On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

After handling government affairs, Lin Zhen did not stay in the headquarters for long.

He changed into a dark suit that was convenient for movement, and covered it with a fox fur cloak. He took only Cheng Xuan and a dozen elite Jinwu Guards with him, rode out of the city, and headed straight for Black Stone Castle, a hundred miles away.

He wanted to see with his own eyes this land that had just been watered with blood, and see the people who were enslaved by Helian Tieshu.

The smoke from Blackrock Castle has not yet completely dissipated.

The air was still filled with the strong smell of blood, burning smell and the stench of rotting corpses.

The huge castle lies like a wounded beast, crawling at the foot of the Yin Mountains.

The originally dark and thick city walls were now covered with huge dents and spider-web-like cracks from artillery bombardment, and traces of charring could be seen everywhere.

At the city gate, the huge iron-clad wooden door had long since turned into charred wood and twisted iron bars all over the ground.

On the city wall, only half of the charred skeleton of the burned arrow tower remained, creaking and groaning in the cold wind.

Everywhere you can see solidified dark red blood, broken weapons and armor, and frozen stiff limbs that have not been cleaned up yet.

Crows circled above the charred ruins, making shrill croaking sounds, adding a bit of eeriness and horror.

The scene inside the fort was even more shocking.

The streets were narrow and dirty, filled with sewage and frozen solid.

Most of the houses on both sides are low and dilapidated, and many collapsed in the war, leaving only broken walls and ruins.

The surviving houses were also shut with their doors and windows, dead silent. The streets were deserted, all of them pale and thin, with numb and empty eyes, like the walking dead.

Seeing Lin Zhen's group in bright clothes, riding horses and wearing bright armor, they hid in dark corners like frightened rabbits, revealing only pairs of eyes full of fear and vigilance.

"Prince... here..." Cheng Xuan looked at the scene in front of her, her pretty face turned pale, and her voice was filled with a hint of reluctance and trembling.

Even though she had experienced the flood of refugees in Hu County, the hellish scene before her still made her feel suffocated.

Lin Zhen's face was as gloomy as water, and his sharp eyes swept over every corner. He reined in his horse and rolled off.

"Old man," he said, walking up to a shivering old man huddled in a corner, wrapped in a tattered sheepskin coat. He squatted down and spoke as gently as he could, "Is there a porridge stall set up by the government here?"

The old man looked at Lin Zhen in horror with his cloudy eyes, his lips trembling, unable to speak, and just shaking his head desperately.

"Don't be afraid, old man," Cheng Xuan hurried forward, took out a piece of dry food from her bosom and handed it over, "We are from the imperial court, and we are here to help you."

The old man looked at the dry food, a hint of desire flashing in his eyes, but he still didn't dare to take it, and just shrank back in fear.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here! Why don't you answer?" A personal attendant of the Jinwu Guards couldn't help but shout.

"Your Highness?" The old man's cloudy eyes suddenly widened, and his wrinkled face was instantly filled with extreme fear.

He fell to the ground as if he was burned by a branding iron, his forehead pressed against the cold snow, his whole body shaking like a sieve: "Damn... I deserve to die, I deserve to die, I didn't know Your Highness was coming... I beg Your Highness to spare my life! Spare my life!" His voice was shrill and desperate.

Lin Zhen frowned, a complex emotion surging in his heart.

He waved his hand, signaling his followers to step back.

He personally helped the old man up and stuffed some dry food into his cold, trembling hands. "Old man, get up and talk. Tell me, where have all the people in the fort gone? Has the government released any food relief?"

The old man still didn't dare to look up, his hands holding the dry food were shaking violently, and his voice was filled with tears:

"Your Highness, there's no food left in the fort. King Helian... no, old Helian stole all the food, saying he was going to fight and defend the city. We've been hungry for days. The government officials only arrived yesterday... They set up a tent at the west end of the fort... and put... put porridge, but there were too many people, and the porridge was too watery..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but take a bite of dry food and gobbled it up, choking and rolling his eyes.

