Chapter 394 The Hou Family Rebelled

Lu Wanyin smiled sweetly and hooked her arm around his neck: "How could I choke if my husband is feeding me?"

Xie Jingci reluctantly pulled her hand away: "Madam, if I lose control, you and the child will be hurt."

He felt strangely fortunate that he had been away fighting for the past few months.

Otherwise, if you stay with your loved one every day, you will have to accept her teasing every now and then when her bad taste comes up.

He might be driven crazy.

The lust in Xie Jingci's eyes almost melted her.

Lu Wanyin was startled and instantly became obedient.

She shrunk back into the recliner, determined not to overstep her bounds. "Husband, tell me about the past."

The incident on Diyi made her realize that what Xie Jingci told her on the way to exile was just the tip of the iceberg.

The heat in Xie Jingci's heart slowly subsided. He focused all his attention on the fruit plate and tried hard not to think about the people around him.

"good."

He has a nice voice.

It's the kind of song that Lu Wanyin never gets tired of listening to.

Accompanied by a cool breeze blowing gently on your face.

This is the best thing in the world.

Lu Wanyin calmed down.

On the top of the mountain, Xie Jingci's low voice and the rustling of leaves in the wind were her entire world.

Xie Jingci spoke of the past in a calm tone. When he peeled the melon seeds and went to feed Lu Wanyin, he found that she had fallen asleep without him noticing.

She curled up in the recliner, one hand resting lightly on her abdomen.

The rosy little face was turned towards him, maintaining the same posture as before going to sleep, looking at him.

His shoulders rose and fell slightly, and occasionally a barely perceptible snoring could be heard.

Xie Jingci was still holding the peeled melon seeds in his hand, holding them in the air blankly, looking a little dazed.

When Lu Wanyin opened her eyes again, it was the familiar tent.

Not far away, there was the deliberately quiet sound of rustling papers.

Lights were already on in the tent, and it looked like it was night.

Lu Wanyin stood up, but this small movement still startled Xie Jingci.

He decisively put down the information in his hand and said: "You must eat something when you wake up."

"I ate too many melon seeds, so I'm not very hungry."

Lu Wanyin put on her clothes and stood up: "You carried me down from the mountain"

Xie Jingci didn't answer, but took a small hot bowl from the teapot on the stove and said, "Drink a little."

Maybe it’s because it’s been hot for too long, the aroma is very tempting.

Lu Wanyin couldn't help but nodded: "Then drink some."

Unfortunately, my eyes are hungry but my stomach is full.

After two or three bites, I couldn't eat anymore.

Xie Jingci didn't force her, and drank the rest in three or two mouthfuls. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her mouth: "The night is beautiful tonight, you should go and see it."

"Of course I'll go."

Lu Wanyin, who had already had a good sleep, was full of energy.

The lack of romance between the two was about to be made up.

Lu Wanyin was busy with the romantic affairs with Xie Jingci.

In Zizai City, the orders she had arranged were sent out one by one.

Rumors spread throughout Dasheng.

The emperor sent troops to conquer the barbarians, but did not provide them with enough wages. Instead, he required the 400,000-strong army to collect taxes along the way as wages.

That’s an army of 400,000.

How much would ordinary people like them have to pay to feed 400,000 soldiers?

Not to mention that last year's cold wave was severe and they didn't have much food to survive the winter.

The newly planted crops are not yet ready for harvest.

The people themselves were hungry, so how could they have enough food to supply the 400,000-strong army?

There was a burst of curses in the countryside.

Many people even started moving to places far away from the marching route.

What's worse, they cursed the emperor for being incompetent and not leaving any way for ordinary people to survive.

Several cities close to the capital had already known about this big news a long time ago.

Even if Lu Wanyin didn't deliberately send people to spread the news, it would spread on its own.

The Hou family is now at its peak and must not be offended.

Just when they were figuring out how much food they should hand over, the 400,000-strong army only rested outside the city for one night.

Early the next morning, they bypassed the city and continued on their way.

There was no intention of sending anyone into the city to ask for food.

This move confused everyone who was watching.

What does this mean?

"Could it be that he saw that there were many wealthy families here and that they were not as easy to bully as the common people, so he didn't want to cause trouble, so he let them go?"

A few days passed amid various speculations.

The army passed by the next city.

This time it's much more remote.

Unfortunately, the army only rested outside the city for one night.

Without asking for any food, he set off again.

This time it caused a complete uproar.

There are many different opinions.

"Hou Yuanji could have taken the emperor's order and gone to ask for food with a clear conscience, so why didn't he do it?"

"Does he really want to starve those 400,000 soldiers to death?"

Among the many speculations, there is one that is more reliable.

“When we last distributed salaries, the nobles in the imperial city hadn’t been robbed yet, so it must be because they hadn’t spent all the money.

Hou Yuanji probably thought that he could delay it for as long as possible.

But the last salary payment was only for five months at most, and that was while we were still stationed in the same place.

Once we set out on an expedition, we can only last half a month at most.

You see, in half a month at most, Hou Yuanji will reveal his true colors.

Such a great benefit, how could he, a complete playboy, not be tempted?"

This statement has aroused great recognition.

Too.

Compared to these wealthy cities closer to the imperial city, it is not easy to bully ordinary people.

However, half a month passed.

A month passed.

An army of 400,000 couldn't even enter a small village, let alone a city.

"What on earth does he want to do?"

"A month has passed, and the 400,000-strong army must be running out of food."

Just at this moment, more news came.

The village the army recently passed through had suffered from floods and famine the previous year.

The people are starving.

As usual, the 400,000-strong army did not enter the village, but instead sent people to shout messages at the village entrance.

Those who were waiting for Hou Yuanji to attack seemed to have found a breakthrough: "See, I knew it. This guy is a bully who only picks on the weak and fears the strong. He must have not found a suitable target before."

Unfortunately, subsequent news quickly slapped them in the face.

Hou Yuanji sent people to the village to make a call, not to ask for food, but to deliver food.

They got some fresh rice and flour from somewhere and sent a large amount of it to the village.

It is enough for the villagers to live well for two or three months until the harvest.

No one could understand it.

"What does Hou Yuanji mean?"

“Where do they get all that extra food?”

When the emperor heard the news, he was furious: "Well, well, one by one, you have hidden it from me so well, right?

Send me an order to find out the source of the food. If they can't explain it clearly, I will punish them."

This was the case with Duke Xuan of Qi, and so was Hou Yuanji.

That’s great.

Soon, there was a reply to the message.

"Your Majesty, according to General Hou, they sold the Marquis's Mansion, the ancestral home, and even all the family heirlooms to raise enough money to buy food."