maidservant

Chapter 47: Guan Rong's texture is used to cook raw meat and make wontons, and people are eager to taste it.

The Western Bian Kingdom, a country that struggled to survive over the years, ultimately failed to escape the ruthless manipulation of fate. Like a crumbling building, it collapsed in the wind and rain.

In this devastated land, a businessman is struggling to make ends meet.

At this moment, he was burning with hunger, his stomach and intestines seemed to be gnawing at by countless ants, and his internal organs were clamoring for food.

In desperation, he turned his eyes to the ancestral jade in his family. In his eyes, the warm luster was nothing more than a bargaining chip to exchange for a bushel of millet and prolong his life for a few days.

He dragged his heavy steps, his eyes numb and empty, as if his soul had been taken away by this chaotic world.

Walking on the dilapidated streets, he held the jade tightly in his arms, as if guarding his last hope.

On both sides of the street, there are broken walls and ruins. The former prosperity has long disappeared, leaving only endless desolation and silence.

Occasionally a cold wind blew, stirring up the dust on the ground, as if wailing for this dying country.

After turning a few corners, he saw a wonton and meat shop. The aroma of meat that filled his nose was like an invisible force that instantly attracted his attention.

He couldn't help but step forward, a crazy thought coming to his mind: in this desperate situation where he was about to starve to death, why not have a good meal of meat, so that his life would not be in vain.

However, when he walked to the front of the shop, the scene before him was like a bolt of lightning.

Under the knives of the two or three burly butchers, a piece of meat skin with a "Hundred Flowers Painting" pattern printed on it suddenly appeared in his sight.

The familiar pattern, like a nightmare, instantly brought him back to the warm times of several months ago.

At that time, his concubine was snuggling beside him, her skin was as white as snow, and the "Hundred Flowers Painting" tattoo was floating before his eyes.

"What!" He felt his head buzzing, as if countless thunderclaps were ringing in his ears. He stared at the piece of skin with wide eyes, trying to confirm that it was just an illusion caused by hunger.

However, the clear lines and familiar colors all told him that the cruel reality was right before his eyes.

He felt dizzy, his legs went weak, and he stepped back involuntarily.

The jade in his arms also slipped in the panic, and with a "pop", it shattered, just like his shattered world at the moment.

He stumbled, turned, and ran furiously, first shouting and sobbing, his voice filled with despair and indignation. His cries seemed to vent the injustice and cruelty of this chaotic world. But soon, his cries turned to laughter, a laugh that was both manic and tragic.

"——Ahahahaha." The laughter echoed in the empty streets, startling a few crows that were roosting in the ruins. They flapped their wings and circled in the air, as if they were also wailing for the tragedy in this chaotic world.

He just laughed and ran, gradually going away and disappearing in this ruined city, leaving only the broken jade to tell the sadness of this troubled time.

The decline of the Western Bian Kingdom, like the fate of this merchant concubine, has become a painful memory in the long river of history, which is really regrettable.

The young emperor sat in the upper hall, but the situation under his feet was like a lake in a storm, with turbulent waves and endless disputes.

In the court, the ministers were all thinking about their own things, and their voices were noisy and chaotic. One minister, with a look of panic and emotion on his face, could not help but sigh loudly:

"That Lord Pei, who weathered three dynasties' storms and devoted himself to the cause of Xibian, has now collapsed at home due to a lack of medicine and food. Considering his life's achievements, if this were to become known, wouldn't the world laugh at his fate?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar. People were busy with things, some were shaking their heads and sighing, while others were whispering to each other.

Amidst this chaos, there were many corrupt officials obsessed with profit. Their eyes were only on the glittering silver, with no regard for the lives of the people. They saw the national crisis as an opportunity to enrich themselves, selling grain at exorbitant prices. Every grain was stained with the blood and tears of the people.

Some people's granaries were overflowing with food, and their government warehouses were overflowing, yet they kept their doors shut, leaving the people to starve. These treacherous officials lived in luxury, remaining fat and bloated, displaying their ugliness and greed at this critical moment for the country.

In stark contrast, those loyal officials, deeply concerned for their country and its people, watched their people displaced and starving, their hearts ached with anxiety, yet they felt powerless to change the situation. In this difficult and arduous situation, they lost their appetite, suffered sleepless nights, and became increasingly thinner and their clothes loosened.

The little emperor sitting on the dragon throne looked at the chaotic scene in the court with anxiety. His beautiful vision and full confidence in the country collapsed in an instant in just a few months, like a building hit by a storm.

The once prosperous country has now become riddled with holes. From the high-ranking officials in the court to the common people on the streets, everyone is shrouded in the haze of fear.

The entire Xibian Kingdom seemed to be on the edge of a dark abyss, teetering on the brink of collapse, and had reached a critical moment of life and death.

The young emperor knew very well that if no action was taken, the country would be doomed.

After some painful thinking, he finally gritted his teeth and had to make a difficult decision - to send envoys to Dali to seek peace.

The messenger took his orders and left. After the court was dismissed, the young emperor looked out at the empty court hall. As the ruler of a country, he could only cling to a glimmer of hope amidst these difficult circumstances, awaiting the judgment of fate.

---

In the court of Dali, in a solemn and dignified atmosphere, the envoys who hurried from Xibian were welcomed.

At this moment, the Dali court officials were all in high spirits, their heads held high and their chests puffed out. They were like heroes returning from the battlefield, with a kind of arrogance that only victors possess. They stared coldly at the Xibian envoy, watching him repeatedly bow and kowtow in the court, his posture humble.

For Dali, defeating the enemy without fighting was the best of all strategies. The emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief, and after this incident, he also won over many of his subjects.

The envoy from Xibian looked to be in his twenties, but his young eyes were very deep, his face was full of sincerity, and his words were full of helplessness and anxiety.

He carefully recounted to the Emperor the difficult situation his country was facing. From the declining livelihoods of the people, the lack of food to the chaos in the court, and the intertwined internal and external troubles, every word was filled with the suffering and struggle of the Western Bian Kingdom.

He prayed loudly, hoping that the Emperor of Dali would remember the century-long friendship between the two countries and, in view of the mutual exchanges in the past, would lend a helping hand to the Western Bian Kingdom.

The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, listening quietly to the envoy's speech with an unfathomable expression.

There was silence in the court, with only the slightly trembling voice of the Xibian envoy echoing in the air. It was a cry for help from a country on the brink of life and death.

　Thank you all for your support. Today, the editor told me that this novel has been recommended to the Qingyun List on the homepage of Qidian.com, which is very rare. Thank you everyone~
　　(End of this chapter)