FID – Chapter 996

Chapter 996 – Loving the People as His Own Children

The guard captain frowned deeply. “Impossible. We didn’t use heavy force, we were mostly defending—”

“You lot are trained specifically to fight. How could us farmers compare? It really does hurt!”

An Cai stood there with his hands clasped, silent, his drooping eyelids giving Grandpa Liu an oddly familiar feeling. Then he looked at the Xiapo villagers putting on their exaggerated act, and his face darkened.

Were they really this shameless? They’re even trying to take advantage of a great general?

“Are you truly injured?” Qin Xiao chuckled gently. “If so, then the fault lies with my men. What would you like done?”

“We’ve wasted the whole morning dealing with them, and now we’re hurt besides. We might not be able to work the fields properly. Spring sowing is right around the corner, so field work can’t be delayed. They look strong and sturdy… G–General Qin, how about letting them help us with our farm work? Since we’re all on the same side, we won’t ask for any other compensation. Once spring sowing is done, we’ll call it even!”

“All right.” Qin Xiao nodded in agreement.

The Xinghua villagers were stunned, their jaws nearly hitting the ground. The awe and admiration they’d felt upon hearing the general’s famed name evaporated instantly.

Was the Grand General actually this easy to fool?

The guards froze, hardly able to believe such a clumsy lie was accepted. The general had actually agreed. Now were they really going to be sent to do farm labor? 

They were guards!

The people of Xiapo Village were stunned for quite a while. Then they grinned, showing rows of white teeth. “The Grand General is righteous and benevolent. He loves the people like his own children! Truly admirable!”

“I’ve admired General Qin since I was a child. As expected, he really is a heroic, loyal, and righteous man!”

“Well then, let’s not waste time. Off to work, eh?” They picked up the farm tools from the ground and stuffed them into the guards’ hands. One of the villagers pointed toward the nearby fields, smiling with exaggerated kindness.

“Elder Qin—” the guard captain looked toward Qin Xiao helplessly.

“Go.”

“……”

While sweating under the sun out in the fields, the guard captain still couldn’t figure out why the general had agreed to let them farm for these shameless villagers.

On the way back to the Liu family courtyard, carrying the chessboard, Grandpa Liu kept giving Qin Xiao a probing look. “Why were you so easy to talk into? Something’s not right.”

“What isn’t?” Qin Xiao remained calm and steady.

“Our Axiu is so clever, and even he is wary of you whenever he mentions you. You’re a grand general who plays strategy like it’s an art. How could you possibly be fooled by those shameless old fellows from Xiapo Village?”

“As soldiers, our discipline must be strict. We must not raise a hand against innocent commoners. If my men injured them, making it up to them is only proper.”

Grandpa Liu mulled this over, still feeling something wasn’t quite right.

Qin Xiao was not someone who was normally so easy to deal with.

Those of them who had spent their lives navigating official circles all had stomachs full of twists and turns—crooked paths within crooked paths. Ordinary people could never figure them out.

When they entered the courtyard, the two old women were at the kitchen doorway washing the hands of the two little beans.

“…I am the Empress Dowager. How could I leave the palace at will? If not for these two little ones, I would never have come out this time.”

“You’ve already left the palace. Leaving for one day is leaving, leaving for a month is also leaving. What’s the difference?”

The two women seemed to be discussing the return to the capital. Grandma Liu complained, “Besides, you’ve only been here one day and you’re already in a rush to go. Who knows when we’ll see each other again next time. Back in the palace, you’ll have no one to keep you company, and the two little ones will be stuck inside the Yangxin Hall. What’s the point? It’s nothing like the freedom we have in this courtyard.”

“I already said I am the Empress Dowager—you uncouth woman don’t understand.” She couldn’t just act willfully. Though she had to admit, the unruly woman’s logic did make a bit of sense.

Leaving for one day is leaving; leaving for a month is also leaving. But whether one day or one month, there was a limit.

