But they are all pawns of those in higher positions.
The emperor is, the prince is, and Li Guanghan is also.
The robbers were originally locals, who had never practiced properly, so the chess club members were more than capable of dealing with them. The chess club members wouldn't kill them, so Chunhua simply took this opportunity to practice the moves she had learned from Qiuyue over the years.
She flexibly flipped the hairpins with her fingertips. The hairpins seemed to be integrated with her. As long as she wanted to move in a certain direction, she could stab them accurately.
Looking at her nimble figure, Zhang You felt a little ashamed of himself.
Although she also learned from Qiuyue and Dongmei, she couldn't match Chunhua's mastery of the weapon Qiuyue had given her. She had only used the hidden weapon Qiuyue had given her to dodge and block unexpected attacks. It wouldn't be enough for her to fight these people.
The south had been drenched in rain for over a month, and Zhang You and her companions were delayed for several days on their journey by the incessant downpour. By the time they finally reached Qiao Si's location, the heavy rain had already unleashed another natural disaster: floods. Many people died in the water, and the lingering floods soon spread, causing an epidemic.
Prince Qiao's body was snatched back by Qiao Si.
The group said that they were ordered by the emperor to bring back many people who were persecuted by the governor of Haizhou to the capital to serve as evidence to interrogate them.
Qiao Si knew full well that Li Guanghan's victory was certain, and even if Prince Qiao's body was brought back, they wouldn't sincerely collect it. So, why not let her take it back and reunite the family?
After the reunion, Qiao Si became much more mysterious, and Zhang You rarely saw her in a day.
Qiuyue said that Qiao Si, masked, led them to retrieve Prince Qiao's body, and cried for a long time while holding it. Later, several cases of epidemics broke out in Haizhou, and Qiao Si knew that there was no time to delay, so he cruelly cremated Prince Qiao's body with his own hands, sealed his ashes, and placed them preciously in her room.
I don't know what Qiao Si has been thinking about these days. She didn't rush to take Prince Qiao's ashes back to Dingzhou for burial. Instead, she stayed in a small town on high ground a hundred miles away from Haizhou and led people to deal with the epidemic there.
Qiao Si is so busy every day that she is nowhere to be seen. No one knows what she is busy with. Zhang You can only see many people coming in and out of her house, discussing something with her.
Zhang You tried several times to get closer to ask, but Jingzhu Qiuyue and Dongmei took turns guarding and would not allow anyone to get close, so Zhang You could only suppress his doubts.
Zhang You only felt that Qiao Si had changed, but she couldn't tell where exactly Qiao Si had changed.
Just looking at Qiao Si's appearance makes people feel a little strange.
Zhang You was actually a little scared, but she didn't know what exactly she was afraid of. Perhaps it was the anxiety of being displaced, or the uncertainty of the future, or perhaps it was the separation of life and death caused by another natural disaster or man-made disaster...
Zhang You could only follow Qiao Si's instructions and diligently handle the medicinal herbs. After they reunited, people continued to deliver medicinal herbs every day. Compared to Haizhou City, the number of injured people in the small town was much less.
Zhang You had considered going to Haizhou City to look for Wei Qian, considering how close he was. But Haizhou wasn't just Haizhou City; it encompassed over thirty surrounding villages and counties, large and small. Zhang You had no idea where he'd been exiled, so how could she possibly find him?
Maybe... he had already been submerged in the flood?
Or maybe... he's still somewhere, doing what he's going to do.
Zhang You finally chose to give up and just stayed here to help Qiao Si take care of the patients.
Zhang You looked at the herbs, vaguely suspecting Qiao Er's hand in this. Such precision in the preparation meant the medicine took effect almost immediately after ingestion. This level of efficiency was something Zhang You had only ever seen Qiao Er possess. Perhaps... Qiao Er was already here.
But this was just Zhang You's guess. She just observed secretly without making any sound.
…
In April, the temperature rose, the months of rain finally stopped, the dark clouds dispersed, and the long-awaited sunshine shone on the earth. In the distance, the swollen river was slowly receding, revealing houses and farms that had been submerged for many days.
"It's clearing up."
Someone in the crowd raised his hand to feel the long-lost warmth. His voice was very soft, as if after going through thousands of sails, the clouds finally cleared and the sun came out.
They had already walked out of the room and stood outside to feel the warmth.
Qiao Si had a rare moment of free time today. She stood in the simple farmyard, looking at the clear blue sky. She felt much more relaxed, as if she had let go of her days of vigilance, and as if the sunshine had dispelled her fatigue.
"The sky is clear now, and it's time for us to go back." She said softly, her voice very gentle.
"But there are still many patients in Haizhou City. Shouldn't we take care of them?" Zhang You looked in the direction of Haizhou City, then turned to look at Qiao Si, very puzzled.
She had also heard some rumors these days.
Upon hearing that within the capital, the Crown Prince had colluded with the Governor of Haizhou to persecute loyal officials, embezzled disaster relief grain, and caused a flood of refugees. Furthermore, the Emperor, having failed to address the situation, was enraged and immediately followed the wishes of the officials, deposing the Crown Prince, demoting him to a commoner, and imprisoning him in the Tianlao.
Li Guanghan took the opportunity to propose sending people to govern the city. A group of people entered the city the day before yesterday. Since they entered the city, Haizhou City has been blocked. From a distance, fire can be seen in the west part of the city.
Zhang You guessed that the epidemic in the city was more serious, but Qiao Si wanted to return to Beijing at this time. What should the people in the city do?
Zhang You had never left this small town, and she was not sure whether Qiao Si's medicine had also saved people in other parts of Haizhou. However, looking at the situation in Haizhou City, Qiao Si did not send anyone there, so the epidemic inside was probably even more serious.
Upon hearing this, Qiao Si simply said coldly, "Someone will take care of it. There are still some grudges in the capital that need to be avenged."
"Xia He, don't think too much. The capital has already sent people to deal with it. These people will be fine. We have more important things to do, don't we?" Qiuyue knew that she was kind, so she approached Zhang You and persuaded her.
"But……"
Zhang You looked at Qiao Si's back and spoke softly. Before she could finish, Chunhua pulled her aside and said, "Don't say buts. The princess is not such a cold-blooded person. She won't leave them alone. Don't you know what kind of person the princess is? And..."
Chunhua mysteriously pulled Zhang You away, as if she was deliberately avoiding Qiao Si.
Zhang You looked at her strangely, but didn't interrupt her. After she had pulled Zhang You away, he spoke hesitantly, "Besides, the princess's friend is in the capital... and is gone... The princess only wants to go back and get revenge."
Chunhua looked up at Zhang You with deep sadness in her eyes.
"Are you talking about Miss Jiang Xiaorao who helped us escape?" Zhang You widened his eyes in disbelief.
"How could it be? Is it..." Zhang You hesitated. After meeting Chunhua's gaze with an uncertain look, he slowly continued to state the man's identity: "Is it the prince?"
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