Chapter 39: Fu Zhengnan Kills for Jiang Qingqin

“You! You truly have no regard for the imperial court! His Majesty specially sent Her Highness the Princess to distribute grain, yet you dare to defy authority!”

Xu Jifeng clutched his chest, clearly infuriated.

This group of people was utterly lawless. Ever since the Empress Dowager’s faction took control, too many absurd policies had been enforced.

Zhang Yuan let out a loud laugh.

He wasn’t frightened; instead, he seemed amused, as if he had just heard a joke.

“So what if she is a princess? Does that mean she can harm others without consequence? And that man beside her—he’s a fugitive of the Jiang family army!”

As he spoke, Zhang Yuan turned his gaze toward the onlooking citizens, whose faces were filled with resentment toward him.

He incited them:

“Do you know why you are suffering?”

“It’s all thanks to this so-called young general of the Jiang family! The Jiang family colluded with the enemy, leaked city defense maps, and that’s how the enemy army took advantage and breached Yingzhou.”

“Only the Empress Dowager, with her benevolence, allowed you to enter Weizhou City from Yingzhou and captured all members of the Jiang family army, preparing to execute them after the autumn trials.”

“The Empress Dowager is upholding justice for you!”

Jiang Yu could no longer tolerate Zhang Yuan’s blatant lies.

He unsheathed his sword and charged straight at Zhang Yuan.

“You corrupt official! Today, I will take your life!”

If not for these treacherous officials and that despicable Empress Dowager, how could the Jiang family army have lost tens of thousands of brothers?

Yingzhou City had fallen, its people displaced.

Yet now, these officials still dared to manipulate and deceive the common folk.

“Today, I will take your life in the name of the fallen soldiers of the Jiang family army!”

Jiang Yu was utterly enraged, lunging at Zhang Yuan with murderous intent.

The sharp blade gleamed under the sunlight, its glare almost blinding. The guards had no time to stop him.

Zhang Yuan tried to dodge, but he was still struck by the sword, fresh blood spurting from his mouth.

“Guards! Someone stop him!”

Zhang Yuan clutched his bleeding abdomen and staggered backward, attempting to retreat behind the imperial guards.

Realizing the situation, the guards quickly drew their swords and shielded him, threatening:

“Audacious criminal! You dare attack an official of the imperial court? Do you not fear the wrath of the Empress Dowager?”

“Drop your sword now, and Lord Zhang may grant you a whole corpse!”

Jiang Yu’s face remained cold, his dark eyes almost black with fury. He gripped his sword tightly, dragging its tip along the ground, leaving a deep scar in the dirt.

Step by step, he slowly advanced toward the retreating guards and Zhang Yuan, his presence like that of a vengeful god. The veins on his hand bulged from his grip on the sword hilt.

The onlooking commoners hadn’t even fully processed Zhang Yuan’s accusations before Jiang Yu’s bloodthirsty aura sent shivers down their spines.

The timid ones screamed and ran from the alley.

The bolder ones seized the opportunity to grab a few crates of food, pushing through the crowd.

Some fled, some looted, while others were trampled underfoot in agony.

The scene descended into complete chaos.

Jiang Yu’s gaze remained locked onto Zhang Yuan, who continued retreating. His mind wavered for a moment—

Should he really go through with this?

If he did…

It would be an outright declaration of war between the Jiang family and the imperial court. There would be no turning back.

Zhang Yuan noticed Jiang Yu’s hesitation.

Thinking he was backing down, he sneered,

“Hahaha! What’s wrong? You’re nothing but a dog of the Liang Dynasty, and now you dare bite your master?”

“Go on! Kill me! The Empress Dowager stands behind me!”

Zhang Yuan’s words were as vile as they were humiliating, trampling the Jiang family army’s honor into the mud.

He was certain that the Jiang family wouldn’t dare strike against an official of the imperial court.

Jiang Yu’s struggle was evident in his eyes.

But just then—

A pair of fair hands took the sword from his grasp.

“Your Highness?”

Jiang Yu turned to see Jiang Qingqing, who barely reached his shoulder, her expression unreadable.

Was she stopping him from taking action?

Jiang Qingqing’s clear, unwavering gaze met his, holding a determination so subtle yet so firm that it would haunt him for life.

She said,

“Let me do it. I am a princess of the Liang Dynasty.”

