Chapter 298: Catching A Big Fish With A Long Line
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After the Empress finished reading the letter, she placed it on the candle and lit it. There was nothing to eat at the border? Serves them right. No one can have a good ending when they go against the Yan Family.
The nanny couldn’t help but interject, “Should we think of a way to hide the matter of provisions from Noble Consort Ji?
The Empress waved her hand. “There’s no need.
The nanny said, “Does Your Highness believe that Noble Consort Ji will stand on His Highness the Crown Prince’s side?”
The Empress said something that was not easy for others to understand. “Who asked my son to look too much like the dead Emperor Ren, and Third Prince looks too much like His Majesty?”
The nanny understood the meaning and quietly retreated.
After returning to the kitchen with the bowl of blood swallow’s bird nest, a hand suddenly reached out from the side. Nanny slapped it away. “What are you doing? You scared me.”
The little palace maid, Chunliu, pouted. “It must be that the Empress is tired of it and doesn’t want to drink it again, right? Mother, just give it to me. I don’t mind drinking the Empress’s leftovers. This thing is so expensive. It’s a waste to throw it away!”
However, the nanny poured the blood swallow’s bird nest into the slop bucket without hesitation. “Don’t even think about it. How many times have I told you? No one is allowed to touch what the Empress has used, unless you want to die!”
In the past, a palace maid had secretly eaten the pastries that the empress had bitten in the end, she was beaten to death. Chunliu rubbed her arms. “I know, I know. I won’t drink it.” The richer a person was, the more abnormal they were!
There were so many people outside who could not eat. The Empress only took one bite of such a good thing.
***
At the border, Rong Yan confirmed again. “The letter about the provisions has indeed been delivered, right?”
Yun Er replied, “Your Highness, Yun San also replied to the urgent document.
He said that His Majesty was very angry about this.”
Rong Yan sneered. “What’s the use of being angry? It’s more important to send the food over as soon as possible.”
Yun Er frowned. “These bandits are really bold. They even dare to have crooked thoughts on the rations.”
Rong Yan flipped through the military report for a while before suddenly turning around and asking, “Do you really think this was done by bandits?” Yun Er was puzzled. Rong Yan said, “How could the bandits have the guts to provoke such an army?”
“Moreover, bandits do things for their own benefits. Why would they risk being chased by the soldiers to burn the rations? They did it without anyone knowing. We didn’t even have a chance to save them.”
Yun Er widened his eyes. “Master, you mean?”
Rong Yan’s expression was cold. “Find the spy.
Not to mention him, even Yun Er hated the word spy .
He gritted his teeth. “Yes!”
Rong Yan was still puzzled after arranging the matter. His father was also extremely anxious about the border. Why was he not replenishing the rations now? There were so many soldiers. If they did not have enough to eat, how were they going to fight the enemy?
-Men, borrow food from the surroundings first. Remember to be polite to the commoners. Don’t let them cause trouble and hurt people.”
However, the border was so difficult. The commoners could not even eat their fill, so how could they gather extra food?
“In addition, send someone to the officials in the surrounding towns to ask for help. Get them to open a granary and return the grains to them immediately when the food from the Imperial Capital is delivered.”
What was annoying was that the nearby officials said that the grain harvest had not been good in recent years and the granary was empty. They could only reluctantly send some old grain, and some of them even had mold.
Rong Yan suppressed his anger. “Sort out the food and remove the moldy ones.
Sort out the edible ones, dry them, and store them properly.” Yun Er asked, “Are we going to throw away the moldy ones?” Rong Yan sighed. “Keep it for now. I hope it won’t be used one day.” “Get Twelve to bring some people to the town and buy food from the grain merchants. We’ll accept it even if the price is high.”
Yun Er said worriedly, “But Master, you’ve already used your silver to buy a large number of medicinal herbs on the way here. We… don’t have much left… The current food supply is still enough to last for a while. Why don’t we wait first?”
The Third Prince’s residence was not as rich as the other princes to begin with. Moreover, no one expected that they would have to spend money at the border, so they did not bring much.
Rong Yan said firmly, “Buy it first. We can think of a way to get the silver anytime, but we can’t wait for rations.
“Besides, the longer we wait, the more those profiteers will ask for an exorbitant price.”
Yun Er felt that Master was right and immediately went to pass down the order.
The Third Prince’s subordinates were all mobilized to search for more rations. However, this was not something that could be seen in a short period of time. Yun Er was very worried that the remaining rations would run out very quickly. There was no movement from the Xiongnu for the time being, so Rong Yan could only let them change the rice to thick porridge and add some dried meat to it. The soldiers ate in silence and tightened their belts.
The news of the destruction of the rations could not be hidden. The fire in the camp burned into everyone’s hearts. Hence, when the spy was found, every soldier wanted to go forward and slash him. He was hung in front of the tent for three days and three nights. Every night, someone came to take his life. Death was very scary, but that was just a matter of raising the hand and slashing down. It could not compare to the pain of being frightened every night and not dying…
Fortunately, Rong Yan brought him into his tent in order to ensure his safety after being assassinated a few times. His expression was complicated. “Are you from the Yan Family?”
The spy kept quiet, but Rong Yan asked someone to let go of him. Knowing that every time they thought about killing that b*stard, they would be stopped by the Third Prince’s men, the soldiers in the army had some complaints. They all felt that the Third Prince was not from the battlefield after all and was always so wishy-washy. This thought reached its peak when they heard that the Third Prince was going to let this person go. A few deputy generals rushed into Rong Yan’s tent to reason with him. Unexpectedly, the Third Prince was stubborn and spoke anxiously. He even tied up the deputy generals and threw them out of the tent, ordering people to watch them closely.
The deputy generals who were treated as prisoners were furious. Even though they were tied up, they still cursed and said all kinds of unpleasant words.
The Yun Guards in charge of guarding were angry, but they obeyed His Highness’s orders and did not argue with them.
The spy was let go under such circumstances. He bowed to Rong Yan before he left.
“A wise man submits to circumstances. Looks like Third Prince is a smart person.”
“When I go back, I’ll tell Master that His Highness doesn’t want to… become enemies with us.”
He did not mention the Yan Family at all, but how could Rong Yan not guess? After he left, Rong Yan walked to the deputies and untied them.
The deputy generals rolled their eyes at him. Just as they were about to scold him for being hypocritical, they heard him ask, “Generals, do you dare to take revenge with me?”
The deputy generals were puzzled. Rong Yan said patiently, “There were many people attacking the camp that day. They appeared suddenly. There must be a place for them to hide nearby.”
“Among the spies caught, this person is the most timid and cherishes his life. He’s also the least smart. We might gain something by following him.”
Of course, there was more than one spy. However, those who resisted with all their might and were loyal were all killed in front of this person.
Based on the outcome of him fainting from fear and incontinence, this person must be afraid of death.
His Highness was not letting the tiger back to the mountain, but fishing for a big fish..