The yamen runner's eyes were so swollen that only a small slit remained. He struggled for a long time before he could see the person in front of him clearly. He was so frightened that his face turned pale. "Xu, Master Xu, why are you here?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Xu Chufeng pushed him hard. "Didn't you just say that you're all from the prefectural governor's office? Then where's my father? What did those people do to him?"
"Mr. Xu, we are just some odd jobs. We usually don't even see the adults. I wonder how Mr. Xu is doing now." The bailiff was very scared and didn't dare to lie at this time.
Xu Chufeng thought he could find out what was going on in the prefectural governor's mansion, but he only caught a few useless soldiers and generals. He couldn't help but feel annoyed. "Master, I want to go back to the prefectural governor's mansion to rescue my father."
"I will give you a chance to go back, but not now." Situ Yao did not agree to him, because as soon as the Xu brothers showed up, they would be discovered immediately.
Xu Chufeng felt aggrieved, but because of Situ Yao's status, he didn't say anything. However, judging by his expression, it was clear that he wouldn't be as obedient as he appeared.
Situ Yao simply glanced at him indifferently, then questioned the yamen runner, "Who is in charge of Chu City now?"
"It's Lord Wang." The yamen runner was still able to answer and repeated quickly, "Lord Wang said that the prefect was ill and suspected of being infected with the epidemic, so he handed over all the affairs of Chu City to him."
"Who is this Lord Wang?" Situ Yao knew the prefect of Chucheng, but he was not particularly familiar with the officials under him.
Xu Chuyun's face was extremely grim as he spoke word by word, "It's Wang Shouli. Among all the officials in Chu City, he's the only one with the surname Wang."
"It's a shame that Dad trusted him so much, but he actually did something like this." Murderous intent flashed in Xu Chufeng's eyes, "I'm going to kill him!"
"I'm still sitting here, and you're going to assassinate court officials. Do you want your property to be confiscated?" Situ Yao's voice, neither light nor heavy, extinguished his murderous intent.
"Go on, Wang Shouli." Situ Yao remembered this name; he was the top scholar six years ago. He had originally served in the Hanlin Academy, but later, because he offended a powerful figure, he was demoted to Chu City and became a minor official.
Wang Shouli was highly valued and frequently visited the prefectural governor's residence. Xu Chuyun was quite familiar with him. He picked out the important things and told Situ Yao about them. Finally, he frowned and said, "He's usually a decent person and doesn't seem like someone who would do such a thing."
At this point, Xu Chuyun laughed at himself again, "But it's also possible that he was pretending and fooled us all."
"From what I know, Wang Shouli is an upright person, otherwise he wouldn't have come to Chu City in the first place." Situ Yao thought for a while, "We should send someone in to investigate."
"I'll go." Xu Chufeng said anxiously, "Master, let me go."
"No." Situ Yao shook his head and refused, "You and your brother cannot show up at the prefectural governor's residence during this period."
"Are we just going to watch all this and do nothing in the inn?" Xu Chufeng was dissatisfied.
"You are more familiar with Chu City, so you will go and find out where they have hidden the people infected with the plague." Situ Yao gave the task and convinced Xu Chufeng in a few words.
Xu Chuyun understood why he did this and would not say anything against it.
"Sir, what should we do with these people?" Qing Feng asked, pointing at the bailiff.
When things got to this point, the bailiffs realized that the noble young man with outstanding temperament in front of them was definitely not just a wealthy businessman.
Without waiting for Situ Yao to speak, they said very consciously, "Don't worry, sir. We will absolutely keep what happened today a secret and will not tell anyone else."
"Only dead people don't talk nonsense." Situ Yao said lightly, "Are you seeking death?"
Su Mengyan saw that the yamen runner's face turned pale with fright and he shook his head frantically to deny it.
"Lock them up for now." Situ Yao remembered that when they were outside, this group of people had teased Su Mengyan without knowing the consequences, and he immediately gave up the idea of letting them go.
The bailiff looked as pale as death and was thrown into a room in the inn by the guards and assigned to guard it.
"Young Master, is there really an epidemic here?" Cui Mixue asked with some doubt.
"We haven't seen a single patient since we entered the city," she explained. "If this really is an epidemic, why is it so quiet?"
She had heard that where plagues struck, it was no exaggeration to say that corpses were everywhere. Furthermore, the plague in Chu City had never appeared in her previous life, so Cui Mixue became even more suspicious.
"Why don't we go out for a walk?" Su Mengyan suggested, seeking Situ Yao's opinion.
This city is so weird. Even if there is no epidemic, there must be something else going on.
Situ Yao thought about it and nodded in agreement, "I'll go with Yan'er, and the others will stay at the inn."
Cui Mixue had never expected that she would be kept. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Situ Yao, "Alright, it's decided."
"What are you still standing there for?" Situ Yao urged Su Mengyan, "Come on, hurry up and follow me."
Su Mengyan glanced back at Cui Mixue, who was about to burst into tears. After a moment's thought, she decided not to comfort her. She followed Situ Yao closely.
"It's too quiet outside." Su Mengyan walked down the street with him and didn't see anyone. She couldn't help but sigh.
"Young Master, where do you think they hid all the people who were infected with the plague?" Su Mengyan said one sentence and then continued with another.
"There's no way anyone is hiding in the city." Situ Yao continued walking forward. "They're all afraid of contracting the disease. The most likely solution is to destroy the bodies of the sick people."
Su Mengyan shuddered and said with a pale face, "That's too cruel! How many people will die!"
"For the sake of the official hats on their heads, the lives of the people are as light as grass in their eyes." Situ Yao's eyes were filled with dissatisfaction and sinisterness. Once the evidence was found, this group of people would probably lose their heads.
Su Mengyan sighed softly and stopped talking.
The two walked a long way, but still didn't see anyone on the deserted streets. Just when Su Mengyan was discouraged and about to give up, she suddenly noticed that the haystack in front of her moved. She stood still, pulled Situ Yao's sleeve and asked, "Master, look at the haystack in front of us, something seems to be wrong."
She remembered the plot in the TV series, where the protagonists all survived by hiding in haystacks. Could there be someone under the haystack in front that was covered tightly?
Situ Yao took a few steps forward, and just as he was about to reach out to lift the dry grass, a skinny hand suddenly stretched out from inside.
Both of them were startled, and the people inside took advantage of this little time and ran away quickly.
"Hey, don't run." Su Mengyan reacted and started chasing after him.
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