#1087 - Chapter 1087 Arrival at Ladi

"Even if I, a weak woman, bear it all, wouldn't that be considered a contribution to the nation and its people?"

"This..." Jin Ji was dumbfounded by the question.

Yao Tao's question was very sharp.

She was right. She sacrificed herself to bring stability to the Jin Kingdom. Isn't that a contribution? Of course, it is!

"Your Majesty, can you answer me, whether my leaving my homeland and coming to Jin is a good thing or a bad thing?" Yao Tao became more emotional as she spoke, and two lines of clear tears streamed down her face.

Such a delicate woman, such a beautiful and tragic woman, immediately pried open Jin Ji's heart.

"Yao Tao, don't be sad. I can answer you with certainty that coming to Jin is a good thing," Jin Ji replied with great certainty.

"If it's a good thing, then why is Your Majesty neglecting me?" Yao Tao asked.

"Haha, who said that? Don't worry, you are my wife, how could I neglect you?" Jin Ji laughed heartily.

He laughed like this to ease his embarrassment.

"Really?" Yao Tao wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"Of course, it's true! Don't worry, you have contributed to the nation and its people, and I will not mistreat you," Jin Ji replied with great certainty.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yao Tao bowed deeply, and a smile reappeared on her face.

Seeing the smile on Yao Tao's face, Jin Ji felt that his mood had cleared up as well.

Six months later.

Blue Star Era, 1288 years before the Nata Era, March.

Cheng Bang and Lie Yan finally arrived at La Di.

To their surprise, the situation in La Di was very bad.

Their tribes were very dilapidated, and the people were still naked. It seemed that they had not mastered the method of making golden clothes.

Or perhaps, they did not have the conditions to make golden clothes.

In addition, there were no smiles on people's faces. Their eyes were sunken, and they looked to be in extremely poor mental condition.

"May I ask, Lord Baiyu, has there been a disaster in La Di?" Lie Yan asked after arriving at Lord Baiyu's residence.

Lord Baiyu was the leader of La Di.

"Young Master Lie Yan, why do you ask?" Lord Baiyu asked.

"I see that the people of La Di are emaciated and without clothing. If there hadn't been a great disaster, it wouldn't be like this," Lie Yan replied.

"Alas! Young Master Lie Yan, you don't know! La Di is rich in salted fish, which is loved by His Majesty. Other lords have somehow learned of this and have sent people to demand it. Now, it is difficult to catch white fish for making salted fish in the rivers of La Di. I have to send more tribesmen to fish in farther places," Lord Baiyu explained.

"I once heard that La Di was distressed by the matter of salted fish. I didn't expect it to have reached such a state," Lie Yan couldn't help but sigh.

After Cheng Bang told him about it, he didn't have much of a concept in his mind. He even thought that Cheng Bang was deliberately exaggerating.

He didn't expect that the scene he saw with his own eyes was even more serious than Cheng Bang described.

He really couldn't imagine that such a small matter of a king loving salted fish could harm a tribe to such an extent.

"Yes! At first, I thought it was our honor that His Majesty loved to eat salted fish. In order to express our respect to His Majesty, I would send someone to send a 'dou' every month."

"You came from the north, so you should know. It takes at least three months to go from La Di to Jin Di. Sending one 'dou' of salted fish to His Majesty will consume at least twenty 'dou' on the road."

The reason why twenty 'dou' were consumed was because the people responsible for transporting it also had to eat.

A team sent salted fish over, and they would eat ten 'dou' on the way. On the way back, they would eat another ten 'dou'. In this way, it would be twenty 'dou' round trip.

"Over the years, the people of La Di have found it difficult to bear!"

Lord Baiyu sighed and shook his head as he spoke.

"Then why not stop supplying salted fish?" Lie Yan asked.

"How can we stop? Sending salted fish is a sign of respect to the king. If the king doesn't order us to stop, how can I stop it without authorization?" Lord Baiyu asked.

"This..." Lie Yan didn't know how to answer and looked at Cheng Bang on the side.

He was not familiar with Lord Baiyu yet, and there were some things he couldn't say. Especially disrespectful words to the king.

"Lord Baiyu, do you think doing this is showing respect to the king? In my opinion, what you are doing is completely disrespectful!" Cheng Bang said.

"What do you mean!?" Lord Baiyu asked a little displeased.

"If the king knew that the salted fish he eats was caught by fishermen who have no clothes to wear, do you think he would still be able to eat it?" Cheng Bang asked.

"This..." Lord Baiyu was speechless.

Cheng Bang's words directly cornered Lord Baiyu.

"We have something else to tell you this time," Cheng Bang said.