After sitting down and taking a bite, he paused for a moment, then shoved a large mouthful of rice into his mouth.
"How can this rice be so fragrant and sweet? I have never eaten such delicious rice before!"
Everyone turned to look at Jin Shu.
Jin Shu had already put down her chopsticks, and she slowly wiped her mouth.
"It might be a celestial phenomenon, a sign from God. If rice can be grown on dry land within two months, what else is so strange about it?"
Jin Shu is right.
The prolonged drought is unprecedented in the last hundred years, and rice cultivation in dry land is even more unheard of in the last thousand years.
With so many strange things happening in the world these days, having a sweet and delicious bowl of rice is certainly not a bad thing.
Since these are all inexplicable things, let's just attribute them all to fate.
Magistrate Jin originally had something to say, but because the food in his hand was so delicious, with the aroma uncontrollably wafting into his nose, he simply put everything aside and decided to eat his fill first.
The whole pot of rice was eaten clean by Zhang Shixu and Magistrate Jin after Zhang Shixu arrived.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Magistrate Jin finally had time to talk about some serious matters.
"The news has been received in the capital. Li Yong has learned about the situation in He'an County and immediately dispatched 50,000 troops. Those troops have now arrived at Lu Pass and are expected to reach the Huai River in two days."
Zhang Shixu nodded.
"This was something we expected. Given Li Yong's temperament, he would never tolerate it. So even though the situation is turbulent now, he will spare no effort to come and attack us."
Isn't this exactly what we wanted?
Everything was going as expected, so even with the army approaching, the atmosphere at the table wasn't too tense. In fact, a long, loud burp from Kim Soo-an even caused a burst of laughter.
Magistrate Jin sighed.
"To be honest, I feel much more relaxed after deciding not to rely on the Li family anymore. I originally wanted to protect myself and didn't want to be entangled in officialdom but was forced to take sides. After taking sides, I was even more terrified and couldn't sleep at night, fearing that one day the situation would be settled and we would all suffer."
Now things are better. Regardless of success or failure, I only care about myself. Although I'm still panicked, I feel much more at ease.
Magistrate Jin's words reflected his personal experience.
But he had more ambition and drive than Magistrate Jin.
The members of the Li family were all jealous of his talent and ability, fearing that their minister was too outstanding, and they had been suppressing him intentionally or unintentionally.
Now he is like a dragon swimming in the sea, free and unrestrained, finally able to fully display his talents and ambitions.
After Magistrate Jin finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something.
"Where is Aqi? Why haven't I seen her today?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Shouan quickly wiped his mouth clean and swallowed the last bite of food.
"That's what I wanted to say too. Today I went out of the city gate to deal with those unruly refugees, and Aqi somehow slipped out with me. I originally wanted to bring her back, but at this moment I have to mention someone else, someone we all know, Jin Chuyao."
She didn't know how she became a refugee too, and tried to queue up to enter the city by mingling with a group of people, but I found her and stopped her at the gate.
As a result, Aqi saw Jin Chuyao and insisted on letting her into the city, otherwise she would stay outside the city with Jin Chuyao and starve to death.
I couldn't persuade her anymore, and in the end, I got so angry that I just left her outside the city gate.
Don't worry, I've already sent people to keep an eye on her secretly; nothing will happen to her.
Jin Shou'an had already told everyone about Jin Chuyao's actions, including her attempt to instigate wolves to kill her and her brother.
This kind of person is truly wicked to the core. If she is allowed to live, she will definitely try every means to continue doing bad things in the future. Therefore, even Madam Jin, who usually dotes on her the most, said directly that if they meet again in the future, they will be irreconcilable enemies.
They painstakingly raised her for over a decade, treating her with the same standards and privileges as a young lady of the household, only to end up with a traitorous, heartless wretch.
Madam Jin was so angry about this incident that she didn't eat for several meals. Today, when she heard Jin Chuyao's name again, her face immediately darkened.
“Aqi is really being unreasonable. Since she wants to go with Jin Chuyao, then let her go! Also, call back the guards who were sent to protect her. Don’t worry about her!”
“Mother, my little sister has been spoiled by you and Father! I think A-Shu is right. My little sister understands everything. She knows we will miss her and that we can’t just stand by and watch her suffer outside. So she’s trying to use this method to force us to accept Jin Chuyao.”
Jin Shouan felt a lump in his throat from the thought of Jin Qi, whom he couldn't pull back from outside the city gate that morning.
That little bastard! Not only can he not distinguish right from wrong, but he also has the audacity to say that he will never go back to the Jin family and will not acknowledge him as his brother. What a depraved thing to say!
Of course, Jin Shou'an didn't say these things at the dinner table, because he was worried that saying them would upset his mother and cause her serious illness.
Now even Magistrate Jin, who dotes on Jin Qi the most, is no longer protecting her.
"Let her suffer outside this time! No one is allowed to be soft-hearted. She can only come back when she realizes her mistake!"
Throughout the entire process, Jin Shu listened silently without uttering a single comment.
By this time, the Jin family members who were supposed to awaken had already awakened, so there was no need for her to say anything more nonsense.
What she needs to consider more now is Li Yong's 50,000-strong army.
Any war will inevitably lead to turmoil and affect the lives and safety of the people in He'an County.
Jin Shu kept her mission firmly in mind, which was to protect all the people in the county, so she naturally couldn't let this battle break out.
So that night, during her time of stillness, Jin Shu walked across the moat and then walked for more than ten miles before seeing Li Yong's army of 50,000.
It was a massive and impressive procession, and it was clear that Li Yong was truly enraged.
Jin Shu quickly found the tent camp where the food supplies were stored, which was piled up with grain.
She certainly couldn't move all the grain by herself in just one night, but burning it would be a waste, given the current food shortage. Jin Shu couldn't do something so cruel.
Since that's the case, there's only one way.
Jin Shu used up all her time in stillness to push all the grain, totaling more than 100 carts and about 10 tons, from the camp to the foot of the mountain not far away.
She is strong and has plenty of stamina; she has plenty of time to move her slowly.
As soon as the stillness ended, Jin Shu summoned the wolf king and, at his command, the pack of wolves descended the mountain, carrying their provisions and quickly disappeared into the deep forest.
(End of this chapter)
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