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The next day, before dawn, Su Li awoke. As she stepped out of her room, she bumped into Jun Mo, who was just opening his own door.
Jun Mo paused upon seeing Su Li's attire, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. Her dark hair was bound with a white silk ribbon, and she wore an ensemble of snow-white satin. A white silk sash with long tassels was tied around her waist, from which hung a piece of mutton-fat white jade. Over this, she wore a light gauze of soft-smoke silk. Her eyebrows were long, arching towards her temples, her nose slender and elegant, her skin fair. Her eyes, which seemed to gather the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, were clear of any impurity, limpid yet profound. The outfit cleverly created the image of an extraordinary young nobleman. Her smile had a rather roguish, youthful charm, and she held an ivory folding fan.
"Why is Li'er dressed as a man?"
"It's more convenient this way. Let's go."
Standing before the fine steed, Su Li hesitated, looking at the large hand extended towards her. Jun Mo watched her, a smile playing on his lips.
"It's more convenient to ride."
Su Li offered him her hand. With a pull from Jun Mo, she felt her body lighten, and before she knew it, she was seated on the horse. Jun Mo's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her entirely into his embrace. His cloak covered her completely, leaving only her head exposed.
Su Li instinctively tried to move further away from him, but had barely shifted when he called out, "Giddy-up!"
Well, now they were pressed even closer. The horse kicked up its hooves and galloped off.
This official road was wide, flanked by ancient, verdant pines and cypresses, their trunks several arm-spans around, towering like canopies. Su Li felt the warmth of his back against hers and silently thought: Desperate times call for desperate measures...
They rode all the way to the city gate before dismounting.
Upon entering the city, the atmosphere changed. The areas inside and outside this city gate were like two completely different worlds.
Most of the taverns and shops lining the streets were closed. The streets themselves were filled with disaster victims, some sitting, some lying down. Their clothes were tattered, their eyes vacant, like skeletons draped in rags.
A bitter taste filled Su Li's mouth. "The disaster is this severe... no wonder word hasn't gotten out. Do these beasts intend to trap them in here and starve them to death?"
Jun Mo's expression was also very grave, his brow tightly furrowed. The situation was worse than they had imagined.
"Get up, get up! If you're going to die, go die back where you came from! Don't die out here! Hurry up and get up!"
Just then, a troop of yamen runners in official attire began kicking and beating the commoners, trying to drive them away. Jun Mo shielded Su Li as they stood to the side, watching.
"Get up! The important officials are coming soon! Your presence here will offend their eyes!"
"Let's go," Su Li whispered.
Su Li led Jun Mo to the front of a courtyard.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Coming, coming!" The courtyard gate opened from the inside.
"Brother Wang, it's me."
Wang Wei was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Miss! Come in, quickly, come in!"
As Su Li and Jun Mo entered, a maid served tea and several plates of pastries. Seeing Jun Mo's extraordinary bearing, Wang Wei asked, "This is?"
"His Highness Prince Jing," Su Li said.
Wang Wei hurriedly bowed. "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Jing!"
Jun Mo said lightly, "We are traveling; there's no need for such empty formalities."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Wang Wei then looked at Su Li. "Miss, you've arrived two days earlier than mentioned in the letter."
Su Li asked, "What's the situation here now?"
Wang Wei's expression turned serious. "Miss, they've confined all the refugees south of Shu Du. If you go further south, you'll see devastation everywhere. Currently, only those with substantial family savings can afford to eat. The price of rice here is skyrocketing, increasing every shichen. If this continues, no one will be able to afford grain."
Su Li had anticipated this, but her brow still furrowed tightly.
Jun Mo said coldly, "Are they intending to starve the common people to death?" Using the Shu Du city gate as a boundary to block the refugees from heading north – are they insane?
Wang Wei continued, "Not only that, I've also discovered that the taxes in Shu Zhong are significantly higher than in the northern prefectures and counties."
Jun Mo was astonished by the Shu Du Prefectural Governor's audacity. "The imperial court has never issued a notice to increase taxes!"
Su Li asked, "Have you found out what I asked you to investigate?"
