Jing Qingyun calmly observed the villagers for a moment, then dismounted and bowed respectfully.

"Gentlemen, we are from the capital city and are passing through on our way to Yucheng County. Please do not misunderstand, we have no ill intentions. Please do us a favor and let us pass."

The burly man snorted coldly, raised the rake in his hand in a defensive posture, and looked at Jing Qingyun with eyes full of anger.

"What nonsense about people from the imperial city and passing through here? We don't believe a word of it. Get out of Stone Village now, or don't blame us for being impolite."

The other villagers raised their farm tools, their eyes red and glaring angrily, and echoed:

"Yes, get out of Stone Village right now. We'll never trust you people again."

"Get out of here! Our Stone Village is already poor. We've been robbed by refugees before, and now we can't even feed ourselves. Get out of here and don't come back to Stone Village."

"Yes, leave Stone Village quickly, or don't blame us for using force."

"..."

Jing Qingyun roughly understood the situation from the villagers' words, no wonder the people of Stone Village were so resistant to their group.

Jing Qingyun sighed and said in a gentle tone, "Everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is Jing Qingyun."

"What? Jing Qingyun?"

The burly man exclaimed in surprise, his eyes filled with disbelief, "Jing Qingyun is Prince Jing of our Northern Qi Kingdom, could you be Prince Jing?"

Jing Qingyun smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's me."

Upon receiving a positive answer, the villagers of Stone Village were immediately in an uproar, their eyes filled with doubt, scrutiny, shock, and disbelief.

Without exception, the farm tools in their hands remained in a defensive posture.

The burly man suppressed the shock in his eyes and frowned as he asked Jing Qingyun, "You say you are Prince Jing, so do you have any evidence to prove your identity?"

Jing Qingyun habitually touched his waist, only to find nothing there, and his expression instantly stiffened.

It was only at this moment that he remembered that the jade pendant symbolizing his identity had been taken away by the dog emperor when he was escorted back to the capital.

Now, the only thing that seems to prove his identity, besides them, is the imperial pardon that Sheng Haoyu gave him.

However, the imperial edict was not on him; it had long been entrusted to Weiwei for safekeeping.

He is now a prince without any power or resources, having nothing at all.

“I can prove his identity.”

Wearing a long red dress embroidered with gold thread, Sheng Lingwei walked slowly towards the villagers with light steps.

Behind her followed five people, including Rong Momo. As for Nangong Zichen, Fang Xiuer, and Luo Xingyuan, they had already been packed up and sent into the space to cultivate their supernatural abilities.

Normally, the three of them would definitely be there.

Jing Qingyun looked at the domineering young girl beside her and smiled gently, "Weiwei, why did you get off the carriage?"

Sheng Lingwei glanced at Jing Qingyun and quickly stuffed the jade token in her hand into his hand. "Here you go, return it to its rightful owner. Remember to take good care of your identity token in the future and don't lose it."

Jing Qingyun was stunned. He looked down at the identity card that belonged to him in his palm, his eyebrows and eyes almost forming a line with laughter.

"Okay, I've got it."

With a smile like that of an aunt, Rong Momo coughed lightly and said to the villagers, "Princess Chang Le is here, so please refrain from being rude."

"What? Princess Chang Le?"

The villagers of Stone Village were visibly shaken. The thought of the rumors they had heard about Princess Chang Le made their legs tremble.

"Village chief, what... what should we do now?"

The burly man was the village chief the villagers were talking about.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, before cautiously glancing at Sheng Lingwei.

When he clearly saw the beauty mark between his eyebrows, his heart skipped a beat, and his legs went weak, causing him to kneel down.

"This humble subject pays respects to Princess Chang Le. May the princess live a thousand years!"

The other villagers were terrified and knelt down in fear, some even bursting into tears.

Oh no, they've really messed with someone important today. They're completely innocent; they were just trying to protect themselves.

Why!

Sheng Lingwei raised her right hand slightly. "Please rise, everyone. Although I have a bad reputation, I will not harm innocent people. You don't need to be worried, or you will only make me unhappy."

"Yes, Princess Chang Le."

The village chief breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly responded loudly before leading the villagers to their shaky feet.

Sheng Lingwei glanced around at everyone and saw that most of the villagers were dressed in rags and were skin and bones. She frowned.

"Has your village run into some trouble?"

The village chief's eyes reddened, and suppressing his sadness and anger, he cupped his hands and replied, "Your Highness, the village was recently hit by a massive hailstorm and then a torrential downpour."

The houses in Stone Village are basically uninhabitable, and the crops in the fields have been destroyed by hail. The villagers were already struggling, and now…

As he spoke, the village chief wiped away a tear, his tone unconsciously tinged with resentment.

"Unexpectedly, the number of refugees increased, and more and more refugees came to Stone Village. We originally took them in out of kindness, but they turned around and stole our last remaining food."

This has made our already difficult days in Stone Village even worse.

Therefore, since then, we have stationed people at the village entrance every day to prevent outsiders from entering, for fear of being robbed again.

Sheng Lingwei and the others suddenly realized, poor thing, isn't this a case of good intentions going unrewarded?

The human heart is the most unpredictable thing in the world!

Sheng Lingwei looked at the village chief, "Are you the village chief of this village?"

The village chief hurriedly bowed and replied, "Yes, Princess Chang Le."

"Hmm." Sheng Lingwei nodded. "Did you report what happened in the village to the authorities? Didn't they care about the displaced people?"

The village chief wore a bitter expression.

“Princess, we went to the yamen to file a complaint when the incident occurred, but the yamen said they were powerless to help and told our village to find a solution ourselves.”

As for the refugees, the government completely ignored them, and they were not allowed to enter the city gate. No relief tents were set up, and the refugees were not allowed to stay at the city gate.

In order to survive, the refugees had no choice but to go to other places to beg for food.

During this period, not only our Stone Village, but also the surrounding villages were ravaged by the refugees.

Our attitude towards refugees is one of pity and resentment. In fact, they are also pitiful people, forced into this situation by the necessities of life.

Alas, we have no food left now. In order for the villagers to survive, we have no choice but to stand firm and resolutely resist the arrival of migrants near the village.

As for how long we can live, we dare not even think about it; we can only say we'll live one more day at a time.

Jing Qingyun's eyes darkened, and the anger in her chest surged.

"As far as I know, the new emperor issued an imperial edict immediately upon ascending the throne, ordering officials in every region to do their utmost to provide disaster relief."

Your Stone Village was not only looted by refugees, but also received no relief food from the government.

It seems your relief grain was embezzled by your county magistrate. Ha, he's incredibly audacious; he's got some nerve!

The villagers of Stone Village were all dumbfounded upon hearing Jing Qingyun's words, their expressions filled with astonishment.

The village chief's lips trembled, his expression bewildered and confused. "A new emperor ascended the throne? When did this happen?"