IDWBE -Chapter 477 Premonition

It was the dead of winter, and so early in the morning that there were barely any shadows on the streets. The few people hurrying through the city gates went out of their way to avoid the roasted sweet potato vendor.

These days, food was expensive, especially in winter. Even in Ankang City, under the emperor’s nose, a family that could cook a bowl of porridge thick enough to hold chopsticks was considered wealthy!

As for poor families—forget it. Being able to eat some thin porridge and not starve was already lucky.

Now in Ankang City, most people survived on cheap sweet potatoes that even beggars could afford. Boiled, steamed, stewed, braised—eaten in endless variations, from morning till night, almost every day. People ate until they wanted to vomit but had no choice.

Still, it was better than starving, right?

Besides, even the Five Cities Garrison ate this stuff daily!

Every time someone passed through the city gates, the mixed scent of sweet potatoes and flatulence hit them.

The feeling was indescribable!

If imperial soldiers had to endure this, what complaints could commoners have?

But sweet potatoes at home were already enough. Going out to pay for roasted sweet potatoes? That was madness!

Normal people wouldn’t do such a thing.

For vendors selling roasted sweet potatoes, going out to do business was all about luck. Sometimes they might meet a few merchants coming in from outside the city who hadn’t eaten breakfast, or powerful wandering figures.

“Thank you,” Lin Yi scooped a handful of snow from the ground, letting the old man place the sweet potato on it. Once he had a stable grip, he smiled, “This way, it’s not too hot to hold.”

The old man took the copper coin from Jiao Zhong, bowing repeatedly. “You’re clever, sir. I never thought of that myself.”

“Let’s go, best to eat it while it’s hot.”

The snow in Lin Yi’s hands gradually melted from the sweet potato’s warmth. He hid in a corner by the city wall, shielding himself from the wind, alternating his hands to avoid burning himself while eating.

“Prince, careful, it’s hot,” Jiao Zhong avoided the sweet potato like it was poison.

Even as the chief of the Prince’s guards, he had eaten his fill!

That bastard Su Yin had spent the entire year supplying the Prince’s kitchens and stables generously, but now that winter came, coal, rice, and vegetables—all had risen in price!

The formerly ample food budget had become stretched thin.

Although Su Yin was favored by the Prince, he didn’t dare dig into the Prince’s pocket, and neither did Jiao Zhong and the others!

That would be asking for trouble.

And they certainly weren’t going to take the blame for Su Yin’s mess!

With the head of the garrison away, all they could do was grumble, but nothing more.

As a result, the quality of the guards’ meals dropped sharply.

Now even white rice and buns were eaten with sweet potatoes mixed in!

Everyone was on the verge of vomiting.

They avoided the sweet potato smell whenever possible.

Luckily, guards were paid well and could occasionally eat out to soothe the damage to their stomachs caused by the kitchens.

Otherwise, Su Yin would have been lynched long ago.

“Not afraid,” Lin Yi tossed the sweet potato peel into some withered grass, sighing, “No matter how much you eat, it’s never enough.”

“Your Highness is wise,” Jiao Zhong finally forced the words out. Even the food that the poor barely had enough of, the Prince ate with delight? What kind of habit was this?

“Just don’t overeat,” Lin Yi washed his sticky hands in the snow, still savoring the taste. “Eating too much makes your fart smell bad—it affects your image.”

Jiao Zhong replied, sincerely this time, “Your Highness speaks truly.”

“Oh, right,” Lin Yi suddenly remembered something. “Going out to offer incense in a heavy snowstorm, and the day chosen is wrong—who arranged this in advance?”

Jiao Zhong, of course, knew he meant Consort Yuan, and hurried to explain: “Your Highness, Lord He passed the message that it is Madam Xue who will accompany the Empress with all the women of the household to White Horse Temple.”

“Yuan family…” Lin Yi said angrily, “What nonsense are they stirring up? Do they really want to oppose me and defend the Xue family? The grass on Xue Tongji’s grave must be three feet high by now. The dead are gone. What’s the point of their fussing?”

“This—” Jiao Zhong hesitated, then honestly admitted, “I don’t know, Your Highness.”

“Are Xue Dawu and Xue Yiner going too?”

Lin Yi asked sternly.

“Yes,” Jiao Zhong felt the air grow tense and lowered his head further.

“Yuan Qing and Yuan Zhen are on campaign, but Yuan Ang should be at home,” Lin Yi shook his head and sighed. “Does he still not understand the situation? Must he encourage his family to make things difficult for me?”

Jiao Zhong cautiously said, “The Patriarch is filial, always respectful toward Madam Xue, never disobedient in the slightest.”

“So that makes me the unfilial one?”

Lin Yi said coldly, “Each of them is deliberately making things difficult for me.”

He increasingly couldn’t understand his mother!

In this freezing weather, why all the fuss?

“Prince,” Jiao Zhong continued, “He Lian will accompany Your Highness outside the palace, so you can rest assured.”

“Assured my foot,” Lin Yi snapped. “He’s just a eunuch, weak in skill. What use is he? These days, many want my life, and many want my mother’s life. She still doesn’t see how treacherous people are. We have to be careful.”

Jiao Zhong said, “Your Highness speaks truly, but—”

“Don’t give me buts,” Lin Yi interrupted. “Her grand display is giving the opportunists a chance!”

Jiao Zhong inwardly disagreed strongly.

Now, Madame Xue’s safety was guarded by Master Jiang Zhen, a ninth-rank expert, and the route was lined with seventh- and eighth-rank imperial guards!

At White Horse Temple, the abbot was a monk.

A Grandmaster!

With unfathomable skill!

Who would dare act recklessly there?

But he could not defy the Prince’s orders. He could only beckon behind him. Lei Kaishan stepped forward, knelt on one knee before Lin Yi, and said in a deep voice, “Your Highness, please command.”

Lin Yi snapped, “I’m supposed to tell you what?”

“Your Highness, forgive me,” Lei Kaishan, a ninth-rank expert, had hearing like a supernatural ear. He could hardly avoid hearing what Lin Yi and Jiao Zhong said, and quickly said, “I will go at once.”

Seeing Lin Yi wave, he leaped into the air and disappeared.

Lin Yi had barely looked up when his shadow was gone.

“Strict protection on the way out of the city,” Lin Yi said sternly. “Anyone who dares lay hands on the Empress, no matter who, shall be killed without mercy!”

Deep down, he had a sense of foreboding.

Something didn’t feel right. Whether it was true or not, caution could never go wrong.

He was angry with his mother, but he still did not want anything to happen to her.