The Whole Dynasty Spoils the Tyrant's Beloved Youngest Daughter-Chapter 412: It Won’t Work

Behind Jun Ning were only two guards; Jing Shu didn’t come today either. The little girl complained that the sun was too intense and scorching, so she stayed home to rest.

Facing the hostility of these elderly, weak, women, and children, it’s neither possible to fight nor kill them; it’s not good in any way...

These two guards were simply incapable of dealing with so many elderlies and women.

They could only protect Jun Ning’s retreat.

Jun Ning refused to retreat.

She knelt down with a thunk, without avoiding or dodging, boldly and openly said.

"I know the villagers have held great resentment over the years because of their experiences. I understand, and can see why. As a princess, nourished by the common people’s offerings, yet I let them go hungry. I deserve to accept everyone’s punishment."

"Today, regardless of how much hostility everyone has towards me, it doesn’t matter. I will endure it all as if bearing the blame in place of my father."

"The root cause is that my Emperor father, as a ruler, failed to appoint suitable officials, which led to your suffering. We both acknowledge it."

Making a mistake requires punishment and paying the price. This is something Jun Ning understood from a young age, having lived two lifetimes.

Therefore, when facing the pain, resentment, and erupting anger of Yuyang County’s citizens today, she did not avoid it, accepting it all.

This is the responsibility of a gentleman.

Who says only men can be called gentlemen? Women can be as well.

Jun Ning knelt there, accepting the punishment from the citizens, while the two guards beside her were anxious, urgently persuading Jun Ning to stand up and not kneel, but Jun Ning refused to rise; their many words were to no avail.

Seeing this, the guards simply stopped persuading and knelt down alongside Jun Ning, together facing the rotten vegetable leaves and muddy mess thrown at them by the citizens.

The citizens were not courteous, throwing everything they could at them until they had nothing else to throw, then they spared Jun Ning.

They left.

The two guards helped Jun Ning up and escorted her back home.

Those people just now really went mad; besides pelting people with rotten eggs, spoiled vegetable leaves, and muddy water, they even picked up stones from the ground to throw.

If not for considering Jun Ning’s status, they might have stoned Jun Ning to death.

Only because Jun Ning is a distinguished princess, if something were to happen to her in Yuyang County, the entire county might face burial repercussions, so those people dared not go too far.

Even when throwing stones, they only dared to aim at people’s backs and hips, never at the head.

Jun Ning, after taking off her filthy clothes and cleaning up, had bruises all over her back, yet she didn’t even furrow her brow. After bathing and changing clothes, she stepped out again, taking advantage of the still early sky to do some work.

She went to a place with stones and began moving stones herself.

She and her guards were not the least bit pretentious; they personally wheeled carts of cattle, personally hauled stones, filled the entire cart with stones, and then pushed the cart to the river dam.

The sky had already become dark, and after unloading the stones, it was pitch black, unable to see one’s hand in front of their face.

Jun Ning, accompanied by the barking of dogs from village edges and cicadas of summer nights, returned to her dwelling. After freshening up, she was so worn out that she skipped dinner and collapsed into sleep.

...

Jing Shu took a nap in the afternoon, and when Jun Ning went to sleep, she wasn’t sleepy. She pulled Jun Ning’s two guards to ask what Jun Ning did today to be so exhausted.

The guards dared not hide and detailed the events completely to Jing Shu.

After hearing it, Jing Shu was infuriated.

"These vile folks, the ones who brought the trouble upon them aren’t my aunt, so why are they venting on her?"

"If they have the guts, they should seek revenge on County Magistrate Li; now he’s jailed and will be executed after autumn, they can avenge themselves against him freely."

"But they don’t go, choosing instead to bully my aunt. They must fear County Magistrate Li’s resurgence and retaliation."

"Ha! They fear a mere County Magistrate yet not a noble Princess of the Eastern Chu. It’s truly laughable. It seems my aunt has treated them too kindly."

"Tomorrow I will accompany her, and we’ll see who dares to oppose my aunt. Anyone who does, I will fight them."

"Given my aunt’s current predicament, she mustn’t harm the citizens, providing ammunition to those court officials who oppose her reign; I, however, am unburdened and can do anything I wish."

Jing Shu was fearless indeed.

Not only fearless, but full of fighting spirit.

The guards assumed Jing Shu was venting for Jun Ning temporarily and wouldn’t actually join Jun Ning in arduous labor, considering Jing Shu struggles with early rising daily, let alone manual work.

Unexpectedly, the next day when Jun Ning woke up, Jing Shu arose too, joined the freshening up, and went to work.

When encountering trouble-seeking citizens, she would hit them; when facing barking dogs, she would scold the dogs. The little girl was vicious in a cute way, and the citizens feared upon seeing her.

They dared not bother Jun Ning anymore.

Jun Ning finally had some peace, but the peace was futile; the work continued unhelped, as those citizens only watched her laboriously haul stones each day without lending a hand.

Jun Ning could carry on like this, willing to lower her noble princess stature to undertake such toil.

However—

Time was running out; the rainy season was fast approaching, and if the river dam remained unfinished, and in its current state, once the river water levels rose, surrounding villages and wheated fields might flood again.

All the hardship and effort she endured these days would be in vain.

What should she do? What should she do?

The path of persuading citizens to join in the work was utterly closed off. Those citizens entirely failed to see the benefits in constructing the stone dam or trusted the government; asking them to help only fed their suspicions of the government plotting new methods to exploit them, siphoning resources.

Where lies the solution?

——

All the hardship and effort she endured these days would be in vain.

What should she do?

What should she do?

The path of persuading citizens to join in the work was utterly closed off. Those citizens entirely failed to see the benefits in constructing the stone dam or trusted the government; asking them to help only fed their suspicions of the government plotting new methods to exploit them, siphoning resources.

Where lies the solution?

All the hardship and effort she endured these days would be in vain.

What should she do?

What should she do?

The path of persuading citizens to join in the work was utterly closed off. Those citizens entirely failed to see the benefits in constructing the stone dam or trusted the government; asking them to help only fed their suspicions of the government plotting new methods to exploit them, siphoning resources.

Where lies the solution?

All the hardship and effort she endured these days would be in vain.

What should she do?

What should she do?

The path of persuading citizens to join in the work was utterly closed off. Those citizens entirely failed to see the benefits in constructing the stone dam or trusted the government; asking them to help only fed their suspicions of the government plotting new methods to exploit them, siphoning resources.