After becoming pregnant, the cold-hearted nobles all went mad.

Shen Tingjiao, standing outside the cell, was as pale as a sheet. All her efforts had been in vain.

She could no longer hold on and fell backward, which terrified Linlang, who was standing guard beside her.

Before Linlang could catch her, Shen Tingjiao ran away in tears.

"Your Highness, please come out and take a look."

She shouted inside, "Our young lady has run away!"

Xu Yanqing suddenly came to her senses, her heart filled with a mixture of surprise and doubt.

What was he thinking just now? He actually wanted to give up on Shen Tingjiao. Jiaojiao was someone he had cherished in his heart for many years. How could Shen Lingyi compare to her?! Right now, he wanted to chase after her, but he was stopped halfway through.

"Your Highness, since the founding of the nation, there has never been a precedent of marrying two sisters at the same time and enjoying the blessings of having two wives."

Pei Heng's attitude was indifferent: "Moreover, General Hu Ben is an important minister of the court, and he loves his daughter dearly. As the crown prince, you should think carefully before you act. Otherwise, I will have to consider the opinion of the Left Chancellor."

The Left Grand Secretary was a staunch royalist. They only knew that Pei Heng was poisoned by a Gu poison and might die at any moment, but they were unaware that the Gu poison not only threatened the emperor's life but also caused him to die without an heir.

Therefore, he had long been at odds with the Crown Prince's faction, and during this period, he advised Pei Heng several times to take advantage of the current time to take concubines and have children, and to establish another heir apparent.

After all, in the eyes of the royalists, although the imperial family members were noble, how could they compare to real princes?

Furthermore, the two had a personal feud. Xu Yanqing's maternal family had been involved in a scandal that severely offended Zuo Zhongtang.

Xu Yanqing felt extremely embarrassed, as all his thoughts were laid bare in Pei Heng's eyes.

"Yes... Your subject will keep it in mind."

Shen Lingyi personally escorted her to the outside of the mansion, then turned around, changed her clothes, and went out.

With Jiang Wenhai in charge at home, Jiang's family had escaped disaster and were doing well, so there was no need for her to worry about them. It was more important to go out of the city to rescue people than to go back.

She had someone brew some medicinal soup, first sending one portion to the mansion and then taking it to the nearest village.

"Young lady, please have mercy and save my mother! She's been stabbed and is dying. We're just villagers, we haven't done anything wrong..."

"This person needs to be taken to the hospital to be saved."

Even with her veil on, Shen Lingyi couldn't hide the unbearable pain beneath. For Pei Heng, this turmoil was about regaining imperial power and a life-or-death battle against the rebels.

But for these villagers, it was an unexpected disaster.

She instructed Peony beside her, "Call Possa over to save people."

Posuo was very willing to save people, especially after learning that she had a prescription that could cure the plague. When Shen Lingyi said she was coming to the village to distribute the medicine, she followed her.

Po Suo treated the wounded villagers' injuries, while Shen Lingyi distributed medicinal soup to others.

At first, no one believed her: "Even the government can't cure this, what can a little girl like you do!"

"Don't let them kill someone, or we'll have nowhere to seek justice."

It wasn't until Posuo stepped forward and tried her best to persuade everyone to believe in Shen Lingyi.

"Alright...we only believe you because of Miss Posuo." The woman muttered, but her body betrayed her words as she took a bowl of medicine and fed it to the child.

For the next few days, Shen Lingyi kept coming here, and gradually, people started calling her "Goddess".

Because those medications are starting to work!

The child, who had been running a high fever, was able to call for his mother. His parents, who had thought they were about to face certain death, also sat up, their mouths uttering, "Thanks to the goddess... the goddess truly saved our whole family's lives!"

Two days later, in Iwamura.

"Everyone, don't rush. There's still medicine left. Line up to get it. Don't cause any chaos and delay your treatment." As soon as Shen Lingyi finished speaking, everyone quickly gathered around, afraid of being left behind.

It did not cause any disturbances; on the contrary, everything remained orderly.

Those who received the medicinal soup were all extremely grateful to Shen Lingyi. Some villagers even came to help maintain order, otherwise, she would have been exhausted to death distributing so much medicinal soup by herself.

As time went by, the goddess's reputation grew, and more and more people from nearby villages came to visit her.

Until a group of people suddenly appeared and surrounded Shen Lingyi as she was about to leave in a carriage.

"Miss, be careful!"

The carriage shook violently. Peony used her body to cushion her back, but she herself was hit and groaned in pain.

"Miss... I'm fine. These are just refugees from the neighborhood. Please don't go down."

Despite Shaoyao's attempts to dissuade her, how could Shen Lingyi not be angry?

If we're talking about who's been by her side the longest, it's none other than Peony. Peony was sold to the mansion when she was seven and grew up with her. They're closer than sisters. As Shen Lingyi puts it, anyone who dares to touch her is asking for death!

Shen Lingyi yanked open the car curtain with a "whoosh".

Her face was veiled by a thin gauze, revealing only a pair of beautiful, bright eyes. When she looked at people with a cold, aloof gaze, she truly possessed the imposing aura of a goddess. "Who gave you the audacity to offend a goddess?"

As she spoke, she also observed the group of people, and the more she looked, the more alarmed she became.

Shen Lingyi knew that there was a group of homeless people wandering around the area. These people looked ragged, but they were actually all villagers.

The sudden plague took away their loved ones, and the rebels forced them to abandon their homes and flee, turning them from good farmers into refugees.

After Zhao Qu lost power, Pei Heng wanted to gather these people together and redistribute land to them so that they could become self-reliant.

however,

All of this will take time.

With the rebels not yet fully subdued, he couldn't spare the time to deal with these people.

A pair of lifeless, empty eyes, the hoes in their hands still speckled with mud, their gazes like those of hungry wolves.

Shen Lingyi suddenly realized that she had made a foolish mistake by only bringing a peony with her when Feng Ren was infected with the plague and needed to recuperate, which had led to her current isolated and helpless situation.

What to do...

If they were to take action, it would damage the goddess's reputation. The villagers certainly didn't want to see their compatriots, who had once greeted their families and helped them carry water to irrigate the land, die at her hands.

"Quick! Grab it! They must have brought a lot of food. I know she's the daughter of a wealthy family; I saw it with my own eyes!"

Someone shouted, and the rest of the people rushed forward, only to have their path blocked by a long sword.

"Whoosh!"

The sword flashed, and before the person at the front could react, he clutched his neck and fell to the ground, his head rolling to the ground at everyone's feet.

Xiao Sha breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had rushed over with his men as soon as he heard the news, and they had made it in time.

Then, in a cold voice, he shouted loudly at the group, "His Majesty has ordered that the Goddess be protected and villains be punished. Anyone who doesn't value their life is welcome to come and try!"

The refugees fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons. Even the most vicious criminals in Wuyi Lane only dared to target wealthy officials and clans. No one dared to stop the emperor from robbing and looting, let alone these bandits who had only recently joined the ranks.

Xiao Sha dismounted, his forehead still glistening with a thin layer of sweat. "Goddess, my Emperor requests your presence."