"Ah, I heard your houses are finished; take this Commandery Princess there to have a look," suggested the Chang’an County Master suddenly, her interest piqued to visit the newly built resettlent houses on the way back from the winery.
"Sure, I’ll take the Commandery Princess right away, but the path is a bit rough, so please be careful," Mo Yan responded with a smile, then turned to ask Yan Junyu, "Would the Young Master like to co along?"
Yan Junyu was also sowhat interested, so he lifted his chin to signal Mo Yan to lead the way.
Mo Yan went ahead to guide the two of them. They passed through two orchards and arrived at the first set of resettlent houses.
This set of resettlent houses was quite large, with a full three rows of thirty-six rooms, all fully furnished with necessary items, just waiting for the soldiers from the border to return in a couple of days so the cotton quilts and bedding could be laid out.
Mo Yan had not expected the two to co over and did not bring keys; they could only stand outside the houses to look in. Fortunately, the windows were opened daily for ventilation. Standing by the window and looking inside, they could see very clearly.
Seeing that the items inside were all new and ranged from comprehensive to day-to-day necessities, Chang’an County Master nodded in satisfaction, "When I return to the palace, I shall speak well of you to the Emperor uncle, he really should reward you handsoly."
"This is all thanks to the Crown Prince’s rit; I cannot take it for myself," Mo Yan politely declined, truly indifferent to the so-called reward.
Although those in the know understood that the idea to resettle the soldiers ca from her, the credit could only go to the Crown Prince. If Emperor Huian were to loudly reward her, people would easily perceive the real story. She had no desire for the lilight; the reward could be forgotten, as long as she could claim this good deed, that was enough.
However, for Chang’an County Master to say such things indicated her significant position in the heart of Emperor Huian; otherwise, not even a princess, let alone a Commandery Princess, would be able to have the Emperor reward soone.
Chang’an County Master, curious about Mo Yan’s casual tone, asked, "You’ve expended so much effort, not for fa or wealth, what exactly is it that you seek?"
Of course, it was for good deeds!
Mo Yan silently said to herself, but aloud she said, "I am not as noble as the Commandery Princess suggests. The reason I do this is because I suffered a great deal when I was younger. During festivals, I prayed before the Buddha for better days, promising that if my wishes were granted, I would do good deeds and be a good person for the rest of my life. Providing a ho for those soldiers is just giving them a place to live, so they needn’t starve anymore. But they must work for in return, supporting themselves with their own hands. In the end, we are even, I suppose."
This explanation wasn’t entirely dishonest; she truly had prayed like this in front of the Buddha when her soul wasn’t yet at peace. But there were too many people like her who’d made such prayers, and she considered herself lucky that her wish was fulfilled. Now, using this reasoning to shut the Commandery Princess up couldn’t be more convenient.
If she claid to feel sympathy for those soldiers and wanted to do sothing within her power for them, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face of the Court and the Imperial Family? If the Court and Imperial Family truly wished to address these people’s livelihoods and retirent issues, it could have been easily accomplished. But no one wanted to spend resources on them, believing these individuals to be of no help to the state and not worthy of concern.
As expected, Chang’an County Master didn’t doubt a word, instead she teased her, "I never thought you had such a naive mont, haha!"
Mo Yan rolled her eyes silently. You were raised in luxury and could never understand the desperation of the poor, who can only sustain their tenuous hope by praying to God for perseverance.
Their banter continued back and forth, all the while unbeknownst to them, the distress was evident in the eyes of Yan Junyu, who had lagged behind.
...
October fifteenth was an extraordinarily unusual day for the Mo Family. On this day, witnessed by Crown Prince Chu Heng and nurous ministers, three hundred aged and frail soldiers officially moved into the resettlent houses.
At this mont, the benevolent and virtuous Crown Prince was etched into the annals of history. In the years that followed, as tens of thousands of retired soldiers from the borders were all well settled, Chu Heng’s prestige in the military reached its peak. He was the only Emperor who was willing to provide for the "useless" soldiers, and the only Crown Prince–and future Monarch–to win over the military’s heart without having to lead troops into battle.
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