"This humble servant has misspoke, please forgive me, Your Highness."

Liu Jun lowered his head, making it impossible for anyone to see the ruthlessness that flashed across his eyes.

Xu Nian didn't intend to do anything right now, she just snorted coldly. Acting like an arrogant and domineering princess, she strode straight towards the gate of the mansion.

At the entrance of the city lord's mansion, the long line of refugees stretched as far as the eye could see. Most of them had been carried there by Liu Jun, and their faces still showed fear.

Staring at the fragrant food bubbling in the pot, they kept swallowing their saliva, but no one dared to step forward to take it.

Wang Er stood to the side, serving bowl after bowl of food to the people, but no one dared to touch it. "Auntie, this was specially ordered by our princess to be made for everyone. There will be food every day from now on. Please eat."

"No, no."

"Stop pretending! Who knows if you've poisoned this place?!"

"Exactly! Do they really think we're easy to bully?! They fooled us the first time and now they want to fool us a second time?!"

"What happened?" Xu Nian turned to look at the veteran from Cangqu City who had been following them. "What poisoning?"

Tian Youde's eyes darted around, but when he met Xu Nian's sharp gaze, he immediately knelt down.

"Princess, spare me! It's truly not my fault. I was forced into this by that man. The city lord's mansion didn't actually have all its people leave; they left a steward behind to prevent anyone from leaking the information. One day, the steward pretended to cook porridge and deliver it to the arriving people, but unexpectedly, unexpectedly..."

No one expected that the porridge that day was poisoned!

Many people died on the spot after drinking the wine. Seeing this, everyone was so frightened that they retreated, their bloodshot eyes staring at the steward.

To their surprise, the other side showed no fear, declaring that if anyone dared to resist, those who had been poisoned would suffer the same fate. The city was not without an army, but unfortunately, they were all used to suppress the people!

If the steward hadn't seen the Xiongnu gathering outside the city in ever-increasing numbers, it would have been impossible to send troops to ask for help!

"Damn it!" Xu Nian was already furious about what she had seen during her escape from famine, but she never expected that there was something even worse!

This group of people really thinks they're local tyrants just because they're located on the border and there's no one to govern them!

His burning anger could not be calmed for a long time. Even Gu Zhan, a general who had seen life and death many times, wished he could kill the steward immediately upon hearing this!

He immediately ordered someone to bring a squad of soldiers to fetch the steward. The steward lived not far away, and he didn't actually have many soldiers under his command.

It was just a bluff to scare people. "However, Marshal, we found these in their courtyard. They must have been disguised as soldiers using straw and scraps of paper."

"Straw?!" Tian Youde exclaimed, "How could it all be straw?! I, I clearly saw at least several hundred people inside!"

He stared blankly at the paper figures and scarecrows that the soldiers were holding, which were no bigger than the palm of his hand, and refused to believe what he was seeing.

Xu Nian glanced at it and immediately saw through the trick: "We share the Big Dipper, and tread upon the winding Yellow River. We swallow beans and no one is seen; we reap beans and we are people. So be it!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the moment she finished chanting the incantation, the tiny figure, which was originally only the size of a palm, suddenly started moving for no apparent reason!

Floating in mid-air, he quickly grew into a burly man as tall as an adult male! However, his eyes were vacant, and he was wearing armor and moved very stiffly.

Many people were terrified. Tian Youde came to his senses and pointed at the people Xu Nian had conjured, shouting, "Yes, that's it! I... I didn't see it clearly that day, but the soldiers I saw were just like that! What... what exactly is going on?"

The butler's face turned pale when he saw Xu Niannian chanting incantations.

At this moment, he just wanted to find some lowly place to crawl into and never be found again! Just who is this woman? She even knows the magic of turning beans into soldiers, and what's more, the paper figures she creates can actually move?!

His heart pounded with fear, and his eyes darted around. Suddenly, he met Xu Nian's gaze. "You'll have to ask this butler. I didn't expect him to be a Xuan Master."

"What's the meaning?"

Gu Zhan looked at the thing that was no different from a real person, and a look of understanding suddenly flashed in his eyes. "These soldiers are all illusions conjured by this steward using straw men and paper figures to intimidate the people."

Xu Nian: "That's right, but his skills aren't up to par. The things he conjures up shouldn't be able to move. When he comes out, he can only bring about 10 or 20 people to make it look like a show, and the rest will stay at home just in case."

“However, these things all have one thing in common.” She lit a spiritual fire in her hand, but the moment it touched the paper figure, the soldier, who appeared tall in people’s eyes, was instantly burned by the flames. “They are afraid of fire and water. Paper will rot if it gets wet, and straw will become heavier. They can only be used to scare these ignorant people.”

After he finished speaking, the villagers finally came to their senses from the shock.

Thinking of their deceased relatives, they wanted nothing more than to tear the butler apart right now! It was all a deception; they had lost such a good opportunity for revenge because of these illusions!

Gu Zhan put his arm around his wife's shoulder and patted her reassuringly, "Take her away and execute her at noon tomorrow."

As the highest-ranking commander in the army, the marshal had the authority to deal with some heinous criminals and to take away those who were crying and shouting.

Xu Nian's cold eyes softened slightly as she turned her gaze to the emaciated people.

It was only a short delay, but the sky had already darkened, and the first bowl of food that had come out of the pot was already a little cold. She picked up a bowl and said, "Fellow villagers, I am the Princess of Fu'an, bestowed by the imperial court, and the wife of the Marshal. Today, I will taste this food for you first, so that you can rest assured."

Before anyone could react, Gu Zhan knew what she was about to do, so he didn't stop her.

Then the anxious people saw the woman, who looked like a fairy in a painting, gulp down the already cold white porridge and swallow it down!

Half an hour later, she was still standing there full of energy!

"Such an important figure actually came to fight for us and even to be our poison tester?!"

The soldiers realized what was happening and hurriedly shouted for help. The civilians, who had also seen with their own eyes that the thing was harmless, rushed forward in droves, already starving!

"Report! Marshal, a large number of Xiongnu have climbed the cliff using ropes and are about to reach the city gate!"

Xu Nian glanced at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, patted Gu Zhan's arm, and said, "Go on, I'll handle things here. We'll deal with both internal and external troubles simultaneously."