Spring arrives and the land smiles

Three days later was the day of departure. All the members of the royal family stood in front of the palace to see them off, each with their own thoughts.

Empress Shangguan tearfully bid farewell to her daughter; a mother's worry for her son traveling a thousand miles is truly moving, and even Emperor Longqing couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. After a simple oath-taking ceremony, considering their recent marriage, the emperor granted the imperial son-in-law, Fu Yunxuan, permission to escort the princess on her journey.

At this moment, Qingyan was riding a chestnut horse, bidding farewell to Yunxuan. Instead of taking a carriage, she rode with the soldiers, her heroic spirit no less than that of men.

Of course, this only looked dashing. After just one day of marching, Qingyan was already dizzy and miserable. When they finally set up camp, she collapsed in the main tent as if her body was falling apart, silently vowing that she would never ride a horse again when they set off tomorrow.

"Princess, why are you doing this to yourself?" Zhui'er said, massaging Qingyan's legs and back with concern.

It was not appropriate for the army to bring female relatives along, but for the princess's convenience, Zhui'er and several personal maids were allowed to attend to her. The so-called highly skilled guards that Prince Jin had placed were kept far away from the main tent by Zhui'er, the quick-witted little girl, on the grounds that it was inconvenient.

“Riding a horse is so impressive, you can’t compare to that sitting in the carriage.” Qingyan lay on the bed and raised her head. “However, given the circumstances,” Qingyan rubbed her bottom, “I will still ride with you in the carriage tomorrow.”

"Then I'll go prepare a cushion for the princess later." Zhui'er giggled, and her grip tightened a bit, causing Qingyan to frown coquettishly.

"Alright," Qingyan waved her hand, signaling Zhuier to stop. "Go and prepare. Call General Chu in."

Zhui'er nodded and left the tent. A moment later, Chu Huai's voice requesting an audience could be heard outside the tent.

Qingyan straightened her clothes and sat upright on the couch, then summoned Chu Huai into the tent.

"This humble general pays his respects to the princess." Chu Huai knelt on one knee and kowtowed in the salute of a military officer.

Chu Huai, without any family background, rose from a lowly soldier in the vanguard to his current position entirely through his own efforts. Brave, upright, and clear-headed—that's Ning Yuan's assessment of him. Qing Yan simply couldn't understand what had led him to become involved with the Prince of Jin.

However, since that's the case, it's as if he's been labeled an enemy, and Qingyan immediately goes on high alert when she sees him.

"General Chu, please rise." He casually raised his hand to help him up.

"General Chu, starting tomorrow, we will change our route west to Sizhou, then south through Qipu, around Tongxi, and then east to Qiongzhou." Qingyan glanced at Chu Huai and gave the order softly.

"Yes." Chu Huai clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

Huh? Qingyan was stunned by Chu Huai's voice and blankly waved for him to leave.

Isn't Chu Huai a man of the Prince of Jin? Why is he so obedient, doing whatever she tells him to do without any objection? He should at least ask why she has to go through all this trouble, or find some excuse to make things difficult for her. Besides, Qingyan has no experience in military campaigns. If Chu Huai were to give up at this moment, she would be in a complete mess.

In any case, Chu Huai's obedience did her a great favor, and she temporarily swallowed back all the words she had to say.

According to reliable sources, the southern rioters originally came from Sizhou and Tongxi, west of Qiongzhou. For unknown reasons, they flocked to Qiongzhou in large numbers, robbing wealthy households and seizing government silver and grain along the way. The number of rioters grew daily, eventually reaching several thousand in Qiongzhou. This riot was originally composed of disaster victims from the south, and the imperial court had already allocated silver and grain according to the severity of the disaster. Logically, such a large-scale riot should not have occurred; even if it did, it should have only occurred in a small portion of the most severely affected areas. However, Qiongzhou, where the rioters gathered, was one of the least affected areas, suggesting something is amiss.

Violence is never the best policy; only by addressing the root cause can the problem be resolved and the unrest quelled. If the people live in peace and have enough to eat, they will not riot. But if someone steals their life-saving food, then even if rioting can save their lives, the people will not simply sit idly by and wait to die.

Thinking of this, Qingyan had an idea.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Qingyan was shoved into the carriage by Zhuier. Qingyan, who never liked to get up early, had no choice but to grit her teeth and get on the carriage during the march. The journey to Sizhou was along small roads, and the carriage bounced violently. Qingyan lost all interest in sleeping in the carriage.

