After Bai Sheng and the others left, Jin Shuwe sighed, holding the bowl of rice, and said to the soldiers, his mouth dripping, "The princess's identity is not yet fully confirmed. Half of them could be spies from an enemy country. Therefore, I will taste this bowl of rice first to see if it's poisoned. None of you move."
"Shuwe, let your subordinate taste it first. I'm just an ordinary soldier anyway. Even if I'm poisoned to death, it's insignificant," a soldier said, slurping, very eager to sacrifice himself for righteousness.
Another soldier also rushed to be the first to advance, "No, let me taste it first. I've died several times anyway, so I'm not afraid of dying again." As soon as he finished speaking, drool trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Jin Shuwe frowned and said impatiently, "Alright, alright, stop arguing! I'll try it first! I'm the boss, I should lead!"
With that, he picked up his chopsticks and began to scoop large mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. Jin Shuwe had excellent teeth, he didn't spit out chicken bones, he just chewed them up and swallowed them.
The soldiers surrounded him three layers inside and three layers outside, all with drool at the corners of their mouths, watching him devour the entire large bowl of food and rice. At the end, he didn't forget to lick the bottom of the bowl.
"How is it, Shuwe, do you... feel like you've been poisoned?" a soldier asked, already holding his own bowl of rice with chopsticks in hand, impatiently.
"It's fine," Jin Shuwe said, letting out a small, satisfied burp. He hadn't burped in over ten years, so this long-awaited burp made him feel a little nostalgic.
In the blink of an eye, all the soldiers had picked up their rice bowls and were ready to eat. "Shuwe, can we... can we eat now?"
Jin Shuwe looked at his subordinates, whose integrity had turned to dust, and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth, "Eat! Eat, everyone eat!"
"Alright!" The skinny, starving soldiers were excited and ecstatic as they picked up their rice bowls and stuffed food into their wide mouths.
Bai Sheng also asked Jin Shuwe to call all the other soldiers in the camp over and served each of them a large bowl of rice.
After eating, an hour passed, and none of the soldiers in the camp showed any signs of poisoning. Instead, they were all energetic and spirited.
However, they had narrowly escaped this time, so they couldn't relax their vigilance. Therefore, after returning to his tent, Jin Shuwe held a small meeting for the soldiers.
"From now on, if the princess and the National Master give you food, you will eat it. However, you will eat it in two batches. The second batch will eat half an hour after the first batch finishes."
"Why?" a young soldier asked, scratching his head.
Jin Shuwe jumped up angrily and gave him a sharp flick on the head, "Why? Why do you think? The princess and the National Master's identities are not yet clear. As border guards, shouldn't we be vigilant, vigilant, and even more vigilant?"
The soldier rubbed his forehead, aggrieved, "But I feel like they are the princess and the National Master of our Qing Huang, and they are both good people."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm."
"Yes, yes, yes."
The other soldiers also nodded in agreement.
Jin Shuwe rolled his eyes at them, "Good people are not judged by their eyes!"
In fact, he felt the same way. He believed the National Master was real, and he believed the princess was real. However, as border guards, they could not judge right from wrong based solely on personal impressions, nor could they give the enemy the slightest opportunity.
Therefore, everything had to wait until the Grand Protector General arrived.
For three consecutive days, Bai Sheng's side used large iron pots, big enough to drown a person with ten mouthfuls, to steam food and dishes, treating more than five hundred soldiers in the border camp to every meal.
These soldiers, at Qing Huang's most difficult times, did not have enough to eat or wear, and were all skin and bones, yet they still shed blood and sacrificed their lives for their country.
Bai Sheng felt both moved and heartbroken watching them.
The military camp's kitchen simply stopped using fire. After all, every meal saved was a meal saved. Qing Huang's military camps were all severely short of funds.
After a few days of good food and drink, the soldiers all felt like they had gained several pounds.
On the fourth day, at lunchtime, half of the soldiers arrived early with their food basins, and they also brought several wooden tables for Bai Sheng and the others to use.
Bai Sheng's companions also pulled them to sit together. They ate and chatted, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
As everyone was enjoying their meal, a sharp female voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
"Jin Shuwe! You are so bold! You dare to let spies from Great Xia into our Qing Huang territory! And you are letting your soldiers eat their food! Aren't you afraid of being poisoned to death?!"
Jin Shuwe was so startled that he almost dropped his food basin. He turned and saw the Saintess leading a group of guards, glaring at them angrily.
Jin Shuwe immediately put down his chopsticks and bowl, walked out of his seat, faced the Saintess, knelt on one knee, and cupped his fists, saying respectfully, "Reporting to the Saintess, the National Master has the National Master's token, but the princess's identity is unconfirmed. Your subordinate has already sent someone to invite the Grand Protector General to verify it."
Saintess? Huang Liansheng?
Bai Sheng, Zuo Ye, Prince Yu, and Consort Mei all turned their cold, sharp gazes towards the woman.
She was wearing a snow-white brocade phoenix dress, had a melon-seed-shaped face and peach blossom eyes, and looked as if she were about to evoke pity.
Huang Liansheng sneered, "Token? What evidence is a token? Ordinary people can make one easily!"
"The National Master's token is made of the extremely rare black gold of Qing Huang, with the basic identity and physical characteristics of the token holder inscribed on it. These all match. Moreover, your subordinate took out the Qing Huang token atlas and compared it with the other half, and it fits perfectly," Jin Shuwe said righteously.
Huang Liansheng's expression was momentarily awkward, but she still maintained a noble demeanor and said in a deep voice, "Jin Shuwe, bring the two who claim to be the National Master and the princess here. I, this Saintess, will personally verify them!"
"How dare you!" Granny Wu suddenly let out an angry roar and stood up. "Huang Liansheng, you are merely a minor county princess, yet you dare to speak so disrespectfully and arrogantly to our National Master and Princess!"
Huang Liansheng looked at Granny Wu and was secretly startled. After more than ten years, this old hag still looked so young. "How dare you, you old witch! How dare you impersonate Qing Huang's National Master! Guards! Drag this old witch down and behead her!"
The guards standing behind her immediately drew their swords with a swish and moved to approach Granny Wu.
"You little witch! Who are you calling an old witch? Who are you calling?" Granny Zhong suddenly pounced over and spat fiercely at Huang Liansheng. Dammit, where did this thieving woman come from to dare call her best friend an old witch! She really deserved to be scolded and beaten!
Her best friend was the true National Master of Qing Huang, and her master was the true princess. She was not afraid of this impostor!
"Exactly! What the hell are you, to frame my master time and again! Shameless, ugly, poisonous woman!" Tian Guihua and Liu Shi, along with others, also stood out bravely, wishing they could drown Huang Liansheng with their spit.