Chapter 40: The Prime Minister’s People Arrive at Weizhou

Not far away, a covert agent from the Prime Minister’s residence had been hiding in a corner, observing everything.

He saw Zhang Yuan’s death with complete clarity.

Shock filled his heart.

After scanning his surroundings, he quickly removed his outer garment, disguising himself as a refugee. He then joined the queue to receive compressed biscuits and bottled water.

Once he had obtained the supplies, he briefly examined them before hastily making his way back toward the prison—Weizhou’s gathering point for the Prime Minister’s forces.

This princess was truly strange.

The imperial court hadn’t sent any food supplies, yet she had somehow managed to procure such an abundance of provisions.

This had to be reported to the capital immediately.

—

After Zhang Yuan’s death, order was quickly restored at the scene.

People resumed lining up in an orderly manner to receive food.

However, a seed of doubt had already been planted in their hearts.

Had the Jiang family’s army truly betrayed the nation and colluded with the enemy to cause this disaster?

And then there was Jiang Qingqing’s identity.

If she really was the princess of the Liang Dynasty, why had the imperial court issued a warrant for her arrest?

But if she wasn’t, then where had all this free food come from?

And why did Xu Jifeng obey her so unquestioningly?

“Enough, stop overthinking. Whoever gives us food is our benefactor.”

“In times like these, just being alive is a blessing.”

A woman patted her husband’s hand, comforting him.

It was as if the shouts of “Long live!” from earlier had been mere echoes of the crowd’s excitement, while the words spoken now reflected what most people truly believed.

The food distribution continued until midnight. Some people came once, then returned to queue up again, afraid that such a good opportunity wouldn’t come again.

Fortunately, there weren’t too many people, so Jiang Qingqing simply waved her hand and let them divide the remaining supplies among themselves.

Then, she and Xu Jifeng’s group returned to the estate.

They needed to rest and recover.

Who knew what new troubles awaited them tomorrow?

—

In the Front Hall

While they had been distributing supplies outside, Jiang Qingqing had already prepared a meal, bringing it out from her room.

A large plate of chopped chili fish head, braised pork knuckles, stir-fried shredded pork with green peppers, minced meat with pickled vegetables…

All were dishes that went perfectly with rice.

The people in the hall gazed at the steaming bowls of fragrant rice, their eyes brimming with emotion.

It had been so long since they had eaten a hot meal.

But no one rushed to sit down.

One of the former guards from the provincial governor’s residence hesitated, rubbing his hands together before stepping forward and awkwardly asking, “Your Highness, may I pack my portion to take home? My elderly mother is weak, and I want to nourish her.”

His words broke the silence, and soon others spoke up as well.

“Your Highness, I’d like to take mine home too. My family hasn’t had rice in a long time.”

“I have a young child at home. I want to take some rice back to make porridge.”

Jiang Qingqing suddenly realized her oversight.

She reassured them, “Go ahead and eat. I’ll prepare takeaway portions for you all later. Each person will get the same dishes.”

The guard hesitated, worried that Jiang Qingqing was just saying this to get them to eat first. He couldn’t help but ask, “Really?”

But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Who was he to question Her Highness in front of everyone?

Xu Jifeng had been about to smooth things over for the guard, but to his surprise, Jiang Qingqing wasn’t offended. She simply smiled and said, “Really. Now go eat.”

With that, she left the hall to prepare the packed meals.

Jiang Yu followed after her.

“Your Highness…”

He reached out and gently held her back. “Let me help you.”

Jiang Qingqing looked at him for a moment before nodding. “Alright, let’s go.”

There were too many meals to carry—she definitely couldn’t manage them all alone.

An extra pair of hands was always welcome.

From across the hall, Xu Jifeng silently watched them.

He saw the two of them enter a side room together and close the door behind them.

His brows furrowed slightly.

Jiang Yu and Her Highness…

“Sir, what are you staring at? Come eat!”

A guard called out to him.

Xu Jifeng withdrew his gaze and replied, “Coming.”

Sigh…

Two young people, having endured so many hardships together—it made sense if there were feelings between them.

—

Jiang Qingqing made several trips back and forth, bringing out over a dozen stacks of boxed meals.

Just as she was about to wipe the sweat from her forehead, Jiang Yu took out a handkerchief and reached out to help her.

Startled, Jiang Qingqing dodged his hand.

“What are you doing?”

