Chapter 44: The True and False Prefects Deceive the Capital City. We Are Receiving the Favors of the People...

The sunlight of late summer and early autumn shone through the forest. A group of people galloped on their horses and soon arrived at the edge of a cliff.

"Princess, be careful." Chuntao dismounted sideways and stretched out her hand to carefully catch Qin Yuqing.

"It's okay, this little injury won't cause any trouble." Qin Yuqing looked at Chuntao who looked nervous and comforted her, then turned his back to let Chuntao apply the medicine again.

But no matter how careful he was, when he actually took it off, the wound on his back was still torn and bleeding, and the blood soaked through the gauze.

"here it is?"

Qin Yuqing turned around and looked at the scenery outside the cliff. There was a city not far away. Although it was not as prosperous as the capital, there were many pedestrians coming and going. Various lanterns were hung on the houses. Even in the daytime, even standing on a high place, Qin Yuqing could feel the extraordinary hustle and bustle inside.

"This is Luocheng." General Xiao handed Chuntao new gauze and bandages. She stood beside Qin Yuqing and explained, "After Cangzhou suffered a natural disaster, the granary was moved to Luocheng. Now, all of Great Yin's grain is stored in Luocheng."

"How many stones of grain can Cangzhou and Luocheng store respectively in a year?" Qin Yuqing asked curiously.

General Xiao shook his head and sighed, "Luocheng is not as good as Cangzhou. Cangzhou's annual grain storage capacity can reach over 5.83 million dan, while Luocheng only has half that."

Qin Yuqing was a little surprised. The difference was exactly twice, which was not a small amount.

The natural disasters in the south have become so serious. Why is it that during the past few months when she was in the capital, the news received by the court from the south was that everything was normal? Even the south, which used to be prone to floods in summer, is now free of floods.

She remembered that the emperor was very happy and rewarded the prefects of Cangzhou and Ling County with some silver for their good governance.

The emperor might be deceived by the ministers in the court, but the information she and Lu Jingchuan found was the same: there were no natural disasters in the south in summer.

Not to mention natural disasters, even the incident of an unknown disease in Yanyun City had not been reported to the court at all. Did they not know about it, or did someone do it deliberately?

"Sixth Princess, did I say something wrong?" General Xiao looked at Qin Yuqing's gloomy face. She recalled what she had just said and realized that she had not said anything wrong.

Qin Yuqing shook his head, recording all his doubts in his mind. He thought this trip to the south would not be peaceful. "Where are the prefects of Cangzhou and Lingjun? Why haven't they reported this serious matter to the court?"

But an answer appeared that Qin Yuqing could not have imagined.

"The prefects of Cangzhou and Lingjun died in the floodwaters during the first flood of the summer, trying to help the people of the two cities escape safely. The people themselves dug their bodies out of the mud and built tombstones for them."

Upon hearing this, Pu Qinghe walked over with a sullen face and glanced at Qin Yuqing silently. He was considered Qin Yuqing's man, so he would also know what Qin Yuqing and Lu Jingchuan did and knew at the same time.

"What are you two doing?" No matter how dumb General Xiao was, he realized that Qin Yuqing and his group had set out from the capital. From Qin Yuqing's questions just now, it was very likely that Qin Yuqing had met the so-called prefects in the capital after the incidents in Cangzhou and Lingjun.

"I hope Your Highness the Princess will seek justice for the prefects of Cangzhou and Ling County!" After saying this, General Xiao knelt down again.

The adults in Yanyun City, Lingjun and Cangzhou have a very good relationship. Once upon a time, the adults sat together to discuss how to control floods and resist bandits, but now only Yanyun City is left in danger.

"I will. Whether as a princess of the Great Yin or a court official of the Great Yin, we have received favors from the people and will naturally not put them in dire straits."

Qin Yuqing narrowed her fox eyes slightly, and murderous intent flashed across her eyes. She did not forget that there was an official road between the four southern cities. The prefects of Cangzhou and Lingjun were replaced, but the prefect of Luocheng would be completely unaware of it.

"Let's go and solve the crisis in Yanyun City first. No matter what, Yanyun City cannot be destroyed." Qin Yuqing stretched his body and rode a horse with Chuntao again.

This time they did not stay for too long to rest. General Xiao and Qin Yuqing both realized that the schemes of those evildoers had already eroded the entire capital. At the same time, she was more worried about Lu Jingchuan's secret guards.

The capital is more dangerous than she and Lu Jingchuan imagined. I wonder if he is safe?

In a natural forest near Yanyun City, Qin Yuqing and Pu Qinghe were guarding the night.

"Give me paper and pen." Qin Yuqing thought about it. The situation was critical and she could not afford to hide her cards.

Pu Qinghe immediately understood what Qin Yuqing was going to do. He stood up and handed Qin Yuqing a pen and paper, then walked to the side and blew a whistle with a strange sound. The sound was like a erhu with a broken string, which made people feel itchy and uncomfortable all over.

After a while, three or four secret guards in black appeared in front of Qin Yuqing.

"Give this letter to Lu Jingchuan." Qin Yuqing handed a letter to one of the secret guards, and then handed another letter to another secret guard. "This letter must be handed over to the emperor. It must be checked by the emperor himself. Don't worry, the emperor will not blame you."

"Yes, master." The secret guard came quickly and left quickly.

"I didn't expect that in just a few months, you have trained such an excellent secret guard. I'm afraid the Shen family army has never noticed that there is a group of people following behind them."

As he spoke, Park Qinghe became a little angry. Recalling his performance when facing the assassination, he asked, "Since you had secret guards following you, why didn't you use them when you were assassinated?"

Qin Yuqing smiled and did not respond, only because the secret guards were trained by her personally. Since they were her men, as their master, she must protect her subordinates.

