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Deep within the palace of Jinling, the fragrance of Wushisan mixed with ambergris made people drowsy.

The emperor leaned against the couch, veins bulging on his forehead, his head throbbing with pain. The empress knelt beside him, her fingertips gently pressing his temples, her voice as soft as honey dipped in poison: "Your Majesty, the borders are now secure, and Northern Qi dares not act rashly. Keeping Prince Jing and that brat from the Chu family alive... will ultimately be a disaster."

"What trouble can two young lads cause?" The emperor said lazily, his eyes closed. "Since they have the ability to return alive from Northern Qi, let them stay there to deter Northern Qi. It will also pave the way for our Qi'er."

"But Lord Chu Zhongyue and Lord Chu Zhonghe said..." the Empress lowered her voice, "that Chu Zhongling and his son have long harbored ulterior motives. If they were to gain military power, it's hard to guarantee they wouldn't support Prince Jing..."

The emperor suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in his cloudy gaze: "Chu Zhongling—I stripped him of his military power and put him in charge of the Imperial Guards. Does he still not know how to repent?"

The Empress sighed softly, "And then there's Princess Anning. The Empress Dowager used to dote on her so much, but now that the Empress Dowager is gone, she moves around the capital so frequently, it's inevitable..."

"Guards!" The emperor sat up from his couch. "Summon Princess Anning to the palace to speak with me."

——

When Princess Anning stepped into the Zichen Palace, all the palace servants had already been removed.

Emperor Su Yan sat on the dragon throne, his face gloomy, his fingertips tapping the armrests, each sound like the death knell of the water clock.

"Your Majesty," Zheng Shuyi said, bowing calmly.

Su Yan stared at her, then suddenly smiled: "Sister, haven't I treated you well?"

Zheng Shuyi replied with confusion, "Your Majesty's kindness is something I will always remember."

"But your son—" Su Yan slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to overturn, "is he training troops in Luoyang with Su Jing, planning a rebellion?!"

Zheng Shuyi slowly knelt down, her back ramrod straight: "Yiran is merely following orders to guard the border; he has no ulterior motives."

"Absolutely no disloyalty?" Su Yan sneered. "Should I rip his heart out and take a look?"

"Your Majesty—!" Zheng Shuyi panicked, kneeling to Su Yan's side and hugging his legs, crying, "Your Majesty, I only have this one son. I suffered a severe hemorrhage and gave birth to A-Ran after three days and three nights of labor. I beg you, A-Ran is just a child, please spare him!"

“Anning,” Su Yan’s tone suddenly softened, “neither you nor I are the Empress Dowager’s biological children… It’s laughable, really. Back then, the Empress Dowager schemed to almost wipe out the late Emperor’s lineage, but she herself was in poor health and couldn’t have children. So she had to choose me from the imperial clan and you from her maternal family, using adoption to create the illusion of having both a son and a daughter, and having children to dote on her…”

"More than thirty years have passed. Now that the Empress Dowager is gone, haven't we had enough of this charade of brotherly and sisterly affection?" The Emperor stared at her, then suddenly reached out and grabbed her chin, the force almost crushing her bones: "I have bestowed upon you the title of Princess Anning, providing you with a life of luxury. Now it is time for you to protect the peace of this realm for me, isn't it?"

He released her hand, flicked his sleeve, and left: "Guards, proclaim my decree: Princess Anning, overcome with grief over the Empress Dowager's passing, has requested to enter the palace to reside permanently in Cining Palace to observe mourning for her mother."

——

On the day Chu Yiran set off back to Jinling, a light rain was falling in Luoyang. He didn't ask Su Jing if she would come along, nor did he even say goodbye.

Su Jing has a plan in mind, and his great revenge is yet to be taken. Why would he risk returning to Jinling for him? He took it for granted.

Huo Yan, leading his horse, waited outside the city. Seeing him emerge alone, he frowned slightly: "Your Highness, won't you see the general off?"

