Free Web NovelChapter 207: Chapter 207
Chapter 207
"Your Highness, Your Highness, please forgive me. The food served by this inn is the best available right now. How could someone as worthless as I dare to serve pig slop to welcome Gonggong?"
"The governor of Red Earth City paid for the best food the inn could offer, and I provided it faithfully. If they had gone to another inn, they might have received even less. Your Highness, you know how expensive food is right now, right? How could I think of cheating anyone?"
Fang Gonggong had expected a different outcome. He believed that after the innkeeper spoke, the heads of the two wicked individuals would surely roll. Who could have predicted the innkeeper’s testimony would turn out this way?
The surrounding people were also bewildered. If these words had come from the governor of Red Earth City or his wife, no one would have believed them. However, these words came from the mouth of the innkeeper, someone they were more familiar with than the important eunuch.
"Although the meal didn’t contain much meat, it included a whole wild chicken, with stir-fried, boiled, and steamed dishes—an entire set. This price is definitely not unreasonable, Your Highness."
Upon hearing this, the crowd was in an uproar. Few people dared to spend money on meat during these times, given the soaring prices. Hearing that the governor of Red Earth City had bought a whole wild chicken, meaning even the innards, blood, and other parts were used to prepare several dishes, it was clear he wasn’t stingy. On the contrary... they spent quite lavishly.
After hearing this, Yueqian spoke with a trembling voice.
"Y-Your Highness, I can explain. My husband had no intention of depriving the soldiers of meat. It’s just that we only had this much money left. We had no intention of mistreating the soldiers." The beautiful woman spoke in fear.
Her demeanor suggested she was completely misunderstanding the situation. She didn’t realize that the current issue was that Fang Gonggong was accusing her of treason, which could easily result in her being executed. Instead, she was worried about other matters.
"Your Highness, please have mercy. I know you are the favored grandson of the Wang. It is understandable that you would be angry to hear that the Wang’s soldiers who are accompanying my husband were not well taken care of. However..."
"However, please, Your Highness, have mercy. We truly had no such intention. The Wang has been very kind to us, and we, as a couple, would never think otherwise."
"The truth is, we spent all our savings on caring for the people of Red Earth City. The townsfolk there are impoverished and had no food. It was the soldiers of the Bai Region who helped us a great deal. We had to buy many supplies for the treatments, and now we really have no money left. If we still had funds, we would certainly take better care of those the Wang has graciously sent to assist us."
Yueqian continued speaking many statements, her words seemingly unrelated to the current situation. Nevertheless, her attitude was very respectful, and speaking these words to the second prince, who was the Wang’s favored grandson, carried significant weight.
It was unclear what was happening, but when the soldiers heard this, they feared that Furen Mu might actually be punished. Some even felt frustrated and wanted to complain about Furen Mu. Since the Wang did not inquire about them, why would the other party bring up their mistakes?!
Despite this, they didn’t want to overthink it. They knew the Wang and the second prince well enough to understand that if this misunderstanding persisted, both the governor and furen might end up being punished.
"Your Highness, it is true. The people of Red Earth City have been suffering greatly. Without the funds the governor provided, none of them would have survived." After one person finished speaking, another soldier immediately followed up.
"Moreover, during the journey, the governor of Red Earth City used his own money to buy food for us since the city treasury was empty from the previous administration. Thus, the provision of food has been a significant burden. This matter cannot be blamed on the governor of Red Earth City."
"Additionally, we have eaten meat every day up until today. The only reason we had only rice and roasted potatoes today was because the meat we had brought ran out. But the governor’s intentions were clear. He had planned to provide meat for us today as well, with Governor’s Furen making three dumplings for each of us. If it weren’t for this incident, we would have had meat today."
Seeing the soldiers’ reactions, not only was the second prince stunned, but the surrounding villagers were as well. They had great faith in the soldiers of the Region.
As these men were known for sacrificing their lives in battle, some might be here today but gone tomorrow. Thus, as ordinary villagers, they were instilled with utmost trust and respect for the soldiers.
Similarly, in the Du Region, the presence of Young General was highly revered. No matter where they went, they were always respected and worshipped. It was not surprising that in Mu Heng’s original village, the people trusted soldiers more than anyone. If it hadn’t been for this incident with the soldiers being the cause, they would never have been enlightened.
No one expected these soldiers to come forward to defend the governor of Red Earth City, who was actually from the Du Region they despised. Many had to rethink their beliefs.
