Chapter 228 Epidemic

The journey is fulfilling and tiring.

Coming out is harder than you imagine, but also more exciting than you imagine.

The journey was supposed to take half a month, but Nianxi and her friends had been walking for more than a month and still hadn’t arrived.

When they come across ancient temples or famous mountains along the way, they will stop the boat and take a look.

Nian Xi has seen many famous calligraphy works on stone tablets.

Her calligraphy skills were not bad. Her father Wen had taught her to write by hand. Compared with her elder brother Wen Qingheng, Nianxi's calligraphy was actually better. However, she later got used to writing women's hairpin flower small regular script, and put aside other things.

This time, quite a few famous calligraphy works were copied.

No matter where Nian Xi went, she would always receive a letter from Pei Jian every two days.

Originally, she didn't understand why Pei Yan's letter could be delivered to her so accurately.

Two days later, she discovered that there was another large ship following their ship. It was the guard sent by Pei Jian.

Some of the things that were handed to her could not be considered letters.

For example, if he ate a delicious dish, he would copy down the recipe and send it to her in order to share it.

Ever since they parted at Fengling Ferry, Pei Jian seemed to have turned on a switch, and his desire to share was unprecedentedly strong - the poems he read before bed, the tea he drank in the morning, and even the little gossip about a certain official he overheard, he would record them all and tell her.

As a result, even though Nian Xi had been gone for more than a month, she still seemed to be in the capital.

Extremely well-informed.

Nianxi didn't reply most of the time, and would reply occasionally when she was in the mood. One time she picked up a leaf with a very strange shape, which was said to be only found in the forests in this area.

So Nian Xi put the leaves in a book and sent it to Pei Jian.

Soon, I received a reply letter from Pei Jian, which was seven or eight pages long.

The first one or two pages fully express his joy at receiving the leaves, the next three or four pages give a detailed introduction to the origin of the leaves, and the last few pages are all used to express his longing.

Nian Xi patiently read to the end, and Pei Jian was surprisingly self-aware. He said that he was old now and really wanted to talk to someone, so he asked her to bear with him.

Nian Xi couldn't stop laughing after reading it.

They set out in mid-September and arrived in Nanjing in late October. The weather had turned cooler and there were many ragged refugees on the official road.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the Yellow River had changed its course, causing disasters in many prefectures along the river. Houses were washed away, fertile fields were flooded, and even worse, epidemics broke out in some prefectures.

Many people could not survive, so they moved to the wealthy south to make a living.

Li and Nianxi had originally returned to their old home with great joy, but when they saw the refugees, especially the women and children, they felt so pitiful that even their joy faded a little.

Their house is still there, and we had sent a letter earlier to have someone clean it carefully.

Li and Nianxi had a long journey and planned to settle down first before visiting their old friends.

There was a servant left in the old house to look after the household. After Li had washed up, she called the servant over for questioning.

After talking about the breakup, Nian Xi asked, "In my impression, Jinling City is always bustling, with children running all over the streets and vendors selling candied haws walking the streets and shouting. Why is it so deserted when I enter the city today?"

Mother Liu said, "Miss, you may not know that a lot of refugees have been coming into the city recently. The ladies in the city were kind-hearted and felt sorry for them, so they provided them with porridge, medicine, clothes and money. It was meant to be a good deed, but who knew that the refugees heard the news and all rushed to Jinling City."

Li was about to laugh at her daughter for thinking about sugar-coated haws and other foods, but now she understood what she had heard and asked hurriedly:

"Then what? Jinling City is rich, so even if there are more refugees, it won't be that difficult."

"Madam is kindhearted."

Mother Liu sighed, "It's really not a big deal to take in more refugees. Madam, I've even given steamed buns to those poor people. But eight or nine days ago, the child of Mrs. Li in the east of the city suddenly had a high fever and died within a day and a night."

"Two days later, a family in the south of the city also had a child with a high fever. But this time, not only the child, but the whole family was sick. All eight members of the family died."

Li exclaimed, "Why is this?"

Mother Liu lowered her voice, "These two families both took in a few refugees as servants. Later, news came that these refugees had escaped from places with epidemics. The government office suppressed the news and did not let anyone know. My elder brother was working as a cook in the government office, and that's when I happened to hear about it."

"Miss, you said there are few people on the street, but we are not fools. The government keeps the news secret, but the news of death in the city cannot be concealed. Today, I heard that several families have people who died of illness."

"I sent you a few letters, asking you not to come. I think they were sent to Liangchali, so you didn't receive them."

Li and Nian Xi looked at each other.

No wonder we encountered so many checkpoints when entering the city. It turned out that they were preventing refugees from entering the city.

Nian Xi asked, "Are those old friends of A Niang still in Jinling City now?"

"Many wealthy families packed up and left for the city a few days ago. The Zhou family next door to ours, Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou also left in a carriage, saying they were going to the capital to look for Mr. Zhou."

Nian Xi no longer hesitated, "Mother, we can't stay here for long. Most of our gifts are still in the car, so let's go now."

Li hesitated, "Is it that serious?"

The street market was no different from what I had imagined, except that it was a little quieter.

Nianxi has always been a good-natured person who doesn't like to argue with others, but now is a matter of great importance and it is not the time to delay. It is recorded in the book that there was an epidemic in a city and there was no cure, so the order was issued to close the city gates and let the people inside survive or perish.

Although the city of Jinling does not know this, who knows what will happen later? Mother Liu said that people are dying every day!

Nian Xi immediately stood up and gave orders, "Reload the things we took down onto the truck, and we'll set out for the city in an incense stick of time."

Thinking that the guards Pei Jian had sent to protect her must be nearby, she said to Xingyue, "Tell them what's going on here, and we'll leave the city immediately."

There were refugees on the road, and since she and her mother were both women, it would be good to have more protection.

After giving the order, she turned around and saw Mother Liu looking at her eagerly. Nian Xi understood, "If Mother Liu wants to go with us, it will take an incense stick of time. Go back and pack your luggage."

Mother Li responded and ran away in a flash.

Li didn't take it seriously at first, but now that everyone was moving, she couldn't help but feel panicked and frightened, "Nian'er."

"Mother," Nian Xi turned around, poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to her mother.

"I've thought about it carefully. If we wait until we finish visiting our old friends and return to Beijing, the weather may be so cold that even the water surface may freeze over and the boats won't be able to cross."

"It would be better to leave earlier so that I can go back and see my father, brother and sister-in-law earlier. I miss my two nephews so much."

Although the matter was urgent, Nianxi didn't want to scare her mother, so she just spoke lightly.

Li drank a sip of hot tea and calmed down a lot. "Yes, I received a letter a few days ago saying that your sister-in-law is pregnant again. Your eldest brother wants a girl, let's see if he can get his wish this time."

The two walked out while talking.

Just as Nianxi expected, the large luggage was quickly packed before it was unloaded from the car.

Mother Li also rushed over with her whole family.

Everyone got back on the carriages and rode towards the city gate at full speed.

Who would have thought that the city gate that was open when entering was now surrounded by soldiers and no one could get in or out.

There's no way out.