After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence.
Xu Nian sighed, unsure whether to feel angry or sad for these people.
"Where is the city lord's mansion?" There's no use staying on the city wall now, and it seems the Xiongnu won't be able to get up anytime soon. It's better to do something within her power.
Gu Zhan ordered his men to arrange the duty shifts for the night, and then followed her down the city wall.
Led by the soldier, they arrived at the city lord's mansion, and several days passed. The mansion was uninhabited, yet its former splendor was still evident.
The blue glazed tiles reflected a dazzling luster in the sunlight.
Every building material used was exquisite and tasteful, and even the feng shui layout of the entire courtyard looked like it had been arranged at great expense. The Taihu stones and Qingyun pines in the courtyard would each fetch a hundred taels of gold in the capital!
Deputy General Liu Jun followed behind, speechless. "Good heavens, this place looks even more luxurious than the residences of high-ranking officials in the capital. Just how rich is this city lord? Even the door knockers are gilded."
"The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so it's really impossible to control them." Xu Nian sneered, recalling the dilapidated houses that filled the streets when she first arrived.
Even if the residents are extremely poor, it shouldn't be in such a dilapidated state after only a few years!
It's easy to imagine that this city lord's mansion was built on the blood of countless city dwellers, right under the emperor's nose in the capital. Every official, both civil and military, was extremely cautious, afraid of being found guilty of any wrongdoing.
Even in a proper mansion, one wouldn't dare to display valuable items so blatantly, as it would implicate one's clan.
What's more, there were jade bracelets, kingfisher hairpins, and even some silver notes that they had dropped on the ground in their panic and hadn't had time to pick up!
She touched the exquisitely crafted headdresses in her hands; they were covered in mud, yet their former splendor remained undeniable.
Gu Zhan's brow had been furrowed ever since he entered the city. "Find some people to clean up the city lord's mansion and the houses of those wealthy merchants. Let all the common people move in. Send some of the grain brought by the army to each of them."
"But Marshal, we didn't bring much food with us," Liu Jun said, looking troubled. "We thought there would be supplies in Cangque City, but in this situation, if we give the food to them, our soldiers will have nothing to eat. How are we supposed to fight?"
"Do as I say."
"Wait," Xu Nian stopped Liu Jun. "We don't need the army's rations. You still need to defend your country and can't go hungry. The imperial supplies won't arrive for some time, and as for the people..."
She lowered her head and pondered for a moment. "I do have some food here. But they've been hungry for a long time, and even if we give them food, they probably won't have the strength to cook. Or they might eat too much at once and ruin their health. Deputy General Liu, why don't you gather all the people at the city lord's mansion and tell them that we'll be distributing porridge here? Also, please help me set up a tent and hold a free clinic."
"Where did you get the food from..."
Before Gu Zhan could finish speaking, she tugged at her sleeve, sent the deputy general away to do his work, and the two went into the house.
"When you arrived, you only had one horse and some dry rations," Gu Zhan said as he entered the house. "Where did you get the food to help the disaster victims?"
Xu Nian blinked her eyes, which were full of intelligence. "You don't know that, do you? There is a wonderful technique in our Taoist arts that can make the space inside an object infinitely expand. Look at this, all my things are in this ring."
[Liar! General, don't believe her! The streamer lies without batting an eye!]
[I've studied metaphysics too, but I've never heard of such magic! Aren't you ashamed, streamer?]
[Stop arguing upstairs. What else can the streamer say? Tell the general, "Sorry, I'm from another time, and I have a spatial ability"? Wouldn't the general faint from fright?]
Amidst the back-and-forth of unattended comments, to Gu Zhan's astonishment, she casually grabbed at the ring and produced a perfectly packaged bag of rice.
Then came white flour, coarse grain flour. There were even some vegetables and fruits. Time seemed to stand still in the space, and these things hadn't spoiled at all since she arrived to escape the famine.
Moreover, before setting off, she specially purchased a lot of medicinal herbs and food in the capital, so now she has plenty of supplies!
Even though Gu Zhan was very knowledgeable and knew that Xu Nian was different, he was still shocked for almost a minute when he saw this situation. "No wonder you were always able to produce a continuous supply of food on your journey to escape famine. So that's why."
He had been suspicious for a while, after all, Xu Nian's village didn't seem to be that wealthy.
Now that his doubts were finally resolved, he shook his head and chuckled, looking at the room almost overflowing with grain and quickly stopped them, saying, "That's enough. That's all, enough for them to eat for a while, don't take any more."
Upon hearing this, Xu Nian stopped what she was doing. The two of them found soldiers to carry these things out, and the shed outside the door had already been set up.
Liu Jun had been wondering how much food a princess, a woman, could carry, and that the marshal would inevitably have to use military rations. He was feeling quite anxious when he saw the bags of things being carried out of the house, and his jaw nearly dropped.
"Wait a minute!" His face immediately darkened. "Who gave you permission to take food from the army?! Didn't the princess say she had food on her side?!"
The soldier holding a bag of cornmeal stopped abruptly. "This...this isn't military rations."
"Not military rations?! Who are you trying to fool?! If it's not military rations, where did you get all this food from?"
“These are all what I brought.” Xu Nian heard the commotion outside, exchanged a glance with Gu Zhan, and stepped out of the house. “Does Vice General Liu have any questions?”
"This, this..." The woman's features were already striking, and when she looked at people with her eyes half-closed, she was quite intimidating, especially with Gu Zhan standing beside her. Liu Jun dared not be presumptuous. "I have no doubts. I just didn't expect the princess to have such rich reserves. I've never heard anyone mention it before."
Whether it was Xu Niandi's imagination or not, she always felt that this Deputy General Liu was implying something in his words.
Brushing the dust off her clothes, she slowly descended the steps. "The army has provisions, so naturally they don't need mine. Besides, I shouldn't need to report to Vice General Liu how much I've brought, should I?"
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