When the gates of Hanchuan City slowly opened, the wind and snow surged out through the gap like resentment that had been suppressed for a long time.
Xiao Yuan stepped into the city. The first thing he saw was not the garrison soldiers or the common people, but a long street that was almost completely sealed by ice and snow.
Most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, their doors covered in thick frost. Hardly any lamplight could be seen through the cracks in the windows. Occasionally, a household would leave a small gap in the door, and someone inside would peer out. When they saw the Prince Su’s banner, there was not much joy in their eyes, but more dullness and bewilderment.
It was not disrespect.
They had simply been hungry for too long and cold for too long, until even their emotions had been worn away.
The despair in Linzhou had been chaotic—cries, struggles, the moans of the sick, and officials shirking responsibility had all been tangled together like a pot of ruined porridge.
But the despair in Hanchuan was quiet.
This city seemed to have been strangled by the wind and snow. Everyone was still alive, yet no one dared to breathe loudly.
Xiao Yuan walked toward the center of the city, with Qin Feng following beside him, his voice hoarse as he reported the situation.
“Hanchuan originally had 3,800 garrison soldiers and approximately 26,000 households. Before winter, the city’s granaries should have been enough to last two months. This year, however, the snow came too early. The mountain roads to the north were sealed, and the merchant caravans couldn’t get through. On top of that, several surrounding villages suffered disasters, and many commoners fled into the city. Grain consumption has been nearly twice as fast as in previous years.”
He stopped for a moment, as though some things were difficult to say.
Xiao Yuan glanced at him.
“Continue.”
Qin Feng gritted his teeth and lowered his voice.
“The second batch of grain originally allocated by the imperial court to the northern border was diverted to Shuozhou halfway through, supposedly because the Shuozhou garrison was in urgent need. But later, this subordinate sent people to investigate. Shuozhou had never actually run out of grain. They simply changed the name under which it was transferred and kept the grain there.”
Xiao Yuan’s footsteps paused slightly.
Inside the carriage behind them, Xia Lanshi slowly raised his eyes upon hearing this.
The smile on Chi Banyue’s face had completely disappeared.
Amid the wind and snow, Qin Feng’s voice became even hoarser.
“There was also a shipment of medicinal materials and cotton clothing that should have arrived in Hanchuan ten days ago. The transport officer claimed that an avalanche occurred along the way, destroying more than half of the shipment. This subordinate sent people to assist them, but only found several overturned empty carts. The wheel tracks did not look as though they had simply been buried by snow. It was more like the goods had been transferred away beforehand.”
Xiao Yuan did not speak immediately.
He simply stood in the long street of Hanchuan City, looking toward the distant city walls hidden behind the wind and snow.
Qin Feng lowered his head.
“Your Highness, the lack of grain in the northern border is indeed partly due to natural disasters. But if it were only because of the disasters, Hanchuan should not have been reduced to this state.”
Once he finished speaking, the surroundings fell completely silent.
The northern wind swept across the street, causing the worn shop banner beneath the eaves to sway stiffly.
Xia Lanshi lightly coughed from inside the carriage.
Xiao Yuan turned back, his brows slightly furrowing.
Chi Banyue immediately lowered the carriage curtain halfway, stuffed the hand warmer into Xia Lanshi’s arms, and whispered, “Don’t let the wind hit you.”
Yet Xia Lanshi’s gaze never left Qin Feng. His voice was gentle but went straight to the point.
“If grain allocation, transportation, and escorting all have problems at the same time, then this isn’t simple embezzlement.”
Qin Feng abruptly raised his head and looked toward the carriage.
Xia Lanshi’s voice was not loud.
“Someone wants Hanchuan to fail.”
Qin Feng’s expression changed.
It was not that he had never considered this possibility.
He simply had not dared to say it.
The northern border was far from the capital, but the hands of the court could still reach here. Once Hanchuan fell, the people and soldiers who would die would be the ones here. But the person who would truly be held accountable would certainly be Xiao Yuan.
Xia Lanshi understood this clearly.
Xiao Yuan had only just left the capital to head north, and the Crown Prince had already dared to interfere with the grain supplies.
They did not merely want Hanchuan to die.
They wanted to force Xiao Yuan to die.
If Xiao Yuan failed to save Hanchuan, resentment would spread throughout the northern border, and people in the court would naturally seize the opportunity to attack him, saying that he was incompetent and had failed to fulfill the Emperor’s orders.
If Xiao Yuan managed to save Hanchuan, the Crown Prince would certainly send people to investigate in secret—to find out where Xiao Yuan’s supplies had come from and whether those people had come into contact with Xiao Yuan’s men.