Lin Zhen's anger rose in his heart.

Helian Iron Tree.

This old dog is trying to squeeze every last drop of blood out of the people before he dies.

He took a deep breath and suppressed his anger: "Take me to the porridge stall."

"Yes... yes..." The old man nodded quickly and led the way tremblingly.

At the west end of the fort, on a relatively open space, a simple thatched hut was temporarily built.

There were several huge iron pots under the shed, and some thin rice soup still remained at the bottom of the pots, so thin that you could almost see a person's reflection in it.

The area around the straw hut was crowded with ragged, skinny people.

There were men, women, young and old, all with sunken eye sockets and dull eyes, like starving people waiting to be fed.

They were holding broken bowls, pottery jars, and even broken ladles in their hands, shivering in the cold wind, staring at the empty pots.

Several officers in tattered yamen uniforms were waving whips to maintain order in the chaotic crowd, cursing, "Get out! Get out! Today's porridge is all gone. Come back tomorrow, and if you keep squeezing in, I'll whip you to death!"

"Sir, please be kind and give me another bite. The child is starving!"

"Please, give me some soup base!"

"My mother...my mother is dying..."

The sounds of pleading, crying, scolding from officers, and whipping were mixed together, and the scene was chaotic and miserable!

"Stop!" Lin Zhen shouted angrily.

Like a loud thunderclap.

The chaotic crowd suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked towards the source of the sound in horror.

Lin Zhen strode to the porridge stall and glanced at the officers with a cold gaze: "Who gave you the courage to whip the people?!"

When the officers saw Lin Zhen’s attire and demeanor, as well as the murderous Jinwu Guards behind him, they were terrified!

He fell to his knees with a thud: "I...I deserve to die, I deserve to die, please spare my life, sir!"

"Where is the relief food?!" Lin Zhen asked sternly.

"Reply... Reply to Your Excellency... The relief grain was just delivered yesterday. We've used up all the porridge we made, and the next batch hasn't arrived yet..."

The leading officer was so frightened that he was incoherent.

"Is it finished?" Lin Zhen pointed at the thin rice soup at the bottom of the pot. "Is this the porridge you put in? Can this be called porridge?! This is just washing water!"

He kicked over an iron pot with one foot.

The boiling ash and leftover soup splashed all over the floor!

"Is this how Xiao Hanzhou asked you to provide disaster relief?!"

“No… no… it’s… it’s because there’s not enough food… there are too many people…” The officer was so frightened that his face turned pale.

"Not enough food?" Lin Zhen's eyes flashed with coldness. "Helian Tieshu's granary is overflowing with food. It's enough to feed the people of the entire fort for a year. You didn't take it over?!"

"Take...taken over...but...but..." the officer hesitated.

"Say!"

"But Liu Zhubu of the treasury said that the relief grain must be distributed gradually according to regulations... and cannot be distributed all at once... for fear of causing looting..."

The officer stammered as he finished speaking, sweating profusely.

"Liu Zhubu?" Lin Zhen's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "What a good plan to follow the rules, what a good plan to release slowly. People are starving to death in the streets, but he's actually following the rules!"

He turned abruptly and ordered the Jinwu Guards behind him, "Return to the city immediately and arrest Liu Neng, the head clerk of the treasury. Put him in the death row and interrogate him strictly. Find out where all the relief grain went. Anyone found to have embezzled or withheld funds will be executed immediately!"

"Yes!" The attendant took the order, jumped on his horse, and galloped away.

"You!" Lin Zhen pointed at the officers kneeling on the ground, "Open the granary immediately and take out the grain. Cook thick porridge right here. This prince will watch you cook! Today, everyone present must eat their fill. If you dare to withhold even a grain of rice, you will suffer the same fate as Liu Neng!"

"Yes! Yes! As you command! I'll go right away!" The officers were as if they had been pardoned, and they crawled and rolled to open the warehouse to get food.

"Long live your highness!"

"Master Qingtian!"

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"