[The Orphan's Love Affair with a Beauty's Rivalry] (Volume 3, Chapter 243)

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Chapter 243 The World is in

Dire Straits However, this was not the end of the story. With the destruction of the Rakshasa Sect, the balance of power in the

martial world, previously controlled by two powerful families in the north and south, was broken. Especially in northern Guanzhong, a region plagued by famine and plague, the lack of a strong martial arts force to suppress the rebellion led to widespread uprisings

by bandits after Zhan Tianying's rebellion. 　　These bandits rose up in response, forming more than ten different groups of roving bandits. Unlike Zhan Tianying's disciplined rebel army, these bandits roamed like locusts, roaming everywhere. They not only robbed the government offices and wealthy households in poorly defended towns, but also ordinary people to satisfy their hunger . This resulted in many people in the region either joining the bandits or fleeing to other places and becoming beggars! 　　Faced with such a chaotic situation, the elderly emperor had no choice but to order the Minister of War, Lu Long, to mobilize troops . He barely managed to gather 60,000 troops, with Liang Hongyu, the Pacification Commissioner of Mengzhou, and his 5,000 Mengzhou soldiers as the vanguard, to go to Shanxi to suppress Zhan Tianying's army and the roving bandits in northern Guanzhong. 　　After nearly ten days of fierce fighting, Liang Hongyu, as expected of a renowned female general, led the Mengzhou troops with overwhelming momentum, capturing several cities occupied by Zhan Tianying's army. However, Zhan Tianying was also a genius with great courage and personal charisma, commanding a large number of fierce generals. He led his army to fight in various parts of Shanxi and northern Shaanxi, gaining many supporters wherever he went. Local bandits joined him one after another, and the government troops were exhausted from chasing after them and had not yet wiped out this rabble. 　　Later, after investigation by the imperial spies, it was found that Zhan Tianying's band of bandits had nothing to do with the Luosha Sect. The people of the Central Plains were superstitious and liked to make connections, and the old emperor was no exception. Since he sent troops to besiege the Luosha Sect, various problems had arisen one after another, making even the self-confident and wise emperor busy and restless, unable to stay in the palace to enjoy his old age. 　　He privately reprimanded the Crown Prince for this: "Originally, the government and the Jianghu forces were separate entities. Officials never oppressed the people, and the people never fought against officials. My strategy of having your elder sister, as the leader of Tianmen and a Jianghu figure, curb the Rakshasa Sect was correct. However, it seems that your encouragement at the beginning of the year to rashly send troops to suppress them without confirmation of a Rakshasa Sect rebellion was a mistake. Since the court has set a precedent for intervening in the Jianghu, the Jianghu people can also rise up and fight against the government, just like now. Look at the mess you've made, and your elder sister and I have to clean it up for you!" 　　After saying this, he sighed deeply. In fact, he preferred his youngest son, the Prince of Xiang, but the Crown Prince was the eldest son, and he only had these two sons . He didn't want to break the rules. Overall, he didn't have a high opinion of the Crown Prince's performance over the years. 　　The Crown Prince, trembling with fear, prostrated himself on the ground and said respectfully, "Father, I know my mistake. I beg you to punish me!" 　　Emperor Qianxi waved his hand dismissively. "I know this was mostly instigated by Zheng Tianen. I just want to remind you , you're over thirty now. Think things through more. Fine, kneel and take your leave." He couldn't say much more, after all, Zheng Tianen had been loyal to him for many years. 　　Even so, Emperor Qianxi wouldn't easily admit his mistake. Exonerating the Rakshasa Sect was impossible; at most, the ban would be lifted, and the government would privately return the confiscated property. He'd do it, or vice versa— that's how it always was in the Central Plains dynasties. That evening, he dined at Empress Yang's Huici Palace. This virtuous and magnanimous Empress hadn't given him a son, but she had a remarkably talented eldest daughter. Whenever Feng Yin led the army on campaign, he would try to spend time with Empress Yang, showing concern and care. Perhaps deep down, he felt indebted to this mother and daughter? On East Street of Dezhou Prefecture in 　　　　　　　　　　　Jiaodong 　　region, before Chenshi (7-9 AM), the vegetable market more than ten zhang (3.3 meters) from the North Street intersection was already empty, with only a few vegetable farmers carrying loads. Each farmer had very few unsold vegetables left in their loads, and they didn't even need to shout anymore. 　　At the entrance of the market, a vegetable farmer had only about two pounds of potatoes left in his basket. A housewife glanced disdainfully at the pile of potatoes, her eyes constantly scanning the passersby around her. She went on and on, nitpicking the potatoes for all sorts of faults, the biggest and most important being that these potatoes were what others had rejected. If anyone approached, she would glare at them fiercely , driving away any potential competitors with her stern look. Then she said, "If you could lower the price by one copper coin, I'd take both pounds of potatoes. You can take the money and go home early." 　　The farmer, who looked to be in his twenties, seemed not to come to the city to sell vegetables often and was clearly unfamiliar with the market. He was dumbfounded by the housewife's nitpicking . But just by looking at the situation in the market, he knew that the market was tight. This time , he had only picked vegetables grown in his own field to sell, as his family was still hungry. He had come to the city to sell vegetables only to earn some money for his child's medical treatment, so he shook his head repeatedly, refusing to lower the price. The housewife relentlessly haggled with him, but after a long discussion, they couldn't reach an agreement. 　　Further east, three storefronts away from the market, in the main hall of the Juyuan Teahouse, two scholars in blue robes sat facing each other, sipping tea. They appeared refined, but their voices were surprisingly loud. They weren't discussing national affairs, but rather lamenting the rise of erotic poetry in brothels in recent years, shaking their heads as they spoke. At the next table sat three burly men, around forty years old, dressed like江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people of the martial arts world), their faces showing signs of hardship. Each was rugged in appearance, but spoke softly. They were discussing two major events: Zhan Tianying's rebellion and the Liaodong War. They surprisingly praised Zhan Tianying and also held the Princess in high regard. 　　It was breakfast time, and the Zhao's Steamed Bun Shop next door was bustling with business. Three young employees were working up a sweat , constantly calling out orders of "one or two baskets," carrying stacks of empty or steaming buns around the dining area. 　　Behind the counter, Manager Zhao smiled as he watched the nearly full table of customers. Most were friends brought by local residents, drawn by the prestigious Zhao family name on Dezhou East Street. The century-old shop certainly lived up to its reputation; everyone ate with gusto, chatting and laughing, mostly about their recent businesses. A few were chuckling loudly, telling silly jokes—"Aren't you tired of it being so early?" 　　Manager Zhao glanced at the street, his brow immediately furrowing. He couldn't stand the group of beggars sitting outside; their presence would surely affect the shop's business. So he told his employees to chase them all across the street. The world was tough; these beggars could barely scrape together a copper coin or a bowl of rice, let alone a couple of fragrant Zhao's soup dumplings. The customers, watching them wolf down their food, were incredibly envious, but the dumplings were expensive, and their daily earnings probably wouldn't even cover one. 　　The housewife finally managed to bargain successfully, buying the pile of potatoes to take home. If it came down to who could outlast whom, the young man was no match for her. This year had been plagued by natural disasters and man-made calamities, resulting in a poor harvest, and especially today, very few people were selling vegetables.

