings and asked, "From the environment nearby, there should be many talented people living here, so why did we just enter and not see a single figure?"

Chen Yan thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty, at this hour the locals should have gone to the workshops for work, and the children have been sent to school; it's normal that there are no people around."

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow, "All gone to work?"

"Probably…," Chen Yan said, not quite sure, "At least when I was in office, the first people we recruited were those locals barely able to survive."

"Judging from the dwellings here, their lives are clearly much better; I believe they're still working in the workshops."

"Your Majesty wishes to see what these locals have become now, does he?"

Li Shimin crossed his arms, gazed at the houses on both sides and said, "Just a little, I know well that this trip will take us far; we may see many heartbreaking things."

"I want to first see Weinan County under your reforms, then go to other places to see the locals and what differences they have."

"Then you should prepare yourself mentally," Chen Yan said, helplessly, "In fact, the locals here have indeed improved, but even beneath Weinan County there are countless villages, and there too many people live hard lives."

"But I can only look after the townsfolk first, then let the early rich lead the later rich."

"Even Weinan County is like that, let alone places farther from Chang'an."

Li Shimin understood Chen Yan's words.

Even Chen Yan himself, after years of governing Weinan County, has only made the townspeople live well; the remote countryside folk remain beyond his reach.

It can only be done step by step.

Therefore, if he were to leave Chang'an to survey farther regions, he might need to be ready to witness painful scenes.

"You still doubt I'm acting on a whim," Li Shimin chuckled lightly, "I told you long ago that I've been preparing for today for a long time."

【5】 "I have always known there are many things I've done insufficiently; the world's people are still living in …"

I have always known that I still have many things I do insufficiently, the common folk of the world, there are still many living in......

Suddenly, Li Shimin's words halted, his gaze fixed sharply on a spot.

It was a very elderly old woman, dressed in ill‑fitting coarse hemp clothing, a straw rope tied around her waist, barefoot on the ground, laboriously lifting a bucket of water.

Chen Yan followed his gaze, his Adam's apple twitched slightly, he sighed and waved his hand.

Nearby, Xue Li understood tacitly, walked over in silence and said, "Old lady, let me carry it for you."

The old woman's cloudy eyes widened a bit, she looked at Xue Li, smiled and nodded, "Please, young master."

Then, she seemed to notice something, turned her head toward the approaching Li Shimin and Chen Yan.

"Hm?"

The old woman seemed to have seen something extraordinary, a bit disbelieving, she rubbed her eyes and kept looking.

When she saw clearly, her hunched body shivered, and she fell to her knees with a thud: "I, Ding Huirong, a humble woman, salute the Duke."

Chen Yan, seeing this, hurriedly helped her up: "Old lady, what are you doing? Get up quickly; you shouldn't perform such a grand ceremony."

"The Duke is worthy!" Ding Huirong persisted, kneeling earnestly, and only after Chen Yan's support did she rise.

Chen Yan, both amused and exasperated, asked, "Do you know me?"

Ding Huirong hoarsely said, "When you resigned as County Magistrate and left Weinan County, you once appeared at the city gate; I, a humble woman, was fortunate to have seen you from afar and could not forget."

That sentence made Chen Yan feel both heartache and moved.

These locals are truly simple; give them a bit of kindness and they will remember it for life.

Even today, Chen Yan still cannot forget when he left, the entire county's people lined the streets on both sides, their clumsy yet sincere gazes quietly seeing him out of the city.

Even though Chen Yan now holds a third‑rank office, the immensely powerful Minister of Revenue, he still feels that day was the one he could be most proud of.

Li Shimin silently watched Ding Huirong's scar‑covered feet, saying nothing.

Chen Yan sighed, gently asking, "Old lady, you… at your age, why do you work so hard? What about your husband and children?"

Ding Huirong managed a faint smile, her voice even: "Returning to the Duke, my husband and son were conscripted during the Sui dynasty to repair the Grand Canal and serve in the army, and never returned."

"I think they probably died out there."

Her voice was truly calm, as if she had long accepted this unbearably cruel fact.

Chen Yan realized his mistake and brought up another matter: "You shouldn't be working so hard. I recall that before I left Weinan County, I ordered the county office's revenue to establish a nursing home for solitary elders like you. Did the subsequent County Magistrate not follow my instructions?"

"You've misunderstood, Duke," Ding Huirong smiled, "A few months after you left, the nursing home opened; officials came to my door wanting to take me in."

"I just knew I didn't have long to live, didn't want the government to worry about me, so I refused."

Behind them, Empress Changsun and the others walked over, happened to hear this, and, seeing the old woman's attire and the surrounding scene, they almost understood.

Li Shimin then suddenly said, "Old lady, where is your home? We've rushed here from Chang'an and are a bit thirsty; may we come to your door to ask for a cup of water?"

Chen Yan explained beside them, "Old lady, this is an elder of mine."

Ding Huirong was startled, hesitated a moment, then nodded, "If the Duke and the honored guests don't mind, I still have a few cups of water."

"Alright, then we'll be a bother," Chen Yan guessed that Li Shimin might have questions for Ding Huirong, and he also wanted to see how she lived now.

"Duke, the place where I reside is over there; please come this way."

"Alright, take your time, we're not in a hurry. By the way, I'm no longer the Duke, you needn't call me Duke any more; it's not appropriate."

"……… Congratulations, sir, you've been promoted again."

"You've misunderstood; my title was stripped, and now I'm a County Marquis."

Li Shimin: "......"

"......"