“Paying respects to Your Majesty!”

After the others left, Concubine Jiang and the two children hurriedly performed their courtesies.

Chu Hongyu waved his hand, allowing them to rise. “No need for excessive formality. What do you have to say?”

Concubine Jiang got straight to the point. “Your Majesty, that Heavenly Maiden is Concubine Tao from the Xie family!”

Chu Hongyu’s little nose wrinkled. For a moment he couldn’t recall which Concubine Tao, but he knew about the Xie family.

“She’s Xie Shikang’s birth mother!” Xie Xian added. “I remember her scent. It’s definitely Concubine Tao!”

Chu Hongyu’s fingers suddenly froze. “Thank you. You must not spread word of this matter. I must return to the palace first.”

He turned and left, with the eight student attendants quickly following.

The group returned to the palace the same way they had left, arriving before dusk.

Chu Hongyu went to Kunning Palace to find Yun Chu. After dismissing all the palace attendants, he said: “Mother, that Heavenly Maiden is Concubine Tao from the Xie family!”

“What?” Yun Chu was startled. “Is this truly so?”

Chu Hongyu recounted how he had snuck out and encountered Concubine Jiang.

“You…” Yun Chu looked at him. “Didn’t Mother tell you last time that you must never sneak out of the palace again? These are troubled times. Whether you fall into Prince Regent’s hands or Prince Cheng’s hands, you’ll suffer the consequences. You must never do this again. Do you remember?”

Chu Hongyu stuck out his tongue. “I understand, Mother.”

Yun Chu’s expression became much more severe. “If there’s a next time, don’t call me Mother anymore.”

“I truly won’t sneak out of the palace again!” Chu Hongyu raised his hand to swear. “If there’s a next time, then…”

Yun Chu pressed down his hand. “Enough. Brother Jue has been looking for you, his older brother, for a long time. Go inside and play with Brother Jue.”

Chu Hongyu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran into the inner chamber to play with his younger siblings.

Yun Chu summoned Qiutong inside. “Arrange for people to rush to Jizhou with urgent dispatch. Capture all the Xie clan members and have them hand over Xie Shikang. If the Xie clan resists, it’s no matter to kill a few first. You must use the fastest speed to bring Xie Shikang back to the capital!”

Qiutong cupped her hands. “Yes, this subordinate will personally make this trip!”

Yun Chu gave her a command token and had her lead a hundred covert guards to Jizhou.

Jizhou wasn’t far from the capital. Normally traveling by carriage took one day, by horse only half a day. If dispatched with urgent speed, leaving now, they could reach the place before the hai hour.

At the same time, Yun Chu had the court’s people work through the night preparing grain to cook porridge, adding the antidote to the porridge.

As soon as dawn broke, many tents were set up at the west gate, and porridge distribution began in an orderly fashion.

Yesterday Chu Hongyu had a group of children spread word about the porridge distribution. Although those people’s minds were affected by drugs, eating, drinking, and relieving themselves were human instincts. Hearing there was porridge being distributed on the west side, many people brought their families to queue up to receive porridge.

Yun Chu stood on the city wall at the west gate.

After the vast majority of people had drunk the porridge, only then did she appear and speak: “Fellow citizens, please be quiet for a moment.”

As soon as she appeared, everyone’s gaze focused on her.

Not to mention her splendid attire—that peerless countenance alone was enough to attract everyone’s attention.

“Who is that woman?”

“You don’t even know? The young emperor just ascended the throne. The most noble woman in Great Jin can only be the current Empress Dowager.”

“Heavens, the Empress Dowager is so young.”

“Everyone, you’re all citizens who came from near Ningzhou, correct?” Yun Chu’s voice was very gentle, like flowing water. “You have your own livelihoods in Ningzhou, fields and property, roots and foundations. Why would you come hundreds of li away to the capital?”

With this question, everyone present was confused.

That’s right—they had good lives in Ningzhou, so why had they inexplicably followed everyone to the capital?

Moreover, along the way, the provisions they brought had long been consumed. Every day they dug up wild vegetables and gnawed tree bark. Such bitter days—they didn’t even know how they had persevered. Even more incomprehensible was why they had willingly brought their entire families, elderly and young alike, to leave their homeland and run to such a distant place…

Thinking carefully about it, they couldn’t understand why no matter what.

“Regardless of why you came, you should all return home.” Yun Chu sighed. “Look at the children beside you—starved thin. The elderly beside you—their illnesses are worse… That so-called sweet dew water, can it truly dispel all diseases… All along your journey here, you’ve drunk sweet dew water every day. You’ve drunk so much—are you truly free of ailments?”

Everyone looked down at themselves—ragged all over, torn and tattered.

Even the poorest among them, the lowest-class commoners, had never been so slovenly.

Many people were still coughing and sniffling. If the sweet dew water were effective, they shouldn’t still be coughing…

“If you continue to linger in the capital, your homes in Ningzhou will be occupied by others, your fields and property seized, and all your foundations destroyed…” Yun Chu looked at everyone. “For people to live, it’s just four words: food, clothing, shelter, and travel. Right now you can’t eat well, can’t dress well, have no place to live—is this the life you want?”

Everyone awakened as if from a dream.

These were the simplest truths—why had they been acting these past days as if lard had clouded their hearts?

“Go, go, go! We must return quickly! I still have three pigs in my pen. These past days I haven’t been there—they’ve surely escaped!”

“I have a flock of chickens at home! Heavens, they’ve surely been stolen!”

“When I left home I think I forgot to lock the door. I have a four-courtyard compound… Quick, let’s go back!”

“I have a neighbor still waiting there for sweet dew water. I must take her along.”

“Right, right, right! My eldest brother is also still over there…”

Lord Xiang called out loudly: “Everyone has been starving for so long. Before leaving, let everyone drink a bowl of thick porridge so you’ll have strength to return home!”

Before long, the common people gradually dispersed.

However, the first day there weren’t many citizens who came—only four or five thousand people.

By the second day, approximately seven or eight thousand people came.

Yun Chu used the same method to persuade the common people to return to their own places.

After drinking the porridge, their judgment returned. There was no need for much persuasion—they immediately set off for home with their families, young and old…

“Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager’s method is excellent.” Chief Minister Li was full of admiration. “This way, in less than ten days, probably all the common people will disperse, and Prince Cheng will no longer be a threat.”

However, just at this moment, a guard rushed in to report: “Empress Dowager, this is bad! Countless citizens are ramming the Chengtian Gate!”

Chengtian Gate was the main gate of the capital. The more than two hundred thousand people Prince Cheng brought were encamped outside Chengtian Gate, and the Heavenly Maiden also bestowed sweet dew water there.

Yun Chu’s brows lowered.

She boarded a carriage. In less than half a shichen, she reached Chengtian Gate. Chu Hongyu, having heard the news, also came.

Mother and son climbed the steps together and walked to the top. Looking into the distance, outside the city wall were all common people.

Approximately two to three thousand citizens held round logs and rammed them toward the capital’s gates. Those ramming the gate were divided into several groups, taking turns one after another. No matter how sturdy the city gates were, they couldn’t withstand such ramming.