After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 277: Suzhou City

After parting ways, Lin Rusi and her group arrived in Suzhou in just half a day.

At the gates of Suzhou city lay countless refugees, their fates unknown. Lifeless, they lay exposed to the scorching sun, and if it weren't for the occasional slight movement of some of them, they would have truly looked like corpses.

The city gate, where there were more dead than living people, was particularly desolate, but it was clearly heavily guarded, and they were driving away a few refugees who were crying and begging for a way out.

"Get out, get out! What era are we living in? I can't even feed myself, how can I care about you lowly commoners?"

Several soldiers impatiently used their weapons to drive away the stinking vagrants, carefully keeping them away from them. They kept fanning their noses with their other hands, seemingly unable to bear the smell emanating from the vagrants.

Lin Rusi and her entourage's carriage had already attracted the attention of the city guards.

In Suzhou these days, it's rare to find even a properly dressed, normal person from outside the city. So the sudden arrival of such a conspicuous group naturally attracts attention.

These days, are there still wealthy families who think they're living too comfortably and come here to suffer?

"May I ask where you esteemed guests are from?"

A man who appeared to be the leader of the garrison walked over and blocked the troops outside the city.

His eyes darted around, scanning the people in the line, trying to figure out their identities.

Unfortunately, he was stopped by the mounted guards ahead of him as soon as he got close.

Upon seeing this, the man's expression immediately turned sour.

Lately, they've always been the ones condescendingly blocking others. It's been so long since I've been scolded like that.

Unfortunately, the guard on horseback didn't care about his expression at all. He took out a plaque from his pocket and held it up in front of him: "Prince Jinglie is ordered to inspect Suzhou. How dare you stop him?"

Upon hearing the name of Prince Jinglie, the man's face changed drastically. He took the plaque with trembling hands, glanced at it, and his expression shifted between light and dark. Suddenly, he bowed to the carriage and said, "Banditry has been rampant recently, so we must be cautious. Please wait a moment while I go and inform the prefect."

Upon hearing this, Lin Rusi and Li Jingyang exchanged a glance inside the carriage.

The city garrison commander knew their identities perfectly well, yet he still risked offending Li Jingyang by saying he needed to report first.

It's obvious there's something fishy going on here.

Knowing there was something fishy going on, Li Jingyang didn't have anyone stop the city guard. Instead, he watched him return to the city to report the news and lightly knocked on the carriage window.

"Your Highness."

The guards beside the carriage immediately bent down to listen.

"Follow them."

A chilling smile curled at the corner of Li Jingyang's lips, his eyes swirling with a deep, murky aura.

Lin Rusi knew that the lawlessness of the Suzhou prefect had already fueled his anger to the extreme.

The tall city walls could stop the refugees, but not the experts around Li Jingyang, and the city guards on the city walls were very lax.

The guard obeyed the order, found a blind spot in the city guards' line of sight, and easily scaled the city wall.

After a full two incense sticks' time, the gates of Suzhou opened wide, and a group of people ran out, their brows covered in sweat.

The leader was wearing a haphazardly thrown-on outer garment, his clothes askew, and the fat on his face jiggled with every step.

“Outside the city, there were piles of starving refugees, yet the Suzhou prefect was still able to eat himself into a fat and bloated state. It’s truly remarkable.”

The last four words were spoken by Lin Rusi, each one deliberate and chilling.

It took a full two incense sticks' worth of time for it to come out. Even if it had just woken up, it wouldn't have come out so disheveled.

I'm afraid they must have been busy hiding quite a few things during those two incense sticks' time.

"Your Highness Jinglie's presence is an honor. I am... humble... humble abode..." The Suzhou prefect, with a fawning smile, scurried to the front of the carriage, but after a long pause, he couldn't utter a single complete word.

With such limited brainpower, it's likely that most of it has been used to exploit the people, leaving little room to remember many words.

“Recently, Suzhou has been busy with many matters, and the Prefect has been working hard. Let’s put these formalities aside for now.”

Li Jingyang lifted the carriage curtain and waved his hand dismissively: "Let's go into the city first."

The Suzhou prefect looked him over carefully, making sure there was no hint of reproach on his face, before quickly leading the way: "Yes, yes, Your Highness, please! This humble official has prepared a small feast to welcome Your Highness and wash away the dust of your journey."

"Ah."

Li Jingyang responded indifferently, looking like he was too lazy to get out of the car. He lowered the curtain, leaned against the carriage, and closed his eyes to rest.

Seeing his appearance, the Suzhou prefect was overjoyed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and jogged ahead to lead the way.

Lin Rusi quietly lifted the curtain and glanced outside. She saw the Suzhou prefect running while secretly gesturing to his companions. A smile played on her lips, and she also lowered the curtain.

"It's truly a blessing for the Suzhou prefect to have met you." Lin Rusi gently reached out and smoothed the furrowed brows that had unconsciously appeared on his face.

Having known Li Jingyang for so long, Lin Rusi knew him very well. How could he give up investigating the people's conditions as soon as possible just to save a few steps?

It's just a long-term strategy to catch a big fish.

The carriage drove directly from the city gate into the residence of the Suzhou prefect.

"Please, Your Highness." After Li Jingyang and Lin Rusi got out of the carriage, the Suzhou prefect hurriedly invited them inside.

As expected, food had been prepared inside, though it was rather simple, and the wine served was not of high quality. It seemed rather meager for Li Jingyang's status, but compared to the current state of Suzhou, it was already quite luxurious.

Lin Rusi's gaze swept across the table, a cold smile playing on her lips.

This move is far too obvious, a blatant attempt to cover up the truth.

The room was excessively spacious; the rosewood table and the glass lampshade in the corner were not things that someone receiving a prefect's salary could afford for daily use.

They were probably too busy hiding things to move everything properly.

Everyone took their seats, including the guards that Li Jingyang had brought.

The Suzhou prefect was so guilty that his entourage had one more person than when they entered the city, and the guard accompanying Li Jingyang was not the same one who had just entered the prefecture.

"Prefect Su has been working hard these days. His Highness has mentioned it to me many times along the way. After stabilizing the situation in Suzhou, he will definitely report the Prefect's achievements to His Majesty."

Lin Rusi took her seat, bypassed Li Jingyang, and directly toasted Prefect Su.

Prefect Su was flattered and stood up. He quickly raised his cup and carefully drank it all in one gulp.

The guard sitting on the other side of Li Jingyang quickly leaned closer and said something to him, then got up and sat down with the other guards.

Lin Rusi glanced at the wine in her glass, exchanged a look with Li Jingyang, and, under the tense gaze of Prefect Su, drank it all in one gulp with a smile.

Prefect Su visibly breathed a sigh of relief, then hesitated as he looked at Li Jingyang, seemingly trying to figure out how to start the conversation.

Lin Rusi very considerately poured Li Jingyang a cup: "Try it, this wine is light, but it quenches your thirst very well."

"The princess is so considerate."

Li Jingyang smiled and drank the wine from her hand.