Fang Gonggong’s face darkened considerably. Who would have thought the soldiers’ attitudes would shift so drastically after he bullied them by snatching their food? His intent was merely to pressure Yueqian. He never imagined it would escalate to this extent. Now, he felt he had made a grave mistake.
Who was the second prince? He was someone who deeply respected the Wang. If he learned that the Wang’s men had been bullied by Fang Gonggong, who didn’t know that Yueqian had prepared the food for the soldiers, how furious would he be?!
"Your-Your Highness, this matter..." He tried to say something, but the second prince raised a hand to signal him to stop.
"Handle him the same way you did this morning. As for what happened along the way, I will investigate later," the prince commanded, preventing anyone from revealing more.
Such actions greatly tarnished the royal family’s honor. If people knew that someone like Fang Gonggong served closely with his father, wouldn’t the villagers gossip about how a person like this was in the Emperor’s inner circle? This would truly bring disgrace to his father.
Recalling Furen Mu’s attempts to invite Fang Gonggong to discuss matters inside, the second prince’s eyes grew even sterner. If this had been discussed privately, the villagers wouldn’t have known much about it! It seemed that these two people from the Du Region were more concerned about the royal family’s honor than the eunuch who had served for so long.
The other party frequently invoked the Emperor’s name, wasn’t it just to claim superiority over others, to use the prestige of his father to rally the townspeople to his side, while hiding his true, malicious nature?
"You can all disperse now. Go back to your duties. Aren’t you supposed to be controlling the rebels from Small Mountain City?" The second prince waved his hand to dismiss the crowd. This was like chasing the townspeople away as well.
Soon after, everyone left, leaving only the second prince, the governor of Red Earth City, and his furen still kneeling. Additionally, when the current governor heard that the second prince was here, he dropped everything, no matter how busy, to personally greet him.
"No need for formalities. I am here to investigate the outbreak, not to flaunt my status," the second prince waved his hand, aware that revealing his identity always led to such awkward situations.
"Y-Yes, Your Highness," the Green Wood City Governor tried to stay composed despite rarely having the opportunity to serve high-ranking individuals, which unable to hide his nervousness.
In contrast, Mu Heng and Yueqian visibly relaxed once permitted to act normally. Yueqian, in particular, seemed relieved that the second prince wasn’t holding her accountable for the soldiers’ poor treatment.
"I happened to overhear your conversation about the outbreak. What did you find out?" He asked in a businesslike manner, not engaging in other topics because he understood that everyone was still tense.
"Uh, this matter..." The mouth of Green Wood City’s governor trembled, wanting to respond but was not good at speaking.
"If you can’t speak, let the governor of Red Earth City do it. Be prompt in your responses," the second prince grumbled irritably, cutting off the stammering governor. This made the governor of Green Wood City felt like crying, having missed the chance to showcase his capabilities.
Mu Heng straightened slightly when he heard those words. Seeing the expression of the governor of Green Wood City, he couldn’t help but step in to assist. Besides, maintaining a friendly relationship with the Green Wood City’s governor was beneficial. The other party was reliable and straightforward, discussing mutual benefits directly without excessive exploitation, and Mu Heng appreciated people like that.
"We must thank the governor of Green Wood City for inviting us to discuss this matter at his manor, resulting in much cooperation."
"In fact, my journey to the capital this time is to bring good news. The Ming Fa flower, which was originally cultivated in a small town with very limited yield, has now been successfully cultivated in Red Earth City thanks to my furen’s knowledge." fгeewebnovёl.com
"We now have a sufficient yield to help everyone in the Bai Region. In the future, we could even export it to other Regions easily."
"The various tribes, with their keen sense of smell, were already aware of this. Before we set out, they came to request our cooperation. However, I informed them that the decision to collaborate would depend on His Majesty’s mercy. So they are currently awaiting a response."
"Thus, in our discussions between Red Earth City and Green Wood City, we talked about how we would exchange resources. Green Wood City is the first to straightforwardly propose an exchange with us. As we produce more medicine from the Ming Fa flower in the future, we will continue this cooperation."
Mu Heng made sure his new ally received the credit deserved. Whether it was for inviting cooperation or demonstrating honest intentions, the Green Wood City’s governor indeed deserved recognition.
Of course, the second prince understood Mu Heng’s intent in mentioning this. However, what intrigued him was not how the two cities would cooperate effectively. What caught his attention was the phrase, "Red Earth City has successfully cultivated a large number of Ming Fa flowers."What did this mean? Didn’t it imply that the task the Emperor assigned him was now complete? The answer was right in front of him—Red Earth City would be the key to stopping the epidemic! But... Red Earth City? The city known as hell!!
