Chapter 469: Beneath the Same Fire

The sun had nearly disappeared behind the distant hills when the refugee procession finally came to a halt.

For hours, the people had been walking along the dusty road, carrying whatever little they had managed to save from their homes. Some carried bundles of clothes, others held sleeping children in their arms, while the elderly leaned heavily on walking sticks.

The drought had taken everything from them.

Their fields had turned barren, their wells had dried, and the villages that once echoed with laughter had become places of dust and silence.

Among them walked a young merchant couple.

At least, that was what everyone believed.

The Emperor had exchanged his royal robes for a simple brown cotton tunic and worn trousers. His hair was tied carelessly, and his face was covered with a little dust. Without his crown, imperial ornaments, and entourage, he looked like an ordinary man.

The Empress was dressed in a faded blue cotton dress with a plain shawl covering her shoulders. Her hair was braided simply, without a single ornament.

Nobody knew they were the Emperor and Empress.

To everyone around them, they were merely a merchant couple who had lost their wealth because of their father’s debts.

And the Emperor intended to keep it that way.

"Can we stop for a moment?"

The Empress’s voice was barely audible.

She had been trying not to complain for the past hour, but her feet were aching terribly.

The Emperor glanced at her.

"Are you tired?"

She gave him a look.

"What do you think? We’ve been walking since morning."

He almost smiled.

"You said you could manage."

"I could manage when I said that. I didn’t know the road would be this long."

He looked ahead. The other refugees were still moving towards the temporary settlement.

"We are almost there."

"That’s what you said an hour ago."

"Then perhaps we should stop arguing and keep walking."

She glared at him.

"You’re very helpful."

He shook his head, then quietly moved closer.

"Give me your bundle."

"I can carry it."

"I didn’t ask whether you could."

Before she could protest, he took the small cloth bundle from her shoulder.

She watched him for a moment.

"You’re carrying yours already."

"And now I’m carrying yours too."

"Your back will hurt."

"Then you can help me walk tomorrow."

She almost laughed.

"How generous of you."

He glanced at her feet.

"Can you walk a little farther?"

She nodded, although her expression clearly suggested otherwise.

After a few more steps, he noticed her slowing down.

Without announcing anything, he moved beside her and placed an arm around her waist, supporting her weight.

She stiffened.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping my wife walk."

"People are looking."

"Let them."

"You’re supposed to be a poor merchant, not a man who can afford to carry his wife everywhere."

He lowered his voice.

"Poor merchants are also allowed to care for their wives."

She looked at him.

For a moment, she had no answer.

Then she quietly leaned against him.

By the time they reached the temporary settlement, the sky had turned dark.

Rows of simple shelters had been arranged near a small stream. Some families had already settled down, while volunteers were distributing food from large cooking pots.

The Emperor immediately joined the distribution.

He helped carry baskets of flatbread and bowls of lentils.

The Empress wanted to help too, but her legs were still aching.

She sat near the cooking area, arranging the remaining bowls and passing them to the women serving food.

"Take two breads for your children," she told an elderly woman.

The woman hesitated.

"But there are so many people. I shouldn’t take more."

"Your children need to eat. Take them."

The elderly woman looked at her with grateful eyes.

"May heaven bless you, child."

The Empress smiled.

A little boy approached her, holding an empty bowl.

"Big sister, is there any more?"

She looked into the cooking pot.

There was still some lentil soup left.

"Of course. Come here."

She filled his bowl and added a piece of bread.

The boy immediately ran towards his mother.

The Emperor, who had been watching from a distance, shook his head with a faint smile.

Even after walking all day, she had found enough energy to worry about everyone else.

When the distribution finally ended, he came towards her.

"Have you eaten?"

She looked up.

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because I was helping."

He stared at her.

"You were supposed to eat first."

"And you?"

"I ate earlier."

She narrowed her eyes.

"You’re lying."

He sighed.

"Come. I’ll bring you food."

They found a place near the outer edge of the settlement.

A family was already sitting there around a small fire.

The woman looked to be in her late thirties. Her husband was slightly older, with a tired face and rough hands. Beside them sat a young daughter and two boys.

The woman noticed the couple approaching.

"Are you looking for somewhere to sit?"

The Empress nodded.

"Would it be all right if we sat here?"

"Of course. There is enough space."

The Emperor placed their bundles on the ground.

"Thank you."

The older man moved aside.

"Come closer to the fire. The night gets cold."

The Empress sat beside the woman.

The Emperor settled next to her, stretching his tired legs.

For a while, nobody spoke.

The fire crackled softly.

The woman was breaking a piece of flatbread into smaller portions for her children.

The Empress noticed that the mother had barely kept anything for herself.

"Have you eaten?" she asked.

The woman looked up.

"A little."

Her youngest son immediately interrupted.

"Mother hasn’t eaten anything!"

The woman turned towards him.

"Don’t talk nonsense."

"But you gave us your bread."

The Empress glanced at the woman’s hands.

There was only a small piece of bread left.

She quietly took one of her own pieces and offered it.

"Please, have this."

"Oh, no. We cannot take your food."

"There’s enough for us."

The woman hesitated.

The Empress smiled.