Grain was even rarer, and even if she couldn't get that extra coin, she still had to buy it, otherwise she wouldn't have lunch or dinner .

But based on her years of experience, she pointed out every single flaw in the potatoes, making them practically worthless. The young man

himself felt that keeping the potatoes was a burden; she'd gone to so much trouble, so saving a coin was only fair.

As she walked past the group of beggar children carrying her basket, she was still calculating whether she could have gotten two coins.

Hearing the children begging, she instinctively took out the coin she'd saved and tried to throw it into their bowls. Most of the

children only a little over ten years old, about the same age as her son—quite pitiful! Just as she was about to throw the coin,

she realized that these beggars were all unfamiliar faces, not the same ones she knew from years of begging there.

Could they be con artists? She quickly withdrew her hand, clutching the coin tightly, and hurried away.

A series of hoofbeats approached. She looked up and saw two carriages approaching from afar, escorted by a group of gray-clad

knights . The first carriage was a magnificent four-horse carriage, indicating that its occupants

were of high status. The second carriage was much simpler, pulled by two horses, and likely carried maids and servants

.

A middle-aged couple sat demurely in the luxurious and spacious carriage, chatting in hushed tones.

The lady thirties, was stunningly beautiful and had a voluptuous and sensual figure. She was

Zhang Mei, the mistress of the Cheng Yang Marquis's mansion in Yanzhou, also known as Lady Bai Mei. Her actual age should have been forty-one, but due to her affluent lifestyle and proper maintenance, she was naturally more robust than

other middle-aged women of her age. In the past two months, she had received several treatments from the Wuyue Dragon and Phoenix True Technique, making her appear even younger.

Sitting beside her was a distinguished, elegant, and refined middle-aged scholar in a purple robe. His scholarly air was immediately

apparent; he was undoubtedly a learned man. Indeed, he was Yang Qiulin, the Marquis of Chengyang, a Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy,

the only elder brother of the Princess's husband, and Zhang Mei's husband. In terms of knowledge of both ancient and modern times, even the current Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy,

Fang Tianyi, surpassed him after his younger brother's death. Moreover, his writing was elegant and eloquent, both humorous and philosophical,

highly regarded in high literary circles, and each new work quickly became a bestseller.

It was late spring, and Zhang Mei and her husband were on a spring outing. After touring the southern mountainous region of Jinan Prefecture,

they continued north. Today, passing through Dezhou Prefecture, her husband stopped in the city to visit an old friend. She was a highly skilled martial artist,

a renowned female knight-errant of the martial world. Naturally free-spirited and fond of meddling in others' affairs, she had

always enjoyed wandering the martial world since mastering her skills, making friends with many chivalrous figures. Even in middle age, she continued this tradition, traveling three or four times a year,

always ready to help those in need, each trip lasting over a month.

In the years since her husband became impotent, her companions on these trips had mostly been handsome and extraordinary young men.

They would travel hand-in-hand by day and share a bed at night, with the partners frequently changing. A trip with her husband like today was quite

rare , related to her encounter with Wuyue. Since then, she had toned down her flirtatious ways and returned to

being the virtuous wife and mother she once was. Of course, this trip with her husband also included a secret investigation of Wuyue in the vicinity. Whether

she would remain faithful in the future depended on whether he would fall into her arms.

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