Below, the Qingzhou soldier leader lay in a rocking chair, his pure black armor looking extremely imposing in the sunlight.

Upon hearing this, he narrowed his eyes and glanced at Su An, a disdainful and mocking smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"That ignorant little brat dares to try and quell the trouble all by herself. Does she think she's some big shot? It's absolutely hilarious."

The harsh, mocking voice, like that of a broken bellows, left Su An frozen in place.

I was completely stunned.

What do you mean? Didn't the prefect of Qingzhou send people to cause trouble?

She willingly went to her death, but the other party refuses to acknowledge it?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Su An's mind, and soon a terrifying conjecture emerged.

Could it be that... the prefect is determined to go to extremes and leave no chance for Fuyou County?

Using the entire county as a scapegoat?!

Su An's heart suddenly raced, as if it would burst out of her chest. She hurriedly called down and said, "Sir, things are not beyond repair yet. Why don't you go and inform the prefect first? This woman requests an audience to discuss this in person!"

"In the eyes of the prefect, you are nothing but a lowly commoner, not even worthy of his glance, yet you dare to plead for him. You've really given him too much face!"

As if enraged, the soldier leader raised his hand, drew an arrow from behind his back, nocked it, pulled the string, and shot the arrow.

With a whistling sound, it shot rapidly toward Su An.

Su An almost cursed, but her survival instinct made her react instantly, and she crouched down to avoid the arrow as it came.

This arrow was like a show of force; it didn't actually hit its target, but instead flew through the city wall and pierced the ground inside the city.

In an instant, it caused a chorus of gasps and scrambles from the crowd.

"Listen up, everyone inside! I have received orders from the prefect that there are Northern Hu spies infiltrating Fuyou County. Therefore, I have ordered the troops to seal off this area and forbid anyone from entering or leaving! Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"

The soldier leader spoke with disdain, made up an excuse, and then said no more, leisurely lying back on the deck chair.

Even Su An felt a chill run down his spine and a sense of panic at this moment.

Not to mention the crowd who had been looking forward to it, watching helplessly as Su An's negotiations failed and he was almost hit by an arrow, their hearts sank to the bottom.

"If I can't leave the city, how am I supposed to do business? Without money coming in, my meager grain supply won't last more than a few days..."

Someone muttered something in a panic, and in the silent crowd, it was like a ripple on water that startled everyone and quickly spread.

"Forget about buying grain, the county's grain reserves will be running low by then! We have to hurry and grab some now!"

"That's right! The magistrate has fled, and Fuyou County is in chaos. Anyone who doesn't want to starve should hurry up and grab some grain!"

Some of them were inherently restless, and as soon as those incited voices came out, the people instantly turned red with anger and rushed to various streets in a chaotic scramble.

Even the soldiers guarding the city gate exchanged glances and began to abandon the gate and join in!

Su An thought to himself, "This is bad! If things continue like this, we'll be beset by internal and external troubles. This is a major taboo!"

We must stabilize the people first!

She panicked and quickly climbed down the city wall to stop the crowd: "Don't panic! The government will distribute the food fairly, and no one will go hungry. Don't fight over it!"

"Fellow villagers, listen to me! This will only make things worse. We must unite!"

Su An tried to grab an elderly man who was rushing out carrying a bag of rice, but the old man shook her off forcefully and glared at her fiercely: "It's all your fault, and now you're trying to control us!"

The old man, though walking with faltering steps, possessed great strength, shaking Su An's hands until they went numb.

She gritted her teeth and had no choice but to stop some women and children first.

"Stop pretending to be a saint and blocking our way! The grain in this grain shop should belong to us ordinary people. Now that the world is in chaos, whoever grabs it gets to keep it. Get out of the way!"

The usually kind woman's expression turned ferocious, and her movements became even more nimble. While shoving Su An, she frantically stuffed the stolen grain into the cloth bag behind her.

"Hiss—" Su An was pushed and staggered. His arm brushed against the rough stone wall on the side of the street, and a sharp pain came immediately. Blood slowly seeped out.

She clutched her arm, her mind in turmoil, when suddenly she heard someone shout again:

"Let's go rob the Su family. Su An isn't going to be a pushover, so let's just do as she pleases!"

Upon hearing this, everyone remembered the delicious food that the Su family usually sold, and their faces lit up with greed. They immediately turned and rushed towards the Su family's house.

Su An's heart sank instantly; he had witnessed the ugly faces of this group of people.

"Wait a minute!"

Her hoarse shouts were drowned out, and she could only stagger along to catch up with the crowd in the chaos.

But when he got to his shop, he found the area outside in a mess, as if someone had already taken advantage of the situation and broken in.

Countless pieces of wood from tables and chairs were scattered everywhere. It was Zhang San and a dozen of his henchmen who were desperately guarding the door and trying to drive away the last few people.

"Let's see who dares to step into the Su family's shop again. Don't blame me, Zhang San, for being impolite!"

Zhang San had been a local bully for many years, and he looked like a tough guy. At this moment, his muscles bulged and his face was full of ferocity. As he spoke, he lifted a table and smashed it on a person's head.

Then another flying kick struck another person in the abdomen, causing that person to curl up on the ground in excruciating pain.

"Who else!"

Zhang San looked around at the crowd in a show of defiance and roared.

This sight startled the crowd that had just been contemplating thievery, causing them to retreat several steps.

"Forget it, I'm not wasting my time at the Su family's place. I'll go rob someone else's!"

The mob is used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Besides, these people are essentially ordinary people. At this moment, they had the desire to steal but not the courage, and they slunk away quickly.

Then Su An, who was chasing behind and looked disheveled, was revealed.

"Boss!" Zhang San's expression lit up with joy, and he quickly went over to carefully escort Su An back.

"How are my mother and the others? Are they safe?" Su An asked hurriedly as soon as he entered the shop. Looking at Zhang San and his group of bodyguards, he felt both relieved and apprehensive.

Luckily, it was wise of me to hire Zhang San and a few others to stay, otherwise...

"Don't worry, boss, Auntie and the others are perfectly safe in the backyard. With us here, we guarantee that none of those bastards will be able to break in!" Zhang San patted his chest loudly.

Su An nodded gratefully.

After witnessing Zhang San's actions, she had to realize a truth.

In prosperous times, reputation matters; in chaotic times, strength matters.

When the world is in chaos, you have to rely on your fists to settle things; otherwise, everything else is just empty talk!

Su An took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "An Wu, come out here!"

"Miss Su, what are your orders?" An Wu's slender figure appeared, kneeling on one knee and clasping his hands in a gesture of respect to Su An.

"Now that Magistrate Lin has disappeared, I will help him consolidate the power in the county and bring stability to the county town."

Su An stared intently at An Wu in front of him: "Right now, only you and Zhang San have relatively high martial arts skills, so I need your help to mobilize the yamen runners, constables, and all the soldiers in the name of the Prince of Zhenbei!"

"Tell them that anyone who disobeys will be considered a deserter! When the Prince of Zhenbei returns, he will punish them severely without exception!"