Chapter 282 The Cause of the Plague

"If I were to blindly follow the Great Zhou Dynasty's methods, then what would be the point of my rebellion? I, Xu Zhenying, don't want to be an ordinary rebel. If I'm going to be a rebel, I want to be the greatest rebel in history!"

Xu Zhenying's eyes sparkled, and she seemed to have never revealed her true feelings to anyone.

There is only Old Lin, this weird man who looks skinny and like an immortal, but is actually rebellious and detached from the world.

Boss Lin didn't dare to breathe, staring at the man in front of him intently.

It was as if at that moment, Xu Zhenying was surrounded by a layer of light golden light!

"Then...then what kind of world does the City Lord want to create?"

Xu Zhenying stared at Elder Lin with a smile, but kept him in suspense. "My answers are all in the textbook. Since you're in Jinzhou Prefecture, why don't you walk around and see if you can find the answer?"

Mr. Lin walked out the door in a daze.

Xu Zhenying wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Oh my god, I finally fooled another smart guy.

The people in the room looked at each other in bewilderment. Xu Zhenying could only smile and fool them again: "It's okay, the title has been decided, and other matters can be taken care of later."

Everyone was full of enthusiasm, and even after the meeting, they still pulled each other aside to discuss the "ritual system" and "legal system" that had been mentioned in the meeting just now.

Everyone imagines what it would be like if the country were governed by law.

Everyone left, only Zhou Houfang and a few secretaries stayed to clean up the mess.

Zhou Houfang had been somewhat absent-minded throughout the entire meeting. Now that everyone had left, she seemed to have made some kind of decision and walked straight up to Xu Zhenying. "City Lord, can I talk to you privately?"

Xu Zhenying raised his eyes and glanced at Zhou Houfang.

very good.

Zhou Houfang's eyes were clear and he seemed more resilient than before.

In the past, she was like a magnificent peony kept in a warm room.

But now, it looks more like wild flowers growing wildly.

Xu Zhenying waved his hand, signaling everyone in the room to leave.

The secretaries glanced at each other meaningfully and then left.

After everyone left, only Xu Zhenying and Zhou Houfang were left in the room.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Houfang fell to his knees with a thump.

Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows.

"City Lord, save me!"

Xu Zhenying sat in the chair without moving.

Although she didn't like being knelt to, she also knew that Zhou Houfang was arrogant. Now that she was willing to bow her head and be humble, she must have something very big to ask for.

Xu Zhenying was stunned for a moment, and finally pointed to the stool beside him, "Sit down and talk."

Zhou Houfang refused, her eyes misty and her emotions agitated. "City Lord, I...I...the Chang family has recently been interested in continuing the marriage between the two families. I used an excuse to keep them in check before, but now they probably see that you've become such a big shot, they'll probably force me to get married soon."

"City Lord, I don't want to get married! I don't want to marry Chang Ze! Chang Ze already had three concubines before I even married him. He even disregarded the reputation of our Zhou family and couldn't wait to take his cousin into his room the day after our engagement. I don't love him, I even think he's a fool. The thought of spending decades with a man like him makes me want to jump into the river right now."

"I, Zhou Houfang, am well-read and well-versed in the scriptures. I don't seek a harmonious marriage with my husband, but Chang Ze is foolish, and his actions truly disgust me! More importantly, I...I...Zhou Houfang is unwilling to accept this! I absolutely cannot accept this! Why should my fate, Zhou Houfang, be handed over to a man like this? He's not worthy of me! I want to firmly control my own destiny!"

"Besides, I have a bright future following the City Lord. Even if I don't get married, I won't feel any regrets. I've already seen through marriage. Instead of finding a man and living a muddled life, I'd rather devote my life to the career I love!"

Zhou Houfang's voice echoed for a long time.

As she said these words, her lips trembled uncontrollably and her chest rose and fell.

However, the house was silent.

Xu Zhenying looked at her, but seemed not to be looking at her.

Zhou Houfang felt a little flustered.

After a long while, Xu Zhenying said quietly, "Zhou Houfang, marriage is decided by parents and matchmakers. You've asked the wrong person."

Zhou Houfang was horrified.

If she could ask her parents for help, why would she rush to Xu Zhenying in such a hurry?

Her father was powerful and her mother was weak. In their eyes, letting her get married might be more valuable than letting her become an official.