Whether Xiao Yuan saved the city or did nothing, it was a trap.
Xia Lanshi slowly tightened his fingers around the edge of the hand warmer.
He could already guess what the Crown Prince wanted.
It was not merely the grain of one city.
It was the secret hidden behind Xiao Yuan—the secret that had overturned Linzhou’s dead-end situation.
Xiao Yuan’s expression was cold and grim. After a moment, he finally spoke.
“Go to the granary first.”
Qin Feng immediately answered, “Yes.”
The Hanchuan granary was located in the western part of the city, guarded by two groups of soldiers.
However, every one of those soldiers was thin and sallow. Their armor hung loosely from their bodies, and the fingers gripping their spears were red from the cold. When they saw Xiao Yuan, they wanted to salute, but their knees bent a moment too slowly.
It was not disrespect.
They were simply so hungry that even their reactions had become sluggish.
Xia Lanshi was helped out of the carriage by Chi Banyue. Xiao Yuan originally wanted him to remain inside, but he insisted on going over.
When the granary doors opened, a cold, dry, musty smell rushed toward them.
Xiao Yuan walked inside, his gaze sweeping across row after row of grain sacks.
At first glance, the granary was not completely empty. Quite a few grain sacks were still piled against the walls, and their quantity seemed sufficient to last for some time.
Xia Lanshi only took one look before saying calmly,
“Open them.”
Qin Feng froze for a moment, then immediately ordered the soldiers forward.
A soldier cut open the first sack.
The rice that poured out was mixed with gravel and husks. Its color was dark, and some of it had already become moldy.
Qin Feng’s expression changed drastically.
“Open another.”
Xiao Yuan’s voice had grown colder.
The second sack.
The third.
The fourth.
By the time they reached the tenth sack, everyone’s expression had become extremely ugly.
Less than half of the grain was actually edible.
Some sacks had good-quality rice spread across the outer layer, while the inside was filled with spoiled grain and sand.
The method was crude, but it was enough to deceive hurried inspections by transport officials. It was also enough to make Hanchuan believe that it still possessed reserve grain until the moment the city truly ran out.
Xia Lanshi glanced at the sacks and said softly,
“Your Highness, this isn’t a disease. It’s a knife.”
Xiao Yuan understood what Xia Lanshi meant.
Hanchuan had not simply fallen ill.
Someone had been using a knife to slowly cut apart its lifeblood. They were waiting for it to believe it was merely suffering from cold, hunger, and weakness, only to discover that it had already lost too much blood.
Xia Lanshi walked to the grain sacks and crouched down, reaching out to sift through the rice.
Chi Banyue immediately frowned. She wanted to stop him but restrained herself, instead taking a piece of cloth from her sleeve and handing it to him.
Xia Lanshi accepted it, picked up several grains through the cloth, and examined them for a moment.
“This wasn’t replaced recently.”
Qin Feng froze.
“What does His Excellency Xia mean?”
Xia Lanshi stood up, but because he moved too quickly, his body swayed slightly.
Chi Banyue immediately reached out to support him and whispered,
“You’d better remember that you’re a patient now.”
Xia Lanshi nodded lightly, but his gaze remained fixed on the grain.
“These grains were tampered with before they even entered the granary. If this were local embezzlement in Hanchuan, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to leave the spoiled grain here waiting to be discovered. It is more likely that part of the grain was replaced during transportation. Good grain was placed on the outside to conceal it, while inferior grain and sand were mixed inside. It would only be exposed when the granary was actually opened for relief.”
Qin Feng clenched his fists.
“The grain transport officials were sent by the Ministry of Revenue.”
Xiao Yuan let out a cold laugh, without the slightest warmth.
The Ministry of Revenue.
The Crown Prince’s people.
Xia Lanshi asked again, “In the past month, did Hanchuan receive any documents ordering grain transfers, allocations, or loans of grain?”
Qin Feng froze, then immediately said,
“Yes. Half a month ago, the Right Northern Camp sent a letter saying they were urgently short of military provisions and asked Hanchuan to send out thirty percent of its stored grain. The commander refused at the time. Later, we received an official seal from the Northern Border Transport Office ordering Hanchuan to prioritize the greater good.”
“Was that grain sent?”
“It was.” Qin Feng gritted his teeth. “But less than three days after it was sent, word came that bandits had attacked the convoy and all the grain had been lost.”
Chi Banyue let out a cold laugh.
“How coincidental.”
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes.
