Reborn Together: The General and I Reach for Power-Chapter 459 - 456: As Long as Home is There

The Emperor shifted his gaze away from the Heir of Prince Qi.

"Search the whole palace," the Emperor instructed Du Zheng, "if there’s any further rebellion from Prince Lu’s people, I will hold you accountable."

Du Zheng responded promptly.

The Emperor entered the room and saw the Empress lying on the bed. Her face was pale, and she looked extremely haggard; her clothes were still stained with blood.

The palace attendants all bowed to the Emperor.

Empress Xu weakly called out, "Your Majesty."

The Emperor stood in front of the bed looking at the Empress, and after a while, he asked, "Why did you visit the Heir of Prince Qi at this time?"

Empress Xu had little strength to speak, but faced with the Emperor’s questioning, she had to force herself to reply, "If Prince Lu’s rebellion aligns with Prince Qi, the situation will undoubtedly become more disadvantageous; hence, I wanted to first appease the Heir of Prince Qi."

This seemed reasonable enough.

The Emperor’s expression softened somewhat.

Empress Xu continued, "When the Prince Lu’s Heir attacked the Heir of Prince Qi, I thought if something happened to the Heir of Prince Qi, Prince Lu would blame it on Your Majesty. At such a time, keeping each stable is crucial, which is why I threw myself to protect the Heir of Prince Qi."

After a moment of silence, the Emperor then said, "The Empress has thought things through very thoroughly."

"I dare not accept such praise," Empress Xu said, "I merely wish to lessen Your Majesty’s burdens."

The Emperor’s tone softened, "The Empress is gravely injured and should focus on healing. Leave the matters of the court to me; the Empress need not worry."

Empress Xu replied, "I understand, Your Majesty."

The Emperor said, "I have other affairs to attend to," as he turned and walked out.

Empress Xu hurriedly said, "I, Your Majesty, see you off." After speaking, her body sunk into the bedding, and she wearily closed her eyes. Today’s events had been a risky move; she knew saving the Heir of Prince Qi would arouse the Emperor’s suspicion, but she had no choice.

Daqi was established by the late Emperor, whose one elder brother and one younger brother had both died in battle, leaving no descendants. Among the late Emperor’s heirs, currently only the Heir of Prince Qi could be firmly held onto.

A bloodline like the Heir of Prince Qi’s could assume the throne with the approval of the ministers.

She had to leave this path for herself and the Xu Family.

"Empress," the Heir of Prince Qi kneeled outside the room.

Empress Xu instructed the palace attendants to bring a screen, then summoned the Heir of Prince Qi inside and advised, "Do not be afraid, I will send more palace attendants and eunuchs to protect you."

The Heir of Prince Qi bowed and said, "Thank you, Empress."

Empress Xu continued, "Do you miss home? When I faced situations like this before, I would miss my family even more."

The Heir of Prince Qi’s nose tingled, "No, I... don’t."

Empress Xu said, "It’s okay, I understand."

After taking a few breaths, Empress Xu had the strength to finish her words, "Write a letter home; I will inform the Emperor and have it sent to Prince Qi Mansion, so your father and mother will know you are safe."

The Heir of Prince Qi said softly, "I will first prepare medicine for the Empress, and write the letter later."

After speaking, it seemed he heard Empress Xu respond, then there was silence.

Not long after, a female official came out and said, "The Empress’s injuries are severe, she cannot hold on... let the Empress rest for a while!"

The Heir of Prince Qi nodded, retreating as he left the room. When he first heard of Prince Lu’s rebellion, he was terrified; the Emperor had detained both him and Prince Lu’s Heir in the palace, and he felt he could be executed at any time, never expecting that at the critical moment, the Empress would come to save him.

The palace was full of danger, one wrong step and it could cost one their life. Before he came, his father told him not to trust anyone. Having seen and experienced these things, he felt even more that the Empress was the only one he could rely on here.

...

The court’s troops clashed with Prince Lu’s rebel army.

Such news spread quickly.

Old Mrs. Chen returned to Chen Family Village from Dai State; as soon as she got off the carriage, she saw the village women transporting grain into the village.

"Auntie, you’re finally back."

The female relatives came to the carriage to help Old Mrs. Chen down; Mrs. Gao also returned to the village with her.

A woman said, "We thought you wouldn’t come back to the village for a while yet."

"It’s been a while since leaving home," Old Mrs. Chen said, "I’ve been thinking about the village, so I came back to take a look."

"Was the journey peaceful?" Chen Zhongdong’s mother asked while holding Old Mrs. Chen’s hand.

Old Mrs. Chen nodded, "Nothing happened, just more patrolling soldiers on the road."

Chen Zhongdong’s mother said, "I heard Qingzhou was in chaos; many people fled to escape and the refugee centers in the city are already overcrowded. If not for Prefect Qu and several county magistrates’ foresight, the city’s grain might have run out."

Old Mrs. Chen worriedly asked, "Is the village’s grain not enough? Didn’t I tell you to stock up beforehand?"

Chen Zhongdong’s mother said, "Afraid that the war won’t end quickly, we bought more coarse grain. If it really runs out, we’ll have to eat like you did back in the day."

Old Mrs. Chen had helped the village survive a famine with bran and a little grain mixed with clay. Although there was rice to eat now, everyone remembered to prepare for hard times.

"We have grain stored away, no rush to buy more," Old Mrs. Chen said, "Right now, the most urgent thing is to watch the fields. What we plant this year is most important."

Mrs. Gao said, "Auntie is right; this time, Auntie returned for the autumn harvest. With so many refugees in the city, and though refugees aren’t inherently bad, there’s bound to be some disorder. If bad elements mix in, there could be trouble, and what’s grown in the fields is what we’ve worked hard for all year."

During wartime, food is extremely precious. Fortunately, the spring planting was successful in the eight states and several northern states, yielding a good harvest. Even if more is required by the court, people can still get by.

Chen Zhongdong’s mother said, "Who knows when the war will stop. Luckily, we’ve had a breather these past two years; otherwise, who knows what things would be like."

Old Mrs. Chen said, "No need to overthink, take it step by step."

After discussing these matters with the villagers, Old Mrs. Chen was about to go to the city. As she walked, she touched her money pouch on her waist, which was getting heavier, but still not enough yet—this issue was here again.

Still, she wasn’t as panicked as before. The citizens of Zhenzhou City didn’t seem to be as afraid as they once were; there were more people in the city, yet the shops remained open, and no one was leaving with children and the elderly to escape disaster.

Ultimately, it’s the belief in Song Xian and the government office. It always feels like even if the sky falls, they’ll be there to hold it up! Moreover, now that everyone has some extra money and food in hand, they’re not so quick to abandon their homes.

As long as we have our homes, that’s enough.

There’s no difficulty that can’t be overcome.

"Xian and Liangchen, I wonder when they’ll return," Old Mrs. Chen said. "They sent a message for me to return to Chen Family Village first; I don’t know what’s the matter."

Old Mrs. Chen always felt those kids were hiding something, not fully disclosing everything to her.

At first, she thought maybe Zhenzhou was in trouble? But now, seeing things... it didn’t seem like it.