Chapter 161: Under Watchful Eyes
Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Under Watchful Eyes
"Let’s talk in the main tent," he said, his exceptionally handsome face framed by clear, star-like eyes. "There are too many people here. If we’re overheard, it could easily cause trouble."
He was looking at her as he explained, his tone carrying a hint of almost imperceptible caution.
Liang Wan lowered her eyes, an unbearable bitterness welling up inside her.
’Wang Tingyue shouldn’t be acting this cautiously.’
’Whether in the past or now, she was the one who should feel guilty.’
Seeing her silence, Wang Tingyue’s voice was hoarse as he said, "Are you still afraid that—"
Liang Wan raised her eyes and interrupted him with a smile. "I was just about to go to the main tent to find you anyway."
"Good." The tension in Wang Tingyue’s eyes eased. He also smiled, nodded, and turned to walk ahead.
Liang Wan and Bai Lu followed behind him.
A fire was burning inside the tent, making it much warmer than outside.
She sat on a soft cushion, her body, which had been chilled to the bone by the wind, gradually warming up.
Wang Tingyue lifted a bronze kettle from the stove, poured her half a cup of water, and handed it to her. "Be careful, it’s hot."
Liang Wan took it with both hands.
Wang Tingyue sat across from her, his gaze on her as he asked softly, "What is it?"
Liang Wan didn’t beat around the bush. "Right now, with the changing of the seasons, illness spreads easily," she said directly. "My maid just noticed something unusual among the refugees. I must ask you, sir, to send someone to examine them. If it truly is a seasonal epidemic, we must make plans as soon as possible to prevent a disaster."
After she finished, Wang Tingyue’s expression grew very serious. Without asking any more questions, he immediately sent a man to see to the examinations.
Once the man had left, silence returned to the tent.
’They used to be able to talk about anything, but now...’
Wang Tingyue’s gaze remained quietly fixed on her face. Though he said nothing, his eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words.
Liang Wan was silent for a moment before lowering her gaze slightly. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back."
Wang Tingyue watched her for a while. After a long moment, a single word finally emerged from his throat: "Alright."
He stood up as well, but said nothing more. He just stood there, rooted to the spot, watching her leave the tent.
As her figure retreated, his gaze fell back to the cup. She hadn’t taken a single sip.
Leaving the warm, smoky tent, the sudden blast of cold wind was jarring and sent a chill through her.
She had only taken a few steps when she heard crying and shouting in the distance.
Liang Wan’s heart sank. She exchanged a look with Bai Lu, and as she looked toward the source of the cries, an ominous premonition rose within her.
Bai Lu said, "Lady Liang, we should return to the manor at once."
Liang Wan sighed silently. ’I can go back now, but what about after? Can I just not come back tomorrow?’
If it were anyone else, she might have been able to stand by and do nothing, but since Wang Tingyue was in charge here, she couldn’t just ignore it.
"Let’s go see what’s happening."
As she spoke, she was already walking toward the group of people who were struggling with each other.
Some soldiers were forcefully dragging several refugees, trying to pull them out of the line. The refugees clung to each other, resisting with all their might.
In such a long queue, no one would be willing to be pulled out for no good reason.
Liang Wan kept her distance and stopped.
The struggling refugees didn’t stop their crying at her arrival, but the soldiers did stop their previous bellowing.
Liang Wan frowned. "What’s going on?"
Although the soldiers didn’t recognize her, they could see from her fine clothes that she must be a lady from a powerful family and didn’t dare to be disrespectful.
But they had been ordered by their superiors not to make a scene, so they hesitated.
"Report honestly." His voice was steady and powerful.
The noisy scene instantly quieted down.
Liang Wan didn’t turn to look.
The soldiers first bowed, then pointed at the refugees. "The military physician ordered us to take these few aside for further examination—"
He was only halfway through his sentence when the refugees began shouting again.
"Examine what? We’re perfectly fine, why do we need to be examined? Who knows what you’re planning?"
"It was almost our turn—"
"Yeah, why us? On what grounds?"
...
The huge commotion caused a considerable stir, and the crowd descended into chaotic, clamoring chatter.
