Everyone put down their buckets of water in an orderly fashion, and the rest prepared to go back inside to rest...
As evening approached, the convicts from the Prince's Mansion and the Duke of Huguo's Mansion had nowhere to stay...
Therefore, many families of exiles and refugees warmly invited them to rest at their homes.
Everyone was naturally grateful, but looking at their cramped, narrow, and low-ceilinged house...
People felt bad for causing them trouble.
Seeing this, the village chief instructed everyone to bring out their extra bedding and piece it together so that the convicts from the two prefectures could make do with it and rest...
The weather has turned cool, and the temperature difference between day and night is significant in the wilderness...
Even if there is a thin layer of cotton wool on the ground, without any space to shelter from the wind and rain, it is easy to wake up from the cold at night.
The village chief felt very ashamed, as they were poor in resources and had only a limited amount to offer.
The land didn't produce any crops, and the extra cotton was woven into baskets from the vines on the ground, which they then sold cheaply on the plains. It took them a long time to save up enough copper coins to buy it.
Apart from the convicts who were still serving corvée labor, the rest of the people had at most two sets of clothes, which they wore in rotation throughout the four seasons.
Grandpa Xu stepped forward to express his gratitude, knowing that this was the most the village chief and villagers could provide under the current circumstances.
Moreover, everything that happened after their arrival clearly showed that the supervisors and soldiers were deliberately making things difficult for them...
Despite their difficult circumstances, the village chief and villagers did not drive them away, lest they get themselves into trouble...
They were already struggling financially, yet they still offered help to the best of their ability; we should be grateful for that.
Just as the buckets were neatly placed, everyone saw several soldiers walking towards them from a distance.
Before they even got close, one of them raised his chin and shouted, "Hey! The supervising officer ordered you to bring the water over..."
The water that the villagers carried was for their own drinking in the past.
When the camp needed water, it was customary to organize the convicts to carry it.
In the afternoon, the village chief begged for help, and Yan Lang agreed, but...
Did I end up doing all the work for someone else? Helping the camp carry water?
Seeing that the village chief did not react, the soldiers became impatient and very impolite.
"I'm talking to you! Are you all deaf?!"
As he spoke, he was already untying the whip from his waist.
This shows that although the military supervisors were slightly more polite to the village chief, there was actually no real difference.
The slightest carelessness could result in the whip being used at any moment.
Xie Zhun's wheelchair was not far from the village chief. He reminded the village chief to do as they said for now, and as for water...
Ning Xi'er added in a low voice that she would ask Xingming to come out later to stock up on some water, and if that wasn't enough, they would figure out a solution together.
Although Ning Xi'er's spiritual spring could be used indefinitely, she did not intend to reveal it.
Things that come too easily are taken for granted and may even breed undue greed.
Aside from a few trustworthy people around her, or people like Xingming whom she couldn't avoid, she didn't intend to expand her knowledge base.
The village chief bowed gratefully and, not daring to leave any more villagers alone, had them carry their buckets one by one towards the camp.
Xie Zhunchao waved behind him, and Xuanfeng, carrying Xuanshuang, picked up two buckets of water and mingled with the villagers...
He lowered his head and slumped his shoulders, trying his best to appear as insignificant as possible to the other villagers.
The village chief had someone carry half a bucket of water over, but as soon as it was placed in the barracks, he was loudly reprimanded by the Left Supervisor Meng Yi.
"So many of you went, and you only carried this little bit of water?"
What about the others?!
"Get them all over here right now!"
At this moment, Meng Yi's face and eyes were terrifyingly gloomy.
If he was merely unpredictable and violent in the past, now he is completely like a god of death!
His whole body was radiating an aura that seemed to want to kill.
The village chief was still hesitant, wanting to explain or try to persuade...
Seeing this, the villagers behind him immediately agreed on his behalf, quickly pulling the village chief back and instructing him to do as he was told.
Meng Yi's gaze was fixed on the person who had put down the bucket...
When he regained consciousness, Yan Lang had already returned to camp.
Sun Zuo's body was also brought back with them.
Yan Lang asked him for his opinion on how to deal with the murderer. Meng Yi's eyes hardened, and he uttered only one word:
"kill!"
Although he was impulsive and easily angered, after waking up from the pain, he could still vaguely sense the suspicious person.
From the moment he was strangely whipped, and with no one entering the room before or after...
The doctor from Pingyuan also brought news that Sun Zuo had fled in panic that day...
It turns out they went to Pingyuan to treat a hidden ailment.
All the doctors in Pingyuan were summoned by the immortal spirit to examine Sun Zuo, but they were all helpless.
Before and after the incident, no outsiders entered or left the camp...
Meng Yi asked the people around Sun Zuo and found that their accounts matched those of his own being beaten...
There is no trace of the murderer.
The soldiers who brought Sun Zuo's body back were questioned, and the details of what happened were clarified...
The murderer was unmistakable, but the guard kept proclaiming his innocence, claiming that he must have been bewitched by the old Taoist priest's evil magic and stabbed the person unconsciously...
Regarding Xingming's situation, on the night of his arrival, they pulled out the prison clothes of over two hundred people from a single carriage...
That's highly suspicious.
Meng Yi learned through questioning that Sun Zuo had followed the water-carrying convicts to apprehend a suspected murderer, Haitang, and the old Taoist priest...
Before Sun Zuo died, the old Taoist priest did indeed use sorcery and suddenly disappeared!
A short while later, the supervising soldier, in a state of unconsciousness, killed Sun Zuo.
It seems that the one who whipped him must be related to this old Taoist priest!
Meng Yi clearly remembered that the vanished old Taoist priest had always been extremely respectful and deferential to Princess Cheng, constantly giving her instructions...
Suddenly, I saw two familiar figures standing beside Princess Cheng...
He couldn't help but point at two tall, imposing figures among the villagers and shout:
"stop!"
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