And once that limit arrived, she would have to return to that place.

Qin Xiao stepped through the doorway. “Reporting to Your Majesty, there was a small issue with the guard unit. We must help the villagers finish the spring planting before we can depart. Military discipline is iron. We cannot go back on our word. We may need to remain here for a longer stay.”

Seeing Qin Xiao’s righteous and solemn expression, Grandpa Liu suddenly understood. So that’s what felt wrong! This old fox was just going with the flow to stay longer on purpose!

At the kitchen doorway, Granny Liu brightened at Qin Xiao’s words.

“Then stay until the spring planting’s done! Perfect timing—we’ll drag you all into the fields to help us too!”

After speaking, she bumped the Empress Dowager’s arm again.

“So? Agreed?”

The Empress Dowager glanced at Qin Xiao, lowered her eyes, and pressed her lips together. “Since there is a reason for it, we will stay only until the spring planting is finished.”

She paused, then cast a sidelong glance at the delighted old woman. “But I am not farming.”

She was the dignified Empress Dowager—how could she possibly go down into the fields? What kind of decorum would that be?

“Fine, you don’t have to farm. You can sit on the field ridge and direct everyone!”

The Empress Dowager was satisfied. She didn’t realize at all that a dignified Empress Dowager sitting on a field ridge had nothing dignified about it either.

When news from Cangzhou reached Xinghua Village, it was just about spring planting time.

After learning that such an evil person as Zhu Xian existed in Cangzhou, and that the commandery administrator and prefect were in collusion with him, shielding him and enabling his tyranny—the Liu family sighed in disbelief.

“Luckily Axiu and Nannan ran into all this. Otherwise, with the commandery administrator covering the sky with one hand in Cangzhou, the court might never have known the suffering of the people. They would’ve lived their whole lives under the oppression of those villains—fearful and miserable.” Grandpa Liu sighed.

“And that Zhu Xian fellow, his head should be chopped off!” Grandma Liu said indignantly. “Was he executed?”

Wei Hong nodded. “Before Master left Cangzhou, he urgently assigned an official from the neighboring county to temporarily take charge of the yamen’s affairs. On the sixth day after the incident, Zhu Xian was beheaded and displayed to the public.

Wei Lan added from the side, “I heard that on the day of the execution, almost the entire population of Cangzhou City turned out. They pelted Zhu Xian with rotten vegetables and spoiled eggs. The scene was quite spectacular.”

Ever since marrying Wei Hong, Wei Lan had begun following in his wife’s footsteps, together forming an unstoppable gossip duo.

“If this hadn’t been uncovered, Cangzhou would’ve basically become a state within a state, right? And that so-called ‘Crown Prince of Cangzhou.’” Liu Zhiqiu curled his lip, clearly disdainful of the title.

“Those in high positions stand too high,” Qin Xiao said. “Sometimes it’s hard for them to see the filth beneath their feet. Now that word has spread that the King cleaned up Cangzhou, it’s a good thing. It will make officials elsewhere restrain themselves for the time being. They don’t know the Highnesses destination, and will simply assume they’re traveling in disguise. During this period, they’ll be cautious and won’t dare make missteps. That benefits both the people and the local administrations.”

The elders all agreed with the seasoned general’s assessment.

With the topic drifting to their Nannan, the older generation couldn’t help but worry about the ones traveling far from home.

“I don’t know where they are now, or how long until they reach the northwest. And Qinglian, he’s out there all alone. Ay, just thinking about it makes this old woman’s heart ache.” Grandma Liu patted her chest, swallowing back the tears threatening to fall.

Among Nannan and Axiu’s companions, Qinglian had suffered the most.

Homeless and orphaned from childhood, wandering without rest. His only relative—a so-called uncle—wasn’t even good to him. He treated him as nothing more than a tool for revenge, and even planted such a vicious gu in him.

Qinglian’s heart must be as bitter as goldthread root by now.