Chapter 558 Extra: Troublemakers in the Disaster Area

"What are you all standing there for? If he really offends the princess, your lives will be in danger too."

"Don't forget, the princess brought you food. You can't be ungrateful."

Seeing that the other villagers were watching coldly, Liu Cong immediately started to scold them.

Upon hearing the village chief's rebuke, the righteous villagers immediately stepped forward to protect Lin Luoxi within their encirclement.

The villagers, who shared the same thought, believed that if Liu Mazi succeeded, they might be able to get a larger share of the grain.

Liu Cong naturally knew what those indifferent villagers were thinking. He snorted and decided not to interfere in their affairs anymore.

"Village chief, you'd better move aside, lest you get hurt," Liu Mazi impatiently reminded Liu Cong.

"If you want to touch a princess, you'll have to step over me..." Liu Cong refused to leave no matter what.

"Alright, this is your own request..." Upon hearing Liu Cong's words, a sinister glint flashed in Liu Mazi's eyes, and he wanted to be the first to make a move.

As a result, he had just taken his first step when he was kicked from behind and sent flying to the front.

"thump!"

"Snap!"

"ah!"

Liu Mazi's body slammed down in front of Liu Cong, landing on his knees at Liu Cong's feet. But those with sharp ears could hear the sound of bones cracking as Liu Mazi knelt so hard on the stone-covered ground.

Those who had been watching the commotion stepped back, making way for a large area, which allowed everyone to see the culprit who attacked Liu Mazi.

"Why are you here?" Lin Luoxi ran over to Xie Hanchuan with a happy expression when she saw him.

Although she could take care of the man on her own, it's a different story when someone stands up for her.

“When you first got off the ship, I saw that this guy looked shifty, and I knew something was up. And I actually caught him.”

"Guards, arrest these people who plot against the princess. I'm making an example of them." Xie Hanchuan didn't hide anything and ordered his men to arrest Liu Mazi and his accomplices, and hang them on the bow of the ship.

They have many places to rescue, and if everyone in every place is like Liu Mazi, trying to embezzle and cause trouble, then their rescue work will not proceed so smoothly.

"Princess, General, could you spare his life..." Liu Cong was secretly pleased to see Liu Mazi arrested, and symbolically begged Lin Luoxi and Xie Hanchuan for Liu Mazi's life.

Liu Mazi was related to his father in some way, and if he didn't beg for mercy, his father would definitely have something to say about him when he got back. Now that he's only making a token beg for mercy, his father probably won't dare to say anything to him.

"Dare to plot against the princess? That's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Village Chief Liu, are you sure you want to plead for this villain?"

"Everyone in your village is surnamed Liu, so you should all have the same ancestor. Are you sure you want your whole village to be executed because of one person?"

Xie Hanchuan just stared at Liu Cong, wondering if he would risk the lives of the entire village to plead for Liu Mazi.

"Village chief, you mustn't!" Once their own interests were threatened, the disaster victims who wanted to stay out of it immediately looked at Liu Chong, hoping that he wouldn't offend the princess because of Liu Mazi, which would cause their whole village to suffer.

"Yes!" Liu Cong hadn't expected things to be so serious, and he quickly raised his hand to wipe the thin layer of sweat that had broken out on his forehead.

No one stepped forward to stop him, and Xie Hanchuan immediately ordered his men to tie up Liu Mazi and his five accomplices and put them on the boat.

"Village chief, village chief, save me..." Only then did Liu Mazi realize the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly begged Liu Cong for mercy in fear.

Upon hearing Liu Mazi's words, the people of Liujia Village all turned their heads away.

They had never allowed Liu Mazi to murder the princess, and they didn't want to be implicated and beheaded because of Liu Mazi.

Although life is indeed tough now, it's better to live a miserable life than to die. Even ants try to survive; they want to live.

"Alright, Village Chief Liu, the food has been delivered. If you are frugal, you can still make it for a while. By then, the flood should have receded."

"There are still many places that need us, so we're leaving." Lin Luoxi said goodbye to Liu Cong, who had come to see her off.

It's already September, this heavy rain should have stopped by now.

In the Lingnan region, there are many rocky mountains, making mudslides less likely. As a result, the disaster victims chose to take refuge on the rocky mountains or in caves.

Rocky mountains always have some natural caves that can hold tens of thousands of people. They are sheltered from the wind and rain, and are better than the simple thatched huts you build yourself.

Lin Luoxi and Xie Hanchuan specifically sailed their boat to the edge of these mountains and used their internal energy to call for help.

If someone agrees, it means there are people on the hilltop, so let them come down and bring the food.

This makes it quite convenient for Lin Luoxi and Xie Hanchuan to deliver relief food, and it also speeds up the rescue process considerably.

With Liu Mazi and a few others hanging on the bow of the boat as a warning, the disaster victims who had been contemplating embezzlement saw Liu Mazi hanging on the side of the boat, his body soaking wet and covered in blood from being whipped, and none of them dared to have any evil intentions.

Everyone lined up obediently to receive relief food and rainproof paper, and no one caused any trouble.

In some areas with mostly flat plains, the disaster victims could only hide on hilltops, where many people were crowded together, which was a distressing sight.

Lin Luoxi and Xie Hanchuan asked the disaster victims for their opinions. If they wanted to go to other places to escape the disaster, their boats could pick them up and drop them off. If they didn't want to, then forget it.

Even with no hope of the rain stopping, some people were still willing to follow Lin Luoxi to the uninhabited caves they had passed through to seek refuge.

After searching for eight days, they finally found Nangong Mobai and Lin Luoning's group.

Seeing Lin Luoning carrying the child and running around with Nangong Mobai, Lin Luoxi felt heartbroken and immediately told Lin Luoning to take the child onto the boat.

Seeing Lin Luoning, who was thin and frail due to the disaster, and her two children, whose faces were clearly malnourished, Lin Luoxi felt heartbroken. She prepared special meals for her and the two children on the boat to supplement their nutrition.

When Lin Luoning saw Lin Luoxi, she knew they were saved. Without hesitation, she took the child and boarded the boat.

Upon seeing Lin Luoxi take out food, he immediately started eating without saying a word, wolfing it down, clearly indicating that he hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.

The rescue efforts in the south took half a month, and by the end of September, the rain finally stopped.

As the floodwaters slowly receded, the sun came out.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to cheer.

Ten days later, the river finally receded, leaving behind a field of silt.

As the floodwaters receded, leaving their homes destroyed, sorrow returned to the faces of the victims.

The Nangong family's businesses are mostly located in the south, and they are the ones that have suffered the most damage.

Of course, Lin Luoxi had extensive assets in the south, so her losses were not much better than those of the Nangong family.

"Second sister, what should we do? The imperial court hasn't allocated any funds yet." Lin Luoning looked at the receding floodwaters, where only silt taller than a person remained, her face full of worry.

"It's alright, we still have mine! Let's not build in these low-lying areas. Let's plan the higher ground and allocate land for housing according to the number of people..."

If we continue to build houses in low-lying areas, and then there is another flood, the losses will be too great if we have to rebuild our homes again.

"Alright! I'll have someone arrange it right away." Nangong Mobai also thought Lin Luoxi's idea was good, and immediately ordered his people to do so.