Government orders spread like a virus throughout the country.

Upon seeing the imperial edict, Jiang Xinwei frowned and slammed her hand on the table, hurting her fingers in the process.

"Jiang Yun dares to do that!!!"

Xiao Ling saw the imperial edict and sighed silently.

He could understand Jiang Xinwei's feelings.

The Third Prince's power base was already unstable, and now is the time when he needs money and troops, so it is only natural for him to collect money and taxes from the people.

Now that Jiang Yun has issued an edict exempting merchants from taxes and commoners from duties, it would be a great loss of popular support for the Third Prince to collect money again.

He took Jiang Xinwei's fingers in his hands and gently blew on them.

"Your Highness, please take good care of your health. The entire army is now under your command. In these turbulent times, Your Highness should take extra care of yourself."

Jiang Xinwei was furious.

"That vile woman Jiang Yun actually kicked me out of the clan genealogy! What virtue or ability does she have? She even claims she's not using the emperor to command the princes. This is proof enough!"

“In that case, why doesn’t Your Highness issue a proclamation denouncing the traitor and let the world know Jiang Yun’s true colors?” Xiao Ling smiled. “Jiang Yun is just playing a game of manipulating people’s hearts. In that case, Your Highness can also use this to retaliate.”

“Excellent! I will have a proclamation drafted immediately, so that the whole world can see how she is so arrogant, bullies the young emperor, and controls the government.”

Having figured this out, Jiang Xinwei felt much better.

"Thanks to your presence, I truly don't know what I would have done without you!"

Xiao Ling lowered his head and smiled.

"Your Highness has shown me great kindness. If it weren't for Your Highness taking me out of that poor and remote place, I would probably have lived out my life in loneliness there. I have no other wish in this life but that Your Majesty will ascend the throne soon and achieve great things."

Jiang Xinwei embraced him, and all her anger vanished.

"I will never betray you in this lifetime."

As the two were talking, a cold laugh came from outside the door.

"Your Highness is indeed a romantic figure. At such a critical moment, you are still thinking about pleasure and enjoyment. You should think more about where your troops and provisions will come from. I don't care whether your Yu Kingdom's troops have food, but my Wu Shui Kingdom's soldiers need to eat meat every meal. The army's provisions can only last for a month. Your Highness should make plans as soon as possible!"

Jiang Xinwei was furious.

Xiao Ling grabbed her arm and shook his head.

After a while, there was no more movement outside the door.

Jiang Xinwei, with nowhere to vent her anger, smashed the furnishings in the room all over the floor.

Xiao Ling said in a low voice, "Your Highness, it's not easy. Wushui Kingdom is ostensibly assisting Your Highness, but in reality, they just want to prolong the chaos in Yu Kingdom so that Wushui Kingdom can take advantage of the situation. Your Highness has already endured for a long time, what's a little more patience? Once Your Highness has secured your position, it's not too late to turn against them then. The most urgent task is to ascend the throne as soon as possible and legitimately recruit wise and resourceful people."

Jiang Xinwei nodded, about to speak.

A soldier outside the door reported this.

"Your Highness, the General of Wushui Kingdom has led a troop out of the city. Judging from their demeanor, they seem to be heading in a hostile direction. I dare not stop them, so I have come to report this. I would appreciate Your Highness's instructions on how to proceed!"

Jiang Xinwei frowned.

"Let her go! As long as she doesn't take a large group of people with her, let her be for now."

Xiao Ling sensed something was wrong, and after a long while, he slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"This is bad. The Wushui Kingdom has a history of burning, killing, and looting. The Wushui Kingdom's general has been in a bad mood these past few days and has been causing trouble. I'm afraid she's taken men to rob and kill the surrounding people. Her robbery is a small matter, but damaging Your Highness's reputation is a big deal. Your Highness should send men to bring her back as soon as possible!"

Jiang Xinwei was consumed by rage.

"Quickly order General Zhou Xiao to give chase!"