“It wasn’t a coincidence. It was a trap.”
First, they mixed spoiled grain into the supplies.
Then they diverted the remaining reserves.
Finally, they made sure the replacement supplies never arrived.
The natural disaster that blocked the roads was merely the surface.
The true force pushing Hanchuan toward the brink was the succession of hands reaching out from the capital, from the Transport Office, and from the Ministry of Revenue.
These people might not care how many people in Hanchuan died.
They only cared about what Xiao Yuan would do.
If he followed the rules and waited for the imperial court to send grain, Hanchuan would not last five days.
If he disregarded the rules and privately mobilized grain from other granaries, he would be charged with overstepping his authority.
If he somehow produced enough grain to save the city out of nowhere—
Even better.
That was precisely the moment the Crown Prince was waiting for.
Xiao Yuan looked at the grain sacks that had been cut open, the chill in his eyes sinking deeper and deeper.
He had seen court tactics before.
But using the lives of an entire city’s people and frontier soldiers as bait was still enough to disgust him.
After a long while, he finally said,
“Seal the granary.”
Qin Feng stiffened.
Xiao Yuan said, “Recount every grain sack. Record the edible and inedible grain separately. From this moment onward, the Hanchuan granary is personally under my control. No one may enter or leave without permission. Anyone who disobeys will be executed.”
When he spoke the final four words, his voice was not loud.
Yet everyone inside the granary felt a chill run down their backs.
Qin Feng immediately cupped his fists.
“This subordinate accepts the order!”
Xiao Yuan then looked toward Xia Lanshi.
“Can you trace the transportation route?”
Xia Lanshi lightly coughed and answered steadily, “Yes. As long as the account books still exist, there will always be traces.”
Chi Banyue reminded him from the side,
“Doctor Su said your daily work must not exceed two hours.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
At this moment, those words were truly somewhat destructive to the atmosphere.
Qin Feng was stunned. Clearly, he did not understand who Doctor Su was, nor why the Chief Historian had to observe a time limit while investigating a case.
Xiao Yuan, however, nodded naturally.
“Investigate it in stages.”
Xia Lanshi looked at him.
Xiao Yuan said coldly, “If you collapse, the account books won’t open their mouths by themselves.”
Chi Banyue almost failed to suppress her laughter.
Xia Lanshi was silent for a moment before saying gently,
“…This subject obeys.”
Yet no matter how one listened to it, there was a trace of reluctant surrender in his tone.
◆◇◆◇◆
That night, the first results of the Hanchuan inventory were delivered to the government office.
The amount of actually usable grain was even less than Qin Feng had estimated.
At normal rations, it would last only three days.
If everything was cut in half, it could last at most five days.
If it was reduced any further, the city would descend into chaos.
The government office had temporarily become Xiao Yuan’s council chamber.
The charcoal in the brazier burned fiercely, yet it still could not drive away the cold seeping through the cracks in the walls.
Qin Feng and several Hanchuan commanders stood below the hall, each wearing an uglier expression than the last.
Xiao Yuan sat in the main seat. Before him were a map of Hanchuan City, the granary registers, the epidemic records, and the military rolls of the various camps.
Xia Lanshi sat beside him wrapped in a thick cloak. A packet of nutritional liquid sent by Su Muchen sat beside his hand.
Chi Banyue stood behind him, watching him like a criminal who might violate the rules at any moment.
Xia Lanshi originally intended to pretend he could not see her gaze, but it was simply too obvious.
In the end, he picked up the nutritional liquid and slowly took a sip.
Only then did Chi Banyue look satisfied.
Qin Feng watched this scene with such a strange expression that he nearly forgot they were in the middle of a council meeting.
Xiao Yuan tapped the table.
“Speak of the matter at hand.”
Everyone immediately came back to their senses.
Xia Lanshi set down the nutritional liquid and pointed at the map.
“Hanchuan cannot rely solely on the granary. All grain in the city must be registered again, including privately stored military provisions, merchants’ warehouses, wealthy households’ cellars, and the reserves held by ordinary families in every district. We are not confiscating everything. First determine the quantities, then distribute them according to headcount.”
Qin Feng hesitated.
“If we search wealthy households, I’m afraid it will cause resistance.”
Chi Banyue sneered.
“Resistance? People are already freezing to death outside the city gates. What more can they resist?”
Xia Lanshi said calmly, “We cannot rely solely on forced searches. First issue an order stating that those who voluntarily report their grain may retain ten percent for personal use. Anyone who conceals grain and is discovered will have all of it confiscated. Anyone who takes advantage of the situation to drive up grain prices will be dealt with according to military law.”
