C317

One second to remember [Brushstroke Pavilion] [Free of charge, read the wonderful novel!]

The further they walked, the more shocking the scene became. Shen Ninghua's face was pale and he looked like he was about to vomit.

The ground was strewn with people until the horses stopped, for there was not even a footstep.

"Humph, who knows where those silver taels will end up!" Baili Junyi repressed his anger. "Ninghua, you're right. The Great Yue State must have had some ulterior motives in sending those cities over!" Otherwise, why would these commoners leave their homes and flee to this place? "

Shen Ninghua frowned, "Right now, the most important thing is to save them. We can't let so many people starve to death here."

"I've already notified the Hua Jun Medicinal Store to deliver food and medicinal herbs to this place, but it will take them some time to get here. It won't be that fast."

Shen Ninghua stepped forward to carefully examine the symptoms of these few people and said with a grave expression on his face,

If it was in the capital, the surrounding cities would have collapsed a long time ago. Although the situation is a little better now, no one can be sure, so if we delay any longer, many people might have already lost their lives. "

"I know." Determination flashed through Baili Junyi's eyes. "We've already offended quite a few people in the capital. At that time, we weren't afraid. There's nothing to fear here. Men!"

"Your subordinate is here."

"Take my token and ask father to bestow upon you the treasured sword of Shang Fangfang. Gather all our men and bring the survivors into the Zhou City. If anyone tries to stop them, kill them without mercy!" If someone tries to interfere, don't blame him for taking the initiative.

"Yes sir!"

After she finished speaking, she turned to Shen Ninghua. "Condensed Flowers?"

Shen Ninghua nodded her head and then added, "I will write down the prescription. I will buy a large amount of these herbs, boil some water and feed it to these people. Also, clean the wooden buckets, hot water and clothes, wash these people before sending them to Zhou City. Otherwise, they will have an epidemic disease that will infect the citizens of Zhou City."

"Do it." Seeing that Shen Ninghua had finished, Baili Junyi instructed.

"Yes sir!"

Soon, a large group of guards stationed in Zhou City rushed out.

By the time Zhou Da received the news, Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua's guards had already left the city. He had no time to think about it. He mounted his horse and hurried towards the Zhou Mansion, "Patriarch, you must think of a way!"

Zhou Ziqing had a piece of paper by his side, which read: "Duke Yi and his wife have gone out of the city towards the northwest woods. They've discovered something strange in the forest."

"You are the father and mother official of Zhou City, how is it proper for you to be so flustered and flustered? How many times do you need me to say that?"

Zhou Da jumped down from his horse in a fluster, feeling his legs go weak. He knelt on the ground and said, "Patriarch, only you can save me now. Duke Yi and Princess Consort have already discovered the victims and sent people out to rescue them. What should we do now?"

If he was discovered, he would definitely die. He did not want to die!

"Didn't I tell you to deal with those people? How did you do it?" Zhou Ziqing's face turned ugly. He had just built a good reputation for himself in front of Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua, and had only built his memorial archway a few days ago. How could he not be angry from embarrassment when he had already been exposed?

Zhou Da's face was pale. "I had already been dealt with by someone, but there are just too many victims, only half of them could be dealt with in time. The rest haven't even been dealt with yet. Who would've thought that they would be discovered in the past few days …"

"Stupid fellow, it's useless to speak of such things. We can only try our best to make up for it by saying that Zhou Cheng is a member of the Zhou family. No one should even think of interfering!"

"Yes, yes, that head, now …"

Zhou Ziqing rubbed his forehead, the creases in his brows spreading wide. "Didn't Baili Junyi want a good reputation? Then our Zhou Family will have it as well. Find a few scapegoats and tie them up, then tell them that they've hidden the news. Then, bring all the officials and soldiers to help out. I'll arrange the Zhou Family.

"But there are over a thousand people here. So many food ingredients …"

Zhou Ziqing said in a low voice, "As long as I don't get caught by Baili Junyi, no matter how much I spend, it's worth it. As long as I keep control of the city, even if it costs me a mountain of gold and silver, I can get it back. So, don't make any mistakes this time, understand?"

"Yes, my lord, please be at ease. This time, this official will handle the matter."

Zhou Da made up his mind and left the city with his men in hot pursuit of Baili Junyi.

