She Rebuilt Her Fallen Country With Storage Space-Chapter 176: Moving into the Governor’s Mansion, but not Provided with Food and Drink

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Moving into the Governor’s Mansion, but not Provided with Food and Drink

Jie Chen clasped his hands, his attitude seemingly respectful, but his tone was quite cold.

"Good day to you, Sixth Prince. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I won’t dawdle."

"Wait," the Sixth Prince raised his voice, walked up to him, a smile on his lips, "Don’t rush off yet, I need to discuss someone with you."

Jie Chen narrowed his eyes: "Who?"

At this time, Tao Xue muttered to Xiang Ying with confusion, "Judging by their tone, the Vice General seems quite familiar with this Sixth Prince. Could it be that we might benefit from this encounter and receive the Sixth Prince’s assistance?"

Xiang Ying shushed her: "The comer has bad intentions, it’s clear they are hostile towards Jie Chen. You mustn’t harbor illusions."

Just then, the Sixth Prince they were discussing casually mentioned Xiang Ying by name.

"I want her to stay," the Sixth Prince said with a smile, his folding fan pointing at Xiang Ying.

Everyone gasped.

Beside them, Xiang Qianqian clenched her fingertips secretly.

Xiang Ying again? Why her!

Jie Chen’s tone was cold: "Her? No, as she is also a criminal from Xizhou, she must stay in the drill ground with the others for easy surveillance."

The Sixth Prince shook his head, clucking his tongue: "As the elder princess of Xizhou, Xiang Ying is someone whom Father specifically named to be given special care; she is not an ordinary criminal."

"The elder princess is new to this place and should stay with this palace, living at Governor Lu’s Mansion," he changed his tone, "Governor, don’t you agree?"

Governor Lu Hong, who was named, shuddered and carefully offered a smile: "Yes..."

Caught between two princes, he was in no position to offend either.

Jie Chen pursed his lips, looking towards Xiang Ying.

Given his current situation, it was best not to provoke the Sixth Prince openly, as doing so could cause trouble for the other Xizhou criminals.

As expected, during the moment of Jie Chen’s silence, the Sixth Prince had lost his patience.

He glanced at the sun: "I don’t wish to waste time, since the Vice General disagrees with my proposal to be hospitable to the Xizhou criminals, then I will not be polite to them."

Upon saying this, the Sixth Prince waved his hand, signalling to his trusted guards, "Go, strip the other princesses of their clothes and drag them to parade through the streets!"

The guards stepped forward immediately, and Xiang Qianqian, Xiang Rongrong, and several Commandery Princesses all let out cries of alarm.

"Enough!" Jie Chen rebuked, his thin eyes dark and cold.

His icy gaze swept over the Sixth Prince’s somewhat triumphant face.

"Xiang Ying can stay, but she won’t be the only one. Since the Sixth Prince wishes to extend his hospitality, he shouldn’t neglect the other relatives of the Western Zhou Imperial Family."

Jie Chen named a string of people.

Including Xiang Li, Xiang Qianqian, Xiang Rongrong, and two other concubines, he also pulled in Lin Lingxiang, Qi Fengyi, Tao Xue, and three little ones.

If the Sixth Prince had the pretext of taking care of the Princesses of Xizhou, then all Imperial Family relatives should be included.

Seeing Jie Chen give such orders, the Sixth Prince chuckled, arching an eyebrow.

"Fine then, let’s follow the Vice General’s suggestion and proceed accordingly."

With that said, the Sixth Prince mounted his horse and rode away with his men, claiming to take in the scenery of Shangmei City.

Jie Chen then spoke to Lu Hong: "Prepare a room for me as well. I’ll be imposing on Governor Lu for the next few days."

Lu Hong was taken aback with gratitude: "It is my duty, no imposition at all, the Vice General is too kind."

He really was fortunate.

Both princes were staying in his mansion, which would delight anyone else.

But Lu Hong felt that since their meeting today was fraught with tension, the days ahead may be even more difficult.

Thus, Xiang Ying, along with the children, separated from the other exiled criminals and took up residence in Governor Lu’s Mansion.

