Seeing this opportunity, Lu Yanluo asked again: "Where are you from? How did you get here?"

The refugee put down the bowl and licked the corner of his mouth cherishingly, as if he was savoring the fragrance of the rice porridge.

"We were... driven here from Jinglan County..." As soon as the words started coming out, everyone couldn't eat anymore. The sadness of leaving their homes and suffering from hunger and cold came over them.

Several women even hung their heads and sobbed. Now that their stomachs were full, they had no place to hide their sadness.

Lu Yanluo tilted her head and looked at Chu Xuan, with a puzzled expression, Jinglan County? But the flood and epidemic reported this time did not cause any problems in Jinglan County, let alone the victims.

"But the court has not received any news about the disaster in Jinglan County. What's going on?" Chu Xuan asked.

The man who started talking looked over when he heard the words, his eyes were red and his tone was angry.

"Of course, we didn't report it to the court, because the government of Jinglan County drove out those of us who were affected by the disaster or whose family members were infected with the disease! Whenever someone in the family showed the slightest sign, the government would raid the house and throw the person out before they could do anything."

“Yes.” Several other villagers echoed, “Those who were sick in our family were arrested by the government and burned alive, and we, the family members, were also driven out.”

"Yes! We are villagers from Majia Village in Jinglan County. Our entire village was driven out. My parents were taken away by them. I saw it with my own eyes. They built a bonfire and burned people..."

Lu Yanluo felt reluctant and extremely angry. If one relied on killing innocent people to control the epidemic, what was the difference between him and an executioner? How could he be the chief official of a city?

After finding out everything, Lu Yanluo and Chu Xuan decided to change their route and go to Jinglan County instead of Toyota County for the time being. If what these disaster victims said was true, Jinglan County was probably a living hell now.

Lu Yanluo disguised herself and put on men's clothes that were convenient for her. She and Chu Xuan rode their horses to Jinglan County first, leaving the large group behind to take the victims along the way, slowing down and following behind.

When they arrived at Jinglan County, Lu Yanluo and Chu Xuan disguised themselves as travelers passing by and led their horses into the city.

Although there was nothing unusual at the city gate, the city was very empty and sparsely populated. Lu Yanluo walked to a shop and asked, "Shopkeeper, the most prosperous place in Pingzhou is Jinglan County. Why are there so few people in this city today? What happened in the city?"

The shopkeeper looked around in panic when he heard this, and waved his hand to drive Lu Yanluo away: "I don't know, if you don't want to buy anything, leave now!"

Lu Yanluo looked at Chu Xuan meaningfully, and the two of them turned to ask other people, but no matter whether they were pedestrians in a hurry or vendors who opened their doors to do business, without exception, they all kept silent, as if there was something scary watching them around, making them dare not speak.

After asking in the city for half a day, Lu Yanluo finally gave up and decided to take a rest and then explore the surrounding villages.

The two of them found a place to sit and rest. A short old man walked hurriedly to Lu Yanluo and Chu Xuan and said in a low voice: "You two outsiders, hurry up! There is an epidemic in the city, and people will die. Most of the people in the city have been arrested and burned. Hurry up and leave before the government finds you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Lu Yanluo and the others to ask, the old man hurried away again.

"It seems that here, epidemic has become a word that cannot be spoken casually. Fang Kong, the county seat of Jinglan County, I would like to have a good meeting with him! Although he holds a low position, he is very courageous! He dared to conceal the disaster and kill the people."

Lu Yanluo also looked unhappy. She turned to Chu Xuan and said, "It is said that Fang Kong was a Jinshi during the reign of the previous emperor. He has been an official for his entire life and is about to retire. I am afraid that he did not want to ruin his reputation and deliberately suppressed the matter."

"I'm afraid it's more than that." Chu Xuan looked into the distance with an unpredictable expression: "Forget it, let's go to the surrounding villages to check the situation first, and I also want to check the dam here, I have a guess that needs to be confirmed."

In this case, Lu Yanluo suggested that the two of them split up to save time. She would go to the surrounding villages, while Chu Xuan would go to see the dam alone, and they would meet in the city before dark.

Chu Xuan agreed without thinking too much, but he didn't know that after the two of them separated, a group of people suddenly appeared in the city, also split into two groups, and secretly followed them.

Lu Yanluo did not ride the horse fast. She looked around as she walked. It was obvious that there were traces of flooding on both sides of the road.

The farther we got from the county town, the more dilapidated the roads became. When we arrived at the first village, many houses had white sails hanging, and there were even coffins parked outside the doors.

Lu Yanluo guessed that the government received the news and took the person away before the dead person could be buried.

Nine out of ten houses in the village were empty. I walked around but didn't see a single person. I went to the next village, but the situation was similar to the first one. There were almost no people in the village.

Lu Yanluo dismounted and went around the village checking every house, and finally found someone in a courtyard with a closed gate.

It was a little girl, about ten years old, hiding timidly in the corner and watching Lu Yanluo come in.

After Lu Yanluo entered, she approached the little girl cautiously and asked softly, "Where are your family members? Why are you the only one here?"

The little girl seemed to have thought of some terrible scene. She curled up her body and trembled.

Seeing this, Lu Yanluo took out a piece of cake from her arms, placed it in front of the little girl, and said soothingly: "Don't be afraid, I have no ill intentions, I am here to save you."

Seeing the food, the little girl finally couldn't help it, she grabbed it and ate it in big mouthfuls. Lu Yanluo quickly took off the kettle and handed it over.

After eating a few pieces of cake, the little girl finally calmed down and stammered, "My parents were taken away by them and haven't come back for a long time."

Although Lu Yanluo had expected this, she still felt a little sad. She left all the food and water on her body to the little girl and had to leave.

"You stay here for now. I'll send someone to pick you up soon. You'll be safe then."

The little girl nodded expectantly and watched Lu Yanluo leave.

After leaving the village, Lu Yanluo mounted her horse and planned to visit the next village. At this moment, someone grabbed her neck from behind.

Lu Yanluo quickly dodged to the side, jumped off the horse, and was instantly surrounded by people.

"Who are you?"

"Here are those who will take your life!" As soon as the words fell, several men drew their swords and rushed straight to Lu Yanluo's vital point.

But before they could get close, suddenly, a group of people jumped out from behind and surrounded the killers.

Chu Xuan is here.