Zhou Houfang can't afford the gamble!

Zhou Houfang suddenly stood up, and Xu Zhenying subconsciously leaned back slightly. Even the secret guards around Xu Zhenying were a little nervous.

But Zhou Houfang walked around the room and found a pair of scissors. When Xu Zhenying thought Zhou Houfang was going to use self-harm to force her, she saw that person taking off her bun, and her long hair fell down like a waterfall.

Then Zhou Houfang picked up the scissors.

——Click.

——Click.

She cut her long hair, leaving only an inch long, and looked no different from the female soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture.

"Clang."

Zhou Houfang dropped the scissors, then knelt on the ground, looking at Xu Zhenying with a determined look: "City Lord, is this the only way you can truly trust me?"

Xu Zhenying remained silent.

"I know you've always been on guard against me! I admit that I used to be a fence-sitter. But today Chang Ze came to me, and pressured me to get married, which made me completely sober! City Lord, you brought me to see such an equal and free world. How could you bear to push me back into the hell of the past! No, I, Zhou Houfang, will never go back! I, Zhou Houfang, don't want to rely on anyone in this life, I just want to rely on myself! I swear, from this moment on, I will be completely loyal to you! I only ask you to save me this time! City Lord, I would rather remain single for my entire life, just like you, and fight for the career I love all my life!"

Xu Zhenying was silent for a long time, then sighed softly.

Zhou Houfang didn't know what the result would be for her desperate gamble.

But she is willing to take a gamble!

She bet that Xu Zhenying couldn't bear it!

She bet that she still had value for exchange in Xu Zhenying's eyes!

"In fact, with your intelligence, you may not be able to find a way to escape." Xu Zhenying said this, but there was no expression on his face, which made Zhou Houfang confused.

As the saying goes, serving the king is like serving a tiger. Zhou Houfang finally felt a little scared because of the feeling of walking on thin ice.

She was like a criminal who had committed a serious crime, waiting for Xu Zhenying's trial.

Then, Xu Zhenying smiled and said, "But since you've come to me for help, I can only help you."

Zhou Houfang's chest was heaving violently.

"You reminded me that there are still a group of people imprisoned in Jinzhou Prefecture's prison. This time, I will consider it as a return gift for you officially joining me."

Xu Zhenying stopped talking at that point, but Zhou Houfang had already come to his senses!

Did the city lord agree to help her solve the Chang family’s marriage?

She made the right bet!

Zhou Houfang was so nervous that her body was shaking. This time, she was even more nervous than when she first met Xu Zhenying during the interview.

Just because this time, she did it sincerely.

Having joined Xu Zhenying, she will no longer leave herself any way out.

Striving for the happy life of all mankind, what a lofty ideal, what an exciting thing!

Zhou Houfang's value lies not in the struggle among women in the harem, but in the history of all ages!

She finally found the meaning and value of her existence!

She wants to create an unprecedented world together with the city lord!

At this moment, she felt like crying.

She seemed to understand why the elders in the Xu family's political team were so loyal to Xu Zhenying to an almost pathological degree. They were like a group cast from steel, impervious to rain and blood, each single-mindedly pursuing a single goal.

How lucky she was to be one of them!

But she held back because there were more important things to do.

"City Lord, I also have a great gift for surrendering!"

Faced with Zhou Houfang's complete surrender, Xu Zhenying knew: this man will be his from now on.

Xu Zhenying was obviously much more enthusiastic towards his own people. He pointed to the stool again and said, "Sit down and talk."

Zhou Houfang also realized that she was a little excited. She stood up, walked slowly to the chair, sat down, and calmed herself down.

Then she looked into Xu Zhenying's eyes and said slowly, "City Lord, I suspect that this plague in the west was caused by someone deliberately poisoning us!"

Xu Zhenying's expression changed slightly.

"At first, people from the Medical School and the Propaganda Department were joking about Hu Wei constantly overstepping his authority. Out of curiosity, I paid more attention. Later, I discovered that over two months before the outbreak in the west, Hu Wei had been aggressively pushing for vaccinations in Jinzhou Prefecture. He was originally from the Supervisory Department, but he repeatedly interfered with propaganda and medical affairs. In some places, he even contacted the local county magistrate to make our encouragement of vaccination mandatory. This is the first suspicious point."

