Reborn, the daughter of the Marquisate went crazy

On the towering city wall of Jiazhou Prefecture, Chu Yuncang stood facing the wind.

The sky was as dark as water, just like the battle situation before them.

Dark clouds gathered, looming as if they would fall at any moment. The gloomy sky grew dimmer, as if the light were about to be swallowed by darkness. Below the city gates, the clamor of voices seemed to penetrate the eardrums, waving their flags and cheering for the impending downpour.

In order to prevent the refugees from causing chaos, the city gates were closed and no longer allowed refugees to leave the city.

At this moment, thousands of people gathered at the city gate. They brought their families with them and clamored to leave the city regardless of the impending rainstorm. Some even kept attacking the guards and tried to force their way out.

Chu Yuncang's eyes dimmed slightly. It was an indisputable fact that a war was about to break out between Dongling and Nanjing. For these angry people, it was better to ease them than to block them. Otherwise, the more they were stopped, the stronger their panic would become!

He raised his hand to summon a shadow guard and ordered, "Let them go! Send a message to the nearby prefectures to make preparations in advance and resettle the refugees."

At the command, the city gates opened wide, and a crowd of people rushed out of the city gates like a tide, surging in all directions.

In the distance, a team of carriages and horses lined up in a row, like a sharp sword, cutting through the surging crowd and rushing straight towards the city gate.

Chu Yuncang watched the team of carriages and horses go against the crowd through the city gate and drive towards the depths of the city. He was a little confused as to who was going against the trend, but it was only a fleeting thought as the shadow guard had already led a group of children in front of him.

Are these the culprits who spread the rumors? Chu Yuncang was surprised. This group of beggars, the oldest was fourteen or fifteen years old, the youngest was only three or four years old, all of them were ragged and unkempt.

He asked in a deep voice, "Why spread those rumors?"

The oldest child, shielding the others behind him, said boldly, "It was all about the steamed buns. Someone gave us steamed buns so we could say those things to others. The buns were white and soft, and we only eat them once a year. He gave us a whole bag, enough for us to eat for two or three days."

He took out two yellowed and hardened steamed buns from the dirty cloth bag at his waist, placed them neatly on the ground, and then reluctantly pushed them in the direction of Chu Yuncang: "There are only these two left. Let's hand them over to you, sir. Please don't punish us!"

All the beggars stared at the steamed buns on the ground, and the younger ones even couldn't help swallowing their saliva.

Chu Yuncang was in a gloomy mood. The cost of evildoers doing evil was so low, it was outrageous! But the root cause of all this was the inaction of the court and officials.

His voice softened a bit. "You're so young, spreading those rumors. How can anyone believe you?"

The oldest child said with a hint of pride, "That's not difficult at all. Those people believe everything..." He pointed at the youngest child and said, "Some people even believe what he says!"

"Some people didn't believe me at first, but as long as I said I was a new soldier who had just escaped from the barracks because I was afraid of fighting, they would believe me." He paused and quickly added, "That's what the man who gave me steamed buns taught me."

Liuying asked the beggars to describe the man's appearance. The beggars spoke in a flurry, each with their own different interpretations. Finally, they managed to draw a portrait that everyone agreed on. However, the man in the portrait looked extremely ordinary and difficult to capture. If his face had been altered, the portrait would be worthless.

Chu Yuncang thought quickly. Queen Meng and the other princes were after that position, so they wouldn't cause such chaos in Dongling. Could the person behind this be Huang Dai's master, or perhaps Nan Jing?

Liuying looked at the group of beggars and said with some embarrassment, "Master, what should we do with these children? Should we lock them up in the government dungeon?"

Hearing this, the beggars trembled with fear.

Chu Yuncang looked at these skinny and pale children. These were the people of Dongling. The royal family of Dongling was extravagant and lived above the common people. How could they have ever faced up to the blood and tears of these people?

He pointed at the oldest child and said, "Since he said he escaped from the military camp, send him to the Southwest Army Base and hand him over to Lord Xie for disposal!"

"As for the others, the government office backyard is in need of servants, so let them go!"

The beggars' faces suddenly changed color when they heard this, but the oldest child, forcing himself to remain calm, tried to coax the others. He picked up a steamed bun from the ground, rubbed it hard on his clothes, and stuffed it into the hands of the youngest child. Then, with a look of determination as if ready to die, he followed a shadow guard and left.

……

The convoy that was going in the opposite direction was the team from Jing'an Marquis' Mansion that came to pick up Xie Qingli.

After setting out from Shengjing, the team traveled day and night and finally arrived at Jiazhou Prefecture after more than half a month. When they learned that Xie Tingyu was not in the city, they went straight to Luming County to pick him up.

The battle situation in Jiazhou was tense. Although Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were very reluctant to let Xie Qingli go, they still sent him to the car with red eyes.

When Xie Qingli's carriage drove out of the Jiazhou city gate, Chu Yuncang and Xie Tingyu were meeting with the envoy from Nanjing in the tent of the commander-in-chief of the southwestern garrison.

Before the one-month deadline, Xiao Yan's whereabouts were still unknown, and no one knew why Nan Jing suddenly sent an envoy.

Chu Yuncang sat in the main seat with a stern expression, wondering whether Nan Jing was here to force Dong Ling to hand over the person, or was planning to declare war in advance?

Several envoys from Nanjing walked into the tent and saluted respectfully towards Chu Yuncang.

The leading envoy spoke first, "Your Highness, our Emperor, out of concern for the Second Prince's safety, misunderstood Dong Ling and even caused this series of incidents. Our Emperor deeply regrets this and has sent us here to apologize!"

The people from Dongling in the tent looked at each other in confusion when they heard this, not knowing what Nan Jing was talking about.

The envoy clapped his hands lightly, and several large boxes were carried into the tent, followed by a group of beautiful women in cool clothes.

The women walked gracefully to each box and opened them all in unison, their movements light and charming. The boxes were filled with all kinds of gold, silver and jewelry, which instantly brightened the tent.

The envoy pointed at the jewels and beauties and said loudly, "These are our emperor's apology gifts! These boxes are filled with rare treasures from our Nanjing, and these dancers have graceful figures and superb dancing skills. They can entertain His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Chu Yuncang coldly stared at the Nanjing envoy and questioned in a deep voice, "I remember the letter from Nanjing clearly stating that if Dongling fails to hand over the Second Prince within a month, Nanjing will destroy Dongling! Now Dongling has not handed over the Second Prince, and Nanjing's heavy troops are still eyeing the border between the two countries. And you say this is all a misunderstanding?"

His voice suddenly rose, and he shouted angrily: "You are the king of a country, but you speak like a child. How dare you play tricks on me, Dongling, to this extent? How can I tolerate this!"

"Swish~" The Dongling soldiers in the tent drew their swords and glared at the Nanjing envoys.

The Nanjing envoys were terrified and fell to their knees. Rumors circulated that the Dongling Crown Prince was mediocre, indecisive, and fond of jewelry and beautiful women. Why was he so terrifying when he got angry? They just wanted to go on an easy mission, not die in Dongling! Rumors were misleading, sob~~