After the failed attempt to pretend to be dead, the sickly child was favored by the treacherous mini

Looking around quietly, after a long silence, Shen Jinmo asked: "Do you want to live?"

"think."

The sparse echoes not only revealed the weakness of these people, but also revealed their fear of locusts.

When a group of people who want to live choose to sink, besides someone giving them a reason to sink, what is more important is that they failed after trying their best.

The boy who had eaten the candied fruit walked to the side of Shen Jinmo, raised his head and said, "Sir, after we kill one batch of locusts, another batch comes. It seems like we can never kill them all."

Shen Jinmo asked calmly again: "I will ask you one last time, do you want to live?"

This sudden and sharp question seemed to be telling these people that if they didn't want to live, Shen Jinmo would turn around and leave with the rescue soldiers.

With a glimmer of hope before their eyes, all the people began to hope that Shen Jinmo was the last good official in the world.

The people who were standing on the ground knelt and prostrated themselves, their feeble desire suddenly becoming fierce at this moment: "Please, sir, save me."

Hundreds of locusts flew by again. Shen Jinmo looked at those people who kept kowtowing when they heard the sound of locusts. He understood that the fear buried deep in their hearts would not be suddenly driven away just because the truth was revealed.

No promises were made, nor were there any empty words to persuade these people not to be afraid.

When Shen Jinmo was nine years old, he already knew that what could overcome fear was the desire deep in the human heart.

"Come on, set up a pot at the entrance of the village to cook porridge, and prepare a few scales next to it and light two fires."

"Three ounces of locusts can be exchanged for a bowl of porridge. No matter what method you use to catch them, I will only accept the locusts you hand over."

The big pot was set up, and the rich aroma of rice porridge lingered at the entrance of the village. The people who were kneeling on the ground slowly stood up and looked in the direction of the boiler.

Xia Ling looked at Shen Jinmo's control of the overall situation, pondered for a moment, and found what he could do.

Xia Ling closed his eyes tightly, took off his black cloak, and ran out of the yard.

The locusts swarmed towards Xia Ling frantically. His huge cloak opened in an instant, and half of the bag was filled with locusts.

Holding the cloak, he smashed it on the ground a few times, and the movement inside the cloak stopped. Xia Ling handed the locust to Aniu and said, "Go and change it."

Aniu took the bag of locusts and ran towards the boiler. The sound of him swallowing saliva showed how hungry he was.

The soldier put the locusts on the scale and weighed them: "4.5 ounces, which equals one and a half bowls of porridge."

After the count was completed, the locusts were put directly into the fire barrel and burned.

Ah Niu carried the bowl and a half of porridge and ran carefully to his family: "Grandpa, grandma, you guys drink first, and then we'll go catch locusts together."

The sweet and oily white porridge entered their mouths. Each of the six members of the family took a sip, and their originally dry lips became moistened.

Having tasted the sweetness, the six people immediately returned to the house, took out various tools to catch locusts, and pounced on the locusts everywhere.

Seeing that Aniu's family was very successful in catching locusts, everyone in the village started going home with tools to catch locusts.

The number of pots set up at the entrance of the village increased from one to three, and the number of teams exchanging white porridge increased from one to three.

Shen Jinmo didn't care whether the people who received the porridge were full or not. As long as these people brought locusts in exchange, he would not set any restrictions and would directly distribute the porridge.

In just one night, the villagers in this village caught these locusts and had their first full meal in two months.

--

Late at night, Li Yuan, who had found out the deployment of forces left behind by Shen Jinmo after leaving the Divine Capital, appeared in the study of Xiacheng Palace under the cover of darkness.

The lights were on brightly and two figures could be seen through the window paper.

It’s Xia Cheng and Zhong Luan.

Li Yuan landed at the door of the study room, pushed it open, tore off the black cloth on his face, and bowed to Xia Cheng and Zhong Luan: "I am Li Yuan, the eunuch of the Eastern Palace, and I am here on the orders of the Crown Prince."

Xia Cheng and Zhong Luan both belong to the prince's party. They are very familiar with Li Yuan and naturally know Li Yuan's status in the Eastern Palace.

Pointing to the spot beside Zhong Luan, Xia Cheng asked, "Lord Li, I wonder what the emperor wants to tell you?"

Li Yuan sat down opposite Xia Cheng. Because he had a special relationship with Xia Ling, Li Yuan felt that he and Xia Ling were one.

Even when talking to these nobles, he put on Xia Ling's airs: "The Eighth Prince will be fifteen in two months, and he will be able to build his own power in the future."

"Shen Jinmo is now deeply favored by the emperor in Luoan. The Eighth Prince bullied Xie Nanxing into such a state last year. To put it bluntly, when Shen Jinmo returns from this disaster relief mission, he might take the Eighth Prince's life and still get away with it."

Li Yuan's arrogance angered Xia Cheng. How could such a powerless person, who relied on climbing onto Xia Ling's bed to gain a foothold, be worthy of following Shen Jinmo's example and belittling the prince?

He threw the scalding hot teacup in his hand at Li Yuan: "Lord Li, you should be careful when talking to this prince!"

Li Yuan took the teacup steadily and handed it to Xia Cheng again, his expression becoming more humble.

After all, he must do everything Xia Ling asked him to do properly.

"The Eighth Prince still doesn't think clearly about his current situation."

"Your mother was the Queen's maid in the past. Even though she is now the head of a palace, she can't help at all if something really happens."

"Although the Ninth Prince under you is two years younger than you, he not only has Xun Zhan as his teacher, but also Xie Nanxing as his study partner. In other words, the most favored minister of Daxia will definitely belong to the Ninth Prince in the future."

"As for you, the Eighth Prince, it will be extremely difficult for you to even save your life, let alone participate in the fight for the throne."

Every word Li Yuan said was about Xiacheng’s current predicament.

As Shen Jinmo's position became more and more stable, what Man Luoan was most worried about was actually his subordinates.

With his hands clenched silently, Xia Cheng said: "But my brother's power is not as strong as before. If I were with him, would I be able to defeat Shen Jinmo?"

The curve of Li Yuan's mouth showed that he was sure of victory: "A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Look at the drought and locust plagues all happening at the same time. Isn't there only one prince who can be sent by the emperor to provide disaster relief?"

Xia Cheng's gaze moved from Li Yuan to Zhong Luan. Over the years, his trusted companions and court officials had always been Xia Ling's people.

Xiacheng, it seemed like there was no other choice from the very beginning.

No, it should be that from the moment Xia Cheng made things difficult for Xie Nanxing, he lost the opportunity to choose.

Xia Cheng looked more decadent, leaning back in his chair and asked, "Brother, what do you want me to do to show my loyalty?"

Li Yuan handed over the emerald green porcelain bottle in his hand: "If the Ninth Prince dies, will Shen Jinmo have no choice but to rely on the Crown Prince in the future?"

"As for the disagreement between you and Xie Nanxing, it is nothing. After all, the only thing that is truly eternal in Luoan City is profit."