Besides, she didn't bring many secret guards this time. She left most of them in the capital to protect the safety of the emperor and Lu Jingchuan. And according to the situation at the time, even if all the secret guards came out, they could not save them. Instead, it would cause unnecessary sacrifices and expose the trump card too early.

Qin Yuqing looked at the flickering flames. Perhaps because she hadn't seen Lu Jingchuan for a while, or because the situation in the south was complicated, she actually recalled every little detail of her time with Lu Jingchuan in the capital.

That night, Qin Yuqing sat in the room, slowly drawing up a list that recorded the names of some students whose test scores in the imperial examinations were maliciously replaced by others, and who were full of resentment.

There are also some people who are of high status, but because they have no background, they can only be forced to work in small positions.

Qin Yuqing felt the sound of wind near the window. Just as she was about to stand up and close the window, she saw Lu Jingchuan appear in the room again like a ghost.

"What are you doing here?" Qin Yuqing rolled her eyes helplessly. It was raining outside and it was not good to let Lu Jingchuan stand outside, so he just went into the room.

But are the imperial guards really that lame? Lu Jingchuan comes and goes as he pleases, and no one notices anything is wrong.

"You need to keep a confidant." Lu Jingchuan said suddenly.

Qin Yuqing nodded. She walked back to the table and handed the list to Lu Jingchuan. "This is the list I've drafted. Is it okay with you? Is there anything that needs to be modified or noted?"

But who knew that Lu Jingchuan waved his hand, and dozens of secret guards appeared in front of Qin Yuqing's window again, and of course the window that had just been closed opened again.

Qin Yuqing: “???”

Qin Yuqing didn't understand: "What are you going to do?"

Lu Jingchuan pointed at the people outside and placed a jade pendant on the table and said, "They are useful."

Looking at Lu Jingchuan's expression, Qin Yuqing inexplicably thought of a puppy wagging its tail for a reward. With a wicked smirk in her foxy eyes, she lifted Lu Jingchuan's chin with her jade-white fingers and said, "Then what are you doing here, General Lu?"

Lu Jingchuan stared at Qin Yuqing with his puppy eyes, his voice as cold as ever: "I'm more useful than them."

Qin Yuqing was speechless, covered her face and sighed, and whispered: "What should I do if I meet someone who is in love?"

"What?" Lu Jingchuan didn't hear Qin Yuqing's words clearly, and subconsciously moved closer. When he got closer, Qin Yuqing smelled the plum scent on Lu Jingchuan again. It was really nice and she liked it very much.

"Nothing." Qin Yuqing was inexplicably flustered. She didn't know what she was flustered about, but she felt her heart beating very fast. She looked at the list on the table and took a deep breath, "But after all, it's yours."

Just as Lu Jingchuan was about to speak, Qin Yuqing placed the list in his arms and said with a smile, "I know you're doing this for my own good, but I want my secret guards to be able to help and protect you in the future."

"I'm not a canary. I don't need to be protected."

Lu Jingchuan stared at Qin Yuqing in a daze, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. In his heart, he was happy for what Qin Yuqing said, but he also felt a little distressed. If he was more useful, perhaps his A Ruan would not have to work so hard.

"Okay, let's take a look first. You know more about the capital than I do. Help me see if there is a suitable candidate, preferably an orphan."

Qin Yuqing thought that secret guards lived a life of constant pressure, and he couldn't let people with elderly parents and young children to live this kind of life. People who had no ties would do things without leaving any room for compromise.

No more family should suffer tragedy because of her.

What followed was that Lu Jingchuan selected several candidates, and Qin Yuqing talked to them one by one. Because of the imperial examination, many poor students admired Qin Yuqing from the bottom of their hearts. They dreamed of being like Qin Yuqing, and being able to work for Qin Yuqing was something they dared not think about.

They also want to change the world, but unfortunately the power of one person is still too small.

The memories ended here. Qin Yuqing looked at the faint firelight and was about to pick up the firewood to put it in when General Xiao put the wood in and took out a cloak to put on Qin Yuqing.

"Leave the rest of the night to me. Princess and this young master, go get some rest first."

Qin Yuqing stood up and looked at General Xiao's thin figure as a woman, but she also became tall under the reflection of the fire. In an instant, Qin Yuqing subconsciously asked.

"General Xiao, what is the purpose of your actions?" Qin Yuqing realized that it was a bit presumptuous as soon as he asked, so he changed the subject and said, "I just asked casually, no need to answer me."

"I have lived with General Shen since childhood. When the general was young, he was not interested in music, chess, calligraphy, or painting. Instead, he was particularly interested in swordplay and spearplay. Even when he was punished by the master, she firmly told the master."

"Who says women can't march and fight? I, Shen Yanqing, will definitely use my body to support the Great Yin in the future." At this point, General Xiao smiled shyly, "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me for being childish. At that time, I thought General Shen was very handsome, and from that moment on, I made up my mind to fight alongside General Shen."

Qin Yuqing reached out and patted General Xiao on the shoulder: "Not childish, but great." Then she seemed to have grasped the key point of General Xiao's words and looked at Park Qinghe beside her.

"You grew up with General Shen Yanqing, so you must be very familiar with him. Why didn't you catch him?"

"Yes, this young man looks really like the master of the Park family. I think he is Mr. Park Qinghe." General Xiao smiled gently and said indifferently while stirring the firewood.

“In fact, we all think that there is something fishy about the extermination of the Pu family, but the Shen family and the Lu family were also in turmoil back then. Their failure to help the Pu family is a thorn in the hearts of the young lady and the young master of the Lu family.”

This time, General Xiao no longer addressed Shen Yanqing and Lu Jingchuan by their positions.

She used "Miss" and "Master".