Xie Qing took action, and rumors immediately spread in Shenyang City that the prince was bringing disaster to the country, and then he was assassinated.
He could kill the assassin, but he could not touch ordinary people. In the end, he had to leave Shenyang, otherwise the disaster relief work could not continue.
"Your Highness, please get in." Prince Du boarded the carriage, and a cool breeze hit him. He looked closely and saw an ice basin! How comfortable and thoughtful!
Xie Qing came back to his senses after hearing this and got into the carriage. The coolness gradually calmed him down.
Yijia had arranged for someone to fetch a cart of water. Following behind the two carriages, the group pretended to be wealthy businessmen fetching water and headed towards Shenyang City.
Perhaps this road is the only way to get water, because on both sides of the road, you can actually see green grass, stubbornly struggling out of the cracked soil and growing towards the sun.
After walking about five or six miles, I vaguely saw a tea stall in front of me.
Qin Wan felt something was wrong and lifted the car curtain to look across: "There's a tea stall in front."
Xie Qing nodded. There was ice in the car and it was very cool. However, he had to move even though he didn't want to.
The three of them jumped off the carriage, went to the tea stall and ordered tea.
The stall owner smiled cheerfully, his eyes constantly glancing towards the carriage. His movements were diligent and his words were warm: "I haven't seen you three gentlemen before. Where are you from?"
Xie Qing said calmly, "I've been studying abroad. I heard that my family was hit by a drought, so I rushed back to help."
Qin Wanduo complained: "I haven't been home for many years. I forgot how to get home. I walked around for a few times before I found the place to get water. This damn weather is so hot that it's killing me."
"Father said to send someone to lead the way, and you said you wanted to have some fun while you were there. Who can you blame?" Xie Qing smiled and handed her a handkerchief, asking her to wipe the sweat off her face.
The stall owner listened to the two men's words, his guard lowered a little. He smiled and said, "Young Master, you are a kind and filial person. But you all look familiar. Are you from a wealthy family in the city? Although I only run a tea stall, this place is a must-go on the way to Qingquan Mountain. Many powerful people in the city have stopped here. Who knows, we may have met before."
Xie Qing took a sip of tea and said, "My father is Mr. Li."
"Oh, so you are the son of Mr. Li. I wonder how your grandmother is doing?" The stall owner said with a smile.
Xie Qing glanced at him coldly: "My grandmother just passed away last year. Since you are thinking of her, why don't you go and burn some incense?"
The stall owner slapped his head and said in frustration, "Oh, what a pity! Your grandmother is a good person. She always takes care of small businesses when she comes to visit me. I was confused. I heard about this incident last year and cried for her. I always feel like she is still here and would come to my place for a sip of tea."
Xie Qing listened to his chatter and said a few more words before he stood up and said, "Let's go."
The three of them boarded the carriage. Prince Du was filled with questions, and only now did he ask, "In such dry weather, the water at home isn't even enough for drinking, so how can you have extra water to set up a stall? If you want to make money, wouldn't it be more profitable to sell tea in the city?"
Qin Wan looked at Prince Du and said, "The news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has left the main force and is coming to Shenyang must have been delivered. I'm afraid this stall is just to get news about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Prince Du suddenly realized: "No wonder he has been asking about it. I'm afraid the prefect will know the news soon."
"We have at most half a day." Xie Qing looked at the time and immediately ordered his men to ride as fast as they could to the city of Shenyang.
However, after walking a few miles, they suddenly saw a roadblock ahead!
Those going to Shenyang City were allowed to pass directly, but those going to Qingquan Mountain had to pay five cents.
Xie Qing's brows were furrowed. At the water source, not only was the money not collected, but someone intercepted him halfway!
Prince Du couldn't stand this, so he immediately grabbed the horse whip and went down to remove the roadblock.
Xie Qing stopped him and shook his head.
Qin Wan turned her head to look at Tao Yao. She immediately got off the car and stopped the poor people who were about to turn back. She stuffed ten coins into their hands and said, "Old man, why did you suddenly turn back?"
The old man looked at the copper coins in his hand, then at Taoyao, his eyes reddened. He no longer had any tears to shed. The sun had dried his body, so how could he have tears? "We are poor and have no money to go to other people's wells to drink water. We heard there is water outside the Qingquan Mountain and it doesn't charge money, so we came here."
"A few days ago, I brought back a cart of water. We've been frugal until now, but who knew we'd need money today? Five cents isn't much, but it's enough to cover our family's expenses for most of the month. We..."
Ultimately, it's all because of poverty.
Tao Yao sighed and said to the old man, "My master gave it to you. Go get some water."
Because people stopped them on the road to collect money, many poor families turned back halfway. Tao Yao couldn't stay for long. She stuffed a bag of copper coins into the old man's hands and gently instructed him, "Give it to those who can't pay. Remember to be careful and cautious, otherwise they will find out and ask for a higher price."
"Thank you, young master. Thank you, young master."
The old man quickly knelt down to thank him, but Tao Yao pulled him back: "Old man, be careful, don't draw attention to yourself."
"Okay, okay." The old man wiped his eyes and watched Tao Yao leave. He turned around and followed the old woman and started distributing copper coins to people. They were all poor people. Five cents per person and a cart of water could save their lives. Even if they were tempted by the silver, they would not touch the copper coins.
Tao Yao returned to the carriage and said to Qin Wan, "I gave them five hundred coins. There aren't many people here, so even if each person gets ten coins, it's enough for them to come here twice."
Qin Wan looked at Xie Qing and asked, "A cartload of water is probably enough for a family to use for a few days. Is five or six days enough for Your Highness to punish these people?"
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