After a four-day, three-night journey, we finally arrived in Sizhou City.

Sizhou is not a large town. It was originally a quiet and self-sufficient small town. The town is located east of Xiuzhong Mountain, which is rich in jade. More than half of the town's 15,000 households make a living from jade, either as jade merchants or jade craftsmen. As a result, Sizhou has become the largest jade distribution center in the country.

Meanwhile, Sizhou was a scene of utter desolation. The early winter wind whipped up scattered grass fluff that danced mournfully in the air. Dilapidated shop signs were battered against the walls, seemingly on the verge of breaking. The once bustling main street was now deserted, with only a few thin figures occasionally passing by. Disaster victims huddled in corners, shivering incessantly. Qingyan jumped off the carriage and stood facing the wind, the sight deeply piercing her eyes.

"General Chu, let the soldiers rest where they are. We're going to the county government office."

"Yes." Chu Huai obeyed and followed Qing Yan's footsteps.

Inside the Sizhou County Government Office.

A trembling old man was kneeling below the hall. He had not expected the princess to come in person, so when he handed over his official invitation, he did not dare to look up at the person in the hall. He could only bow his head and kowtow before Qingyan.

"Lord Xu, rise and answer." Qingyan's voice was relatively calm.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Xu Wangda, the magistrate of Sizhou, stood up tremblingly to the side, never daring to look at the people in the hall.

"I'm sure you understand why I'm here. I just want to know where the disaster relief funds have gone. If I hear even a single word of your nonsense, forget your official hat, you'll probably lose your head too." His tone was nonchalant, but the threat was blatant. The disaster victims had only rioted because they hadn't been appeased; clearly, the imperial disaster relief funds had been embezzled.

Upon hearing that his head would be moved, Xu Wangda was so frightened that he immediately knelt down again and began to report in detail on the situation of the disaster relief funds and supplies. "The funds and supplies arrived in the affected areas on the tenth day after the disaster was reported, but a sudden change occurred midway, resulting in only half of the funds and supplies reaching the disaster area."

"What happened?" Qingyan asked urgently.

"The silver and grain were robbed by bandits just before reaching Sizhou City, and less than half of them were saved." Xu Wangda looked ashamed and deeply uneasy. "Silver and grain are scarce, and the people are suffering from famine. Even if I open the granaries to distribute grain, it will only be a drop in the ocean. I originally intended to borrow grain from wealthy families in the city, but before we could reach an agreement, the famine victims couldn't wait to rob the wealthy families overnight. They didn't even have enough to rob in their own area, so they turned out to go to neighboring prefectures and counties." As he said this, Xu Wangda's expression became even more solemn. He glanced nervously at Qingyan and quickly lowered his head again.

The robbery of silver and grain, along with the looting of wealthy households and the subsequent attacks on neighbors, seems like an unusual occurrence. But such a coincidence cannot be explained away by mere speculation. If no one had instigated it, I would never have believed it.

"Understood, you may leave!" Qingyan waved her hand, and Xu Wangda, looking puzzled that he had not been punished, quickly took his leave with relief.

Knowing that grain needed to be borrowed from wealthy households, Xu Wangda wasn't a completely incompetent official, and Qingyan didn't seem to blame him. It seems that he was being targeted this time, with someone trying to use a natural disaster to incite a man-made one. Sizhou was just a breach in the dam.

"General Chu, what do you think of this matter?" Qingyan turned to look at Chu Huai, who had remained silent.

"Something is amiss. I will investigate immediately." Chu Huai had already sensed the doubts from Qingyan's words and expression. It was just a guess without any evidence, so what he had to do was to verify it.

He's quite shrewd, it's a pity he followed the Prince of Jin. "Thank you for your trouble, General." Qingyan sighed and nodded.

Upon returning to the villa, the first thing Qingyan did was to wash up. The days of marching and running had not only exhausted her physical strength, but also left her filthy. As soon as she relaxed, Qingyan couldn't wait to have Zhui'er prepare something. However, given the severity of the disaster, a large-scale operation would only be a waste of resources and manpower, so she simply brought two buckets of hot water.

For dinner, Qingyan had the maids from the villa move to her room and declined Xu Wangda's invitation to a banquet early on, so as not to let him exploit the people again after this meal. Qingyan believed that there were no absolutely honest officials, only relatively good officials.