Wang Wei replied, "I have. Our granary is not far from the Jiang family's granaries. The Jiang family has a total of four. I've figured out the timing and number of people for each guard change, and we even have two of our men mixed in. Moreover, I've found the capable individuals you asked me to find, Miss. We're just waiting for your order."
Su Li nodded. "Excellent. This time, we'll teach the Jiang family, and those behind them, a good lesson: what it means for resources taken from the people to be used for the people!"
Wang Wei's eyes lit up. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time! Miss, you don't know, that Prefectural Governor and the Jiang family are two peas in a pod! I've wanted to take action several times but held back."
Su Li smiled. "I know Brother Wang is a warm-hearted person and cannot stand such injustice. But the Jiang family has been entrenched in Shu Du for decades; they are a major clan here. I believe the Jiang family is the true master of Shu Du, and the Prefectural Governor is merely their puppet and scapegoat. We must be thorough in our planning, succeed in one strike, and also protect ourselves."
Wang Wei nodded. "Miss is right."
Wang Wei then spoke more about the situation in the city, and the group further refined their plans.
"His Highness and Miss must be weary from the journey. Rooms have been prepared. Please return to your rooms to freshen up first, then dine."
The two followed a maid to the side rooms. Su Li's and Jun Mo's rooms were not far apart.
After freshening up, Su Li went to Jun Mo's room and found him already washed and sitting at the table drinking tea. Su Li walked over, and Jun Mo poured her a cup of tea.
"Li'er seems to know the Jiang family quite well?"
Su Li shook her head. "Not very well. Your Highness probably knows more than I do." Her knowledge of the Jiang family was entirely from her previous life. She only knew they were Jun Hui's maternal family and had gained great merit during this famine in her past life. Jun Hui was then enfeoffed as Prince Xian, and the head of the Jiang family was also promoted.
Jun Mo smiled. "Then let me tell Li'er about this Jiang family. The current head is Jun Hui's maternal grandfather, Jiang Xu. Jiang Xu has two sons, Jiang He and Jiang Xiao. Currently, Jiang He manages all the Jiang family's businesses. Jiang Xiao, on the other hand, has the image of a profligate young master. However, he's only been a profligate young master for less than ten years. Before that, he was also a capable man, especially skilled in the study of mechanisms."
Su Li frowned. "I fear that profligacy is merely what he wants the world to see. What is he doing behind the scenes then?"
Jun Mo glanced at Su Li with appreciation. "That's what we need to investigate. This Jiang Xiao is extremely vigilant, and he has imperial shadow guards by his side!"
Su Li's eyes widened. "Imperial shadow guards!"
"Indeed. To have imperial shadow guards protecting him, he can't possibly be just a profligate young master. Even the old head of the Jiang family doesn't have this treatment. For my good imperial brother to even deploy shadow guards, what is he having his uncle do in secret?"
Su Li's eyes lit up. "Raising troops and stockpiling weapons!" In her previous life, she only knew the Jiang family helped him hoard grain and build his reputation. She never expected him to have the Jiang family raise troops for him! She always knew he had soldiers, but she didn't expect him not to keep them under his own command, but to have the Jiang family do it.
Thinking about it, it made sense. As a prince, Jun Hui's every move was watched by too many people. And Shu Du was far from the emperor's reach; handing it over to the Jiang family was indeed a good move. No wonder after Consort Yun rose to power, the Jiang family, as the consort's maternal family, didn't move north but stayed to guard Shu Du.
"Correct." Jun Mo took a sip of tea and continued, "Also, while our plan to 'borrow' grain is good, we still need to borrow manpower. Judging by the current situation, the entire Prefectural Governor's office is filled with the Jiang family's lackeys. Even if we transport the grain back to our granary, we'll need people to guard it."
Su Li nodded. "You're right. And the people we borrow need to have a higher official rank than the Prefectural Governor to suppress him."
Jun Mo said, "Then we can only go to the Governor-General's Mansion in Huizhou, north of Shu Du, to borrow them."
Jun Mo stood up. "I will arrange these things. Let's go eat first, then we'll go meet these local tyrants of Shu Du."