The Imperial Palace was in an uproar.
The Empress Dowager went to the temple to pray with the Imperial Harem and an incident happened. Imperial Consort Lan went missing with her maidservant. It was said that the Empress Dowager was extremely worried and sent many servants to search for any traces for a conclusion but there was none. Other than witnesses who have seen Imperial Consort Lan enter the spring, there nothing else that could shred clarity on the situation.
The Empress Dowager could only return to the Imperial Palace empty-handed. When the Emperor heard that an incident happened and his Imperial Consort has disappeared, he panicked. First, it was Imperial Consort Lan who he has begun to grow fond and protective of. Second, Imperial Consort Lan is the only daughter of the left prime minister and the left prime minister is extremely protective of his daughter. When Lan Xuan Yi entered the Imperial Harem, he had vowed to keep her save and promised her father that he will not allow anything to happen to her. Aside from all the bullying because her attitude pissed him off the first night they met, he has been pampering her and protecting her. And now, she is missing? How is he supposed to answer to the left prime minister?
He had barely managed to get the support of the left prime minister by agreeing to marry his daughter and now, that daughter has disappeared.
If he were to order his soldiers to search for her, he would be doing the same as announcing that she went missing. The blame would fall onto the Imperial Palace for not being able to keep a high-ranking Imperial Consort safe. The left prime minister, Lord Lan, would be extremely angry and might even withdraw his support. He knew that Lord Lan was not very happy with his behavior in court during the past few years and he was even angrier that after taking in his daughter, he took in other women as well.
Not only did the Emperor not make Lan Xuan Yi Empress, but he also did not give her a very high position either and he allowed other women to ridicule her. The Emperor could only give excuses to Lord Lan when he found out about the suffering his beloved precious daughter had to go through; Women fight in the harem, it a normal occurrence.
"The right prime minister's daughter is also in the Harem. If I promote Lan Xuan Yi to the position of the Empress, will the right prime minister take it silently? Imperial Consort Qin was promoted by the Empress personally. It would not be good for me to interfere with the matters of the Harem," was what he told Lord Lan when he stormed into the Imperial Study to confront the Emperor.
The only way to handle this problem is to hide the fact that Imperial Consort Lan is missing and secretly send shadow guards to search for her. At least if the Emperor has her corpse, he can think of some ideas to pacify the left prime minister. For now, the Emperor is buying time for his people to find her corpse. He knows how much his Imperial Mother likes Imperial Consort Lan so if even his Imperial Mother gave up searching at the temple, she must have truly found nothing and was at her wits' end.
This diminishes the possibility that Imperial Consort Lan is alive.
A sheltered lady from birth will not survive when thrown to the outside world. If it was not an assassination, it is unlikely she will survive in the dense forest that surrounds the temple. If it was an assassination, it is even more unlikely that she survived. That bodyguard of hers is nowhere to be seen either so he must have protected his master to his death. That is why the Emperor ordered his men, to find their corpses because he does not believe that they are alive.
While the Emperor panicked in the Imperial Palace, the seventh prince's fraction began to move.
"Please line up properly, there is enough food for everyone." A man's shout could be heard throughout the streets above everyone's clatter. Beggars emerged from their filthy dens in their poorly patched clothing with curiosity clear on their faces.
Men, women, and children gathered around the various tents set up around the center of the town. Lan Xuan Yi and Ling bought along with a few people from the eighth prince's secret base and set up a few tents, two for food, one for medical purposes, and the last tent for labor.
This was the plan that Lan Xuan Yi came up with after talking with the eighth prince and his men. In the end, they have three goals.
They must make the Emperor come fetch Imperial Consort Lan personally.
They must help those people in the town because Lan Xuan Yi wants to.
They must spread the news that the seventh prince has recovered from his injury and slowly rebuild the support he once had from the commoners and nobles.
Lan Xuan Yi discussed with the eighth prince about providing food and medical treatment to the people outside the capital. There were many plants which she saw in the forest that are medical herbs and some of them can be used to cook medical food which strengthens the body. The best thing is that those plants are abundant in the forest.
