The group continued to move forward and finally entered a city in the southwest.
At first glance, everything in the city seemed normal. People were still doing their own business on the streets, including vegetable vendors, blacksmiths, and women weaving cloth.
But if you look closely, you can find that mugwort is burning in front of every house. The blazing flames devour the mugwort, and the air is filled with a pungent smell. Every breath of air seems to be filled with uneasiness.
As they walked, they saw many ragged and emaciated beggars lying on the roadside, their bodies covered with horrible red spots, which were obvious symptoms of plague infection.
The officials carried them away one by one on rough bamboo stretchers with expressionless and ruthless faces, and threw them into the gloomy and terrifying mountains outside the city, leaving them to fend for themselves.
When Su Huaiyue and Wei Che saw this scene, they couldn't help but feel sad and sighed for the fate of these poor people.
Wei Che clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, his eyes filled with anger and helplessness.
Su Huaiyue frowned slightly, with pity and pity in her eyes.
Lord Li saw that it was getting dark, and the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire city blood red, like a cursed city. He looked at the two of them and said, "It's unsafe everywhere now. Why don't we stay at the government office for a few nights and get to know the situation."
Su Huaiyue had no objection to this, but was a little worried. "The epidemic is raging right now, and our identities are particularly special. I just don't know if the government will take us in."
"Don't worry Miss Su, I'll take care of this matter."
Immediately afterwards, the group walked towards the county government office.
The gate of the county government office was closed, and the stone lions at the door stood majestically.
The official went forward and knocked on the door. After a long time, the door slowly opened and a clerk stuck his head out.
The clerk looked everyone up and down with a wary look on his face: "Who are you? What brings you to the county government office?"
Lord Li hurried forward, showing his identification token, and said, "I am an official escorting an exile, passing through here. It is late today, and the epidemic is raging. I would like to stay at your county government office for a few nights. I hope you will be kind enough to do me a favor."
Upon hearing this, the clerk's face flickered with hesitation. His gaze lingered on Su Huaiyue and Wei Che for a moment before he said, "The epidemic is raging now, and the county government office is not as good as usual. I'm afraid it will be difficult to make arrangements."
Lord Li's heart tightened. He quickly took out a silver ingot from his pocket and quietly put it into the clerk's hand. He whispered, "Please be flexible and inform your county magistrate that we are all exhausted after traveling all the way. We will also be careful not to cause any trouble to your place."
The clerk weighed the silver in his hand, his expression softened a bit, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Okay, then you guys wait here for a moment."
Upon hearing that it was Lord Li who came from the imperial court, the county magistrate immediately smiled and trotted in to welcome the group of officials.
But when he saw Su Huaiyue and the other exiles, his face instantly turned ugly, as if he had seen something ominous.
"Lord Li, the court law stipulates that we cannot take in exiles. Otherwise, I will be charged with forming a clique and treason."
The county magistrate said this with an embarrassed look on his face, but a sly glint flashed in his eyes.
He thought that if he took in these exiles, if something happened, he would lose his official position.
Lord Li quickly explained, "Don't worry, County Magistrate. These exiled men aren't as bad as you imagine. They're all descendants of loyal and honest men, and their fate is truly helpless. I guarantee with my official rank that they won't cause you any trouble. Please do me a favor and give them some leniency."
Lord Li knew Su Huaiyue and others very well and firmly believed that they would not do anything illegal.
After hearing what Lord Li said, the county magistrate pretended to hesitate for a moment, his eyes revealing a shrewd look of weighing the pros and cons. Finally, he nodded and placed everyone in the county government office.
However, there were limited rooms in the county government office, and the dark and damp rooms were filled with a musty smell. Each family was only allocated two rooms.
When the rooms were being allocated, the second sister-in-law of Wei, upon hearing that she would have to share a room with Madam Wei, the third sister-in-law, and the fourth sister-in-law, immediately put her hands on her hips, and screamed in displeasure, "How can this be possible? With so many people crammed into this small room, how are we going to sleep?"
Su Huaiyue glanced at her coldly, with a hint of warning in her eyes, and said, "This is not the Wei family. Everyone is like this. If you don't want to live here, you can go outside and live with those beggars. You have also seen the miserable conditions of those beggars. Are you sure you want to go out?"
Su Huaiyue was annoyed by Wei Ersao's unreasonable behavior, but she didn't want to bother with her too much at this moment.
When Wei Ersao thought of those beggars who were suffering from plague and dying, she was so frightened that her face turned pale as paper, her lips trembled slightly, and she immediately closed her mouth and dared not say a word anymore.
After arranging the accommodation, Su Huaiyue did not stop at all.
She knew very well that disinfection and epidemic prevention were of vital importance in this place where the plague was rampant.
So she hurried to help burn the mugwort, and the blazing flames illuminated her resolute face.
He took out the alcohol stock from his own space.
Although everyone was very puzzled by the alcohol Su Huaiyue took out, and the pungent smell made them frown, they still did as she said out of trust in her.
Su Huaiyue personally took the cloth and carefully wiped everyone's hands and cheeks, leaving no corner untouched.
As she wiped, she reminded: "Everyone must pay attention to hygiene. This thing is called alcohol, it can disinfect and kill bacteria, so don't be careless."
Everyone nodded, feeling grateful towards Su Huaiyue.
After dealing with all this, Su Huaiyue already felt her waist ache.
She lay on the bed, thinking that a busy day only served as a protection, but if she wanted real treatment, she lacked the medicine.
As they came here, they found that all the places where medicinal herbs grew were stripped bare, and the medicine was sold at a higher price in the southwest region than in Dongzhou, which showed that someone was deliberately monopolizing the market.
The only place to obtain medicinal materials is space!
But she is only 28% of the way there. If things continue like this, it will be difficult to take the southwest even if the whole area is occupied.
Su Huaiyue bit her lower lip tightly, her eyes revealing unwavering determination and a fearless determination to face death.
She slowly raised her eyes and looked at Wei Che who was concentrating on packing his luggage not far away.
In Su Huaiyue's heart, he began to secretly think about ways to improve his favorability.
Perhaps starting with some trivial things and gradually narrowing the distance between you can make him like you more.
Thinking of this, Su Huaiyue stood up quietly, took light steps, and walked silently to Wei Che's bed.
She leaned over slightly and began to carefully make the bed for him. Her movements were gentle and focused, and every time she smoothed out a wrinkle, it was like she was carefully adding a thread of warmth to their relationship.
Wei Che noticed her actions, and the movement of his hands tidying up the clothes suddenly stopped, and his body was slightly stunned.
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