Huzi scratched his head and said with a grin: “Wasn’t it the master who gave the orders himself? You said something like ‘from now on, seeing the Princess is like seeing this Prince – you must not be disrespectful or disloyal to the Princess.’ Since you yourself said they cannot be disloyal to the Princess, how can the brothers then reveal the Princess’s affairs to the Prince?”

“Ha, so now you have a point.” Pang Xiao laughed and scolded, though when he thought about it, this was indeed the logic.

He had given strict orders that the elite Tiger Guards protecting Qin Yining should treat her as their master. If he asked questions and those brothers answered everything, Pang Xiao might even suspect their loyalty.

“Forget it, I don’t necessarily want to pry into every big and small matter around Yining. I’m just worried about her.” Pang Xiao lifted his robe hem and gracefully took his seat in the official chair placed at the head of the tent. Thinking of Qin Yining, the upward curve of his lips couldn’t be suppressed no matter what.

“She has a very strong personality and is clever. Her analysis and grasp of court situations sometimes surpasses even mine. I’m just afraid she might deliberately conceal something and bear it alone without saying anything.”

Huzi laughed: “Isn’t the Prince the same? You haven’t told the Princess about your affairs either.”

“You little rascal, whose side are you really on?” Pang Xiao scolded with a laugh.

Huzi wasn’t afraid at all. Ever since the Princess had taken residence in the Prince’s heart, the Prince had become increasingly humane – no longer lazy about saying even a single word as before, and even able to chat casually with him from time to time.

Unlike Scholar Zheng who had already returned home and couldn’t think straight, he didn’t want the Prince to bear the past and live in pain. He hoped the Prince could live like a proper person instead of being bound by those matters all day long.

“Prince, I’ll go gather intelligence right away.”

“Go ahead.”

Taking advantage of the time while Huzi led people to gather intelligence, Pang Xiao spread out the southeastern map on the table, holding a silk lantern close to examine it carefully. His mind was already analyzing the situation in the south and what Yuchi Yan might possibly do.

Gu Shixiong was no easy opponent. Despite his advanced age, his mind was still sharp, and combined with his ambitions, if handled improperly, Great Yan and Great Zhou would inevitably have a battle.

If he had the Huben Army in his hands, what would there be to worry about? But what he had was the Pingnan Army, scattered like loose sand.

Training troops also required time.

The fear was that during his preparation time, Yuchi Yan would catch him off guard.

Although Pang Xiao never spoke of it, he was clearly aware of his current predicament.

The troops in his hands weren’t the iron core he had long trained. He also had no good reputation in Great Yan – the common people probably still feared him, even hated him.

Whether in the military or among the people, his footing wasn’t secure. He had no strong support behind him from external family connections, and Li Qitian, who should be the person most supporting his actions, might stab him in the back at any moment.

Thinking it over from all angles, things weren’t going to be easy to handle.

Without realizing it, two hours had passed, and it was already deep into the night.

Huzi returned with news from the city.

Both master and servant fell silent for a moment.

After a full quarter-hour, Huzi finally sighed with admiration: “The Princess truly has capability – she’s stronger than other women! Even without the master by her side, she still stirs up winds and rains, making the former capital three parts more chaotic.”

Pang Xiao glanced sideways at Huzi and generously rewarded him with a knock on the head.

Was this supposed to be praise?

“So it’s because Duke Dingguo’s wife was imprisoned that all these subsequent events occurred.” With Pang Xiao’s intelligence, he figured out Qin Yining’s intentions after some thought and couldn’t help but marvel at her boldness and insight.

“As you said, Yining indeed has capability – she’s stronger than other women.”

Huzi rubbed his forehead and nodded repeatedly. Wasn’t that right? How many other women could make all the poor people in the former capital resent Registrar Gao? The popular resentment was so great it almost took physical form. Even Governor Yang, who had been keeping a low profile in one corner and staying neutral with closed doors since arriving at the former capital, was beginning to pay attention to these matters.

“But the Princess should have – since things have already blown up, why not simply make the matter even bigger and have everyone rush to Registrar Gao’s house to force him to release the people?”

“That would be too simple and crude.” Pang Xiao shook his head. “She’s worried about implicating those common people, and also fears that the people’s anger wouldn’t be sufficient, that the impact wouldn’t be enough to make Registrar Gao take a big fall. I imagine when she went to Yicui Pavilion initially, it was also to receive those Miss Yu sisters.”

“Right. The Miss Yu sisters are now working at the Qin manor.”

When Huzi spoke of Qin Yining’s actions, his face was full of worship and admiration.

Pang Xiao temporarily set aside his thoughts of praising Qin Yining, tapping the table with his index finger as he fell into deep thought.

This might be a good opportunity for him to establish a firm footing.

“Have someone closely monitor the situation on the Princess’s side. First, we cannot miss the timing – if there are any changes, come tell me immediately. Second, and most importantly, we must protect the Princess’s safety.”

Seeing Pang Xiao’s serious expression, Huzi immediately nodded and said earnestly: “Prince, rest assured, I’ll handle it right away.”

The cold night passed, and when dawn gradually broke, even breathing out could leave a layer of frost on one’s cheeks.

The poor people emerged from their respective shacks and ruined temples, hurrying toward the square where the soup kitchen was located with their hands tucked in their sleeves and backs bent.

“Running like this makes one feel warmer.”

“Thanks to the great benefactor Qian, otherwise I wouldn’t have the strength to run.”

“I wonder how the great benefactor Qian is doing now – will he be tortured?”

“That’s really hard to say. Don’t we all know what kind of person Registrar Gao is?”

…

Many people along the way were discussing the same topic. Everyone was pessimistic about the consequences of this matter, so their emotions were somewhat downcast.

Who would have thought that upon arriving at the soup kitchen, seeing the empty square with only a wooden shelter remaining, containing only stone-built stoves and no more thick porridge emanating food aromas and white steam, everyone’s downcast mood completely transformed into resentment and anger.

Sure enough, the soup kitchen was closed. The family of Boss Qian’s steward was busy pulling strings to save people, and they, these people living from hand to mouth, had once again returned to the cold and hungry state where they could lose their lives at any moment.

People continued to arrive in succession. Initially, everyone stood there confused and helpless, but after a moment, when everyone remembered who the culprit behind all this was, they all became furious.

Knowing the news yesterday was one thing, but truly having no food to eat today was another matter entirely. The common people’s lives were already bitter, and now all that suffering had transformed into hatred, with all their anger directed at Registrar Gao and the local officials who held sinecure positions.

“What are we to do? How will we survive this winter?”

“What kind of world is this? Finally someone was willing to care about our lives and deaths, but the government accused him of being a murderer.”

“This isn’t the first time the government has done this. I heard that previously there was an Old Madam Zheng who wanted to establish a soup kitchen and an orphanage, but because the silver she offered to Registrar Gao was too little in his opinion, she was arrested and thrown in prison. She still hasn’t been released to this day – no one knows if she’s dead or alive.”

In the crowd, someone casually mentioned this matter.

At this juncture, this news immediately spread from mouth to mouth, becoming more outrageous with each telling. Regardless of truth or falsehood, within moments everyone knew about it.