Lan Xuan Yi quickly taught some of the eighth prince men how to cook simple medical porridge using the remaining rice that the secret base had. The eighth prince informed his seventh brother of their plans and asked for some rice to be bought from the capital. The seventh prince who was given the title Duke Fei lives in a mansion at the richest parts of the capital so purchasing rice in bulk should be no problems financially.
The eighth prince men quickly set up their stalls and distributed the food out to the people from dawn till late at night while the seventh prince's men delivered rice. Lan Xuan Yi is also busy as she is in the medical tent providing free medical treatments. She had a few helpers to deal with those superficial wounds while she dealt with serious cases. Lan Xuan Yi thanked the gods that she read books to relieve her boredom when she was young. With that knowledge and the bits and pieces of information that Xue would feed her occasionally, she can be counted as a reliable doctor.
The last tent was mainly for the reconstruction of the town. The capital only accepts people who are rich and have at least a third rank status and hence, the people living outside the capital are not faring very well. Other than being extorted by their superiors for a large amount of tax money that the people cannot afford to pay, the mayors were not living any better lives than the people on the streets.
The mayor is a good person and is acquainted with the eighth prince. He did not know that the person is the eighth prince, he only knows a young man who lives in the small house at the end of the street of the town who likes to help people. Hence, when the eighth prince told the mayor that he can help the people of the town, the mayor rejoiced and supported him without hesitation.
The mayor and the eighth prince were situated at the labor tent where anyone who can work is given actual work with pay. Although it was not much, at least the people are guaranteed a few coppers every day and free meals.
Slowly, things started to straighten out in the town. The first few days, the beggars who were in better shape after having food and water rushed to the labor tent to get work. The eighth prince and mayor quickly distributed the workload.
Men were to cut and bring back the wood from the dense forest that surrounds the town. Using the wood, the houses can be repaired. The women and children also rushed to the labor tent, asking for some work to earn money. The eighth prince and Xuan Yi had already been prepared for that and assigned them the task of cleaning up the town. Some of the women helped with gathering the herbs and cooking medical porridge for the next meal while the children ran around town, excited to be given the mission of picking up every single trash they see.
"You mean to say that women will come to the labor tent, looking for work?" The eighth prince was confused when he first heard this.
"Yes. Your Highness needs to understand that when people are desperate enough, they will do anything to survive." Lan Xuan Yi's tone was solemn as she remembered those eyes of determination of the women in the town as they snatched scraps off the floor to feed their children.
If there is anything a woman can die for, it is for their child's survival. This is the fundamental instinct of a mother.
The eighth prince then nodded, seemingly to understand what Xuan Yi said.
After the first week, the town was in a comparatively better state. The houses were repaired, people had food, have jobs to earn some money, they were happy, and they were grateful towards the eighth prince. They did not know his real identity and treated him as one of them, so they did not act cautiously towards him. The men joked around with him; the women treated him like their child while the children treated him like their older brother.
But the eighth prince did not take the credit. He pointed to Xuan Yi and told them it was her idea. The people were not unfamiliar with Xuan Yi. Whenever they suffered injuries from the labor work, they would be treated by the beautiful lady who does not speak much but had a very gentle aura as she treated their wounds. In the beginning, everyone was not familiar with her as they had never seen her before but as she quietly helped them with their wounds, everyone could not help but fall in love with her quiet demeanor. She was their precious goddess as she saved lives but now the eighth prince said that this entire thing was her plan from the start, her reputation soared even higher.
"I found her near the river outside the town and bought her back to my house. She seemed to have lost her memories, so she is staying with me for now." The eighth prince explained to the townspeople and the sad story made people feel compassion and sympathy for their goddess. People patted her shoulder and comforted her.
During the second week, a man arrived along with huge sacks of rice and other medicinal herbs. It was the seventh prince. His toned body stood tall under the hot sun as he surveyed the town that used to be filled with beggars and despair. From where he stood, he could see children laughing as they compare who had filled up their trash bag more. Women sitting in groups, cooking, and sewing. Men who are working hard on repairing the broken houses. The town was reformed in just a little more than a week, what a miracle. The seventh prince approached the nearest tent and saw that it was the medical tent.
Recalling what his eighth brother told him in the letter, he was curious about Imperial Consort Lan and so, he entered the tent.