The military physician hurried over, panting. He leaned in close and lowered his voice. "Sir, those few... they might, they might have contracted the seasonal epidemic."
Wang Tingyue’s expression turned grim. He quickly pulled Liang Wan, who was at the front of the crowd, to his side and said in a low, serious voice, "You need to go back. Now."
His concern made him act rashly. His brow was tightly furrowed, his eyes filled with worry.
Liang Wan glanced down at the hand gripping hers. Unlike Lu Xiu’s pampered, noble hands, this one was broad and lightly callused.
Wang Tingyue came to his senses and immediately let go.
Liang Wan looked up at him. "How are you going to handle this?"
Wang Tingyue met her determined gaze and, for some reason, found himself at a loss for words.
While he was still stunned, Liang Wan seized the opportunity to draw the sword from his waist. Sword in hand, she turned and walked toward the troublemakers.
"Who was it that asked ’on what grounds’?"
She pushed past the soldiers, pointed the longsword, and her deliberately raised voice was bone-chillingly cold.
The man, caught off guard by the sword at his neck, was instantly silenced.
The sudden turn of events rendered the scene silent. Everyone craned their necks to stare, consumed by curiosity.
The man, intimidated by the sword, lowered his voice, but his eyes were full of defiance. "Wh-what do you think you’re doing? Are you going to kill me? There are soldiers here, I dare you to try anything crazy!"
Liang Wan gave a cold smile. "Weren’t you asking on what grounds? I’ll tell you on what grounds. It’s on the grounds that your life is in our hands!"
"You’re an able-bodied man, with hands and feet, yet instead of working to fight the locusts, you’re here getting free food and drink and still daring to disobey orders! Where do you get the nerve? You’re a refugee, not a cripple!"
"If you want to eat and drink here, then you’d better listen up! Cooperate with everyone’s work. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you have the life to receive the food, but not to eat it!"
"You—you’re just using your power to bully us—"
Liang Wan sneered. "So what if I am? When you’re capable enough to be the one handing out the porridge, you can throw your weight around too!"
Liang Wan shot the soldiers a look, signaling them to hurry up and take the man away.
"You—on what grounds are you taking me? What did I do?"
"Why are you taking me?"
The few men were dragged away by force, shouting their protests, which incited the other refugees to start clamoring as well.
Catching this from the corner of her eye, Liang Wan deftly climbed onto a high platform a few steps away.
She shouted, "Listen up! We’ve discovered people suspected of having the seasonal epidemic! Everyone must be checked, one by one, and the sick must be isolated. Otherwise, all of us will be infected! Do you all want to die together?"
The moment her words fell, an uproar went through the crowd.
The color drained from everyone’s faces. They had fled from so far away to the capital city just to survive. Who wanted to die?
Now, they looked at where the men had been taken away with expressions of terror, afraid that they themselves had been infected.
Liang Wan, holding the longsword, scanned the crowd. "From now on, if you don’t want to die, you will follow orders!"
With that, she turned her head to look at Wang Tingyue.
"Anyone who dares to hide their illness or shelter the sick will be executed on the spot without mercy!" Wang Tingyue bellowed, his cold voice ringing with power.
Clad in armor, with a stern face and a deep voice, he was an incredibly intimidating figure.
The crowd was no longer noisy and clamorous.
Liang Wan was about to turn and jump down from the platform when an arm suddenly reached out, wrapped around her waist, and lifted her down.
When she saw who it was, her face instantly felt like it was on fire.
’In front of all these people...’
Liang Wan hadn’t even found her footing yet. "You—what are you doing here?!"
Her face, which had just been bright red with embarrassment, darkened in an instant. She suppressed her anger and lowered her voice.
Lu Xiu’s lips curved into a smile. "And why can’t I be here?"
Liang Wan was speechless with anger. She gritted her teeth and hissed, "They’ve found cases of the epidemic here, you need to go back! With your constitution, just getting caught in the snow—"
Her unfinished words trailed off as he narrowed his eyes at her.
’In truth, he wasn’t an easy person to get along with.’