Because she was with the children, and as she was a person under the special care ordered by both the Sixth Prince and Jie Chen, Lu Hong’s housekeeper arranged for her the largest room.

She would live in the same courtyard as Tao Xue, Qi Fengyi, and Lin Lingxiang.

Qi Fengyi was constantly sharpening his knives, seemingly uneasy.

"The Sixth Prince is doing this because he thinks the elder princess might have the Jade Seal," said Qi Fengyi. "They have ill intentions; we must be ready at all times."

Xiang Ying patted her shoulder soothingly: "Don’t be afraid. When soldiers come, we will block them; when water comes, we will cover it with soil. I have plenty of ways to deal with them."

Saying this, she turned to look at the three cubs playing nearby.

The children were very happy and didn’t feel any danger from staying at the Governor’s Mansion.

"We should be like the cubs and live here without worries."

Moreover, since it was the Sixth Prince who invited her in, she wouldn’t be polite anymore.

Xiang Ying rubbed her hands together secretly; the subconscious desire to stock up swelled again.

She took some cherries out of her spatial storage, walked to the courtyard, and stopped a young maid on her way to serve them tea.

"Here, this is for you to eat." Xiang Ying generously handed over the cherries. The young maid was so frightened that she kept saying no.

Xiang Ying insisted on offering: "Eat it, it’s fine. We picked these on our way here, they’re very sweet."

There is a water shortage in Mei City, and the servants in the Governor’s Mansion must carefully calculate their daily water usage.

The young maid couldn’t resist the juicy and delicious fruits in Xiang Ying’s palm and finally accepted them.

"Thank you..." The young maid didn’t know how to address such a high-ranking enemy princess and criminal.

Xiang Ying took this opportunity to inquire about some matters.

"Is the Sixth Prince staying close to us?"

"Not close; there are two gardens separating us. The Sixth Prince is male, and your courtyard is closer to our inner courtyard."

"How long will the Sixth Prince be staying? Did he also bring a bunch of troops to camp?"

The young maid shook her head in confusion: "This servant is not sure, but I heard the master say that the Sixth Prince is here to inspect the teams transporting prisoners, with troops stationed at the north side of the training ground."

So they are at the training ground. If it’s the troops, there must be many weapons.

Xiang Ying made a mental note; it seemed there was a chance to sneak a visit to the training ground.

She didn’t want to raise suspicions, so she didn’t continue asking.

However, the young maid said, "Lord Governor has ordered that you all should not leave this courtyard without permission. Therefore, any food or water needed, this servant will bring daily."

Tao Xue, who just walked out of the room, was somewhat dumbfounded.

"Not allowed out? Then, if we’re thirsty or hungry, do we just wait for you?"

The young maid nodded gently, giving Tao Xue a teapot: "This is today’s water."

Tao Xue nearly fainted with frustration looking at the barely large teapot.

"Why is there only this little for so many of us in the courtyard?"

The young maid shrank her neck: "This is the master’s order; I do not know why."

She had two other teapots in the tray, most likely for Xiang Qianqian and Xiang Rongrong next door.

As a male, Xiang Li lived alone in the outer courtyard.

Xiang Ying pressed down the about-to-erupt Tao Xue, letting the young maid go.

"Princess, why did you stop the maid? The Sixth Prince is clearly trying to make things difficult with food to force us to reveal the whereabouts of the Jade Seal."

Xiang Ying sneered: "He’s foolish, but you’re not. What do I have the most of? Don’t you know?"

She pulled Tao Xue into the room and dragged a large sack from under the bed.

Tao Xue and Qi Fengyi’s eyes widened.

Inside the sack were numerous pieces of dried meat and grain, as well as seven or eight water bags.

Even if they didn’t leave, it was enough for them and the children for half a month!

Tao Xue subconsciously looked at Xiang Ying’s chest.

Xiang Ying gently slapped her on the forehead.

"Silly girl, what are you thinking? How could I possibly hide so much on my body? These were just sent over by Jie Chen who was entrusted earlier."

Let’s just put it on Jie Chen for now; after all, he’ll be the one to take the fall if the sky comes crashing down.