Forced to be a concubine? I turned around and married the scumbag's father.

During the three-day banquet, Jiang Qifu was busy currying favor, and the Mu family army quickly took over Gongzhou.

However, Chi Yan had already begun searching for evidence of his crimes.

Moreover, evidence of his embezzlement and bribery was quickly found, and even his ledger of tribute records to King Cheng was discovered.

A three-day feast was just a drop in the ocean for the starving people.

Mu Junyan then ordered the government to open the granaries and distribute the grain.

Du Yun and his female guards set up a soup kitchen at each of the four city gates, while the Black Armor Guards knocked on the doors of wealthy families one by one, asking them to donate grain for disaster relief.

When Prince Yong arrived in person, Jiang Qifu was forced to host a banquet. When Lord Du returned, all the wealthy families were terrified.

They were all eager to show their faces, lest they be mistaken by Prince Yong for members of the Jiang family. Upon hearing that grain was being raised, they immediately took out all the grain stored in their granaries and eagerly delivered it to the various soup kitchens, cartload by cart.

Many people came to help cook porridge and steam buns.

Business owners and food vendors took to the streets to start their businesses, while others engaged in charity work, distributing food for free to those in need. Gradually, Gongzhou City returned to its former bustling state.

That very evening, people from Luzhou, which borders Gongzhou, sent someone to request an audience with Mu Junyan, but they did not see him, only to receive a visiting card.

To everyone's surprise, the next morning, the prefect of Luzhou personally entered the city to request an audience.

This time, Mu Junyan did not refuse.

"Your humble servant greets His Majesty."

Zhang Guodong, the prefect of Luzhou, respectfully bowed to Chao Mujunyan.

Mu Junyan raised his hand in a gesture of respect: "Lord Zhang, you may dispense with the formalities."

"Your Highness, I have important matters to discuss with you."

Mu Junyan was very accommodating and dismissed everyone around him.

The two talked until late at night before Zhang Guodong quietly left.

Mu Junyan summoned Lord Du that very night.

Before dawn, Lord Du personally knocked on the door of two dismissed officials who were knowledgeable in water conservancy. An hour later, the two of them led a thousand Mu family soldiers to Luzhou.

Ten days had passed by the time everything in Gongzhou was running normally again.

One day, Jiang Qifu was relieved that Prince Yong hadn't caused him any trouble when he was suddenly summoned to the yamen.

He stepped nervously through the gate, when the constables inside suddenly shouted "Warning!"

Jiang Qifu turned pale with fright and looked towards the main hall.

Mu Junyan, dressed in a black robe, sat upright.

Cao Li, along with the man surnamed Du and several officials from the government office, stood to one side.

Jiang Qifu had a bad feeling, his heart was pounding, and he walked up to the prince in a trembling voice, "This humble official greets Your Highness."

Mu Junyan gave him a cold look: "Lord Cao, you speak."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cao Li held the case file in his hand and read out Jiang Qifu's various crimes one by one, word by word.

Jiang Qifu turned pale upon hearing this.

Jiang Qifu probably never imagined that one day someone would turn his government office and residence upside down, let alone that the man surnamed Du would have the opportunity to come back and overturn the case, turning all the account books into evidence of his crimes.

Cao Li put away the case file, glared angrily at Jiang Qifu, and then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Mu Junyan: "Jiang Qifu is corrupt and lawless, harms the people, disregards the lives of disaster victims, and only cares about his own wine and meat. The evidence is conclusive. Please, Your Highness, rid the people of this scourge!"

Jiang Qifu was shocked and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I am innocent! This...this is all fabricated!"

Cao Li sneered: "Fabricate? This is your Jiang family's account book, which details how much official grain you embezzled, how you replaced the stale, worm-infested grain in the granary, and how all the grain was sold after entering the Jiang family's granary. And what about the 500,000 taels of silver you send to Prince Cheng every year? Isn't this bribery?"

Jiang Qifu's face turned deathly pale.

Mu Junyan said calmly, "Since the evidence is conclusive, then imprison him for the time being and await His Majesty's decision."

Jiang Qifu panicked and quickly got up, shouting at Mu Junyan, "I am an official appointed by the imperial court. Even if you are a prince, you have no right to detain me without my permission. How can a prefecture be without the jurisdiction of a prefect? ​​Are you trying to rebel and seize the city?"

