Chapter 52: Weizhou Lockdown

Carriages left the back gate of the Governor’s Mansion, heading toward the military camp.

Today, the commoners had also risen early.

They were eager to go to the Governor’s Mansion to collect rice and vegetables. Many had been waiting anxiously all night, unable to sleep.

“What are these things?”

The people curiously eyed the unfamiliar cardboard boxes.

“They seem to be for the military. Look, they’re all heading out of the city.”

The crowd instinctively made way.

Suddenly—

A group of people from the Prime Minister’s residence, disguised as refugees, rushed from both sides of the street, kneeling in the middle of the road in front of the carts.

One of them was holding a baby in her arms.

“Please, kind sirs, give us some food!”

She began kowtowing frantically, disregarding the approaching carts as if her life didn’t matter.

The cart drivers broke into a cold sweat.

Though the carts weren’t moving fast, they were heavily loaded with supplies. Due to inertia, they couldn’t stop immediately. To avoid running over the woman and child, the drivers veered to the side, crashing into a stone pillar.

The boxes tumbled to the ground.

The rice and vegetables inside spilled everywhere.

The woman from the Prime Minister’s residence saw this and her eyes lit up with satisfaction—her plan had worked.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she pleaded, “Please, sirs, have mercy on us. We’ve been starving for so long. Yesterday, His Highness said rice and vegetables would be distributed at the Governor’s Mansion.”

“But when I arrived, there was only a small amount of supplies. How is that enough for everyone?”

Most of the food had been stored in the front courtyard of the Governor’s Mansion, behind closed doors to prevent theft and make distribution easier the next day. Only a few excess boxes had been stacked outside the gates. The Prime Minister’s people were referring to these few boxes.

The commotion forced the convoy to halt.

The onlookers gathered.

“What’s going on?”

The leader of the convoy was Jiang Yu’s second uncle.

He had been riding his horse at the rear of the procession. Seeing the sudden stoppage, he rushed forward to investigate.

When he saw the woman on the ground, she looked familiar.

Wasn’t she from the Prime Minister’s residence?

The Prime Minister had many spies, but only a few women among them. Moreover, this particular woman had once tortured the Jiang family in prison—how could he forget her?

“Get out of the way! These supplies are for the military. Move aside!”

In front of so many witnesses, Jiang Yu’s second uncle couldn’t simply strike the woman down. He could only issue a stern warning.

But he had underestimated the situation.

The moment he spoke, the ignorant commoners began murmuring in discontent.

Among them were, of course, agents of the Prime Minister’s residence.

“All these supplies are for the military?”

“What about us? They told us to come for food, and now they’re giving everything to the army? What are we supposed to eat?”

“Yeah! Give us what was promised!”

Jiang Yu’s second uncle immediately realized that the Prime Minister’s people were stirring up trouble again.

Having fought on the battlefield for years, he was straightforward and direct—no match for their scheming.

Seeing that some people were already beginning to snatch the rice spilled on the ground, he could only crack his whip in anger.

“Silence!”

“These are military supplies. Your share is at the Governor’s Mansion! Anyone causing trouble will be arrested!”

His words, however, only fueled the unrest.

Some of the bystanders, initially just watching, began to get agitated.

“Is the military so special? Aren’t we all citizens of Liang? Why do they get priority?”

They had spent the whole night believing in the kindness of His Highness.

And now, it turned out that the food allocated to them was only a small fraction. By the time they arrived, they were told it had already run out. Were they being deceived?

“Let His Highness come out! She promised us!”

“If we don’t get food today, we won’t let them leave!”

However, there were still those who deeply respected the Jiang family’s army.

They tried to speak up for Jiang Yu’s second uncle, urging the crowd to calm down. But in a mob fueled by anger and easily swayed emotions, their voices were drowned out.

Not far away—

Jiang Qingqing, accompanied by a few guards, was on her way to Zhang Yuan’s residence, planning to search for more hidden treasures.

She hadn’t expected to witness such a spectacle.

Jiang Yu’s second uncle was running out of patience. Seeing no other option, he was about to start making arrests.

Jiang Qingqing happened to arrive just in time to intervene.

“Wait.”

Her arrival made the commoners even more agitated.

They quickly surrounded her.

“Your Highness! You said yesterday that you would distribute rice to us. You can’t go back on your word!”

“If not, then don’t send it to the military. Give it all to us instead!”

More and more voices joined in, and their words grew increasingly unreasonable.

Among them, a spy from the Prime Minister’s residence took out a dagger, intending to take advantage of the chaos to assassinate Jiang Qingqing.

Jiang Yu’s second uncle had sharp eyes. He spotted the glint of the dagger and feared for Jiang Qingqing’s safety. “Your Highness, be careful!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his longsword and slashed the assassin’s throat.

Blood splattered, instantly shocking the commoners who had been crowding around Jiang Qingqing to argue.

Panic set in.

And their anger only grew stronger.

All they wanted was justice, yet someone had been killed!

Even Zhang Yuan had only taken their money—he hadn’t taken their lives. But now, under a new leader, even the lives of commoners seemed disposable.

The Jiang family’s army was no longer the force that once solely protected them.

“Run! Everything is changing! The Jiang family has turned against us! They’re even withholding food from the people!”

“Even Zhang Yuan wasn’t this bad! What kind of nonsense ruler is this?!”

“…”

Jiang Qingqing watched as the crowd scattered, a group of people who had no real stance of their own.

A chill settled in her heart.

Everything had happened so quickly that she hadn’t even had time to explain.

And now, the situation was already spiraling into distrust.

With Weizhou on the brink of siege, Jiang Qingqing felt that it would be better to clear out the city’s population in advance.

Otherwise, with both internal turmoil and external threats, even a god wouldn’t be able to save them.

“Stop!”

Jiang Qingqing’s voice rang out.

“I will only say this once. Every citizen of Liang may receive a free portion of rice and vegetables at the Governor’s Mansion entrance. If you come, you will get your share.”

“And one more thing—starting at midnight tomorrow, Weizhou’s city gates will be closed indefinitely.”

“Weizhou will be under lockdown! No one will be allowed in or out.”

“Anyone who wishes to leave should make preparations immediately. Once the gates close, they will not reopen anytime soon!”

After Jiang Qingqing finished speaking, Jiang Yu’s second uncle also spoke up to clarify:

“The man I killed just now was a spy from the Prime Minister’s residence! He had a dagger and intended to assassinate Her Highness!”

“And that woman was also one of the Prime Minister’s people.”

“Believe it or not, it’s up to you to decide.”

Although Jiang Yu’s second uncle was straightforward, he was no fool.

He would never silently take the blame for someone else.

Earlier, he had been blinded by rage when he saw these people daring to seize military supplies.

For the panic-stricken commoners fleeing the scene, their words were like a bomb dropped into a still lake.

Weizhou was going into lockdown?

Even when the enemy forces invaded Yingzhou, the gates had never been closed.

Did this mean the current situation was even more dangerous than when the enemy had breached the borders?

This was forcing them to choose sides—would they support the Empress Dowager’s faction or stand with the Jiang family, who represented the Emperor of Liang?