Qin Feng’s eyes lit up.
This was far more stable than simply raiding households.
Xiao Yuan nodded.
“Do it.”
Xia Lanshi continued, “Second, establish porridge stations immediately. But don’t serve only porridge. People who have been hungry for too long cannot eat too much at once, especially the elderly and children. Use the rules for hydration and food intake that Doctor Su previously gave Linzhou.”
Qin Feng heard the words “Doctor Su” once again.
This time, he finally could not help looking toward Xiao Yuan.
“Your Highness, who is this Doctor Su?”
The hall instantly fell silent.
Xiao Yuan raised his eyes.
Qin Feng’s heart tightened, and he immediately lowered his head.
“This subordinate has spoken out of turn.”
Xiao Yuan did not punish him. He only said indifferently,
“Someone this prince invited.”
One sentence was enough to shut down all further questions.
Xia Lanshi glanced at Xiao Yuan but said nothing.
He knew that ever since Linzhou, the words “Doctor Su” could not be completely hidden.
As long as those medicines from another world, those methods of treatment, and those supplies continued to appear, sooner or later people would ask.
The Crown Prince had seen this point as well.
The shortage of grain in Hanchuan was not the goal.
Hanchuan was bait.
Every person they saved would cause Su Muchen’s shadow to fall more deeply across the Great Sheng Dynasty.
But they could not refuse to save them.
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes slightly and secretly cursed inwardly.
Truly vicious, to such a precise degree.
The council continued until late at night.
When the second hour was about to end, Chi Banyue promptly pulled the brush from Xia Lanshi’s hand.
The entire hall fell silent again.
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes and said gently,
“Miss Banyue, there’s still a little left.”
Chi Banyue smiled very politely.
“Doctor Su said that ‘there’s still a little left’ usually turns into ‘there’s still a whole night left.'”
Qin Feng: “…”
The Hanchuan commanders: “…”
Xiao Yuan seemed to have long since grown accustomed to this. He merely instructed the clerk beside him,
“This prince will handle the rest.”
Xia Lanshi looked toward Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Yuan did not even raise his head.
“Go back and rest.”
This time, Xia Lanshi did not argue.
He knew that he had already pushed himself too hard today. Hanchuan was colder than Linzhou, and after inspecting the grain and attending the council continuously after entering the city, his fingers had already begun to tremble with cold. There was also a faint pressure in his chest.
When Chi Banyue helped him stand, she lowered her voice.
“Don’t force yourself.”
Xia Lanshi said softly, “I’m not.”
Chi Banyue looked at him.
Her expression clearly said: Do you think I believe you?
Xia Lanshi could only remain silent.
Once they left the council hall, the night wind struck them head-on, cold as a blade.
Xia Lanshi had only just walked down the steps when he began coughing softly.
Chi Banyue immediately tightened his cloak around him and frowned.
“If you develop a fever tonight, I’ll paste Doctor Su’s entire plan all over the government office.”
Xia Lanshi coughed until the corners of his eyes reddened, yet he still smiled helplessly.
“Miss Banyue, you weren’t like this before.”
Chi Banyue supported him as they walked toward the side room, her tone light.
“One is influenced by one’s company.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
For a moment, he could not tell whether the “company” she meant was Su Muchen or Xiao.
When he thought of Xiao, his fingers unconsciously touched the peace jade pendant inside his sleeve.
The jade was cool and warm at the same time.
Like the warmth that benefactor had given him on a snowy night many years ago.
Chi Banyue noticed his movement. Her gaze paused slightly, but she did not point it out.
◆◇◆◇◆
At the same time, in the Eastern Palace of the capital.
The charcoal fire burned fiercely, making the hall as warm as spring, completely unlike the wind and snow in Hanchuan thousands of miles away.
Xiao Sheng sat behind his desk, slowly reading the secret report that had just arrived.
The epidemic in Linzhou had been brought under control.
Xiao Yuan had entered Hanchuan.
Hanchuan’s grain supplies were critically low.
When he reached the final sentence, the corners of Xiao Sheng’s lips curved slightly.
“Five days.”
He softly repeated the number, as though he found it rather interesting.
A strategist beside him said quietly,
“Your Highness, rest assured. Everything in Hanchuan has already been arranged according to your instructions. There are few traces left in the Ministry of Revenue’s grain transfers, and the people responsible for transporting the grain have already been dealt with. Even if Prince Su investigates, he can only trace it to a few scapegoats.”
Xiao Sheng set down the secret report.
“I am not afraid of him investigating.”
