Chapter 59

"What brings you here, Lord Hong?"

Regardless of what Yuan Qiong was thinking, she remained expressionless on the surface.

Hong Xin gazed at the beautiful woman before her, her expression shifting several times, filled with deep regret: "I underestimated this young lady."

This woman, who calls herself Wang Yao, was of unknown origin and shrouded in mystery. Now, she's managed to force the prefect to back down—that's no ordinary feat! All of this makes Hong Xin think deeply…

"Did you plan this trip to the provincial capital of Jiangbei all along?"

“I don’t understand what Lord Hong is saying.” Yuan Qiong was very sleepy and irritable, and too lazy to beat around the bush, so she said bluntly, “I was personally rescued from prison by Lord Hong. You are my benefactor. Let’s be frank. Your identity is not simple, and you care a lot about the refugees outside the city. You patrol the city gates several times a day. You must have something in mind.”

She'd seen far too many people like that. Weren't all the people around her grandfather masters of manipulating people's hearts? Hong Xin's skills were still a bit too naive compared to hers.

"My lord, you have brought your troops here today simply because my actions have disrupted your plans and threatened your interests. I do not know what those interests are, nor am I interested in knowing. Since you were a step too slow and my actions have already spread, you cannot harm me now."

"Heh, is this young lady threatening me?"

"Yes!" Yuan Qiong nodded without any attempt to hide her feelings. What can you do about it? Go ahead and bite me if you dare.

Hong Xin doesn't know her background and doesn't dare to act rashly, so she naturally can't show weakness!

If she could just get through these two days and complete the transaction with the people of Fengyunxu, she would no longer be afraid of being forced into a corner by Hong Xin and the others. As for the bargaining chips in the transaction with Fengyunxu... that's what she's going to do today!

Hong Xin glanced at Yuan Qiong, then at the extremely wary scholars and commoners around her, and felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow it, choking herself half to death.

Yuan Qiong ignored him and turned to go into the tent. She hadn't had enough sleep yet!

As Hong Xin watched her retreating figure, her anger vanished completely, replaced by a roguish smile.

As expected, his wife still has such a strong personality, which he likes!

"You all stay here and keep watch, don't give any thieves a chance to steal the grain!"

"promise."

If he can't touch her, then he won't touch her! As long as he marries her, everything will still be his, right? Hong Xin whistled happily and strode away.

**

At the gate of the Prince Cheng's mansion in the capital of Yan, a beautiful woman with an expressionless face and disheveled hair walked slowly by, pulling a long, blood-dripping knife. The tip of the knife made a piercing sound as it scraped the ground. Two corpses lay on the ground, and dozens of guards surrounded her warily but dared not attack.

A disabled man in a wheelchair sat upright on the high steps of the mansion gate, staring at a woman filled with hatred. His cold, handsome face remained expressionless.

“A-Luo.......”

The woman's eyes turned bloodshot from the soft call, and she roared in anguish, "Yuwen Zhe, you deserve to die—" before raising her knife and slashing at the guard in front of her.

All the love and hate between us ended in the previous life. I forgive you, and I forgive myself.

But... why won't you let me go?!

Why did you kill him?!

"Pfft!" The long knife pierced her flesh, and blood splattered all over Yuan Liuniang's face. Her hateful eyes seemed to have returned to her previous life, to the moment when her daughter died and she lost everything.

"I hate it so much—ah!!!"

Ah Luo.......

Why bother?

You shouldn't be like this...

Yuwen Zhe looked at the woman covered in blood, who was fighting wildly in the crowd, and his eyes showed both pain and pity.

**

When Yuan Qiong finally got out of bed after a good night's sleep, everything outside the city was almost ready. She began to call on the local people and the soldiers left behind by Hong Xin to start transporting grain out of the city.

When dozens of large pots were set up inside the soup kitchen, it successfully attracted the attention of the refugees in the camp. They naturally saw the food trucks unloading sacks of food outside the soup kitchen.

When dozens of women who came to help cook porridge opened the bags, the sight of white flour and rice grains instantly drove the refugees wild!

"Ah!!! Food!!! That's food!!!"

"food!!"

"There's food?!"

They surged forward, trying to break out of the refugee camp. At this moment, the sturdy thick net and iron gate finally played their due role, trapping the refugees inside like fish caught in a net, none of them able to swim out.

Han Qinghou hung the "Yaochi" characters he had prepared beforehand on each porridge stall, grinned at Wang Yao, and said, "Miss Wang Yao, you don't mind using your name to name it, do you?"

People of noble character usually do good deeds anonymously, and Han Qinghou was afraid that she would be unhappy.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Qiong replied nonchalantly, "It's alright, use it."

Doing good deeds anonymously? Haha... Sorry, she's a politician, not a hermit! She wouldn't do something so foolish as to seek neither fame nor fortune!

"Miss Wang Yao is indeed extraordinary. So unpretentious and not aloof at all, she is truly a remarkable woman of her time!" Han Qinghou and the others praised her sincerely. Yuan Qiong smiled slightly, and once again gained a profound understanding of the skill of scholars in praising others.

Author's Note: Sorry, everyone, this chapter is a bit short. You can save it for later and I'll make it up tomorrow.

Like the previous book, this book was originally intended as a practice piece, and was planned to start in February of this year and finish in June. However, due to a job transfer in real life, it was never started. Later, because of the long interval, I lost the inspiration to write.

But don't worry, my darlings, I promise I won't abandon this project; I will definitely finish it. My next book is a lighthearted and funny story, and I will definitely start writing it as soon as possible. I can't make the same mistakes I did with the previous two books.

Thank you to all the friends who have followed along the way. Please believe that this humble author will definitely improve. Thank you!