Just as Hundred Miles Jun Yi and Shen Ninghua led a group of refugees away, Zhou Da arrived. Looking at the miserable state they were in, he could not help but tear up. These are all innocent people … "

Baili Junyi narrowed her eyes. "Lord Zhou is here so quickly?"

Zhou Da wiped his tears away and asked the soldiers to pull out a few officials who had their hands and feet tied up to cover their mouths. He said indignantly:

"Your Highness, Princess, it was all these officials who lied to you, hiding the news of the victims coming to Zhou City. If it wasn't for the fact that I heard about your guards leaving the city in a few days and asked a few questions, this official would not have known that so many innocent people were suffering. These people deserve to die a thousand times for their crimes!"

Baili Junyi swept his cold eyes across the tied up men. "Judging from how angry Lord Zhou is, he probably doesn't know anything about the victims."

"Yes. If I knew, I would have ordered for a treatment long ago. Why would I wait until now? If this official had discovered this earlier, wouldn't there have been so many casualties?" I am truly regretful in my heart, truly regretful! " After saying that, he pounded his chest a few times and said to the soldiers,

"These officials did not report this, which resulted in so many victims not being rescued in time. They ended up killing them right in front of the victims, as an example to others!"

"Yes."

Those officials raised their swords and were about to attack, but they were stopped and driven to the side by the guards. Zhou Da was a little taken aback. "Duke Yi, you think these people shouldn't be killed?"

Baili Junyi looked coldly at Zhou Da with a smile that was not a smile. "Lord Zhou, you seem to have forgotten that your official position is only that of a government official. You don't have the right to kill people as you please."

Zhou Da's expression changed and he quickly explained, "Yes, this official was too angry at the moment. I just thought that we should kill these people and forget that they have already exceeded our authority. I hope that Your Highness would not mind."

"Lord Zhou serves the nation and the people. Why would I blame him?" Baili Junyi spoke as she instructed the guards. "Keep these officials in custody for the time being. After we're done with the victims, we'll interrogate them."

"Yes."

As if finally seeing a chance to live, the dead silence in the eyes of many of the victims gradually disappeared. They had already dried their tears in the past few days, unable to cry at all, and could only tremble as they kowtowed to Shen Ninghua and Baili Junyi before being escorted by their guards to Zhou City.

There were too many victims in the forest to be buried one by one. The situation was urgent, so they could only let someone dig a huge pit and burn the corpses before burying them.

Many victims were reluctant to let go of their ice-cold loved ones, and only wished that they could hold on for a little longer.

Baili Junyi's fists were clenched tight, and his eyes were bright red.

Shen Ninghua felt a lump in her throat. She was blaming herself for coming too slowly. If they had come faster, wouldn't they have discovered these victims earlier? Wouldn't that have saved a few more people?

Baili Junyi pulled her into his embrace and kissed her heart softly. "Ningxia, take good care of yourself. Then, try your best to save her."

"Don't worry, I understand."

When most of the victims had been sent back, the two quickly rode their horses back to Zhou City. They saw that temporary sheds had already been set up on both sides of the road. The pot was filled with porridge, and the faint smell of medicine filled the air.

Many of them had already taken a bath and changed into clean clothes, waiting for their porridge. The victims who had received the porridge did not mind the heat and directly poured the porridge into their mouths.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves could be heard. Shen Ninghua looked towards the street and saw Zhou Ziqing personally escorting a food cart over. "This commoner greets Princess Hua-Yang."

"Esteemed lord Zhou, please excuse me. If I'm not mistaken, these ingredients were all sent by you, right?"

"Yes, I never would have thought that such an infuriating incident would happen. If the Zhou family had known that someone had been rejected outside the city, they would have made their move earlier. They would have done their best."

"It's not too late, we still need to thank Lord Zhou for his help. Otherwise, we would not have known where to go to find so much food in such a hurry."

Zhou Ziqing turned around and instructed the servants, "Unload the food, and then you can go to the porridge kitchen and help take care of the seriously ill victims."

"Yes, Patriarch."

"If there's anything the Zhou family can do to help, please feel free to tell me. The Zhou family will do its best."

Shen Ninghua looked deeply at Zhou Ziqing, then nodded and said, "Alright, if there's anything you need, you won't refuse."