Chapter 53: The Conference Room Showdown

Some people didn’t even think twice—they packed up their belongings, gathered their families, and left Weizhou.

In their eyes, in times of chaos, the only reliable power was the ruling authority of the imperial court—the Prime Minister’s manor. That was the smart choice.

By now, they had somewhat figured out the current state of the imperial court.

However, the majority chose to stay.

They trusted the Jiang family’s army. If the Jiang army had been able to protect them from foreign invaders for so many years, they believed it could do so once again.

“We won’t leave! Your Highness, General, we believe in you!”

“I wanted to speak up for the general earlier—our soldiers risk their lives resisting foreign enemies. If they get a little more food, they deserve it.”

Those who were determined to leave scoffed at these words.

“You’ll regret this. We gave you the chance, and you still refuse to go.”

But the people who stood by the Jiang family’s army immediately fired back, “Whether or not we regret it, time will tell. But right now, we don’t regret it at all.”

With that, the commotion settled, and the carts successfully reached the military camp.

Seeing the long-lost white rice, the soldiers’ eyes reddened. Whoever said “real men don’t cry” had simply never been truly moved.

“Hurry, bring it to the kitchen! Stoke the fire and get it cooked fast!”

“Tomatoes can be eaten raw—I’m eating mine now! I’m starving!”

The head chef immediately started the fire, cooking a large pot of rice.

The fragrance of rice filled the camp.

Outside the Governor’s residence, the people lined up in an orderly manner to receive supplies.

When the rice, cabbage, and tomatoes landed in their hands, they suddenly felt they had made the right bet.

This was pure, white rice—the kind that was exclusively supplied to the imperial court.

Cries of joy erupted from the crowd:

“This is amazing! We can make porridge or steam rice. Finally, things are looking up!”

The vegetables were fresh and plump, even larger than what they usually grew themselves. To be able to eat such things during wartime was an incredible blessing.

The ones who would regret it were those who had left the city.

That night, the people of Weizhou felt as if they were celebrating a festival.

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The Negotiation Conference Room

Inside the nearly hundred-square-meter conference room, over ten corporations had gathered, representing different countries.

In previous years, the bidding process had always been a mere formality, as the Bai family from China was the inevitable winner.

The Fu Corporation’s five-member team had arrived at the venue half an hour earlier—not the first to arrive, but not the last either, placing them right in the middle.

“Who are they?”

The team from Country G frowned, unfamiliar with the Fu Corporation’s presence.

Their assistant quickly searched for information and reported, “Fu Corporation from China. They were invited just a few days ago.”

The leader of the Country G team studied Fu Zhengnan, feeling an inexplicable unease.

This man’s aura was overpowering. Even though he sat there without any expression, his presence was impossible to ignore.

“How does the Fu Corporation compare to the Bai family?” the leader asked in a hushed voice.

The assistant shook his head. “Based on last year’s financial reports, their corporate strength is on par with the Bai family. However, they’ve never bid on tech projects before, so their true capabilities are unknown.”

Lu Jianan had gotten drunk the night before and missed his flight.

In the end, he had to rebook a solo flight, making it just in time.

Although he often acted carefree, he had a strong understanding of microelectronics—otherwise, he wouldn’t have founded a successful gaming company. That was why Fu Zhengnan had paid him 20 million to accompany him for two days.

“Hey, what’s that over there?”

After flipping through the bidding documents and finding no issues, Lu Jianan let his gaze wander.

That was when he noticed the scroll beside Fu Zhengnan’s right hand.

Fu Zhengnan ignored him.

Lu Jianan clicked his tongue in curiosity. Just as he was about to reach out and pick up the scroll, a commotion arose at the doorway.

The Bai family’s team had arrived.

Leading the group was Bai Jing, with Bai Wan dressed in a pristine white business suit, standing at his side.

Lu Jianan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Wasn’t she his goddess? What a coincidence!

He had long ago used Zhang, the assistant, to dig up information about Bai Wan. However, with them being in opposite ends of the country, he had never found an opportunity to meet her.

Or rather, it was Bai Wan who had repeatedly rejected him.

Seeing that there were still over ten minutes before the meeting began, Lu Jianan took the initiative and walked toward the Bai family’s team.

“Long time no see, Miss Bai.”

He extended his hand in a gentlemanly manner, hoping to shake hers.

But to his surprise, it was Bai Jing who grasped his hand instead.

Bai Jing greeted him, “Hello.”

Lu Jianan’s smile turned awkward.

Still, he smoothly responded, “President Bai, I’ve heard much about you.”

“Thank you.”

Bai Jing let go first, then turned his gaze toward Fu Zhengnan on the opposite side.

Fu Zhengnan remained focused on his documents, showing no interest in the events unfolding before him. He didn’t even glance up at Bai Jing.

Bai Jing’s expression darkened slightly.

For someone to escape from his grasp multiple times… this man did have some skill.

And now, he even dared to compete with the Bai family for this project.

“President Fu, you truly are a young and promising talent.”

Bai Jing sat down and spoke in a slow, deliberate tone.

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?