"Then, when news of the plague in the west reached me, I had a vague feeling that something was amiss. So, I sent someone to follow Hu Wei and discovered that he had a man named Lin Er who usually did some of his dirty work for him."

"I followed the clues and found the cowpox research team at the medical school. I privately questioned the doctors, and they all insisted that the clothes contaminated with smallpox brought back from the north were burned. But when I went to find the person who was responsible for burning the clothes, I found that the person who was responsible for burning the clothes had drunk alcohol and fell into the river and drowned."

"When I got to this point, I felt something was amiss. Then all leads were cut off. I had no choice but to start with Lin Er, Hu Wei's close associate. Under pressure, Lin Er confessed to me personally that Hu Wei had ordered him to deliver plague-tainted clothing to the heartland of King Zhoushan. He's now under my protection in the army. If the city lord wishes to summon him, he can be sent here now!"

Xu Zhenying was extremely angry at this moment. He slammed the table and said, "Send the witness here immediately!"

Then she regained some of her sanity and said, "Have someone send it over quietly, don't alert the enemy."

Immediately, a secret guard ran out.

Xu Zhenying then asked Zhou Houfang, "Did Hu Wei know when Lin Er was arrested?"

"I don't know. But Lin Er said Hu Wei sent him out on a mission. So it's possible that Hu Wei thought Lin Er was out of town and didn't know he had fallen into our hands."

Xu Zhenying sat back in his chair in a daze.

Poisoning, using poison on living things.

She had always known that Hu Wei was a warmonger and a rebellious person. She had also always believed that as long as he was strictly disciplined, nothing serious would happen to Hu Wei.

But since Zhou Houfang said so, although Xu Zhenying had not seen the witness with his own eyes, he actually believed it about 70% in his heart.

There was no sound in the room.

Zhou Houfang didn't say another word.

As the saying goes, everything will turn into its opposite when it reaches its extreme, and too much talk will lead to mistakes. She was afraid that if she said too much, Xu Zhenying would instead suspect that they were engaging in a factional dispute.

Soon, Lin Er was quietly brought in through the back door, away from all eyes and ears.

As soon as Lin Er saw Xu Zhenying's face after entering the room, he knew that his death was approaching. He immediately collapsed and knelt on the ground, "City Lord! For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of souls who died in the west, I will tell you everything!"

"Last autumn, ever since the City Lord spoke of the war in the west, saying Jinzhou Prefecture was under attack on three sides, Master Hu has been nagging about wanting to relieve the City Lord's worries. Later, Master Hu ordered me to stake out the medical school and secretly steal one of the plague-infected garments that was supposed to be disposed of. The person in charge of this matter, upon learning of the missing garment, was in a daze, fearing something might happen, and even considered telling Dean Qiu. I was forced into a corner, so I faked the man's accident and pushed him into the river while he was drunk."

"Later, Master Hu ordered me to deliver the garment westward, anywhere, preferably in the heart of King Zhoushan's territory, where there were the most people. I knew this was a serious matter, and I tried to dissuade him, but Master Hu refused to listen and insisted. So, while he used his position to vigorously promote the smallpox vaccination among our local people, he also sent me westward."

"City Lord, I didn't know this plague would spread so quickly! Ever since I learned that the plague in the west killed hundreds of thousands of people this year, I've been overwhelmed with regret and unable to sleep or eat." Lin Er seemed terrified at this moment, tears streaming down his face. "Those were hundreds of thousands of civilians! The death toll of these hundreds of thousands of undead souls must be attributed to me, Lin Er! My bones weigh only three taels. If I were to go to the underworld, I'm afraid not even a scrap of bone would be left!"

"City Lord, I really didn't know there would be such serious consequences! Master Hu only told me that at most a few thousand people would die, and that those deaths would count as military merit. As soon as the plague breaks out, the situation in the west will become chaotic, and the King of Zhoushan will be too busy to attack us. This will protect hundreds of thousands of people in Jinzhou Prefecture. He also said that all this was for the City Lord, and I was so confused at the time that I actually believed his lies!"

Xu Zhenying's breath became particularly long.

She sat there, motionless, like a statue.

She has always known that war requires bloodshed and sacrifice, and she has been mentally preparing herself. She has even been implementing benevolent policies and restraining her subordinates to attack the city at the lowest possible cost.

