“Let me see…”
Shen Yu leaned in.
Looking at the bold handwriting in the notebook, she found the contents to be truly shocking.
[Wangshu Year 4, late autumn, seven days after Frost’s Descent, cold rain has been falling for days, Yisi. The refugee problem outside the city is worsening. The memorials my father submitted to His Majesty requesting Imperial Court relief for the refugees outside the city have all been intercepted by the Directorate of Ceremonial. They say that the gathering of refugees outside the Capital City damages the Imperial Court’s majesty…]
[But if they weren’t at the end of their rope, who would travel 10,000 miles and risk their lives to seek a way to live outside the Capital City?]
[The Imperial Court will not save them. Though you, Cao Xiangning, have little power, you must do your utmost…]
[The Liu family mother and son, who fled here from Liuzhou after escaping a famine, are all that’s left of their family. The child is only 10 years old and is terminally ill with the Hundred-Year Sore. His high fever won’t subside, and he desperately needs medical treatment.]
[For Old Man Zhang’s family from Bianzhou, whose young daughter has no clothes to cover her back, you ordered a batch of warm clothing from the fabric shop. Make sure it is delivered as soon as possible.]
[And then there are the refugees from Shuzhou, Langzhou, and other remote areas. They are not just starving and half-naked…]
Shen Yu looked at the contents of the notebook.
The entire thing was a record of the situation of the refugees outside the Capital City, and reading it was heart-wrenching.
However, Shen Yu also noticed that while the notes were filled with Cao Xiangning’s concern for the dying refugees outside, there was not a single word left for herself.
There was nothing to tell her current self that she was still in danger.
The vaccine had only just been administered, and her immune system had not yet developed protection.
If she continued to neglect her own health, she was at risk of catching smallpox and dying at any moment.
Shen Yu looked at the meticulous records.
It was clear that Cao Xiangning had been conscious at the time; the items she listed were very organized.
She truly had not considered herself at all.
But…
‘There are tens of thousands of refugees outside the Capital City. Cao Xiangning is alone and powerless — how could she possibly save them all?’
“The Imperial Court hasn’t even acted for these refugees. Can you really save them by yourself? Besides, your health…”
Even Shen Yu could not guarantee that Cao Xiangning would recover from her current condition.
“I still have to save them. I can’t just stand by and watch them die of illness or starvation, can I?”
There was a trace of sorrow in Cao Xiangning’s eyes.
The Empire had been plagued by deep-seated problems for a long time.
Smallpox alone was enough to cause countless deaths and injuries throughout the Two Capitals and Sixteen Prefectures, leaving the people in misery.
Not to mention the deeper darkness…
That was true.
Based on Shen Yu’s understanding of this Empire, she knew this elderly Empire had long been riddled with deep-seated issues.
Under imperial rule, a dynasty that lasted more than 300 years was considered exceptionally long-lived; most could not even survive for a century.
The current Empire had existed for more than 600 years.
This massive, ancient tree was actually hollowed out and weak.
There was no way around it; backwardness, poverty, and hunger were topics no dynasty could avoid.
When Grandpa rebelled back then, it was because the Empire’s problems were too deep to fix.
To change the system, it had to be completely overthrown and restarted.
Although he eventually failed, Grandpa’s actions had extended the dynasty’s life for more than fifty years.
Even now, in Wangshu Year 4, there was still a chance for the National Mandate to continue.
However, the lives of the common people had not improved much.
This was not something that could be fixed by the Emperor being diligent, the ministers being loyal, or the Military Nobles fighting bravely.
Smallpox alone claimed the lives of countless young workers every year, and the amount of disaster relief silver, grain, and other resources subsidized by the Imperial Court was immeasurable.
As people died and fields were left fallow, the vast Empire began to teeter once more.
In this era, everyone thought only of self-preservation.
Yet a woman like Cao Xiangning, who couldn’t even remember who she was when her illness flared up, could still think of the common people at all times.
‘I can’t even tell if those fellows in the Imperial Court are humans or ghosts,’ Shen Yu thought.
“Once the Hundred-Year Sore breaks out, there is no cure. You know this, Miss Shen.”
“I have a prescription! But… I don’t understand it. I spent a fortune to have someone bring it from the Border. If taken, it can effectively suppress the persistent high fever caused by the Hundred-Year Sore. It can save lives at critical moments!”
“Physician Attendant Shen… could you help me look at it?”