Could this Commandant Qi be the person they're thinking of?

As they were whispering among themselves, several people came out of the house, and the one in the lead was none other than Qi Fang!

These people were full of surprise. How did someone from Mianzhou end up in Changzhou?

Moreover, Qi Fang actually acted very respectfully towards the goddess!

It seems they were wrong after all!

This goddess is indeed quite capable!

Lin Ru had ordered her men to carry all the corpses out of the courtyard!

Then he continued to the officials in Changzhou: "Changzhou is now beset by internal and external troubles!"

"Even if I personally intervene, the Marquis of Zhenbei will not withdraw his troops!"

"His goal is actually the same as that of the Marquis of Zhenxi!"

"So, I'm sure everyone knows why we chose Changzhou!"

"That's because Changzhou is a relatively small place, and its military strength is even weaker!"

"But now that we have Mianzhou as our backing, I believe that even if Marquis Zhenbei still wants to compete with us, he will have to consider whether he has the ability to do so!"

"Since you've all chosen to follow me, I'll tell you the real story!"

"Now Mianzhou and Luzhou are both my territory, and with Changzhou added, the three prefectures are mutually dependent!"

"Neither the Marquis of Zhenxi nor the Marquis of Zhenbei can confront us head-on!"

"And I don't need you to do anything special, I just need you to stick to your own duties!"

"If I find out who betrayed me, you know what will happen!"

After she finished speaking, she instructed her attendants to give each of the people below a pill!

"These are extraordinary times! Although I trust you completely, we must remain cautious for the sake of future stability! Once you've taken these pills, we'll be in the same boat!"

"Don't worry! I absolutely don't want your lives! Otherwise, I would have killed you all with one stroke just now! Why am I wasting my breath talking to you now!"

"However, you can also choose not to eat it!"

Those people looked at the pills in their hands and scrambled to eat them. They had already guessed what kind of medicine it was, but eating it might give them a glimmer of hope, while not eating it meant certain death awaited them!

Lin Ru nodded as she saw how obedient they were!

"Hmm! Very good! If only you had been this obedient sooner! You wouldn't have had to suffer so much!"

"By the way! Don't even think about going outside to find a doctor to help you detoxify!"

"I am a goddess sent down from heaven!"

“I know everything you do.”

"So don't try to pull any tricks on me!"

"The next steps will be discussed with you by General Lu and Commandant Qi!"

"Let's all think about how to defend against foreign enemies!"

Suddenly, a person stepped forward from the crowd and said somewhat awkwardly, "Goddess! Will you really pray for rain tomorrow?"

"When King Kang was still alive, he arrested many refugees, conscripted all the men into the army, forced all the women into hard labor, and concentrated their children in one place!"

“I went to see them a few days ago, and those children were already skin and bones; they hadn’t eaten for many days!”

"Actually, these refugees originally had some money, but all of it was plundered by Prince Kang's men!"

"Public discontent is boiling over!"

"I want to say that if you can really pray for rain tomorrow, I hope you can go and see those children! Don't let them all starve to death! And don't let the soldiers lose heart!"

Lin Ru had just stood up to leave when she heard this, so she stopped and slowly walked up to the person!

"Your name is Fu Ji?"

Fu Ji struggled to control his trembling body and replied respectfully, "This humble official is indeed so!"

Lin Ru nodded!

"Hmm! You're very good! I'll remember you! Go to the Prince of Kang's granary now and take out two thousand catties of grain for those children to eat!"

"I have other plans for them!"

Don't worry!

Fu Ji said those words with the mindset that he was doomed to die. After all, he had mentioned this matter to Prince Kang countless times before, but each time he was beaten black and blue and then thrown out!

The thing he had been thinking about all this time suddenly came to pass, which moved him deeply!

He sincerely kowtowed three times to Lin Ru, "Goddess! On behalf of those children and those innocent refugees, thank you!"

Lin Ru smiled and helped him up herself!

"Alright, get up now. But I'm leaving this to you. If you mess it up, I won't let you off the hook!"

Fu Ji was helped up by the goddess herself, and he almost cried. He was so flattered!

He repeatedly assured him, "I will definitely do a good job! I promise I won't let you down!"

Lin Ru smiled at him, took out a gold leaf from her sleeve, and handed it to him.

"This is a reward for your advice!"

"Although it's not much, as long as you do well, the rewards you receive in the future will be a thousand times, ten thousand times more!"

Fu Ji excitedly accepted the gold leaf; this was the first time he had ever received a reward!

In fact, he was just a very low-ranking official. The reason he was able to come here was because his superior heard that the Marquis of Zhenbei was coming, so he ran away. As a result, he took over his superior's position and discovered the plight of the refugees and the poor children!

Thinking of this, he almost burst into tears. He suddenly realized that all the suffering, oppression, and ridicule he had endured before were for the sake of waiting for the goddess to arrive today!

Lin Ru saw him with snot and tears streaming down his face, as if he had suffered a great injustice!

He quickly took out another gold leaf from his pocket!

"Don't cry, I'll give you another one!"

When Fu Ji saw the extra gold leaf in his hand, he cried even louder!

Lin Ru quickly stuffed a third, a fourth, and a fifth one into his hand!

Every time she stuffed one into his mouth, Fu Ji would cry even louder!

It was as if he wanted to vent all the frustration, suppression, and humiliation he had suffered over the years!

Those kneeling officials, seeing the gold leaves flowing into Fu Ji's hands like water, were filled with envy and gnashed their teeth!

I thought to myself, I really didn't realize this kid was so young, but he's quite good at playing the victim!

They were wondering if they should cry too!

Perhaps you can also get some gold leaves!

However, the thought had barely flashed through their minds when the strong smell of blood in their noses pulled them back to reality!

They all knew what Fu Jiwo had mentioned, but none of them dared to tell the goddess!

Now they deserve to be valued!

Lin Ru watched him with snot and tears streaming down her face!