Chu Yiran mounted his horse and said calmly, "He has his own things to do."

They were not allowed to bring weapons and troops back to Jinling this time, so Su Jing had no choice but to order Huo Yan to take a few personal guards to escort Chu Yiran back.

Along the official road heading north, Chu Yiran frowned as he stared at the six bulging bundles on Huo Yan's horse, with half a sesame seed cake peeking out from the open corner. Even the spirited horse was panting heavily under the weight.

Chu Yiran asked, puzzled, "Why did you bring so much dry food?"

Huo Yan chuckled dryly, a hint of guilt showing on his bronze face: "Prince Jing is worried you'll go hungry..."

As he spoke, the horse's hooves lurched, as if it could no longer support itself.

Chu Yiran: "..."

Is he a pig?

Anyway, he could never guess what Su Jing was thinking, so Chu Yiran didn't ask any more questions and just spurred his horse forward.

However, during the rest of the trip, apart from their daily meals and drinks, Chu Yiran discovered that the dry rations Huo Yan had brought were being consumed very quickly.

Chu Yiran was puzzled until one night when he was camping. He pretended to be asleep and heard Huo Yan quietly get up, unpack his bundle, take out some dry food, and disappear into the wilderness.

Chu Yiran followed from a distance, and through the cover of the grass, he could vaguely see Huo Yan's figure beside a pile of broken bricks and tiles, giving away sesame cakes to the disaster victims around him.

A slight softening occurred to Chu Yiran, and he quietly turned and left.

It turns out that person... wasn't heartless after all.

The closer to Nanjing, the more refugees there were in the surrounding area.

A emaciated child huddled in his mother's arms, sucking his withered fingers; an old man used his last strength to dig up grass roots; and a pale, emaciated man struggled to drag a plow forward, while his wife and children, starving and unconscious, lay on the plow in a deep sleep...

By the time the majestic city walls of Nanjing appeared on the horizon, a large number of refugees suffering from famine had already emerged outside the city.

The city gates were heavily guarded. People entering and leaving had their travel permits and belongings checked one by one. Refugees were strictly forbidden from entering the city and could only lay out straw mats and wait at the foot of the city wall.

Looking at the scene before him, Chu Yiran sighed. He hadn't expected the disaster to be so severe.

After a long silence, Chu Yiran said to those behind him, "Let's go inside."

Huo Yan suddenly grabbed Chu Yiran: "General, please wait here for a moment."

Having said that, he spurred his horse towards the crowd of refugees, kicking up dust with his scabbard and shouting, "The government is distributing porridge in the south of the city! Only by rushing into the city can we survive!"

Upon hearing this, the refugees surged frantically towards the city gate, but the guards frantically tried to stop them: "Back off! No one is allowed into the city!"

In the crowd, a disaster victim waved his arm and shouted: "We've been here for so long, some are starving, some are dying, and the government doesn't care about us at all!"

Immediately, someone echoed, "That's right! Are we just going to wait to die? With the Emperor in charge of Jinling City, there will definitely be food!"

Upon hearing this, the disaster victims immediately became agitated and rushed into the city gates like madmen. The soldiers guarding the city were forced to retreat step by step, and some soldiers even tried to close the city gates.

"The city gates are closing! Everyone, hurry up and get in!"

The refugees were in an uproar when suddenly a soldier drew his sword and slashed down two refugees, shouting with his blood-stained blade, "Those who dare to step forward die! Let's see who dares to come forward!"

The atmosphere froze for a moment. Chu Yiran frowned, raised his whip and was about to rush over, but Huo Yan, who had arrived, held the reins firmly.

"Is this the scene Prince Jing wanted?" Chu Yiran sneered. "What exactly does Su Jing want to do by bringing these refugees here? They are all defenseless commoners; how can they possibly stand up to the government troops?"

Huo Yan said quietly, "Today is April 21st. Does the general remember what day it is?"

Something flashed through his mind, and Chu Yiran blurted out: "The results of the imperial examinations?"

