Chapter 204: Chaos in the Capital
When he returned to his yard, Ao Guangchun ran into a woman with red eyes. She was his personal maid Hongye.

Ao Guangchun couldn't help but think of the bowl of soothing soup he had before leaving...

His thoughts faded a little.

"Hongye, your young master is back..."

Hongye pouted, bravely stepped forward to hug Ao Guangchun, and burst into tears: "Master, I was so afraid that you would not come back..."

Ao Guangchun softened his heart: Actually, it’s not her fault…

Seeing Ao Guangchun, who was dark and thin, Hongye felt so distressed that she shed tears again.

After he washed and dressed, Hongye brought him a set of fine cotton pajamas for him to change into.

Ao Guangchun asked naturally, "Where is my outer robe?"

Hongye's slightly red face turned pale, and she hurriedly brought in the outer robe that Ao Guangchun had just put on.

While helping Ao Guangchun dress, Hongye asked casually, "Sir, are you going out again?"

Normally, if Ao Guangchun hadn't seen Hongye for a while, he would always hang out with her for a long time and ask for water a few times when he saw her again.

Hongye just misunderstood.

Ao Guangchun was thinking about the task assigned by Fu Chenan: to find out the current situation in the capital.

"I have to go out for something, go to bed early and warm the bed for me."

Hongye's face turned red again, and she felt relieved: I hope the young master is not tired of me.

Walking on the familiar streets of the capital again, Ao Guangchun could hardly believe his eyes.

The capital is very depressed!
On the once bustling streets,

Newly built houses and old ruins were interspersed, and everywhere showed the tragic scene of being burned by Tatar cavalry.

There are only a few shops selling goods, and there is not much business.

Many of the shops that Ao Guangchun was once familiar with are gone.

There were few pedestrians and they were all in a hurry.

Some people were arguing in the street, but the patrolling soldiers turned a blind eye.

He walked, stopped and looked around, and was suddenly stopped by an old man.

"Is this Master Ao?"

Ao Guangchun was startled: "Who is the father-in-law?"

He was sure he didn't know this man.

The old man bowed to Ao Guangchun and said, "It turns out that Master Ao has returned... Thank you so much for your generosity!"

Ao Guangchun jumped away in fear: "Ah?!"

"Thanks to Master Ao for lending us money, we were able to recover and rebuild the house..."

"Otherwise my family would have left the capital long ago and gone begging!"

After several months in the army, Ao Guangchun became more calm.

Although he was confused, he still supported the other person: "Father-in-law, you are too polite... I have something urgent to do, so I'll leave first!"

But the people around gathered around.

"Master Ao? Is this Master Ao from Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion?"

"I heard that Master Ao went to the countryside to farm? He got tanned and thin from exhaustion..."

"Master Ao, this is the pine flower candy that my family made. Take it back and try it!"

"This is my family's bun! It has meat in it! Please try it..."

Before Ao Guangchun could react, countless pairs of big hands stuffed things into his arms, and he instinctively took them.

Soon, I received a lot of strange food and toys...

No matter how stupid Ao Guangchun was, he knew something was wrong.

How can we get information from this?

Ao Guangchun turned around and went home.

As soon as he got home, Ao Guangchun ran into his sister-in-law who was just coming out of his mother's room.

Ao Guangchun hurriedly bowed respectfully: "Sister-in-law!"

The Crown Prince's wife was very surprised to see Ao Guangchun's arms full of food and small things.

"Where did my uncle come from? Why did he bring so many delicious and fun things for my mother?"

Ao Guangchun remembered that his eldest sister-in-law had a very good relationship with his mother, and she must know something, so he quickly told her what had happened.

"Sister-in-law, I went out today and encountered a strange thing... Why are they stuffing things into my arms? And they are all thanking me?" The wife of the prince covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled: "Uncle should go and ask mother in person for the details."

After hearing Ao Guangchun's story, the old marquis's wife looked indifferent and also told Ao Guangchun something.

"I used your name to lend some money in the capital..."