With a wave of his hand, Chi Yan sent a black-armored guard forward who delivered a powerful kick to the back of Chi Yan's knee.

With a crack and a thud, the sound of bones breaking echoed as both knees slammed heavily against the bluestone slab.

Jiang Qifu was in so much pain that his face was contorted, and he rolled around on the ground hugging his knees.

Mu Junyan looked at Cao Li and several officials from the Gongzhou government office: "Gongzhou cannot be without a prefect for even a day. What do you think should be done?"

Cao Li stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “Your Highness, since Lord Du has returned innocent, loves the people like his own children, is familiar with Gongzhou, and is also proficient in water management, it is most appropriate to reinstate Lord Du to his post and manage Gongzhou.”

Lord Du, standing to the side, was very excited. He wasn't after the official position, but he was heartbroken to see the people of Gongzhou suffering.

He longed to personally restore Gongzhou to its former prosperity.

Mu Junyan nodded: "Lord Cao is absolutely right. I will trouble Lord Du to temporarily assume the post of prefect. I will submit a memorial to the court explaining the situation, and await His Majesty's final decision."

"Wei Chen obeys your orders."

Lord Du and Cao Li and the others bowed with their hands clasped in greeting.

Mu Junyan stood up, stepped down from the platform, and gestured to Lord Du, "Lord Du, Gongzhou is now in your hands. If you have any needs, feel free to send someone to me. As for the court's order to pay back taxes, you can ignore it for now; I will handle everything with the court."

"Yes."

Lord Du was so excited that his eyes turned bloodshot.

Jiang Qifu watched helplessly as Lord Du took the position of prefect, but his legs were in so much pain that he couldn't say a word and was quickly dragged away by the yamen runners.

Mu Junyan summoned Chi Yan and was giving instructions when a scout rode up at full speed.

Upon seeing them, the two of them dismounted.

"Secret report from the capital."

Mu Junyan: "Speak."

"The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince are traveling south with disaster relief funds, and the journey is expected to take two months. In addition, the Empress intends to issue an imperial decree ordering the Princess Consort to bring the young prince to the capital to be granted the title of Heir Apparent."

Mu Junyan's face turned cold.

She dares!

But he didn't show it on his face, and calmly instructed: "Understood. Keep a close eye on it, and report back on the itinerary at any time."

Chi Yan could not hide his anger: "How dare the Empress take the Princess and the young master hostage!"

Mu Junyan thought for a moment and said, "I will return to Juzhou to discuss this with the Princess. You stay here and keep a close eye on things."

Crimson Flame: "Yes!"

Mu Junyan was preparing to rush back to Juzhou overnight when Du Yun, who was looking for him, saw him getting ready to mount his horse and quickly called him back.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing..."

Mu Junyan: "I'm going back to Juzhou. Are you coming back with me first, or are you staying here?"

"I will stay here to help Father run the soup kitchen and treat orphans."

"Very good. I have something to discuss with Chi Yan."

"Ok."

Du Yun watched him walk away, then hurriedly turned back, but Chi Yan was no longer there.

I wonder what has happened to Your Highness that has caused you to rush back to Juzhou?

……

The upheaval in Juzhou resulted in the arrest of many people.

Large-scale cleansing began both inside and outside the city.

The bookstore owner panicked and immediately reported to Bianjing that only two of their spies in Juzhou remained; the others had all been arrested.

The bookstore waiter was terrified: "Manager, what do we do? Should we run away?"

The shopkeeper retorted angrily, "How can we escape? If we do, do you think the Empress will let us live?"

"Then what do we do? If we do nothing, aren't we just waiting to die?"

"Isn't there Du Yun? She has already gained the favor of Prince Yong. Go to Gongzhou immediately, find a way to see her, find out her background, and see if she has betrayed the Empress or continues to serve her. While you're at it, go and see how things are going in Gongzhou."

The waiter said helplessly, "This is the only option."

Bianjing (Kaifeng)

The Crown Prince set off in full imperial entourage. For comfort, they planned to travel by water, detouring through Jiangling before heading south.

At this pace, it will take at least two months.