33 Leng Yufeng’s Worries
The warm sunlight filtered through the gaps in the lush green leaves, scattering spots of light through the morning mist in the forest.
Tonight, Shang Wuxin had been sleeping under the tallest tree, frowning as she opened her eyes. There were many mosquitoes this night; even though she was well covered, she still got bitten a few times. A few days ago, when she was sleeping outdoors, this didn’t happen. Shang Wuxin felt uneasy as soon as she got up.
Shang Wuxin was not someone who couldn’t endure hardship; on the contrary, she was extremely harsh on herself. But at the same time, she was also someone who greatly enjoyed life. If she didn’t yet have absolute strength, she wouldn’t have treated herself so harshly.
“Prince, shall we enter the city now?” Bai Shaolin had changed into an official’s uniform, and the thousands of soldiers standing there had donned their armor. Even just standing there, they exuded an imposing and awe-inspiring presence.
Shang Wuxin took out a handkerchief and wiped the several mosquito bites on the back of her hand, then directly used her inner strength to shred the pure white handkerchief to pieces. Leaning against the tree, her voice carried a faint excitement, “Is everything ready?”
Bai Shaolin didn’t know exactly why the prince was somewhat excited, but these days had made him realize that the prince’s thoughts were very unpredictable.
“General Leng has already spread the news that the Crown Prince entered the city this morning. At this very moment, the common people are being guided by General Leng to stand there waiting for the Crown Prince’s arrival!” Bai Shaolin reported the received information one by one. “Young Master Huan has already gathered the best doctors in the city, waiting for the Crown Prince’s orders!”
Bai Shaolin was somewhat excited. He did not expect that not only someone like General Leng would obey the Crown Prince’s instructions, but even Young Master Huan, who never interferes in court affairs, has been serving the Crown Prince all along. With these two by the Crown Prince’s side, if he wants to seize the throne in the future, his chances of success will be much greater.
Don’t ask why Bai Shaolin believes the Crown Prince will seize the throne. The reason is simple: in the royal family’s intrigues, if one cannot ascend to that position, the end is death. The Crown Prince is a strong person, so he will definitely fight for that position. Bai Shaolin used to be like his father, not involved in the struggle for the throne, but now he stands on the Crown Prince’s side, trusting his own judgment.
Shang Wuxin’s robes fluttered as she mounted the white horse. She should have been a noble and elegant young lady, but because of the coldness emanating from her, she was shrouded in an impenetrable layer of ice, making people feel they could only admire her from afar and dare not approach.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!” Before Shang Wuxin, accompanied by several thousand soldiers and carts full of provisions, had entered Fengzhou City, he heard excited shouts coming from within the city. The voices were filled with a desperate longing for life—an emotion she did not possess.
“The Crown Prince is here! We have grain! We are saved!” Someone shouted through tears, and then the starving, famished people all wailed and cried together. The entire Fengzhou City was filled with hope born from despair.
After enduring such prolonged hunger, many had already died in the city. Many others wanted to leave the city to beg, but unfortunately, the heartless officials feared that the situation inside the city would be exposed to the court, so none of the beggars who left ever returned alive. Gradually, they began to fear and lose hope. They had eaten everything edible, yet it was still not enough. The number of those dying from starvation continued to grow day by day.
It wasn’t until last night that they discovered the city’s magistrate had been locked up. Those hundreds of people told them that tomorrow the Crown Prince would bring grain to save them! They did not believe it. Who was the Crown Prince? He was just a figure they had heard of. How could such a person care about their lives? But even without belief, each of them came out for survival and gathered at the city gate. They waited for a long time, their anger rising, wanting to kill those hundreds of people for deceiving them. Yet, looking at the black-clad man standing at the front, exuding coldness, no one dared to act recklessly.
Knowing that now they saw those soldiers clad in armor, the carts full of provisions, and most importantly, the young man in white at the front, with the blazing warm sun behind him. His dismounting was a simple action yet extremely graceful. The young man stood tall after getting off the horse, his noble white attire shining under the warm sun, highlighting his unparalleled elegance. On his handsome, almost celestial face, a pair of black eyes resembled the deep, intense night, making people dare not look directly at him. He stood still, hands clasped behind his back, watching the wailing commoners. His aura was both noble and cold, causing the once crying and sobbing people to instinctively quiet their breaths, fearing to provoke him.
“Your Highness!” Leng Yufeng, standing at the front, looked at the young prince standing there and slightly nodded in salute. By doing this, he showed great respect to the prince. It should be noted that Leng Yufeng was allowed not to kneel even in front of the emperor, and in the Shang Kingdom, only Leng Yufeng and Huan Mo Che had this honor.
Hearing General Leng’s voice, the people finally came to their senses from the Crown Prince’s imposing aura and unparalleled appearance, and all knelt down in unison, shouting, “Long live the Crown Prince!”
Shang Wuxin merely nodded slightly, allowing the people to rise. At that moment, Huan Mochen approached and said, “Crown Prince, the place to distribute the grain is at the nearby magistrate’s office! The doctors are already waiting there!”
As Shāng Wúxīn spoke, the three of them headed towards the magistrate’s office, followed by several carts loaded with grain. Lěng Yǔfēng told the people, “Everyone, line up at the magistrate’s office. Each person will receive grain!”
Many villagers voluntarily followed behind the carts; no one dared to walk ahead of the young prince. That youth seemed born to be followed. But just then, a few villagers suddenly rushed out from somewhere, charging past the soldiers to the carts and began scrambling for the grain. One villager even pulled out an entire sack of grain from a cart, spilling the white rice onto the street, causing the already hungry and dizzy villagers to gleam with longing in their eyes.
Originally, all those soldiers were skilled individuals, so dealing with these already hungry and weak commoners would have been an easy task. But the problem was that these people were commoners, and they were soldiers. More importantly, everyone now followed the Crown Prince and naturally knew that if they rashly harmed these commoners, all the Crown Prince’s efforts would be in vain. At first, the thousands of soldiers respected General Leng and obeyed him, but later they came to regard the Crown Prince as their master. It wasn’t that they no longer respected General Leng; in the eyes of all the soldiers, General Leng was still the leader they aspired to follow.
Leng Yufeng looked at the restless citizens, some of whom were already scrambling for food in a chaotic manner. He furrowed his brows and was about to step forward, but the Crown Prince stopped him.
Shang Wuxin turned to look at the few villagers scrambling for food. Her long legs took a slight step forward, and the chilling aura radiating from her was so sharp and intense that it seemed her next move could effortlessly send someone straight to hell.
Shang Wuxin casually drew the longsword from a soldier standing there, and without any warning, he lifted the sword and, before anyone could react, slashed, cutting several of the civilians who were still fighting over food.
The bright red blood stained the rice grains scattered on the ground a deep crimson, several corpses that were already dead lay sprawled in front of the carriage…