"Princess, Lord Fu has sent word that General Ning has quelled the border bandits in the Battle of Baishan Heishui, and General Xing led the vanguard to provide timely assistance. The two armies set off for the capital the day after they met, and are expected to arrive in the capital within a few days." Zhui'er placed a pearl dumpling in Qingyan's bowl and reported the news that Fu Yunxuan had sent from the capital that day.

So smoothly. Qingyan seemed thoughtful, and put down the meatball she was about to put in her mouth.

According to previous reports from scouts, the bandits were merely a pretext. In the region between the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River, a large force of cavalry was already poised to strike, using the bandits as the spearhead. They claimed that Qingyan had taken the vanguard battalion with him. Thus, the forces on the northern border of the Great Qi, apart from the Ning family army stationed in the city, consisted of the elite vanguard battalion, which was deep in the war zone fighting the enemy alone. Hai Tu was a man who always won every battle. If he knew that Ningyuan was fighting alone and that the southern part of the Great Qi was suffering from natural disasters and riots, wouldn't he take a big bite out of the Great Qi? Therefore, something unusual must be going on.

However, if someone tipped off the nautical chart, telling him that the vanguard battalion was still there, then it would be easy to explain.

But... why do I always feel so uneasy?

"Zhui'er, write back to Lord Fu and tell him to pay attention to Prince Jin's actions in the court. I have a feeling that this bandit incident is not so simple." Qingyan felt a little uneasy, but she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong. She just felt that she needed to be more careful.

"Is that all?" Zhui'er took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Qingyan. "Lord Fu sent word that you should open this letter yourself. Why don't you read it first and then reply?"

Private messages? What could possibly require such secrecy? Qingyan tore open the envelope with a puzzled look, and the delicate, elegant calligraphy came into view:

Since our parting, we've been separated by distance, my thoughts lingering every three or four days, my longing turning to resentment every five or six. Even the scorching heat of July and the fragrant osmanthus of August cannot ease my ninefold yearning. I recall the day I saw you off at the pavilion ten miles away. My longing is overwhelming, I toss and turn in bed nine times, enduring eight or seven layers of silk quilts, six or five nights of chill, my heart in turmoil through all four seasons. Separated by three autumns, like flowers falling in February, my yearning is endless. I only regret that in this life you are a woman and I a man.

How could he write this! Qingyan blushed more and more as she read.

A mournful numerical poem reminded Qingyan of a past life, where Zhuo Wenjun was spared from being abandoned by Sima Xiangru because of a similar love poem. This Yunxuan even remembered the story she told him on their first night together at Bolanxuan.

I only regret that in this life you were a woman and I a man. In this life, she is a princess, destined to have more than one man. But I never said I would abandon you, so where does this resentment come from? The greatest scholar of the Great Qi has used all his knowledge on this; how pretentious!

"Princess, Princess." It wasn't until Zhuier called softly that Qingyan came back to her senses.

"Princess, what is the prince consort writing? It's making you quite flustered," Zhui'er said with a knowing look.

"No, it's nothing." Qingyan put the letter away, glared at Zhuier, and said, "Hurry up and eat your food."

Although the pearl dumplings at this annex can't compare to those in the palace, they are still glutinous, fragrant, refreshing, and smooth without being greasy. Compared to the dry rations we've been eating on the march these past few days, they are a truly exquisite delicacy.

"Of course I'll eat! I've been starving these past few days. I wonder if the princess will eat a few more bowls of rice after reading this letter. If I get thin from hunger, I won't be able to explain it to Lord Fu when I get back. Oh, right, and General Ning too. Oh dear, princess, please eat more, or my life will be in danger!" Zhui'er smiled, her eyes crinkling with joy.

"If you keep being so sarcastic, you'll regret it." Qingyan smiled and tapped Zhuier's head with her chopsticks.

One day later, in a side hall of the annex.

"General Chu, was the disaster relief silver and grain really robbed by mountain bandits?" Qingyan asked seriously.

"Your Highness, according to my investigation, the grain convoy was indeed attacked during its journey, and more than half of it was lost," Chu Huai replied truthfully.

“It seems Xu Wangda wasn’t lying,” Qingyan said gravely. “Do you know which band of mountain bandits dared to rob even the government’s disaster relief grain?”

"This humble general searched the area within fifty li of the robbery site but found no trace of the bandits' hideout. It seems the bandits anticipated that the group would enter the city via this route, so they had been lying in wait nearby. After the robbery, they didn't linger at all, their methods were clean and efficient, leaving very few traces," Chu Huai replied.