For a long time, the capital city forbade pleasure. As this place was far away from the Emperor, no one would pay attention to this rule. The singing voice in Fei Ying Pavilion could be heard from across the street. Coming in and out of the building were all gaudily dressed young men and women.

Xu Ling's tongue was in a knot as he watched this, saying to Chang Geng in bewilderment, "Your High-... Shopkeep, does your manor have this kind of grand scene?"

Chang Geng shook his head and laughed, "Not at all, that person in my household already used his little bit of money to help aid orphans and widows. He does not know what is saving up. I think he would even sell his own ancestral house someday."

Xu Ling was stunned for a moment before he could come to the realization that what he spoke of was not the vacant Yan Wang Palace, but the Marquis' Manor - 'help aid orphans and widows', must have been about helping the dead and the injured.

In the past few years before the war, the National Treasury was in a difficult situation, so the Emperor intentionally reduced military expenditure. The meager bits of supportive funds were becoming less and less, and then had to be delayed afterwards at the hands of the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of War many times.

Those people would stall, would push back and forth at any chance they could, and just like that, there were times where they would be unable to receive the money. The Marquis of Order coming to their door asking for it was one thing, but within a few years, there was a low chance Gu Yun would be able to return to the capital. Things were always out of his reach; it was safe to assume that he would have to use his own personal funds to make up for it.

It was already this neglected in peacetime, now with the war that broke out, the golden words 'All the goods and materials of the whole country should prioritize garrisons in all parts of the country first' from the Emperor had once again excluded them...In a few years, if the lost land could be recovered, the survivors of the whole city would still have to rely on mending clothes to maintain their household.

The more he thought, the more Xu Ling's heart became uncertain about how it all felt like.

Chang Geng whispered to him, "I'm afraid we, two poor people, will have to show our inexperience later on. It doesn't matter. They want us to show our inexperience, it is our goal to be an embarrassment for their entertainment, I have prepared a humorous play waiting for them to see."

Xu Ling then decided to obey his every word and direction; he did not have any objections and followed Chang Geng inside with the ambition to clean up society.