Chapter 181 Oh no, this is terrible!
Xu Zhenbang had always been strict with Ling Xuerou; she had never seen him so loving.
Xu Qingyi leaned forward and smiled, "Father, this is our son, who was born half a year ago. My husband and I named him Huaijin!"
Xu Zhenbang used his other hand to hug Yun Huaijin, holding the two children in his arms, and he was all smiles.
Seeing this scene, Ding Yan felt a little reluctant to disturb them.
"Sir, the document."
Luo Qing added another reminder.
The city is full of refugees and plague; they must leave quickly.
If anyone were to see the Prince of Jin, wouldn't they be torn apart by the refugees?
Ding Yan took the document, didn't say much, checked it, and then closed it.
"Alright, I'll go in and stamp your seal. There are them everywhere in the city now..."
Before Ding Yan could finish speaking, officials rushed over from outside the door.
"My lord, something terrible has happened!"
Ding Yan feels heartache whenever she hears the word "bad".
"What happened?"
He shoved the document back into Luo Qing's hand and asked sternly.
"The imperial convoy transporting disaster relief grain fell into the water at Shili Bridge outside the city!"
The official was in such a hurry that he even tripped at the threshold.
"What? Quick, all of you come with me!"
Ding Yan didn't care about Luo Qing at all, and just randomly picked a few people and ran away.
"Sir, let my son go with you; he is incredibly strong!"
Xu Zhenbang placed Yun Huaijin into Xu Qingyi's arms, then put Yun Zhao down and strode towards Ding Yan.
Xu Yifei broke his own iron chain and stepped forward.
"Yes, Lord Ding, I can help!"
Ding Yan: ?!
Why are you trying to break the chain with your bare hands?!
"Alright, alright, come with me!"
Ding Yan didn't care about being exiled or not; saving lives was the priority now.
"etc!"
"Wait for what? Rescuing people can wait? That's absurd! You're an official of the imperial court. Settle the exiled prisoners and then immediately take your men and follow them!"
Xu Zhenbang shouted, his overwhelming aura making Luo Qing breathless.
He instinctively replied, "Yes!"
"Brother Jingchen, let's go quickly!"
Yun Zhao grabbed Wei Jingchen and tried to run away, while Wei Jingchen looked at Luo Qing.
Unlock it, what are you looking at?
Seeing the look of disgust on his face, Luo Qing was furious, but he had no choice but to unlock the door.
“I’m keeping your mother and brothers with me.”
Luo Qing unlocked the door for Wei Jingchen while warning him.
Upon seeing this, Ling Xuerou immediately followed and left.
Lu Li had just parked the donkey cart in the stable and quickly caught up with his master.
Unexpectedly, when they looked up, they saw a figure sneaking behind them.
"What is Ling Xuerou going to do?"
He found it strange, so he subconsciously followed quietly without showing himself.
Shili Bridge is located near a small grove of trees outside Suzhou. It is a long stone bridge built on a tributary of the Nanjiang River.
This bridge is the only way to travel from the capital to Suzhou.
Yun Zhao and his exiled group had also crossed this place before, but they didn't think the bridge was that dangerous. How could they have fallen off?
The group rushed over, only to find people on the bridge anxiously looking around.
However, the boxes under the bridge had already been swept away by the rushing river, and the people in the river were struggling to climb ashore, so no one cared about the boxes.
"Quick, grab the rope, let's save them!"
If the silver or grain runs out, more can be sent.
But once a person is gone, they're truly gone.
The Jiangnan region is wealthy, and the bridges built there are very wide. There weren't many of them, so how did they fall in?
Wei Jingchen calmly observed the people on the bridge, and their panic seemed genuine.
He held Yun Zhao in his arms and asked in a low voice, "Zhao Zhao, can you ask what happened to those horses?"
Yun Chi immediately understood.
He doesn't trust those officials.
Whether intentional or unintentional, if the relief grain and silver being transported disappeared, the officials would be punished.
But horses are animals, and they don't understand human intricacies; they only say what they know.
"good!"
Wei Jingchen put her down. She was short and slipped through the crowd without anyone noticing where she went.
Many horses must have run away from the group; now only the two lead horses remain.
Yun Zhao slipped in from the bridge and, using the tall horse as cover, quietly grabbed its leg.
Meanwhile, Wei Jingchen quickly walked to the riverbank.
"Give me a hand!"
The officers cautiously reached out, trying to pull the person in the river.
Wei Jingchen saw the rope around his waist and immediately took it off.
"May I borrow it?"
After saying that, he flew to the riverbank, tied the rope to a tree, and put the other end around his waist.
With his eyes fixed on the box stuck in the river by a rock, he pushed off with his feet and leaped onto the river.
The turbulent river almost swept him away because he lost his footing!
He tied the rope around himself to the box and pulled himself ashore with one hand.
As they walked, they pulled the box toward the shore with all their might.
Suddenly, an arrow flew out from the woods!
With a "whoosh," the hidden arrow grazed past the rope and severed it.
Wei Jingchen's heart skipped a beat, and he leaped forward, barely managing to grab the other end of the rope.
Looking at the rope that had almost snapped, his eyes darkened as he stared in the direction from which the arrow had come.
Those people didn't seem to want to kill him; rather, they wanted the box.
Strangely, if he failed the first time, why didn't he attack a second time?
Looking around, they couldn't find Lu Xun and Lu Li, so they figured the two of them had gone after the assassins.
Wei Jingchen looked away, forcefully pulled the box to the shore, and Wei Mingde quickly came looking for him.
Are you alright?
"I'm fine, Dad, quickly look at this box!"
Wei Jingchen wiped the water off his face and said.
Wei Mingde smashed the lock with a stone, but to his surprise, the box contained stones!
"Stone?!"
Wei Mingde immediately closed the box, and when he looked at his son, both of them were shocked.
No wonder they fell into the river for no reason; it turns out they wanted to use the flood to wash away the switched disaster relief funds without anyone noticing!
"Don't make a sound yet, summon Lord Ding!"
Wei Jingchen nodded slightly and quickly walked to find Ding Yan.
As they passed the horses, Yun Zhao suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Wei Jingchen bent down and scooped her up. She quickly leaned on his shoulder and whispered, "Brother Jingchen, the horse said someone wants to kill them!"
Do you know why?
Wei Jingchen said in a low voice.
"What's wrong? Have you found something amazing?"
Yun Zhao and he spoke with their heads down, looking just like two children stealing food.
"The boxes containing disaster relief funds were full of stones."
Yun Zhao: ?!
Isn't this a bit too blatant?
Having become accustomed to greed, they even tried to embezzle disaster relief funds that were about to be delivered to the victims.
When they found Ding Yan, he was rescuing someone.
He turned around and saw that Wei Jingchen's lower body was soaked, so he quickly handed him a clean outer robe.
"Lord Ding, my father is looking for you."
Looking at Wei Jingchen and Yun Zhao, Ding Yan suddenly felt a little strange.
"Walk!"
He abandoned the other officers and quickly followed them away.
When Wei Jingchen handed him the severed rope and opened the relief silver box filled with stones, Ding Yan was completely enraged.
"Outrageous! They disregard human life, embezzle public funds, and even plan to kill to cover it up. It's utterly absurd!"
At this moment, Lu Xun returned from a distance, holding a piece of cloth in his hand.
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