Shen Xihe was unaware of how far Xiao Huayong’s thoughts had wandered. She held her cup awkwardly, neither able to set it down nor use it properly, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
She had already noticed that as she spent more time with Xiao Huayong, she became increasingly relaxed and natural around him. She had originally thought that after marriage, having someone constantly by her side would make her uncomfortable. Yet it was quite the opposite – she found herself becoming more and more integrated with him, even gradually revealing her true nature in his presence, feeling comfortable enough to let down her guard at any time.
Xiao Huayong watched Shen Xihe with interest, her slightly shifting gaze revealing her inner struggle completely.
The room was completely silent. Neither Baisui nor Duanming, who usually interrupted conversations in the Eastern Palace, were present. The sound of rain that she had seemingly forgotten since entering the room pattered chaotically on the floor, urgent and disordered, much like her current state of mind.
Forcing herself to compose her thoughts, Shen Xihe pretended as if she hadn’t heard Xiao Huayong’s words and set down her cup with feigned naturalness. “His Highness the Prince Jing has deep schemes. Earlier, he was preoccupied with disaster relief matters and had no time to think of other things. To ensure our plans proceed smoothly, we must keep Prince Jing busy. Do you have any suggestions?”
Do you have any suggestions?
Hearing this stiff question, Xiao Huayong almost couldn’t hold back his laughter. Only now did he realize that his sharp-witted wife was so clumsy at changing subjects.
Though she had already made up her mind, she still felt compelled to ask him this question just to avoid the previous topic.
“With the grain, cloth, and medicines being transported, and the heavy rain causing obstacles, someone needs to oversee everything constantly. Why not assign this task to Youyou? He’ll naturally have no time for other matters,” Xiao Huayong replied seriously, holding back his smile.
Shen Xihe nodded, as this aligned with her thoughts. According to Xiao Huayong’s plan, transporting these items to the county wasn’t the most difficult part. The real challenge was how to transport them into the city during the heavy rain while keeping them dry.
This was a delicate task that required constant attention during the downpour – guaranteed to keep Xiao Changyan too busy to think of anything else.
The city’s residents had been eating barely half-filling meals for two days. Many had become weak, relying on sleep to endure their hunger. Due to the heavy rain, even the water was unusually muddy, limiting what they could consume – they couldn’t even fill themselves with water.
Just when despair was setting in, the government finally announced that grain had arrived. Leading the previously selected able-bodied workers, they rushed to a cliff almost outside the county, where soldiers stood guard rigidly.
Wood piles were deeply embedded in the ground, which had become soft from the constant rain. Both Xiao Changyan and Xiao Changqing, who had come along, showed flickering gazes upon seeing this, wondering how these piles had been secured so firmly.
Along the wood piles were slightly swaying iron chains. The fact that these chains could be set up indicated they connected to the opposite shore. A thick fog obscured the end, while below, the rushing river roared like a trapped angry dragon, making people afraid to approach the edge.
“Where’s the grain? Where is it?”
“Where do we go to carry the grain?”
“Could this be a trick? With the current this strong, if we’re pushed in, we might not even make a splash…”
The common people were anxious, muttering quietly. Though their voices were masked by the rain and river, their restlessness was visible to Shen Xihe and the others.
Shen Xihe had arrived in a carriage, accompanying the carts transporting the grain, forming a long, winding dragon.
“Imperial Crown Princess,” Xiao Changqing and Xiao Changyan greeted simultaneously.
Shen Xihe returned their greeting and strode to the edge of the wood piles. She gave a signal to Mo Yuan, who was following closely behind. Mo Yuan stepped forward, gripping the outermost iron chain with his strong arms and shaking it forcefully, sending massive vibrations to the opposite shore.
Hua Fuhai and Lu Ling were already waiting on the other side. Seeing the signal, they similarly gripped the second chain and shook it with great force, causing the iron rings securing the chains to the wood piles to clang loudly.
Shen Xihe stepped back several paces. “Ten men per path, two to guard the front and receive, eight split into two teams to carry the grain.”
Although Xiao Changqing had guessed the purpose of these chains and wood piles when he saw them, he was still shocked that Shen Xihe would implement this plan.
The two shores were extremely far apart, and the grain being transported was very heavy. Wasn’t she worried that it wouldn’t hold up and break midway, dropping everything into the river? If anything happened to these supplies, it would be inexcusable both to the court and the people – it would be worthy of a death sentence.
Shen Xihe dared to do this!
Though thinking this, Xiao Changqing didn’t hesitate to follow Shen Xihe’s instructions. After another exchange of signals between the two shores, they could hear the sound of sliding mechanisms over the chaotic rain and river noise, and could even see sparks flying from the friction in the distance.
Four iron rings slid along two iron chains. Below the rings were dense iron nets, very large and holding oil-cloth-wrapped items. When they slid close and hit the wood piles, there was a dull thud, but the piles didn’t move at all. The guards Mo Yuan had assigned, one per path, could release the active latches on the iron rings, helping two commoners remove the items and pass them back.
Four waiting commoners put the iron rings over their shoulders, two walking forward and two backward, working in coordination to load the items onto the carts.
“Once the grain is loaded onto the carts and the iron nets are removed, the transported matter will be handed over to Prince Jing,” Shen Xihe said, looking at Xiao Changyan.
Xiao Changyan was reluctant to accept. The oil cloth wrapping was completely sealed, and they couldn’t inspect it in the heavy rain. If it wasn’t grain inside, wouldn’t he be responsible?
He couldn’t help but be wary of Shen Xihe.
Seeming to notice Xiao Changyan’s hesitation and suspicion, Shen Xihe gave a cold laugh. She swiftly drew the long sword from Mo Yuan’s scabbard and, in front of Xiao Changyan, stabbed it into one of the oil-cloth packages. White flour was immediately poured out. She turned to look at Xiao Changyan: “Prince Jing, do you suspect only this one bag contains grain?”
Xiao Changyan’s face alternated between red and white as Shen Xihe mercilessly exposed his thoughts. The common people only felt excitement upon seeing the grain and didn’t think much else, but present were Xiao Changqing, the County Magistrate, even the Dengzhou Prefecture Governor, and the General-in-Chief who had been dispatched by His Majesty to stand ready at any time.
These people weren’t so easily fooled.
“For such an important matter, how could I deceive anyone? This grain and medicine will be transported into the city under Your Highness’s supervision, naturally with your people watching. When it reaches the city, it will be opened in front of the people to set their minds at ease. What is there for Your Highness to worry about?” Shen Xihe said sternly. “Or does Your Highness think I would use the lives of an entire city’s people to frame you? Your Highness’s wariness is truly baffling.”
The commoners who had been simply carrying grain without any complicated thoughts now understood – so Prince Jing was worried that the Imperial Crown Princess had prepared fake grain and was trying to frame him by having him transport it.
Their gazes toward Xiao Changyan had now changed.