Even the recent earthquake didn't affect it much.

Although their house was gone, the villagers rebuilt their shack as soon as the earthquake stopped, so they didn't have to worry about anything.

To be honest, it would be more accurate to call their house a wooden cabin than a shack.

After all, it's made of wood inside and out, only slightly shorter than a wooden house.

Upon hearing what Chen's mother said, Chi Yu walked towards her.

After being led to the shack and seated in the main room, Chi Yu, without waiting for the other party to speak, said:

"Auntie, I just got back from the county town. The reason I came here is that I have something important to tell you. Please listen first."

Shen's mother was an indecisive woman; before her husband's leg was broken, she listened to him.

After the man broke his leg, she listened to her son.

The man, leaning on his crutch, went out with Doctor Tao to treat the villagers.

Her son was teaching, leaving her to deal with the situation unresolved; it wasn't a big deal.

But when Chi Yu said that something important had happened, she felt a little flustered.

She immediately stood up and said:

"Miss Chi Yu, wait a moment. Since this is important, I'll go call my wife and daughter."

After saying that, she hurriedly left.

Not long after, she returned, followed by three people.

Shen Zhaochen and his wife, and Shen Yejun, who had already hung the clothes out to dry.

Shen Zhaochen is undoubtedly the pillar and backbone of this family.

Upon seeing Chi Yu, he nodded to him, and only after sitting down did he ask:

“Miss Chiyu, my mother said you just came back from the county town.”

"Is there something important you want to tell us?"

Chi Yu nodded: "Yes! To be honest, it's mainly about the situation in the county town."

First, apart from Anping County, the situation in other parts of Jianzhou Prefecture is not very good at present.

This is bad news; it means there's an outbreak of plague. And it's happening in our Anping County, right in Qijia Village.

The village was immediately placed under lockdown upon discovery.

It's said that renowned doctors from the capital are practicing there, treating patients, so there's no need to worry too much.

Shen Zhaochen was someone who was going to take the imperial examination, so he naturally paid more attention to what was happening at the moment.

He was afraid that the questions would be on the provincial examination.

So when Chi Yu said these words, he seemed to be deep in thought.

Chi Yu ignored him and continued talking.

"Second, before I returned, I received definite news that since last year, the people in the Jianzhou Prefecture area have suffered heavy casualties."

In particular, this year's earthquake and epidemic have caused a sudden decrease of hundreds of thousands in population.

His Majesty then issued an imperial edict, ordering that all men and women of marriageable age, regardless of their social status, even servants, must marry within one month.

Even without Chi Yu mentioning her age, Shen Zhaochen already knew the approximate range.

Even more so, he knew exactly what the punishment would be.

All of this is because it is written in the laws of the Great Chu Kingdom.

However, this law is not found in the law books that people usually see.

He also found out by chance.

When Chi Yu finished speaking, Shen Ye Jun's face turned pale.

She and her parents planned that after her brother passed the imperial examination, her value would rise accordingly, and then she could find a wealthy husband.

She'd had enough of the hardship and didn't want to wake up every day to struggle to make a living.

But now that the imperial decree has been issued, ordering everyone to get married within a month, what good partner can she find?