When the mournful sound of horns rang out outside the city, the Xiongnu retreated like a receding tide.
The walls of the capital city were littered with corpses.
"The Xiongnu have retreated!"
"We won! We won!"
In an instant, cheers erupted from the city walls.
Xiao Xiuning's tense nerves immediately relaxed, and her body went limp and she almost collapsed.
But the pain in her palm immediately brought her back to her senses.
Looking down, he saw that the quiver was empty, and his once fair and slender hands were marked with several red lines from the bowstring.
Fortunately, we won today! All the effort was worth it.
Covered in blood, Shen Congwu ran over quickly and bowed to Xiao Xiuning.
"If it weren't for the princess's relentless fight to the death, how could we have won this battle!"
Xiao Xiuning responded upon hearing this.
"What merit have I made? It all depends on your desperate battles."
However, just as everyone was rejoicing at having repelled the Xiongnu's attack, Liu Rushi hurriedly arrived at the city wall.
Upon seeing Liu Rushi, Xiao Xiuning asked.
"What happened, Sister Liu? Why are you so flustered?"
Liu Rushi whispered in Xiao Xiuning's ear, and after a moment Xiao Xiuning's face turned cold and she said angrily.
"This is outrageous!"
"Commander Shen!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Congwu clasped his hands in a fist salute.
"Your subordinate is here!"
Xiao Xiuning took a deep breath and said.
"Lead the troops and follow me!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Congwu gave the order without the slightest hesitation.
"I will obey the princess's command!"
On the streets of the capital, crowds of people rushing to buy grain stretched as far as the eye could see.
In front of a rice shop, a servant took down the wooden sign hanging at the door and put it back on.
When the people who came to buy rice saw the numbers written on the wooden sign, they were shocked and angrily exclaimed.
"How did the price of rice double in just fifteen minutes?!"
The servant picked at his ear and said disdainfully.
"You think it's too expensive? I think it's too expensive too!"
"Where can you find rice in the capital now?"
"Do you know that the Xiongnu are besieging the city, and rice from outside can't be brought in at all!"
"If you don't buy it now, the price will go up later!"
Upon hearing this, a woman immediately flew into a rage.
"My husband is fighting desperately against the Xiongnu on the city walls right now, while you are here in the capital, raising grain prices and making a fortune off us! Do you have any conscience?"
The servant sneered upon hearing this.
"Your husband going to town is because he's stupid! If you don't buy my rice, someone else will! Don't block my way to do business!"
The woman was furious upon hearing this! A middle-aged man walked out of the rice shop.
The servant smiled obsequiously upon seeing this.
"Master, you've arrived."
The rice shop owner frowned as he looked at the crowd of people gathered before him.
"Get out of the way if you're not buying rice! Don't do it in front of the people behind you!"
"Let me tell you, if you don't buy it today, you'll have to pay ten times the price tomorrow!"
Upon hearing this, the woman felt a sense of despair.
"My husband and son are currently on the city walls, their fate unknown! You are trying to force us to our deaths!"
Upon hearing this, the rice shop owner stepped forward, grabbed the woman's hair, and said...
"What does it matter to me if your whole family dies? I have the Liu family's business behind me! If you don't buy it, get the hell out of here! Otherwise, I'll..."
Before the rice shop owner could finish speaking, a flash of light appeared!
Immediately, the owner of the rice shop felt a sharp pain in his arm!
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that his arm had been neatly severed!
"Ah! My hand!"
The sudden scene startled all the people present!
The next moment, a clear, cold voice rang out.
"What else can we do?"
The onlookers parted to both sides.
Immediately, a strong stench of blood filled the air.
Xiao Xiuning, covered in blood, walked out slowly, followed by hundreds of Imperial Guards, their faces cold and their armor tattered, who had just escaped from a bloody battle.
The rice shop owner, with his severed hand, lay sprawled on the ground, his blood staining the white rice in front of his shop.
The arrogance from before vanished instantly, replaced by endless fear.
Xiao Xiuning looked down at him with icy eyes and said.
"You've inflated grain prices! You've disturbed public morale! You've disgraced righteous men! Do you know your crimes?!"
The rice shop owner felt a chill run down his spine.
"I...I..."
Overwhelmed by intense fear and pain, the rice shop owner's mind went blank for a moment, and he didn't know how to defend himself.
Xiao Xiuning bent down and helped the woman whose hair had been grabbed up from the ground, then spoke softly.
"Your husband and children are righteous men of the nation! I will never allow anyone to bully you!"
After saying that, Xiao Xiuning glanced sideways and said.
"Commander Shen!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Anyone who inflates grain prices within the capital will be considered a traitor and executed!"
Xiao Xiuning's voice seemed to instantly drop the temperature by tens of degrees!
Upon seeing this, the rice shop assistant was so frightened that he wet his pants and immediately shouted.
"We are all law-abiding citizens. You must provide evidence before you act!"
Shen Congwu slowly drew the blood-stained longsword from his waist and looked at the two pale-faced men in front of him.
"Who do you think you are to discuss evidence with Her Highness the Princess!"
"Don't you all like to bully others with your power? Today, I'll let you taste what it's like to be bullied!"
A flash of light appeared!
The two who were just arrogant and domineering instantly became two corpses!
Blood flowed down the steps, and this swift and decisive action stunned everyone.
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