Jiang Yu held out the handkerchief to her. “Helping you wipe it off?”

“Oh.”

Jiang Qingqing took the handkerchief from Jiang Yu’s hand but declined his offer. “I’ll do it myself.”

Jiang Yu’s gaze flickered slightly, but he did not insist. Instead, he quietly carried the boxed meals to the front hall before slipping away to the Jiang family’s military encampment.

For three days now, the distribution of dry rations in front of the provincial governor’s residence had continued as usual.

Everything seemed normal.

What Jiang Qingqing and the others couldn’t understand was why, after they had killed Zhang Yuan, the Empress Dowager had yet to make any move.

It was the calm before the storm.

Then, on the morning of the fifth day, a major event occurred in the city—

The legitimate third young lady of the Prime Minister’s residence and the wife of its eldest son personally set up a stall at the city gate, distributing porridge to the people.

And it wasn’t just any porridge—it was steaming hot white rice porridge!

Far more precious than steamed buns or dry rations.

Even more astonishing was that noblewomen themselves were handing it out.

As a result, the number of people lining up in front of the provincial governor’s residence today was significantly smaller.

“Your Highness, should we go take a look?”

Jiang Yu asked as he looked at Jiang Qingqing, who was seated at the head of the table. The Prime Minister’s residence had suddenly changed its ways, distributing porridge at the city gate.

And the ones sent were women—Liu Mei and Mo Yunyu.

This was too strange.

There had to be a conspiracy behind it.

Jiang Qingqing shook her head. “My advice is to wait and see. The more we act without understanding their intentions, the more mistakes we might make.”

Xu Jifeng agreed with her judgment.

Recently, Jiang Yu had deployed a hundred Jiang family soldiers to guard outside the provincial governor’s residence—

All to prevent the Empress Dowager and the Prime Minister’s forces from attacking.

“I’ll summon more troops,” Jiang Yu suggested. “Yingzhou’s situation is still stable for now, so they likely won’t launch an attack on Weizhou in the next few months.”

Jiang Qingqing seemed to have thought of something.

She stood up and called out to Jiang Yu, who was about to leave.

“Wait—should we act on the prison tonight?”

“We’ve scouted the terrain thoroughly. Now that the Prime Minister’s people are here, if we don’t move soon, I fear…”

Jiang Yu abruptly turned his head.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he answered in a deep voice, “Alright.”

Both sides had their own plans.

—

At the City Gate

Liu Mei wore an expression of utter disdain, making no effort to hide it.

The blazing sun was too harsh for her eyes, so she sought refuge under a distant canopy, watching the crowd of filthy refugees with contempt.

“Why did Father even send me here? Couldn’t the servants have handled this?” she scoffed.

Standing beside her, Mo Yunyu remained expressionless, but in her heart, she shared the same disgust.

She was pregnant, carrying the Liu family’s eldest legitimate grandson, yet she was still nothing more than a pawn in Liu Yi’s schemes.

The people of the Prime Minister’s residence truly were a nest of vipers.

“Go on. Would you dare disobey Father’s orders?” Mo Yunyu taunted.

Liu Mei’s eyes flickered with hatred as she watched Mo Yunyu walk away.

If it hadn’t been for her helping Mo Yunyu drug Liu Xuebai, he wouldn’t have completely abandoned his own sister.

And now, Mo Yunyu dared to treat her like this?

If she had helped Mo Yunyu conceive a child, then she could also make sure that child never saw the light of day.

“Miss, I just heard some news—Her Highness the Princess is also in Weizhou.”

The maid’s words made Liu Mei’s eyes light up.

“Are you saying Jiang Qingqing is here? Where?”

“In the provincial governor’s residence,” the maid answered truthfully.

Liu Mei suddenly burst into laughter. “Excellent! I was wondering where she had been hiding, and she’s been in Weizhou all along. Without Liu Xuebai to protect her this time, I’ll see how she survives!”

Liu Xuebai had been severely wounded by Jiang Qingqing that day, losing so much blood that he had fallen unconscious for two days.

Just when everyone thought he wouldn’t wake up, the Imperial Medical Bureau had miraculously found a lifesaving pill, barely managing to keep him alive.

He was still recovering at the Prime Minister’s residence.

“This time, gather more people. As soon as I finish distributing the porridge, we’ll head to the provincial governor’s residence—”

“We’ll catch her off guard!”