“If the current imperial court is truly this absurd and corrupt, then what harm is there in rebelling against it?”

The imperial court was no longer what it had been under her father’s rule.

The Empress Dowager’s faction treated the people as mere grass, persecuted the loyal, and executed devoted officials under various pretexts.

They even colluded with enemy nations, sentencing border troops to death.

It should have been overthrown long ago!

Jiang Yu furrowed his brows, disbelief in his eyes.

“Your Highness, do you know what you are saying?”

“I do.”

Jiang Qingqing gripped the sword tightly and stepped toward Zhang Yuan.

“Jiang Yu, I need you to hold off his guards for me.”

Jiang Yu stared at Jiang Qingqing’s back, his gaze burning with emotion he could no longer suppress.

What had he done to deserve such loyalty from the princess of the Liang Dynasty?

Would a princess truly be the one to lead a rebellion against Liang?

“Jiang Yu!”

Jiang Qingqing solemnly reminded him.

Jiang Yu responded with a nod.

He wiped the tears from the corner of his eye with the back of his hand and immediately snatched a broadsword from one of the guards.

With his exceptional martial skills, he struck down the undertrained guards mercilessly—leaving them severely wounded but sparing their lives.

These men were nothing more than useless pawns Zhang Yuan had mysteriously promoted after becoming the provincial governor.

Xu Jifeng, who had more or less figured out where each side stood, also ordered his subordinates to join the fight.

In an instant, the hundred or so men Zhang Yuan had brought were either injured or fleeing, completely overwhelmed by Jiang Yu’s small squad of fewer than ten people.

With no one left to protect him, Zhang Yuan could only retreat in panic, his abdomen bleeding profusely, staining the blue stone-paved street beneath him.

“Y-You can’t kill me! I belong to the Empress Dowager!”

Zhang Yuan desperately clung to his last hope, invoking the Empress Dowager’s name.

But Jiang Qingqing merely chuckled coldly and replied mercilessly, “It’s fine. You can go ahead first. She’ll be joining you soon enough.”

With that, she raised her sword, ready to plunge it into Zhang Yuan’s heart.

“Clang!”

A powerful force suddenly erupted in the air, creating an invisible barrier that blocked her strike.

Jiang Qingqing was pushed back by the force, her grip on the sword tightening instinctively.

Before she could react—

A dagger came hurtling from the sky, its blade burying itself deep in Zhang Yuan’s chest.

Already hanging on by a thread, Zhang Yuan’s eyes widened in terror as he stared up at the sky, choking on his final breath.

Even in death, he never knew who had killed him.

Jiang Qingqing was stunned.

Following the direction from which the dagger had come, she seemed to have a guess—yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted into her ears.

“I did it.”

Just two simple words, spoken as lightly as passing clouds.

Yet Jiang Qingqing’s eyelashes trembled, and her heart clenched.

That cool and steady voice brushed against her ear—he knew she had been forcing herself to endure.

Jiang Qingqing’s grip on the sword hilt tightened, her knuckles turning pale.

Back when she had stabbed Liu Xubai to escape capture, that had already been her limit.

But now, raising a sword to take a life… she wasn’t sure she could truly cross that line in her heart.

Yet she was the only one who could do it.

She was the most suitable person to deliver this strike.

There was no other choice.

She had never expected… that he would do it for her.

He could have chosen to do nothing at all.

“Why… why did you do it?”

Jiang Qingqing asked, confused.

Was this part of some divine mission as well?

Fu Zhengnan did not answer.

He merely said, “I made Dongpo pork for you tonight. When you’re done, remember to come back and eat.”

Jiang Qingqing suddenly felt like crying.

She didn’t even know why.

It was just a simple reminder.

Yet it meant more than any grand speech.

Jiang Yu, having finished dealing with the remaining guards, finally walked over.

He hadn’t noticed what had just transpired—only that Jiang Qingqing’s eyes were slightly red.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered the promise he had once made.

He had sworn that he would never let Jiang Qingqing wield a blade again.

Panic surged in his chest as he hastily tried to explain.

“Your Highness, I—”

Jiang Qingqing shook her head and handed the sword back to him, speaking softly,

“Let’s go. Clean up the scene and continue distributing the grain. Don’t forget—there are still many people from the Prime Minister’s estate in the city.”