Before today, she thought her path was going smoothly.

The death toll of civilians in the eight prefectures she captured was controllable and several times less than in previous wars in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

But today, Lin Er's words hit her hard in the face like a slap in the face!

It even made the tears she shed when she saw the battle report that day turn into crocodile tears.

The death toll in the West is at least 500,000, including those who have not been counted. If the situation is not good, the number will double.

The reason was that the people under her were eager for quick success!

If Lin Er was afraid that these hundreds of thousands of undead would come to settle accounts with him, then what about her?

She, Xu Zhenying, should be held most responsible for these hundreds of thousands of lives!

Xu Zhenying felt extremely distressed at this moment, and his heart was broken.

Since coming to the Great Zhou Dynasty, she has never been as angry, desperate, and annoyed as she is now.

She felt like a fly trapped in a transparent glass box, enveloped by an suffocating despair.

Her fingers were trembling slightly under her clothes.

"Go..." Xu Zhenying's voice was trembling slightly, "Go and call Hu Wei."

Zhou Houfang immediately stood up and asked, "Is the City Lord going to interrogate Hu Wei?"

Xu Zhenying looked at him like a hungry wolf.

Zhou Houfang couldn't help but shudder, but could only bite the bullet and say, "City Lord, you have arrested Hu Wei, so you must give us an explanation on how to deal with him today."

Xu Zhenying's voice was frighteningly cold, "Hu Wei...this man has a ruthless heart. I will kill him!"

"Hu Wei's sins cannot be redeemed even by a thousand deaths. But please calm down, City Lord. Please allow me a few words."

Xu Zhenying didn't say anything, but in anger, he still gave Zhou Houfang the right to speak.

"I'm not pleading for Hu Wei. If I had, I wouldn't have reported him. But City Lord, you need to think twice about how to deal with Hu Wei. Hu Wei has always been with you and is a prominent figure in the Xu family's political team. Killing him would be easy, but you always believe in commensurate punishment. If you can't explain why you're dealing with Hu Wei, you might not be able to convince the public, and it would also easily arouse suspicion from the outside world."

"This matter must be kept strictly confidential. No one can know about it. If the news leaks out and King Zhoushan's men find out, they'll probably launch a desperate counterattack. Furthermore, we've just taken over two western prefectures. If they knew this plague wasn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one, or even the work of the city lord's men, what would they think?!"

Xu Zhenying was stunned.

She was so angry just now that she almost lost her mind.

Seeing Xu Zhenying calm down a bit, Zhou Houfang continued, "If even the slightest bit of information leaks out, the people of the west will unite against us and become sworn enemies of Jinzhou Prefecture. Then, we will no longer be able to advance westward. Even more... the city lord's ambition to conquer the world will be stuck in the west!"

Xu Zhenying closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently.

She clenched her hands into fists, then slowly released them, as if forcing herself to calm down.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Zhenying slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Zhou Houfang and said coldly, "Houfang, you did a great job and gave me the right reminder. Thank you for stopping me."

At this moment, Zhou Houfang seemed to see the helplessness of a generation of emperors throughout history.

Xu Zhenying huddled in the chair, looking at the thin figure behind him, feeling quite helpless.

Her vulnerability, which she had never shown in front of others, was now clearly visible.

Even from such a long distance, Zhou Houfang could feel the extreme despair in her.

At this moment, it seemed that there was only tiredness and loneliness in her eyes.

It was not until today that Zhou Houfang suddenly realized that Xu Zhenying was just a teenage girl!

Xu Zhenying suddenly spoke, "Yan Xuesong!"

Yan Xuesong was the head of Xu Zhenying's personal guard. Since An Peilin and his men went to the west, the head of the personal guard became this female soldier.

The female soldier came out from the darkness, with cold eyes and without looking around, and walked up to Xu Zhenying.

"Kill him, and do it cleanly! Don't let the sound get out!"

Just when Lin Er and Zhou Houfang didn't react, Yan Xuesong coldly drew his sword, made a beautiful spinning sword, and stabbed the man's throat.

Before Lin Er died, there was a strange and satisfied smile on his face.

Zhou Houfang was so scared that she almost screamed. Fortunately, she covered her mouth in time and stepped back half a meter to avoid the blood from staining her dress.

The house was dead silent.