Ao Guangchun was stunned!
"Mom, according to what you said, our family actually owns dozens of pieces of land for shops and yards facing the streets in Beijing?!"

As long as they are built, they can be sold for a lot of money!
This is just a dead deed, and does not include the part that is waiting to be redeemed after it is bought back.

The old marquis's wife glanced at him: He really doesn't care about his reputation...

The old marquis’ wife didn’t know whether to be happy or depressed: “Why? Do you think mother did something wrong?”

Ao Guangchun seemed to be dreaming: "I'm not... I... Our Ao family has become the richest family in Beijing now?"

Just as he said this, before the old marquis's wife could scold him, Ao Guangchun slapped himself in the face: "No, no, the emperor is the richest man..."

The old marquis’s wife rolled her eyes.

Ao Guangchun slapped himself again.

"No, the emperor is so poor that he can't even pay the soldiers. Even the concubines' jewelry is used to pay the soldiers..."

"I'm afraid they're even poorer than us..."

Old Marquis’s wife—nothing to say.

The maid next to them couldn't help laughing and stepped forward to interrupt: "Young Master, the old lady asked people to look for it everywhere, and found 18 pieces of cloth. Do you think it's enough..."

Ao Guangchun looked at the fabrics carefully and found that they were indeed made of fine silk, some of which were embroidered and some were not.

What was surprising was that there was a piece of kesi material inside.

This thing cannot be bought in ordinary stores, it is mostly for internal use!

"How did this come about?" Ao Guangchun asked in surprise.

The old marquis’s wife pursed her lips and said, “It was leaked by the second prince’s maternal grandfather.”

Ao Guangchun understood immediately: the capital city has been in chaos recently, everyone’s income has disappeared, but the expenses are even greater.

In order to maintain their former dignity, some noble families pawned their valuables...

I wouldn't dare accept the imperial gift under normal circumstances, but now that there's chaos and war, no one cares.

Ao Guangchun was extremely satisfied, and nodded repeatedly as he touched the brocade material: "If there are any good ones, just collect them. No matter how much money they cost, the general will be willing to give them to you."

The old marquis' wife glared at Ao Guangchun and said, "It's just a few pieces of fabric. Why do you need silver for it?!"

"If he can help a piece of rotten mud like you to climb the wall, I, an old woman, would be willing to give him the Ningyuan Marquisate!"

Ao Guangchun: "Mom, I am your biological son..."

As soon as I went out to inquire about the situation, I was scared back by the enthusiasm of the people.

He could only ask his mother directly about the current situation in the capital.

The nanny beside the old marquis was the one in charge, who often dealt with outsiders and could quickly explain the current situation in the capital clearly.

It turns out that only five out of ten residents in Beijing are still alive today, and many families left the capital and returned to their hometowns as soon as their houses were burned down.

Some people left the capital after hearing about Prince Dongshan's rebellion.

Even families of officials had sent their families and wealth out of the capital early on.

I heard from outside that some prefects and garrisons in some cities, out of fear of harming the people (and being disappointed with the emperor), did not even resist and took the initiative to open the city gates to King Dongshan.

This is a sign of people's loss of support and the country's demise!

When the people in the capital saw this, they ran even faster.

Although prices in Beijing are skyrocketing nowadays, housing and land prices are much cheaper than before.

Thefts and robberies occurred frequently, and the government offices were overwhelmed and unable to cope with them.

The emperor didn't care.

He doesn't know what he's thinking now, and it seems like he doesn't care about anything anymore.

Ao Guangchun was horrified when he heard this.

The emperor...doesn't even have sufficient control over the capital, let alone other places far away from the capital.

　You talk about water, and I listen to your advice.

　　So the first thing I do every morning when I wake up is to "delete and revise".

　　The original chapter of 2,500 words was reduced to just over 2,000 words.

　　My darlings, I have squeezed out as much moisture as possible!
　　If we squeeze in any more, there will only be a "story outline" left...

　　(End of this chapter)