She deliberately raised her voice so that everyone around could hear: "Shen Qingtang was entangled with wild boars in the mountains before. Now he's contracted the plague. It's clear that even the heavens can't tolerate the Pei family. We have to get rid of him quickly, otherwise the plague will spread and no one will survive!"
These words instantly ignited panic among the crowd.
The Zhang butcher's family and the Liu scholar's family, who had previously had a grudge against the Pei family, immediately jumped out to echo their sentiments.
Butcher Zhang, sleeves rolled up, shouted, "Yes! Get rid of him right now! I want to get home alive, I don't want to be dragged down by this brat!"
Liu Xiucai nodded in agreement, then sighed dramatically, "This boy has too much malevolent energy. Keeping him around might bring disaster to everyone. For everyone's safety, we have no choice but to leave him here."
The officials, already afraid of taking responsibility, were also swayed by this suggestion and said to Shen Qingtang, "Shen Qingtang, it's not that we're heartless, but the plague is no small matter. For everyone's safety, we have no choice but to..."
"Only what?" Shen Qingtang held Pei Nian'an tightly in her arms, her eyes sweeping coldly over the crowd. "Nian'an is just sick, I can cure him! What right do you have to throw him away? Just because of Lu Jiaojiao's words, you're going to disregard human life?"
Pei Wuwang also stepped forward, blocking Shen Qingtang and Pei Nian'an.
His tone carried an unquestionable authority: "Anyone who dares to have designs on An will have to get past me first."
But the people around him wouldn't listen. Zhang the butcher even tried to grab him, and Liu the scholar chimed in, "Pei Wuwang! Don't protect him! He's a jinx; keeping him around will only harm us!"
Upon seeing this, Old Master Shen and the Shen family immediately gathered around.
Old Master Shen, leaning on his cane, roared at the crowd, "You heartless bunch! Who helped you out when you encountered the Northern Desert people? Now that Nian'an is sick, you want to throw him away? Have you no conscience at all!"
Shen's parents also stood closely by Shen Qingtang's side, their faces full of worry: "Qingtang, don't fight them head-on, let's think of another way."
Looking at the chaos before her, Lu Jiaojiao smiled faintly and added fuel to the fire: "Everyone, don't hesitate! If we wait any longer, we'll all get sick! Sir, please give the order!"
In the entourage of officials, Constable Li, who was in charge of statistics, approached Chief Constable Zhao and whispered, "Sir, how about we do an anonymous vote? Write down 'stay' or 'leave' on slips of paper, put them in a bamboo basket for counting, that way no one will dare to complain about us."
Zhao, the head constable, nodded in agreement and immediately ordered people to prepare paper, pen, and bamboo baskets.
During the voting, people took turns throwing their slips of paper into the basket.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Officer Li secretly slipped in three notes with the word "go" written on them. He had already been bribed by Lu Jiaojiao with money.
They deliberately helped to tamper with things.
When the results came out, the votes for "leave" were four more than those for "stay." Chief Zhao sighed and said to Shen Qingtang, "Shen Qingtang, this is everyone's opinion, you..."
"I understand." Shen Qingtang didn't wait for him to finish speaking before picking up Pei Nian'an and getting up. "I'll take Nian'an with me and won't drag you down with me."
Old Master Shen immediately followed: "Our Shen family will go with you!"
Shen Qingtang's parents, her two older brothers, Qin Wanqing, Su Lingwei, and Qin Xian all stood by Shen Qingtang's side.
They would never let Shen Qingtang face danger alone.
Seeing this, Lu Jiaojiao hurriedly shouted, "Commander Zhao! We can't let them leave! What if they take the plague out, or what if Shen Qingtang retaliates against us? We should just..."
As she spoke, she made a "kill" gesture, but was interrupted by Chief Zhao: "Alright! It's a human life after all. Send them to the empty villa in the suburbs for quarantine. Stop arguing!" Although he was afraid of the plague, he did not dare to kill people casually and could only make a compromise.
We arrived at Kongbiezhuang.
Shen Qingtang arranged for everyone to be isolated in different rooms, while she carried Pei Nian'an into the innermost room.
After closing the door, she led Pei Nian'an directly into the space.
Suddenly, green mountains, hot springs, and wooden houses filled with food appeared before my eyes.
Pei Nian'an's eyes widened: "Auntie, where is this place? It's so beautiful!"
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