“Understandable, going to war? Aren’t we common folk the ones who suffer? Xiaofang, don’t forget your own husband and eldest son!” someone said scornfully.

“Exactly.” Someone else immediately agreed.

“Bringing a bit of grain over, and thinking that’ll buy people’s hearts? If it weren’t for them, would our lives have ended up like this?”

Though some harbored resentment in their hearts, having eaten another’s food, they couldn’t say too much.

The former village head, an elderly man, said nothing, and the villagers didn’t dare speak up further either.

The peasant woman Xiaofang thought of her own shattered family, and her heart ached; she lowered her head and said nothing.

The former village head lifted his water pouch and took a sip, sighing softly.

The scene was very quiet, and the old man’s sigh was loud enough that everyone couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

The former village head shook his head and said, “Throughout the generations, the Feng Clan has always been ruled by a Feng son or a Feng daughter.”

“There’s long been a rumor among the common folk that the current emperor isn’t actually a true Feng son. The rightful Feng heir of their generation was Prince Ye.”

“Back then, the late emperor did indeed designate Prince Ye as the rightful heir, and rumor has it Prince Ye left the palace to avoid a marriage arranged by the late emperor.”

“In the end, the late emperor passed away and the current emperor ascended the throne. For a long time afterward, the common folk had no news of Prince Ye at all.”

“After some unknown length of time, Prince Ye returned to court. He didn’t fight for power, only working to expand territory for the Feng Clan and stabilize the borders, without a single complaint.”

“It was only up until today that he finally started this civil war. If there weren’t some unavoidable reason behind it, I truly can’t understand it.”

“If that’s the case, then what the Commandery Princess said isn’t false,” another elderly man softly agreed.

He sighed and continued, “The emperor has ruled the Feng Clan for so many years, and the gap between rich and poor among our people has only grown wider.”

“Among the wealthy, extravagance and waste are everywhere, yet in poor regions, no matter how hard the common folk work, they can barely maintain enough to eat, let alone afford to fall ill.”

“Even though we’re north of Songjiang, right under the emperor’s feet, the lives of many of our people aren’t even as good as those south of Songjiang.”

“They have no emperor governing them directly. As long as the city lord does his job well and taxes aren’t too heavy, the common folk’s lives can still be good.”

“Sigh…” the old man sighed again. “Looking at how things have turned out today, it does seem there’s a reason behind it all.”

“One battle, and the emperor abandoned us without a second thought. Is an emperor like that really worth our support?”

“The Commandery Princess came to distribute grain, and everyone thought she was up to no good, like a weasel wishing New Year’s greetings to a chicken. But what has the emperor we’ve always supported actually done?”

“He exploited every last bit of value we had, then abandoned us, left us with no care at all!”

“The Commandery Princess is the victorious side, yet after entering the city, not only did she pay real silver for the grain, she even personally came to this desolate place to distribute it.”

“Who’s sincere? Who’s pretending? It’s obvious at a glance.”

“I think the Commandery Princess is a good person.” The peasant woman who had spoken first rubbed her young son’s head.

“After all, we’re of no use to anyone anymore now.” The peasant woman held her food and took her young son’s hand.

“Come on, let’s go see if the Commandery Princess needs any help.”

“Okay.” The young son nodded slightly, holding his portion of food tightly.

The mother and son went into their house, and soon reappeared before everyone.

“We can’t change the fate of the family members who left us, but I believe they’d want us to live well,” the peasant woman said.

“Fellow villagers, since the Commandery Princess hasn’t given up on us, we shouldn’t give up either.”

“That’s right.”

“Well said!”

“Let’s go help!”

The villagers all stood, their faces filled with renewed spirit, and headed inside.