“That’s right,” Huo Yan explained, “The prince ordered these refugees to follow us so that they would swarm in front of the examination hall and cause a ruckus, making it known to all the scholars in the land that the government is ruthless…”

Chu Yiran frowned: "He wants to use intellectuals to launch a verbal attack against his superiors?"

Huo Yan nodded.

Chu Yiran then asked, "You brought quite a lot of dry rations, but there are many refugees. How did you manage to attract so many people together?"

Huo Yan whispered, "General, the Prince instructed—don't give too much."

Chu Yiran was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"As long as you break the sesame cakes into small pieces and distribute them to the refugees, but always control the quantity, it will just be enough to keep them going until they reach Nanjing, but they won't live much longer..."

"Isn't anyone else going to compete for it?"

"His Highness instructed that anyone who tries to fight or cause trouble should be killed."

Chu Yiran's heart grew colder with each word he heard. Huo Yan continued, "The Prince said that the General is soft-hearted, and if he knew the truth, he would definitely help him with everything he had... In that case, they wouldn't even survive to reach Jinling."

Chu Yiran remained silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "He's capable of great things."

—But it was too ruthless.

As he spoke, Huo Yan's personal guards, whom he had planted among the refugees, began to shout and cause trouble: "The soldiers are killing people! The soldiers are killing people!"

These words were like a cannon shot fired in the silence, and the refugees began to stir and crowd again. Several "refugees" mixed in with the crowd rushed forward nimbly to resist the government soldiers, and the city gate of Nanjing was smashed open like a gaping maw.

——

Zhuque Street was teeming with candidates and their servants, dressed in fine silks and satins; countless heads adorned with jade crowns peered out of teahouse windows; and the alleyways were jammed with carriages and horses. Suddenly, a dark mass of refugees surged in like a tidal wave bursting its banks—

"Porridge is being distributed! Grain is being distributed in front of the examination hall!" Several voices sharply incited the crowd.

The starving refugees surged forward in a frenzy, colliding with the scholars who were looking at the notice board. Silks were torn by filthy fingers, jade crowns rolled into the mud, and an old man with white hair was suddenly knocked down and trampled to death in an instant.

Chu Yiran, who was reining in his horse at the street corner, suddenly drew his long whip and lashed it at the crowd: "Get back! All of you, get back!"

The whip caught a refugee who was about to trample a child, but was immediately overwhelmed by the even more frenzied crowd. A woman, holding an infant, knelt before the scholar, weeping: "Husband, please have mercy, give the child some food!"

The scholar was so frightened that he staggered backward, trembling as he pulled out some silver coins from his pocket.

The next moment, the money in their hands was snatched away, and more refugees surrounded them, wailing, "Sir, please have mercy and give us some too..."

Chu Yiran dismounted and tried to use his body to separate himself from the frenzied crowd, but he could only be swept along by them.

People kept being trampled and fell to the ground, and those fighting over the money bumped into each other until their heads were bleeding. The stench of blood instantly spread throughout the entire Suzaku Street.

The soldiers finally arrived to restore order. The refugees were violently escorted away with knives and guns, and the captain shouted, "If any troublemakers rebel, kill them without mercy!"

Huo Yan's personal guards then led the shouting, "Is the government abandoning us? Where has all the disaster relief grain from the imperial court gone?"

"Yes!" someone immediately chimed in. "Where have the current prime minister Chu Zhongyue, the minister of revenue Chu Zhonghe, the granary official Xie Zheng, the imperial inspector Wei Sizhao... gone off to have some fun?"

The names were called out clearly one by one, and one scholar angrily exclaimed, "They must have embezzled it!"

"That's right! These officials are just drawing salaries for nothing! They remain unmoved even as corpses of the starving are everywhere!"

...

In the chaos, a thin scholar suddenly stood on the stone lion and laughed maniacally: "The classics! What's the point of reading the classics! Studying is useless—we might as well tear down this examination hall and use it as a stove!"