"What's wrong?" Chu Ning was confused, wondering why Xi'er suddenly snatched away the package containing dry food.
"I'm here to find you." Mu Nanxi took out only two cakes from the package and handed them to those people.
But after those people got the bread, they still didn't want to leave.
They just stared closely at the package in Mu Nanxi's hand, with an almost greedy look in their eyes.
Chu Ning looked at the crowd not far in front of them. They were all hungry, thin and haggard, and she felt pity in her heart.
For them, these two pieces of cake are just a drop in the bucket and cannot solve the fundamental problem.
Her brows were full of worry. She pulled Mu Nanxi and said in a sad tone: "Why do you only give them two cakes? How can this be enough..."
Mu Nanxi frowned slightly and hurriedly whispered to stop her.
But one of the men among those people had heard Chu Ning's words and saw that Mu Nanxi had no intention of continuing to give them cakes. He rolled his eyes and immediately shouted to attract the attention of others.
He shouted and waved to the crowd, "They have cakes on them! Come quickly!"
As soon as those people heard that there were pancakes, they immediately rushed forward with red eyes, trying to snatch the package in Mu Nanxi's arms.
Mu Nanxi hugged the package tightly, protected Chu Ning, and led her close to the horse.
She quickly got on the horse, took Chu Ning's arm with one hand, and pulled Chu Ning onto the horse with a strong tug.
Although Mu Nanxi had tried his best to control the direction of the horses and let them avoid the crowd, those people had risked their lives for food. Regardless of the danger of being kicked and trampled by the horses, they reached out to grab Mu Nanxi's package.
During the pulling, several pieces of cake from the package fell out and fell into the dust.
They were instantly attracted to the cakes, their eyes full of greed and desire, and they rushed towards the cakes desperately, grabbing them.
Dust was flying, and people's shouts and scrambles were intertwined.
Mu Nanxi got the chance and rode away from the chaos.
Chu Ning had never seen such a scene before. He was still in shock and his body was stiff.
After leaving those people far behind, Mu Nanxi gradually slowed down the horse's speed.
"Mom, are you okay?" Mu Nanxi asked softly.
Chu Ning came back to her senses, but her voice was still slightly trembling: "Why did they..."
"I guess they are fleeing people who have endured hunger for a long time. When they are starving to the point of death, they will desperately grab life-saving straws."
Chu Ning sighed softly, with pity and helplessness for those people in his eyes.
They were leaving the Zhou Dynasty, and if they were not careful, they would be doomed. Human nature dictated that she could not risk Xi'er's safety in order to save these people.
Mu Nanxi and the two of them headed south, and saw another group of tired people on the road.
But this time Mu Nanxi only threw two pancakes from a distance without stopping.
Chu Ning glanced at the shriveled package and asked, "Is there any dry food in the package?"
"Enough to support us to Lihua."
Soon, the two arrived in Lihua.
I saw two porridge sheds set up outside the city gate. One was a few soldiers standing in the porridge shed serving porridge, and the other was just an ordinary member of a wealthy family, with a few female envoys beside him.
The people lining up to receive the porridge were already standing several miles away, each holding an empty bowl and looking towards the direction of the porridge shed.
"Thanks to Lihua County Magistrate and Huang Ji Yao for setting up a porridge shed, otherwise we would have starved to death in the wilderness!"
"We really met a kind person!"
…
As Mu Nanxi walked all the way to the city gate, words of praise for Magistrate Lihua County and Huangji Pharmacy fell into her ears from time to time.
During the routine inspection by the soldiers guarding the city, Chu Ning glanced at the hungry and thin refugees and asked, "Where do these refugees come from?"
The soldier also glanced in the direction of the soup kitchen and couldn't help but sigh, "Those who have escaped from the flood in Youzhou. Lihua City can no longer accommodate the refugees, so we can only provide them with food to eat."
"Huh?" Mu Nanxi remembered the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, but she said that Qi Kuo only went back after treating the flood.
"Didn't the emperor's eldest son be sent to Youzhou to control the flood? I heard from people in the capital that it was very effective!" Mu Nanxi asked.
"Humph!" the soldier couldn't help but snorted coldly, "The newly built dam looked like paper. It collapsed again within two days. The people were displaced and had no food to eat. They must not flee elsewhere!"
"It stands to reason that the imperial court allocated so much disaster relief money to rebuild the dams and sent disaster relief grains. How could this happen?"
Although Mu Nanxi didn't care about the affairs of the court, she still heard about the serious flooding in Youzhou.
In order to help the son establish his authority, the officials gave 100% of the money, food and manpower. How could the newly built dam be so unbearable.
unless……
There was anger in the soldier's heart, and he said sullenly: "You don't have to ask, there must be someone..."
"Stone! Shut up!" Before the soldier could finish speaking, he was shouted down by the leader striding over beside him.
The leader walked up to them, took the package that Shi Shi was inspecting, and gave it back to Mu Nanxi.
"The inspection is correct, the young lady can enter the city." He said with a cold face and a tone that left no room for doubt.
Chu Ning wanted to ask again, but was pulled towards the city by Mu Nanxi. She could vaguely hear the voice of the leader scolding the stone soldiers behind her.
Mu Nanxi understood clearly.
There must be something fishy in the management of floods in Youzhou, and it is related to Qi Kuo, so that those people did not dare to offend and just kept silent.
Last time at the Empress Dowager's birthday party, she felt at first glance that Qi Kuo was not a good person.
as expected!
…
Mu Nanxi and the others rested for a while in Lihua and then set off for Youzhou.
When the two of them go to Dian Kingdom, Youzhou is the only way to go.
If they take a detour, they will be delayed for no less than ten days. In this case, the chance of their whereabouts being discovered by the court and being caught up will be greatly increased.
In the past few days in Lihua, Mu Nanxi heard from the people that the imperial court had sent other people to Youzhou to control the floods. She did not have to worry about chaos in Youzhou and delaying their schedule.
A few days later.
Mu Nanxi and the two came to the outside of Youzhou City. Looking from a distance, they seemed to be in good order.
"It seems that the officials sent by the imperial court to control the flood have arrived in Youzhou." Mu Nanxi murmured.
At this time, gentle drizzle began to fall from the sky, falling on Mu Nanxi's cheeks and clothes.
When they stepped into the city gate, they saw that the windows of the houses on both sides of the street were broken. The stone lions on the street were covered with mud and water, and only their vague outlines were exposed. Some of the trees on the street were uprooted by the violent storm and were lying on the street.
The air was filled with the smell of mud and water. People repaired their houses and cleaned the streets in an orderly manner. In order to rebuild their homes as soon as possible, they ignored the heavier rain.
Mu Nanxi and the two found a barely habitable inn to stay.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the raindrops hit the roof heavily, making a dense and rhythmic sound.
As night falls, the candlelight looks particularly hazy in the rain, and the full moon hangs high, adding a bit of mystery and heaviness to Youzhou...
