Zhu Yu had always known that the princess consort was a formidable woman. Though she appeared delicate and frail, her temperament was quite strong. Previously he had only heard tell of this, without experiencing it firsthand. Now that he had truly witnessed it, he finally understood that when women became formidable, they were no less than men.

“Princess Consort, please calm your anger.” Zhu Yu carefully bowed and said, “This subordinate has no other meaning – I’m simply following the prince’s instructions and conveying his message. About matters in the city, I only know what I’ve told you. The prince is fine, staying in the mansion. Perhaps he has some urgent matter to attend to, which is why he asked the princess consort to wait? Or perhaps there are other matters in the city that this subordinate doesn’t know about.”

Qin Yining looked Zhu Yu up and down, the corners of her lips curving into a slight smile. “It seems you refuse to tell me the truth.”

Qin Yining’s tone was still relatively gentle, and she was even smiling, but Zhu Yu’s hair immediately stood on end.

Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue had been waiting outside the tent for quite some time. Hearing the situation inside, they hurried in to mediate.

“Why make the princess consort unhappy? The prince and princess consort are deeply devoted to each other – what matter cannot be spoken of before the princess consort?”

“Exactly. Though the prince gave instructions, you can simply convey his message as instructed. When the princess consort asks questions, you should answer what ought to be answered.”

Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue each spoke a sentence. Though they didn’t say much, it was enough for Zhu Yu to understand.

The phrase “deeply devoted to each other” alone was sufficient for him to realize that if he offended the princess consort now, he would likely have no comfortable days ahead with the prince.

Moreover, regarding the prince’s situation, even if he didn’t speak, the princess consort was already at the city gates – arranging for someone to enter the city and inquire would reveal the news. The prince’s reason for concealing things from the princess consort was probably just for the sake of male pride.

Having thought this through, Zhu Yu finally lowered his head, bowed, and said quietly, “Princess Consort, please calm your anger. It’s not that this subordinate intentionally deceived you – it’s truly that I cannot disobey the prince’s instructions. Actually, the prince has sustained some injuries. Fearing that the princess consort would worry upon seeing them, he had this subordinate come tell you that now is not the optimal time to enter the city.

“In fact, the city is indeed quite tense and chaotic now. Not a word of what this subordinate reported was false. Starving people are everywhere – those near the capital come into the capital, while those farther away have already banded together to besiege major cities in various regions. Everyone is doing this for nothing more than a bite of food, just to survive. There are many reasons for so many disaster victims, but most important is the Emperor’s attitude.”

Speaking to this point, Zhu Yu’s expression grew increasingly grave, his eyes containing hidden anger.

“The Emperor’s actions are becoming increasingly inappropriate. Before returning to the capital this time, he had already had the prince beaten with boards. That treasure was clearly hidden away by that scoundrel Lu Heng, yet the Emperor initially insisted on saying the matter was the prince’s doing.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Yining, Xie Yue and the others could tell that Zhu Yu didn’t know the inside story. They all remained silent, just listening to Zhu Yu’s detailed account.

“Later, when we returned to the city gates, the Emperor felt he had lost face after making such a grand expedition without finding the treasure. The prince kindly offered a suggestion, and only then did the Emperor find an excuse of going out in disguise to privately inspect the imperial tombs. This saved face on the surface.

“But when the officials welcomed the Emperor back to the capital, thinking the Emperor would at least consider the disaster situation somewhat, the Emperor still only focused on the treasure, only thinking about building imperial tombs, completely ignoring the people’s current situation. The prince advised him many times, but the Emperor rejected everything. There was even one time when the prince was scolded by the Emperor for trying to persuade him. The Emperor said the prince had ‘overreaching ambitions’ and asked ‘Do you think you’d make a better emperor than I?’ These words weren’t heard by just one person – after this subordinate heard them, I felt wronged on the prince’s behalf.”

Zhu Yu wiped his face and continued, “I suppose from that time, the Emperor already harbored resentment over the prince’s ‘overreach.’ Recently, the disaster situation has gradually worsened. People from various regions have been displaced, and countless common people die of starvation every day. The court has no money and cannot provide relief. Seeing no hope, people in various prefectures have gathered to cause trouble. Those who become bandits are considered fortunate – many prefectures have even had people rise up in rebellion.

“Seeing this situation, the Emperor finally paid attention to the matter. Last month he arrested multiple officials dispatched to local areas, charging them with ineffective governance.

“The day before yesterday, near the old Yan capital, there was a county called Yang County where the people were so starved they had no way to live. Someone was about to gather a crowd to cause trouble, spreading rebellious words against the court and cursing the Emperor’s incompetence. Somehow these words reached the Emperor’s ears. The Emperor immediately held the local County Magistrate Li accountable, even implicating the prefect of the old capital, Lord Gong.”

Qin Yining was astonished. “Are you speaking of Lord Gong Zhongtang?”

“Yes, does the princess consort know this person?”

Qin Yining nodded. “When the earth dragon turned over years ago, I went with the prince to the old capital for disaster relief. We conducted official business with both Lord Gong and County Magistrate Li of Yang County. Both men are of noble character, devoted to the people. How does the Emperor plan to punish them?”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu said angrily, “You don’t know – County Magistrate Li has already been executed. The Emperor also wanted to kill Prefect Gong, but the prince stood up to plead with him and barely managed to calm the Emperor’s fury. But later news came from the old capital saying that local people had besieged the prefecture offices, causing many casualties among the officials. The old Yan capital is already a sensitive location, so the Emperor felt the locals had rebellious hearts and wanted to hold Prefect Gong accountable again, and also arrest all of Prefect Gong’s family members in the capital.

“The prince again pleaded for Prefect Gong during the court assembly. The Emperor flew into a rage and quarreled with the prince right in the hall, scolding the prince for having disloyal intentions. Right there in front of all the civil and military officials, he had the prince beaten with fifty boards. Prefect Gong and his family members couldn’t escape either – Prefect Gong was sentenced to execution, the women of his family were made into official courtesans, all males fourteen and above were to be executed, and males under fourteen were exiled to the bitter cold of the north, never to return to the capital.”

Zhu Yu’s words filled everyone with rage.

Qin Yining was absolutely furious. “The Emperor actually ordered the prince beaten with boards again!”

“Yes.” Zhu Yu lowered his head, speaking with helpless anger. “The previous time he was already beaten twenty times, and those injuries hadn’t yet healed. Now he was beaten fifty more times. The prince is currently recuperating at the mansion, and there are still refugees pouring into the city – both inside and outside are in complete chaos.”

This was why Pang Xiao didn’t want Qin Yining to enter the city now.

First, he worried that the Emperor’s anger hadn’t subsided, and if she returned, she might be used as a scapegoat by the Emperor.

Second, after fifty board strikes, Pang Xiao’s posterior must be a horrific sight!

The dignified Prince Zhongshun, revered as a war god by the military, had been beaten with boards and had to lie prone on his bed all day recovering – such a wretched appearance was something Qin Yining had never seen, and Pang Xiao also didn’t want her to witness.

When Qin Yining imagined the scene of Pang Xiao being publicly pressed down in the hall and beaten with boards, she was already burning with fury! What Li Qitian had beaten wasn’t Pang Xiao’s body – he had beaten his dignity!

Weren’t there many people who revered Pang Xiao? Weren’t there so many who called him a war god? Li Qitian was showing everyone that even if he was a war god, he could still be pressed to the ground and beaten at will, and could be killed whenever the fancy struck him!