Chapter 570 - 325: Slaughter Them All
Chapter 570: Chapter 325: Slaughter Them All
Two days was enough time to change many things.
The grain shops in the East and West Markets closed down and suspended business. At first, rumors spread that they had disregarded the lives of the common people, which led to an angry mob swarming them. Indeed, no grain was found. The storefronts were completely smashed to pieces, along with the staff, accountants, and Shopkeepers inside. After the Government Office inspected the scene, seeing no hope of catching the culprits, they made excuses about having other matters to attend to, openly and secretly cursing that those shops deserved it.
However, the people of the Prefecture City could not go without grain, nor could the refugees outside the city be ignored. Ultimately, the Governor’s Office and the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office opened their granaries. A portion of the grain was distributed into the grain market, sold at the price of one tael of silver per stone. The larger portion was used for disaster relief.
But after discovering that a benevolent family outside the Prefecture City had already distributed one stone of grain to each refugee, the people from the Government Office changed their minds. They directly sent the grain to Guang’an County and other areas downstream of the Chishui River.
With this two-pronged approach, the commoners inside and outside the Prefecture City were all praising Left Governor Liu Hong, calling him a just and uncorrupt official. By extension, Prefect Liu Si also received much praise, which caused him to act with lightning speed and decisiveness over the past two days. After all, for every good deed he accomplished, he could earn a higher evaluation on his merit record at the end of the year: disaster relief, preventing the spread of the plague, and tracking down the murderers of Lin Zhenghong and others, as well as the culprits who plundered a million stones of grain.
Of course, several Thousand Households of the Imprisonment Department also secretly received some ambiguous orders.
"Those people in the grain shops died under bizarre circumstances, and the grain disappeared just as strangely. There must be hidden secrets involved. The investigation is far too difficult, so we might as well put it on hold for now."
Anyone who could rise to the rank of Thousand Households in the Imprisonment Department was exceptionally shrewd. Naturally, they understood Lord Prefect’s intentions and all went to help the government officials handle the plague first.
What was the reason? There were quite a few fools in the Imprisonment Department who asked this question, such as the single-minded Fang Hongxiu. Out of helplessness, the other Thousand Households could only point toward the east for her.
"The west just lost a million stones of grain, and the refugees in the east received a hundred thousand stones in a single day. Who do you think took it?"
Fang Hongxiu and the others finally understood. The Government Office was being generous at others’ expense, planning to send away the refugees first before catching the culprits.
"Aren’t the superiors afraid they’ll run away?"
"If they run, they run... Hundred Households Fang, you know that many Jianghu People have died in the city recently, right?"
"I’ve heard. Word is that it’s the Five Poison Sect... Do the superiors mean the Mountain Race took it...?"
"I didn’t say anything. Just go do what you need to do."
Fang Hongxiu understood perfectly. If it was the Mountain Race, it would indeed be difficult for the Imprisonment Department to continue the investigation. Even if that entire million stones of grain went into Wumeng Mountain, the Government Office could only turn a blind eye. After all, when the people of the Mountain Race plundered the grain, they did not forget to lend a hand to rescue the refugees, resolving the crisis for the Government Office.
Who would be so tired of living as to go to Wumeng Mountain to stir up trouble with the Mountain Race? Moreover, this matter was a messy account to begin with. The grain shops hoarded their grain, waiting for the highest bidder, which caused public resentment to brew. Having their grain stolen could be considered bringing trouble upon themselves. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was beautifully executed.
Fang Hongxiu’s Heart Spirit relaxed, and she led her people to hurry toward the Xiao family’s mansion.
"The Xiao family has truly been plagued by bad luck recently."
"The eldest daughter of the Xiao family just escaped danger and is still in shock, and now that live-in son-in-law has also met with an accident. As luck would have it, he contracted the plague."
"You can say that again. Sigh..."
After a meticulous screening of everyone inside and outside the Prefecture City, there were only about a hundred people who had contracted the plague. Aside from Yuan Hao, the rest were fed medicinal soup and strictly forbidden from going out.
Because Chen Yi had "fallen ill," the entire Marquis’s Mansion was also implicated. Not only were Xiao Wuge and Xiaodie in the Spring Lotus Garden barred from leaving, but Xiao Wan’er and the others at the Jiaxing Garden who had been outside the city were also ordered to be grounded. The entire Marquis’s Mansion was in a state of extreme panic. Even though the Old Master repeatedly assured them that the plague could be cured, until Chen Yi fully recovered, everyone in the other courtyards turned pale at the mere mention of the Spring Lotus Garden.
Fortunately, the threshold of the Xiao family’s mansion was high enough. They didn’t need to have people from the Government Office standing guard outside every day like the others infected with the plague. They only needed to report on Chen Yi’s current condition every hour—whether his illness had improved or worsened, and whether anyone else in the mansion had been infected.
Therefore, for the past two days, Xiaodie became the busiest person. She had to serve Xiao Wuge, take care of Chen Yi, and frequently traverse the courtyards to pass along the situation here to the people outside the garden. She was thoroughly exhausted.
Seeing this, Xiao Wan’er felt a twinge of fond reproach in her heart. Naturally, she didn’t believe that Chen Yi would contract any plague. Even if the hundreds of people in the Marquis’s Mansion were all infected, Chen Yi wouldn’t be. On the contrary, he was highly likely to cure everyone before they could even get infected.
"This bad guy is always doing things that catch people by ’surprise.’ Huatang saw it clearly when she grounded him back then..." she thought.
Fortunately, Xiao Wan’er knew that Chen Yi must have his reasons for doing this, so she felt An Xin staying inside the Jiaxing Garden. While comforting Xie Tingyun, Shen Huatang, and the others, she kept an eye on the movements at the Spring Lotus Garden. As a result, the moment Xiaodie called out a few times, Xiao Wan’er couldn’t wait and immediately led her people to the Spring Lotus Garden.
Xiao Wuge, who had stepped out of another wooden building a step ahead, saw her and grinned happily. "Wan’er, Chen Yi is awake. Can I leave the wooden building now too?"
Xiao Wan’er gave a gentle murmur of agreement. Feigning joy, she took his hand and walked toward the wing room where Chen Yi was staying. When she pushed open the door to the wing room, she saw Chen Yi’s "sickly" appearance and immediately covered her mouth with a laugh. Her expression was a charming mix of joy and playfulness, and her laughter was ethereal.
Chen Yi leaned against the bed, turning his head to look at her. Knowing in his heart that she was aware he was faking his illness, he coughed and asked, "Wan’er, why are you laughing?"
Xiao Wan’er’s smile faltered. She gave him a reproachful eye roll, then walked over and sat down beside his bed.