Chapter 153: Self-Survival
After Huo Mingliang managed to save his life and new tissue grew on his severed arm, he was sent to repair the dam.
After all, he was missing an arm and could not dig sand, gravel and soil, so he could only carry stones. At the end of the day, the skin on the back of this once delicate prince was worn out, and blood seeped through the linen clothes and stuck to his back, making him turn pale in pain.
The three multi-grain steamed buns and two bowls of porridge so clear that you could count the rice grains in the bottom that were distributed that day were not snatched away because of the supervisor.
When he was sent here, the guards had told the female official in charge of supervision that this man must not die, otherwise he would not survive more than three days on the dam construction site, and would not die of exhaustion but of starvation.
In order to keep Huo Mingliang alive, a medical officer would check his pulse every once in a while. If the skin on his back was worn out, he would be given the best medicine. If he fainted, he would be given pills to save his life. In short, they would make sure he stayed alive.
Huo Mingliang felt that he was the most unlucky time traveler in history. He clearly had a good hand, but something went wrong and he ended up in this state. Especially when he tried to slack off, the supervisor's whip would fall on him mercilessly.
The other party looked at him with a hint of disgust, and once even said clearly:
"If the Queen didn't want you to live, as long as I told these people who came to do the corvée that you were the murderer who assassinated the Queen, you would definitely die without leaving even a bone. Put away your high and mighty attitude, because you are now a prisoner."
Then a whip hit Huo Mingliang's face hard, causing his face to swell up that day and also taking away his few remaining bones.
From then on, Huo Mingliang learned to endure. He just bent down and carried stones on his back. He no longer dared to show any contempt for women. He still wanted to live.
Just when the three-month corvée period was about to end, the weather was not good and it started to rain continuously for half a month, causing a flood. Fortunately, the section of the dam they were building had been completed, otherwise they would have to perform corvée in the heavy rain.
Huo Mingliang had read the book and remembered a passage in it that said Fengqi State was the worst affected by the floods. Many people were killed or injured in the cities affected by the floods. Due to untimely rescue, a plague broke out afterwards. The autumn harvest of that year was also very bleak. The people had handed in their grain, but there was almost no grain left, and many people starved to death.
The three countries of Panlong, Xuanwu and Baihu took advantage of the opportunity and proposed to exchange food for cities. They were also smart because they wanted to exchange the cities that were affected by the disaster and expressed their willingness to resettle the affected people.
At that time, the queen had passed away, and the two princesses were fighting fiercely. There was no real leader, and no good solution could be proposed. They could only accept this condition, which at least could reduce the burden on Fengqi Kingdom.
But it was these actions of the two that made them lose the support of the people. Imagine that when you are in the most difficult time, you are thrown away like a scapegoat. No one can accept it.
Moreover, since this gap was opened, things have been out of control. The three kingdoms used various excuses to start encroaching on Fengqi Kingdom, and in the end, the struggle between the eldest princess and the second princess can be said to be a lose-lose situation. Both lost the opportunity to inherit the throne, allowing the third princess, who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, to take the throne. The result can be imagined.
Even with the dedicated assistance of old ministers, the decline of Fengqi State could not be stopped. Eventually, Fengqi State became a vassal state of Panlong State and was slowly incorporated into Panlong State's territory.
However, after he traveled through time, it seemed that he made a bad move. Not only did he fail to gain the trust of the Third Princess, he also narrowly escaped death and was trapped in Fengqi Country.
Moreover, the queen was not dead. She was alive and well and even captured five cities of Panlong Kingdom one after another. This was completely different from what he had read in the book.
Huo Mingliang thought about it and came to only one conclusion, that his intervention had changed the original trajectory of the story, which was why he ended up in this situation today.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was right, but now he was the one suffering. He no longer expected to use Fengqi Kingdom as a stepping stone to retake Panlong Kingdom as the fifth prince. He now just wanted to live a good life, so after learning about the flood, he felt that his chance had come.
After all, he is a modern man, has received so many years of education, has received a lot of training in disaster rescue, and has a set of methods to prevent the plague. He wants to fight for himself so that he doesn't have to do hard labor anymore.
When the female supervisor learned that the Queen wanted to see him, she looked at the tattered clothes he was wearing and the sour smell on his body. She thought that it would offend the Queen, so she simply gave him a set of coarse cloth clothes, took him to the river to wash him, and after he changed his clothes, she handed him over to the guards who came to pick him up.
Huo Mingliang learned his lesson this time. When he saw the empress, he immediately knelt down and saluted. How much he despised the empress's rule in the past, and now he was as fawning on her as ever.
Lianyi was trimming a potted plant. She glanced at the kneeling one-armed man and said in a calm voice:
"I heard you have a recipe to suppress the plague? Tell me about it."
"Yes, I have a prescription here to enhance the physical fitness of the people and resist the plague, as well as a method to prevent the spread of the plague."
"You want to use this to negotiate with me."
"I don't dare, I just want to live well."
Huo Mingliang lowered his head and said, he could feel the other person's scrutiny.
At this time, Lian Yi contacted his communicator:
"Nineteen, I think the other party's soul fusion is very good, it probably won't take ten years."
"Sizzle, sizzle, that's true! This is thanks to your torture of him. His resistance is getting weaker and weaker, so the degree of integration with your body is getting higher and higher."
“It will take a few more years.”
"Two years at most."
Lianyi put down the small jade scissors in her hand and said:
"Tell me everything you know, and you won't have to do any labor service for two years. Just stay in prison and behave yourself."
"Thank you for your kindness, Queen. I will tell you everything I know!"
Lianyi didn't want to look at the other person's distorted face, so she just waved her hand, and someone took Huo Mingliang away.
A day later, what the other party said had been sorted out and sent to Lianyi. After she read it, she had it sent to the second princess for her to deal with.
After the second princess received the booklet, she specifically asked about its origin. When she learned that it was said by the fifth prince of Panlong Kingdom in order to save his life, she believed it a little. After all, Panlong Kingdom had experienced a drought before, and these suggestions still had certain reference value.
Moreover, this had been approved by the Queen Mother. If it was useless, it would not have been sent to her. So she discussed it one by one with all the ministers at the morning court on the second day, deleted and reduced the parts, compiled the useful ones into a book, and sent it directly to the disaster-stricken city at full speed.
The eldest princess brought her daughter to pay her respects to Lianyi, saying that she had discussed with Rong Shijun and wanted to donate some silver for disaster relief to set an example.
"This is something that should be done within one's means. Instead of donating money, I think you could organize a donation campaign in the capital. Every family has old items that they don't need, whether they are clothes, shoes, socks, or dustpans and baskets. As long as the disaster victims can use them, they can be collected together and sent to the disaster-stricken cities."
My dears, the temperature here at Fengling has been 38 degrees these two days. Fengling has a little heat stroke. She didn't rest well at night and had a headache, so the third chapter was updated late today. Please understand! Everyone remember to prevent heatstroke! Remember to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, and rewards! Thank you! (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