"Besides, I don’t want your children accusing you of stealing their dinner."

The little boy giggled.

The mother finally accepted.

"Thank you. My name is Wong Mei."

The Empress nodded.

"I’m—"

She paused briefly.

The Emperor looked at her.

They had agreed to use ordinary names.

"I’m Lin."

The Emperor added, "And this is my husband."

The woman smiled.

"Then you can call me Auntie Wong. This is my husband, Wong Jian, our daughter Lian, and our sons, Ming and Tao."

The older man nodded politely.

"Nice to meet you."

The Emperor returned the greeting.

A family that had lost everything

The fire burned brighter as Wong Jian added another piece of wood.

The little boy, Tao, was busy poking the ground with a stick.

His elder brother, Ming, sat silently beside his father.

Lian, the daughter, was perhaps seventeen. She had a thin face and tired eyes, but there was still a quiet gentleness in her expression.

The Empress watched them for a while.

"Where did you come from?"

Wong Mei sighed.

"Qingshan Village. It used to be a beautiful place. We had a small house, two fields, and a shop."

"What happened?"

"The drought."

The older woman stared into the fire.

"At first, we thought it would rain eventually. Everyone said the same thing. We waited for a week, then a month. But the clouds never came."

Her husband continued.

"Our crops died. We sold our livestock to buy grain. Then we sold the shop."

He gave a bitter laugh.

"After that, the debt collectors came."

The Empress looked at him.

"Debt collectors?"

Wong Jian nodded.

"I borrowed money from a grain merchant last year. I thought I would repay it after the harvest. But there was no harvest."

He rubbed his rough palms together.

"The interest kept increasing. Eventually, I had nothing left."

Wong Mei lowered her eyes.

"They took our furniture, our remaining grain, even the wooden cart. We left with only the clothes we were wearing."

The youngest boy stopped playing.

"Father, will we have a house again?"

The question made the adults fall silent.

Wong Jian looked at his son.

"Of course."

"When?"

The father opened his mouth but couldn’t answer immediately.

The Empress felt something tighten in her chest.

She looked at the boy.

"Do you know what my grandmother used to say?"

Tao shook his head.

"She said a house isn’t made only of walls and a roof. It’s made of the people who sit together inside it."

The boy considered her words.

"Then we still have a house?"

The Empress smiled.

"You have all five of you. So yes, you still have a home."

Wong Mei’s eyes became moist.

The Emperor glanced at his wife.

He knew she wasn’t merely comforting the child.

She believed every word she had spoken.

Around the fire

As the night grew colder, the conversation became easier.

Ming finally spoke.

"Where are you both from?"

The Emperor answered without hesitation.

"We used to live in a small town. My family traded cloth and household goods."

Wong Jian nodded knowingly.

"Merchant family?"

"Yes."

"What happened to your business?"

The Emperor sighed.

"My father trusted the wrong people. He borrowed money to expand the business, but the venture failed. The creditors took most of what we owned."

The Empress turned her head slightly.

She nearly laughed.

The man had managed to transform an entire empire into a failed merchant business.

Wong Jian shook his head sympathetically.

"Debt is a terrible thing. It destroys a man slowly."

The Emperor nodded.

"Indeed."

"Does your father still owe money?"

"Quite a considerable amount."

The Empress lowered her face, pretending to examine the fire.

Considerable amount? Your treasury is larger than the entire merchant guild’s wealth.

She pressed her lips together.

Wong Mei noticed her expression.

"Are you all right, Lin?"

"Yes, Auntie. Smoke entered my eyes."

The Emperor turned towards her.

"Move a little away from the smoke."

She gave him a warning look.

He calmly shifted closer and adjusted the shawl around her shoulders.

Wong Mei smiled.

"Your husband cares for you."

The Empress looked at him.

"He worries too much."

The Emperor replied without hesitation.

"She doesn’t take care of herself."

"That’s not true!"

"You walked the entire day without drinking enough water."

"I drank water."

"Half a cup."

"You’re counting?"

"Someone has to."

Lian laughed.

"You two sound like my parents."

Wong Mei immediately protested.

"We don’t argue that much!"

Her husband looked at her.

"Really?"

"Jian!"

The children burst into laughter.

Even the Emperor chuckled.

For a little while, the fire brought warmth to more than their cold hands.

The Emperor’s quiet observation

After dinner, Wong Jian began telling them about the village.

He described the fields, the small market, and the old temple beneath the banyan tree.

"People used to gather there every morning," he said. "There was a well nearby. Even during the hottest summers, the water never ran dry."

The Emperor listened carefully.

"How many villages around here have lost their water sources?"

Wong Jian thought for a moment.

"At least six that I know of. Perhaps more."

"And the river?"

"Almost dried up. Only a little water remains."

The Emperor looked towards the darkness beyond the settlement.

"Have officials visited your village?"

"Officials?" Wong Jian laughed bitterly.

"They came once to collect taxes. They haven’t returned since."

The Emperor’s expression changed slightly.

"Not even to distribute grain?"

"Some grain was distributed, but it was not enough. The local magistrate said the supplies were limited."

The Empress looked at her husband.

He was quiet now.

She knew that expression.

He was remembering every word.

Wong Jian continued.

"