Pei Yu'an drove his carriage along the wide, sun-drenched street.
The shops on both sides were doing a booming business, and the sounds of vendors shouting on both sides of the street and the rich aroma of food wafted into the carriage.
Li Sisi curiously lifted the car curtain and looked outside, intending to ask Pei Yu'an to stop the car and buy some delicious food if she saw a shop there.
But I found that the city today was a little different from usual. The closer I got to the city gate, the more people in plain clothes, carrying simple bags, and walking into the city with their families.
Li Sisi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Pei, is today a special day? Why are so many people coming into the city?"
Pei Yu'an explained in a slightly lowered voice, "These are the people from the city ahead. Every winter, the Xiyuan Kingdom invades the cities on our border. These people must have come here to seek refuge in advance."
The two friends looked among the refugees and saw that most of them were haggard women and children with wide eyes staring around curiously. They asked in confusion, "Why are there only women and children? So few men?"
"All the men stayed at the border to guard the city. Some women and the elderly who were reluctant to leave also stayed home." Pei Yu'an sighed, his tone compassionate: "For them, if the city is still there, their families will have a place to return to. But if the city is destroyed, these people will have no choice but to wander with their children, without a fixed place to live."
Pei Yu'an's words made the originally relaxed atmosphere become heavy, and the three of them were silent for a while.
If they had not come to the northwest, if they had stayed in the capital, they would have thought that the world was peaceful and stable.
Li Nian recalled the contents of the original book and found that the story was written from the perspective of the heroine, telling the story of how the heroine relied on her extraordinary skills and brains to grow step by step from a little rural doctor to a lady from a wealthy family.
The story ends when the hero and heroine get married.
As for the national war, only a few sentences were mentioned: "Qihe was defeated, lost three cities in a row, and his legs were crippled." Then the heroine used her extraordinary medical skills to cure the male supporting role Qihe, laying the foundation for her reputation as a "miracle doctor."
As for the fate of this country, not much is said.
"Go away! Don't block my business." An angry voice suddenly rang out. The two looked in the direction of the voice and saw a fat middle-aged boss waving a wooden stick at the door of a food store, driving away a mother and son.
The woman bent down to apologize, holding the crying child in her arms, and looked around frantically, as if looking for a place to stay.
The little boy beside the woman tugged at her clothes and cried, "Mom, I want to go home. I want to go home to find my dad."
"Abao, we can't go home now..."
As the carriage moved further away, the conversation between mother and son became increasingly unclear.
A gust of autumn wind blew, and Pei Yu'an sighed with sadness: "In previous years, our Dong'an City has never been like this. It's only because General Qi was defeated last time and lost three cities in a row that the situation this winter is particularly tense. If we lose this battle again this winter, Dong'an City will be in danger."
Pei Yu'an sighed with emotion: "By then, the people will have no choice but to continue fleeing south."
Li Sisi said softly, "Behind the simple phrase 'lost three cities in a row' spoken by the people of Beijing, there are so many broken families."
Pei Yu'an continued, "What was lost was not just the city, but countless families and the lives of countless people who protected their families and country."
The carriage continued to move forward and soon arrived at its destination.
Pei Yu'an parked the carriage at the intersection and walked to the patient's home.
The two best friends walked into the mixed market together.
Unlike other clean and tidy streets, this one is dilapidated and messy, the bluestone road is bumpy and uneven, and puddles of sewage gather in the depressions on the road surface.
The stalls on both sides of the street are messy and noisy.
On either side stood or squatted a group of haggard-looking men and women, their hair dishevelled and unkempt. There were also skinny children, their eyes filled with fear and numbness, clutching their tattered clothes tightly.
The two men's eyes shuttled through the crowd and accidentally caught a glimpse of a group of imprisoned female slaves. They looked tall and had deep facial features.
"Are you two here to buy slaves?" A lean man approached with a sharp eye, a mercenary and flattering smile on his face. "Look at these female slaves from Xiyuan Country. They're all so docile and obedient! I guarantee they'll be useful to you if you buy them."
As he spoke, the man pointed at the group of women huddled together with the thick wooden stick in his hand.
Li Sisi looked at the thin boss's attitude as if he was selling livestock, and frowned slightly uncomfortably.
Li Nian replied in a cold voice: "We don't want other countries'."
"Sister, I am very obedient. Please buy me!" A childish voice sounded.
The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a little girl looking up at Li Nian with her dirty little face, her big black eyes full of desire and pleading.
Li Nian's gaze fell on the thin girl next to her. Unlike the little girl who spoke on her own initiative, this child's clothes had several holes, and it looked like they were torn by someone.
Her face was pale and thin, and her eyes shone cautiously at them with timidity and expectation. This girl looked much younger than the child who had spoken.
Li Nian took the initiative to walk towards her, slightly bent over, and said in a gentle tone: "Little girl, what can you do?"
As if she hadn't expected Li Nian to ask her, the little girl shrank slightly and answered in a low voice: "I can feed the chickens, dig wild vegetables, wash clothes, and make pancakes."
Although she was trembling with fear, the little girl's answers were clear and each word was full of firm seriousness.
Li Nian's eyes fell on the blood clot on her head. It was obvious that there was no hair on that patch of scalp. The little girl's hair was really dirty and messy, with many small blood clots stuck to her hair.
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