The strategist froze.
Xiao Sheng lowered his eyes toward the candlelight on the desk.
“I am afraid he won’t investigate.”
The firelight reflected in his eyes like a cold, ghostly glow.
“The events in Linzhou were too strange. Epidemics, refugees, grain shortages, poisoning—any one of them should have been enough to drag him down. Yet in the end, not only did he survive, he even turned Linzhou around. Do you think Xia Lanshi alone, that sickly man, could accomplish something like that?”
The strategist lowered his head without speaking.
Xiao Sheng slowly said,
“There is something behind Xiao Yuan.”
He did not say “someone.”
He said “something.”
Because what stood beyond him had already exceeded what ordinary advisers and martial-world forces could accomplish.
Strange medicines.
Strange objects.
Strange food.
And that Doctor Su who had never appeared in person.
Xiao Sheng’s eyes grew deeper.
“If Hanchuan dies, Xiao Yuan will bear the blame. If Hanchuan survives, he will have to produce something capable of saving lives. The more he takes out, the more he reveals.”
The strategist whispered, “Your Highness is wise.”
Xiao Sheng did not smile.
He merely raised his hand and pushed another secret letter forward.
“Send word to the people in Hanchuan. They need not act yet. Have them watch Xiao Yuan. Especially the sources of the grain and medicine, and that Doctor Su.”
He paused, his voice becoming even lower.
“I want to know exactly where Xiao Yuan is conjuring a path to survival from.”
◆◇◆◇◆
In the rear courtyard of the Hanchuan government office, the night was already deep.
Xiao Yuan stood alone beneath the corridor, holding the Hanchuan granary register in his hand.
He had been looking at it for a long time.
Every shortage recorded on it was like a knife mark.
The natural disaster was real.
The wind and snow blocking the roads were real.
The shortage of grain in the cold region was real.
But the man-made disaster was real as well.
And it was even colder than the natural disaster.
Xia Lanshi was right.
This was a trap.
The Crown Prince was using Hanchuan to force him to choose.
If he followed the rules of the Great Sheng Dynasty, Hanchuan would die.
If he ignored the rules, he would be guilty.
If he used the supplies from Guichen Studio, the traces of that door would become even deeper.
Xiao Yuan closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened them again, his expression already calm.
He knew he had no choice.
At least when faced with the dead, he had no choice.
At the third watch that night, Xiao Yuan avoided everyone and entered an abandoned storeroom behind the government office.
It was sheltered from the wind, the four walls were intact, and the floor was flat enough to open the door.
After ordering his hidden guards to protect the surroundings, he raised his hand and reached into the void.
When he grasped the door ring, white light slowly seeped out of the air.
The lamplight of Guichen Studio appeared at the other end.
Su Muchen, as expected, was still awake.
He was leaning over the counter organizing information about the northern border. When he heard the movement, he raised his head.
His first words were not to ask about Hanchuan.
Instead, he frowned at Xiao Yuan.
“Your complexion is terrible.”
Xiao Yuan stood at the doorway, wind and cold air seeping in behind him.
He looked at Su Muchen and remained silent for a moment before saying quietly,
“Muchen, Hanchuan can only last five days.”
The pen in Su Muchen’s hand stopped.
The shop fell silent for a moment.
Xiao, sitting in the corner, slowly raised his eyes.
Su Muchen looked at Xiao Yuan.
He did not ask, “How did this happen?”
Nor did he ask, “Is it serious?”
He simply closed his notebook, opened a drawer, and pulled out the already-prepared Emergency Northern Border Supply Plan.
As though he had known all along that this moment would eventually come.
“How much do you need?”
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
Su Muchen spread the paper across the table, his tone steady.
“Don’t tell me whether we can do it yet. Tell me how many people Hanchuan has, how many days they need to last, how much grain remains in the granary, how many patients there are, and how many children and elderly people.”
He picked up his pen, the tip touching the paper.
“We’ll calculate starting from the worst-case scenario.”
The coldness that had weighed on Xiao Yuan’s chest throughout the entire day suddenly seemed to have been pried open by something.
Outside was the wind and snow of the northern border.
Behind him was the Crown Prince’s deadly trap.
And at the other end of the door, someone had not asked whether he was worth saving, nor whether the secret would be exposed.
Su Muchen had simply asked him—
How much do you need?
Xiao Yuan said quietly,
“All right.”
The light of Guichen Studio fell between the two of them.
Outside, the wind and snow continued without end.
And at that very moment, the first thread of a path to survival for Hanchuan City was rewritten.