Kong Yi’s face paled. So that was it.
This was revenge for the Northeastern Army!
As expected, what goes around comes around!
He silently took a step back and said no more.
By that measure, Princess Jinyang had indeed acted with integrity.
Ten percent of their supplies was no small amount for these wealthy aristocratic families.
Of course, with grain prices and the current situation as they were, losing ninety percent of their supplies would make life truly difficult from now on. After all, they had several thousand people to feed.
Sheng Chi’s face went pale as well. He understood Jiang Jin’s meaning. After a moment of silence, he said dejectedly, “I hope Your Highness will keep your word.”
Between death and losing ninety percent of his supplies, he chose compromise. He did not want to die!
Though Zhang Tinghan and the other aristocratic families were unwilling, they had no choice.
Jiang Jin was fairly satisfied with the families’ reaction. “Naturally. Then let us begin.”
Suppressing the urge to cough up blood, Sheng Chi said, “Very well. May I ask, Your Highness, how are we to move everything onto your ships?”
Jiang Jin raised an eyebrow slightly. “There is no need to move anything. Ninety percent of the supplies includes the ships. In other words, out of your…”
“Fifty-nine ships,” Dong Si promptly supplied.
He had counted them several times already, afraid he might have missed one.
Jiang Jin nodded. “Out of the fifty-nine ships, rounding things off, only five will be yours. You merely need to tell us what is stored on each vessel, and we will sail them away.”
Sheng Chi’s vision went black. He did not quite understand what “rounding off” meant, but he understood five ships.
Just five ships—not to mention carrying grain and valuables, they would struggle even to carry several thousand people.
He had been far too naïve!
He drew a deep breath. Though circumstances left him no leverage, he still intended to make one last attempt. “Your Highness, how can it be five ships? No matter how one calculates it, we should have six.”
Seeing the ugly expressions on Sheng Chi and the others’ faces, Jiang Jin’s gaze turned icy. “I said five, so it is five.”
Sheng Chi closed his eyes, forcing down the urge to spit blood. “Your Highness, as you can see, five ships are not enough—not only for our money and grain, but even for all these people.”
He knew perfectly well that Jiang Jin would not give him only large ships. It would already be fortunate if she distributed ships of varying sizes according to the proportions.
Jiang Jin signaled her understanding and said considerately, “That is simple. I can sell you a few ships. My prices are quite fair.”
They truly were fair. The aristocratic families spent eighty percent of the money and grain remaining from their last ten percent to buy three of the most dilapidated ships they had previously traded to Jiang Jin.
Sheng Chi was completely numb. After all this, he had truly become a pauper. He still had several thousand people to support—how was he supposed to live?
Looking at Sheng Chi and the others’ paper-white faces, Jiang Jin said, “I also need to borrow two people from you to guide us through your tunnel.”
Sheng Chi’s pupils contracted. “Y-you… how did you know?”
As aristocratic families, how could they not leave themselves an escape route?
The reason they had managed to leave besieged Feng’an County was precisely because they had dug a passage in advance, one that led directly to the docks.
That was also why the soldiers and civilians inside the city had no idea they had already fled.
In fact, they had begun moving supplies out through the passage three days earlier. The tunnel was narrow, and there was far too much to move, so the work had been difficult.
Jiang Jin smiled. “You need not concern yourself with how I know. Just give me two people to show us the way.”
Kong Yi frowned. “Does Your Highness intend to hold Feng’an County?”
Before Jiang Jin could answer, he shook his head in warning. “When we left, the city was on the verge of falling. By now, inside the city, I fear…”
His feelings were exceedingly complicated. He hoped Jiang Jin could lead her people to defend Feng’an County, yet he also thought it impossible, fearing it would only cause needless casualties.
Jiang Jin neither confirmed nor denied it. “What becomes of Feng’an County is no longer any concern of yours.”
“I’ll go.” A woman’s voice suddenly rang out.
Jiang Jin looked over and saw a woman of about twenty.
“What are you making a fuss for? Go back at once,” an old man in his fifties snapped.
The woman shook her head. “My husband is still in the city. If he is gone, I want to retrieve his body.”
She lowered her gaze to the two- or three-year-old child held by the old man. Tears slid down her face. “I leave A-Yuan to you, Father. Please raise him to adulthood.”
The old man’s expression darkened. “The child is still young. What he needs most is his mother!”
He was Sheng He’s father, Sheng Ying.
In order to make the city’s people and soldiers believe that the family head would stand or fall with them, someone of importance had to remain in the city. That person was his son, Sheng He.
Now, seeing his daughter-in-law disregard her own life in order to return to Feng’an County for his son, speaking even as though she were entrusting her child to him, his emotions were tangled. He was both gratified and heartbroken.
The woman shook her head, her eyes red. “I believe Father will take good care of A-Yuan.”
She crouched and embraced the little child. “Remember, listen to your grandfather.”
A-Yuan did not understand what was happening, but he sensed the parting. Crying, he wrapped his arms around the woman’s neck and called out indistinctly, “Mama, Mama…”
The woman’s tears flowed even faster. After a moment, she steeled her heart and pushed A-Yuan away. Rising to her feet, she turned to Sheng Chi. “Please give me the key, Family Head.”
Jiang Jin’s eyes flickered. She had not expected there to be a key.
Sheng Chi’s face was grim. After a moment, he finally took out a small cloth pouch and handed it over.
The woman quickly accepted it. “Thank you, Family Head.”
By then, Dong Si had finished inventorying the supplies with the aristocratic families’ people. He came over with a beaming smile. “My lord, it’s done!”
Jiang Jin nodded and waved a hand at Sheng Chi. “You may leave.”
A flash of humiliation passed through Sheng Chi’s eyes, but he said nothing. He led the fleet away slowly.
Only then did Jiang Jin ask the woman, “What is your name?”
The woman appeared nervous and restrained. “Zhao Yu.”
Jiang Jin nodded. “Good. I hope you will guide us faithfully.”
Besides Zhao Yu, another servant from one of the aristocratic families was placed aboard Jiang Jin’s ship.
Jiang Jin had asked for two guides because she feared they might try something underhanded. With two of them, it would be harder for them to coordinate their stories.
She then turned to Dong Si. “Make sure the supplies are well guarded. Once we take Feng’an County, you may enter the city.”
Dong Si immediately replied, “Rest assured, my lord. I will keep close watch over these supplies.”
Jiang Jin trusted Dong Si. Besides, the sea was far safer now than land.
Recalling something, she added, “We do not know the current state of the saltworks in Ze’a Commandery. If possible, find time to inspect them.”
Dong Si nodded. “As you command!”
Only Xie Nanxiao and the Cangming Guard followed Jiang Jin into the city with the naval forces.
Qiu Wu and the others remained at sea to guard the supplies, while assisting Dong Si in visiting the saltworks.
Jiang Jin had not expected the passage entrance to be located in the cellar of a warehouse near the docks. No wonder it required a key.
Feng’an County.
An arrow was embedded in Sheng He’s arm, its shaft cut off, leaving only a few inches protruding.
Ignoring the pain in his arm—or perhaps no longer able to feel it—he felt only numbness. All he knew was kill, kill, kill. Everything before his eyes had turned blood-red.
“Captain! Captain!” Yan Tong, a young officer, rushed over with a squad of men.
“The east gate—the east gate has fallen!”
“Qu Zhao’s army has entered the city!”
