As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Ruoyi threw a stone, hitting the wolf right on the head. The wolf, seemingly in pain, dared not attack any further.

Many people witnessed this scene and quickly picked up stones.

For a moment, the wolves were driven back and stopped their attack.

However, the stones on the ground were limited. Once they were all thrown, they would still become the wolves' prey. Shang Ruoyi walked up to He Jingheng and said in a solemn voice, "Young Master, do you possess inner strength?" He Jingheng looked at her and nodded. "What for?"

"With the Young Master's martial arts skills, it should be quite easy to penetrate a wolf's skull with these stones, right?"

"So?"

"The wolf king," Shang Ruoyi said, looking at the wolves that were eyeing them hungrily. "As long as we find the wolf king and kill it, the other wolves will naturally retreat."

He Jingheng looked at Shang Ruoyi with a hint of surprise.

He didn't expect this woman to know so much.

But how could an inner - chamber woman be aware of such things?

The stones at their feet were running out, and the wolves seemed to have noticed. They paced back and forth, becoming more and more restless. Just then, another wolf howl resounded. Shang Ruoyi and He Jingheng simultaneously locked onto a particularly robust wolf at the back.

He Jingheng's stone, imbued with inner strength, shot out.

Instantly, the stone struck the wolf king's head. With the great force, the stone sank into its brain, and blood spattered.

After a feeble wail, the wolf king slowly fell to the ground.

Hearing the sound, the wolves gradually stopped in their tracks.

With the wolf king dead, the wolves lost their leader and were instantly at a loss as to how to attack.

At this time, He Jingheng threw a few more stones, and the wolves in the front fell to the ground. Seeing this, the wolves ceased their attack. Before long, they all left one by one. When the last wolf disappeared, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

After this incident, the prisoners' prejudice against the Dingguo Prince's Mansion seemed to have lessened. The looks in their eyes were no longer as hostile as before.

Shang Ruoyi never understood how the Dingguo Prince's Mansion had offended these prisoners, and no one came forward to explain.

The sense of relief after surviving the disaster was quickly replaced by a profound feeling of exhaustion. However, everyone dared not delay. Without even taking a break, they walked until they saw the tall city wall. Only then did they relax.

By this time, the city gate was already closed, so they could only spend the night in a dilapidated temple not far from the gate.

Upon arriving at the temple, Shang Ruoyi heard the guards whispering about something.

Thanks to her extraordinary hearing, she learned that the food they had brought was lost during the fight with the wolves.

There was still one night until the city gate opened, and everyone's strength was completely depleted. They were all starving.

The prisoners didn't say much as they only had one meal a day to begin with. But the guards couldn't bear it and were discussing what to do.

Just then, a group of soldiers escorted another group of prisoners to the temple.

The old Consort of the Prince, who had just sat down, suddenly stood up, her voice trembling. "Ning'an, Zhiyuan, why are you here?"

He Ning'an and He Zhiyuan were the second and third sons of the old Consort of the Prince.

The old prince had only married the old Consort of the Prince and had three sons. The eldest son, He Yuwen, had inherited the title. The second and third sons were county princes. He Ning'an was in the Ministry of Personnel, and He Zhiyuan was in the Ministry of Works, both holding important positions. Now that the Dingguo Prince's Mansion was in trouble, their two families were also implicated.

"Mother," He Ning'an quickly walked up to the old Consort of the Prince. "Mother, how are you?"

At the sight of her son, the old Consort of the Prince couldn't hold back her tears.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I've implicated you," the old Consort of the Prince wiped her tears and said sorrowfully. "Now, our He family is finished."

"Hey, hey, hey! You're having a family reunion here," a guard stepped forward and shouted loudly. "All the men in your family, except the disabled one, come here."

There were six male members in the He family now.

Excluding He Jingheng and He Qinian, there were the two sons of the old Consort of the Prince, He Ning'an and He Zhiyuan, and each of them had a son, He Jinghe and He Jingxi.

At the moment, He Jingheng couldn't move, and the other five were uninjured.

"You guys, come with us to find food. Also, bring back the corpses of a few wolves."

Having been masters all their lives, they were now being ordered around by a few guards, and they were naturally indignant.

Seeing that they didn't move, the guard got angry and whipped He Zhiyuan and He Ning'an. Two bloodstains appeared on their bodies.

The old Consort of the Prince's heart ached at the sight. "Let me tell you, don't put on any airs of being an official here. I'm in charge. If you want to live, listen carefully. Otherwise..." He raised the whip again and lashed out, leaving another bloodstain on their bodies.

He Jinghe was about to step forward but was held back by He Jingxi, who shook his head slightly.

He Jinghe clenched his fists tightly and turned his gaze to Shang Ruoyi, looking at her with hatred.

How dare she still stand here?

If it weren't for her father, how could their He family have ended up in such a situation? Just yesterday, he was drinking and listening to music with girls in Tianxiang Garden. Today, he had become a prisoner.

Shang Ruoyi sensed his unfriendly gaze and knew why they felt this way. In her heart, she cursed Shang Nian a hundred times over.

The male members of the He family were taken away, and the female relatives stayed in the temple.

Zhang, the wife of He Ning'an, led her daughter - in - law, Qiao Yanxin, to sit far away from the old Consort of the Prince.

Years ago, when Zhang entered the family, the old Consort of the Prince didn't like her much. For this reason, Zhang had always held a grudge. However, since the family had split, her husband always felt content with his status as a county prince and was not ambitious. He held a sinecure position in the Ministry of Personnel, and many matters in the family still relied on the Dingguo Prince's Mansion for help. Even though the old Consort of the Prince didn't like her, she often visited the Prince's Mansion to seek favors. Now that they were all in trouble and the Dingguo Prince's Mansion could no longer be counted on, and the old Consort of the Prince was more of a burden than anything else, she no longer pretended to be filial.

Concubine Qin walked up to her and handed her a water bag. "Second sister - in - law, why don't you say hello to mother?"

"Hmph, mother has always looked down on me. I thought mother must be in a bad mood now, so I didn't want to make things worse," Zhang said.

Although she said so, she didn't even move from her seat, but she took the water bag.

The old Consort of the Prince had long known the character of this daughter - in - law, so she had never liked her over the years. Seeing this, Concubine Qin smiled and returned.

However, Lin, the wife of He Zhiyuan, brought her daughter - in - law, Cong Fangzhi, to the old Consort of the Prince and said softly, "Mother, you've suffered."

"I'm fine. At my age, I'm almost at the end of my life," the old Consort of the Prince patted her hand. "Even if I die, it's not a big deal. But you all... sigh."

Lin saw Shang Ruoyi standing aside and the smile on her face faded a bit. "Is this the daughter of Prime Minister Shang?"

Shang Ruoyi gracefully curtsied. "Greetings, Third Aunt."

"I don't deserve such a courtesy from the daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion," said Lin, who came from a military family. She had a natural air of heroism and was not one to yield in conversation.