Hidden in the court

"Brother, are you still going to deceive yourself?"

After hearing this, Nangong Xiao couldn't hold it anymore and looked at Ji Mingshang like a deflated ball.

Ji Mingshang was also inexplicably upset. He had always been an idle young man, enjoying life. But now he had to make trade-offs for the future and move between various parties. Now he was even threatened by those local officials in this way.

"Alas...the good days are over."

Looking up at the midday sun above my head, it is really dazzling.

"Everyone, take a break. You take some people to explore the way ahead. Make sure they are safe before we get out of the forest."

After giving the order, Ji Mingshang leaned against the side of the carriage, closed his eyes and rested, and Nangong Bian also squatted down beside him.

Nangong Xiao also sighed, "I'll go check on the wounded."

As soon as he moved, he was pulled back by Ji Mingshang, and when he turned around, he met his sharp gaze.

"Gudong..."

He felt a little scared when being stared at, and swallowed subconsciously, "Brother Ji, you..."

"If those people are really desperate, what will you do?"

Hearing this, Nangong Bian looked up and stared at Nangong Xiao. She also wanted to hear her brother's answer. After all, the purpose of this trip was also to train the prince.

"When the time comes, natural law will deal with these officials."

The answer that Nangong Xiao came up with was obviously not satisfactory. Ji Mingshang rolled his eyes helplessly and continued to close his eyes to rest. Nangong Bian also turned his head away.

"Why, is there a problem with the legal prosecution?"

What Ji Mingshang said just now was that a cornered dog would jump over the wall, and he would still have something to say even if Nangong Xiao answered to kill them all.

"Oh, punish according to the law?"

"At worst, we can just kill them all and replace them. There are many frustrated students in the world, and there are many people who can take on this position."

Nangong Bian spoke, but Ji Mingshang was obviously still a little worried.

"Is it really that easy to kill?"

"What's so difficult about this? It would take some effort for others, but a prince, a princess, a son of the King of Jin, the Marquis of Jiangning. Why should I be afraid of them?"

"Absolutely not. This matter has a huge impact. Even if they are guilty, we must deal with them according to the law. How can we just kill them? Wouldn't it be a cause of gossip and make us, Liang Wu, a violent and cruel person?"

Nangong Xiao was the first to object, and he was extremely excited.

Nangong Bian did not refute, but just looked at Ji Mingshang, "My brother is kind-hearted and will surely be a benevolent ruler in the future. This man has to be killed by a princess with a violent temper like me!"

"No!"

Nangong Xiao objected loudly. Although he was a little slow, he understood the meaning of his sister's words. How could he let his sister suffer the eternal infamy?

Ji Mingshang remained silent, but his thoughts had already drifted away.

"If it's that sinister guy, Old Zhao, what will he do..."

How can we break the impasse? We must have a legitimate reason, benefit the country and the people, and minimize the impact.

"Report, Lord, an unconscious woman was found in the woods ahead."

The report made Ji Mingshang gradually come back to his senses.

"What about people?"

"It's still ahead, and my brothers are guarding it, so I haven't brought it with me."

Ji Mingshang looked strange, "If you find someone, save him. Why are you just standing there? If you don't save your own people, you won't save outsiders either."

"Yes."

Soon, two guards came to the front with a young woman.

Her face was pale, her cheeks were sunken, her cheekbones were high and protruding, she looked extremely thin, her lips were cracked and pale, with traces of blood, and her eyes were empty and lifeless, as if she had long lost the desire to live.

His hands trembled and hung limply beside him, his fingers were slender and pale, and now they looked like dead branches. The coarse linen clothes he wore were also tattered and covered with dirt and stains, but they still couldn't hide his thin body, his abdomen was sunken, and his ribs were clearly visible under the clothes.

If you look closely, you can see that the hands and ankles are already a little swollen, which is a condition that only occurs in people who are about to starve to death.

"Go get me a bowl of porridge, make it thinner."

Nangong Xiao instructed the imperial guards beside him.

Ji Mingshang looked at the person in front of him and already had some guesses in his mind, but Nangong Bian couldn't bear to look at him.

The porridge was brought and poured slowly into her mouth bit by bit.

Ji Mingshang pulled Nangong Xiao aside.

"What do you think?"

"There must be something fishy about this. It's the summer harvest season, not a year of disaster, and the area is close to Nanjing, but there are still refugees. Could it be that the officials in Nanjing are really oppressing the people and committing corruption and perverting the law?"

"Well, wait a minute."

So, everyone set up camp here.

The next day at noon

"You're awake!"

Nangong Bian was surprised to see that the man who was almost starving to death yesterday had woken up. Ji Mingshang and Nangong Xiao also came upon hearing the news.

The woman's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she could only sob weakly a few times.

"Don't worry, just lie down. We are imperial envoys sent by the court to oversee the summer harvest. If there is a disaster, we will naturally protect the people."

It would have been better if she hadn't said it. As soon as she finished speaking, the woman immediately became excited, as if she had seen something terrifying. She looked terrified, struggled hard, and screamed with all her might.

Nangong Bian was startled and took a half step back.

But the next moment, the woman stopped struggling, her neck straightened, her hands dropped, and she was lifeless.

"Dead... dead?"

Nangong Bian was a little frightened.

"He was almost starving to death, relying on the porridge he had yesterday to stay alive. He has no strength left, and now he is dead because of the excitement."

Looking at the woman with a hideous dead face, Ji Mingshang felt annoyed for no reason.

"Bury the person and erect a wooden tombstone."

He was supposed to go directly to Jinling, but now he changed his mind.

"Bring me the map."

We traveled all night and arrived at the nearest village the next morning.

The villagers who were busy with the summer harvest in the fields saw the aggressive cavalry coming towards them and immediately put down their work and ran towards the village.

An old man with white hair and beard was slow to react, and when he looked up, there was no one around.

"Old man, I want to ask you something?"

The old man was in tears and was about to kneel down in front of Ji Mingshang and the other two. Fortunately, Nangong Xiao reached out and held him up in time.

"Sir, I haven't done anything wrong."

"Old man, we are imperial envoys sent by the court. We will not embarrass you. We just want to ask you some questions."

But when the old man heard this, his eyes fixed and he stopped talking.

Now it was Nangong Xiao's turn to be confused. Why did he suddenly stop talking when he was fine just now?

The stalemate continued like this for a while, and soon a large group of people ran out of the village, led by a fat and bloated old man.

"Sir, I am the head of this village, Zhou Chunfu. I wonder what you are here for?"

"we are…"

"I am the newly appointed deputy general of Jinling. This is my clerk and this is his sister. We are here to take up our post and come to your village to observe the people's sentiments when we have nothing to do."

A condescending tone, a nonchalant attitude, and just the right amount of "you know" expression.

Nangong Xiao was about to speak to reveal his identity when Ji Mingshang spoke first. After a second of silence, he understood what Ji Mingshang was trying to do.