After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

Ren Xueqing took the bowl of porridge and drank it down in a few gulps under everyone's gaze. She then said sternly, "I am the only daughter of the Prime Minister. If I can drink porridge with yellow soil added, then you can certainly drink it too!"

The people exchanged glances, and no one dared to speak again; they quietly lined up to wait for the porridge.

The atmosphere eased, and Ren Xueqing breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief. Her stiff and tense body relaxed slightly. She did not want to experience the horrific bloodshed that had occurred just a few days ago. Although she had received a personal decree from the young emperor that those who distributed porridge could kill a certain number of people as a deterrent, she did not want to use such a cruel method.

The world is harsh, and everyone is a pitiful person.

After the performance ended, the guards escorted Ren Xueqing safely back to the Prime Minister's residence. As soon as the gate closed, Madam Wang, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly took a handkerchief and brushed the dust off her dress.

Ren Xueqing gently took the handkerchief from Madam Wang's hand, and while having the servants remove her cloak, she bent down to wipe the dust off herself: "Mother is not well, why did you come out?"

Two days ago, when Madam Wang went out to distribute porridge, she fainted due to exhaustion. By the time the guards, who were busy suppressing the people, noticed her, Madam Wang had already been unconscious for a while and her whole body was as cold as ice.

Although he slowly awoke after the physician examined his pulse and administered acupuncture, he was too weak to get out of bed and developed a high fever that night, after which he never recovered.

With the prime minister trapped in the palace and unable to leave, and the young emperor issuing an edict to distribute porridge, Ren Xueqing, an unmarried woman, had no choice but to step forward and distribute the porridge.

"Mother is fine. Starting tomorrow..." Before she could finish her sentence, Madam Wang couldn't help but turn her head away and cough loudly, letting the maid pat her back and chest to calm her breathing. She continued, "Starting tomorrow, you don't need to worry about the porridge distribution anymore."

"Mother!" Ren Xueqing stamped her foot impatiently. "You're still sick! It's bad enough that you don't let your daughter serve you, but now you want to do things while you're sick. Are you trying to put your daughter in a position of being unfilial?"

"Your words, child, truly break my heart. The world is in chaos; it's too dangerous for a young woman like you to go out alone. I worry about you—"

"Are you all blind?! Can't you see that Madam is still sick? Quickly, help Madam back to her room to rest!" Ren Xueqing glared at the maids and guards surrounding her and shouted sternly.

The maids and guards shrank back, shaking their heads in fear. With the Prime Minister not in the mansion, the Madam was the most powerful person there. How could they dare to force her?

"Fine! You filthy lackeys have quite the nerve, daring to disobey me!" Ren Xueqing sneered, drawing her whip with her backhand and lashing it through the air with a piercing shriek. "I'm going to take your dog lives right now!"

"Xueqing, don't be willful! Your mother is still alive, how can I let a young lady like you show your face in public—" Madam Wang shouted urgently, but the timid maids had already surrounded her, saying respectful words such as "Madam, please forgive me" and "This servant deserves to die," but their behavior was not polite at all.

Lady Wang wanted to be angry and execute these servants, but she doted on her daughter and didn't want to embarrass her in front of so many servants.

Watching Madam Wang's retreating figure, Ren Xueqing withdrew her imposing aura, reverting to her usual gentle demeanor. With her chin slightly raised, she stared at the guard who had just run up, looking travel-worn, and asked softly, "How was it?"

"Your Highness, I have been waiting since dusk until noon, but the palace gates are locked and black smoke is billowing out. Not a single person has come out of the palace."

"There aren't even any eunuchs to handle the procurement?"

"No, not even the night soil collectors."

Seeing that Ren Xueqing was about to ask another question, the guard blurted out without thinking about whether his words were vulgar. By the time he realized what he had said, it was too late. Fortunately, Ren Xueqing simply nodded and did not say anything.

Xiang An, who had been wandering from house to house, had arrived long ago. She had observed the various officials' residences along the way. Some families were crying and shouting, clamoring to leave the capital, while others were in complete chaos and refused to go out to distribute porridge. There were also responsible people who were trying to maintain stability at home and comfort their family members.

Only the Prime Minister's residence remained quiet and united. Not only did they quickly fulfill the young emperor's seemingly impossible decree, but they also had time to spare to gather information about the palace.

Beneath the vermilion pillar, Ren Xueqing's sickly appearance was even more pronounced against her fiery red padded jacket.

"Where is the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial decree that day locked up?" Ren Xueqing suddenly thought of the eunuch she had detained a few days ago.

"He was imprisoned in the woodshed."

"Take me to see this." Ren Xueqing put away her whip, and the group headed towards the side courtyard in a grand procession.

Xiang An naturally followed. Now she couldn't quite understand Ren Xueqing. She remembered that she first met Ren Xueqing at the lotus banquet.

Although she was domineering at the time, she was a delicate young girl. The truth behind the accident that happened back then is now impossible to investigate.

Unexpectedly, she has become so bold as to detain the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict.

Inside the woodshed, amidst a pile of messy straw, a fat eunuch lay gagged and bound on the ground. As the door opened and Ren Xueqing arrived with a group of people, the eunuch's round, white face immediately showed his excitement. The woodshed was too cold and too dark; he simply couldn't stand it.

Ren Xueqing glanced at him with disgust, and a guard stepped forward to pull the rag out of the eunuch's mouth: "Miss Ren, let me out, let me out."

The eunuch was both fearful and anxious, his words even carrying a hint of urgency. Seeing this, Ren Xueqing nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Where has Marquis Anwu gone?"

Even as a young woman confined to her quarters, she had heard about the inside story of the new emperor's ascension to the throne. However, with the capital undergoing a major upheaval, Fu Qingbai, a meritorious official who had helped the emperor rise to power and who held considerable military power, had not appeared even once.

This is not a normal sign.

The obese eunuch's fawning round face froze, and he stammered for a long time without uttering a single word. Ren Xueqing's heart tightened, and Xiang An, who was waiting anxiously beside her, also tightened his grip, his hands unconsciously clenching—could it be that Fu Qingbai in the snow had not yet been discovered?

Thinking of the remoteness of the place, the heavy snow that day, and the half-hidden, broken door outside the courtyard, Xiang An became more and more certain of his guess.

Unaware of the situation, Ren Xueqing was already impatient. Ignoring the guards' attempts to stop her, she grabbed the eunuch's collar, raised her hand and slapped him, shouting, "Speak!"

"I……"

Just as Xiang An heard the eunuch utter a single word, her vision blurred, and when she looked again, she found herself standing proudly high in the sky.

Unable to go up or down, she looked down and saw only human heads at her feet. But Xiang An remained calm and composed. Since becoming a spirit, she had experienced so many inexplicable things that she had become numb to it.

Life went on slowly under these constraints. The snow fell heavier and colder each day, but this had no effect on Xiang An. It was the common people who were truly affected.

Outside the city, people in tattered clothes crowded together, while inside the city, more and more people froze and starved to death. However, the city gates were tightly closed, so people outside the city knelt at the gates begging to go in, while people inside the city dragged their families and begged to leave.

Inside the palace, Ling Xiaozhi, flanked by two eunuchs, knelt before the emperor's bedchamber, carrying a tray of golden nanmu wood. His handsome face was solemn as he said, "Your Majesty, the elixir is complete."