Chapter 122 Murder in Public
"Ouch, my stomach hurts so much."
Some refugees shouted, and when they saw Jiang Wan Ning arrive, they suddenly pointed at her and said, "It's you."
"Are you trying to kill us under the guise of saving us?"
"After all, every day we live, the imperial court has to spend a large sum of money."
Upon hearing this, the other refugees also dropped their steamed buns, not daring to eat a single bite even though they were extremely hungry.
"Fellow villagers, this is Princess Langya, and this is the soup kitchen she has been setting up."
Some of the refugees jeered, "Now that there's a problem with the porridge, they must be trying to poison us to lighten their load."
“You’re right. I heard that the Emperor wants the Prince of Langya to use his own money to help the refugees.”
"It must be that the Prince of Langya doesn't want to spend money. He can save a sum of money by poisoning one of us."
These words sparked outrage among the refugees.
Someone stepped forward and overturned the pot of porridge.
Refugees began vandalizing soup kitchens.
Mo Ran and Mo Qing and the others tightly protected Jiang Wan Ning behind them.
"Your Highness, I will escort you back first," Mo Ran said.
"Send my mother away first," Jiang Wanning instructed.
"Ningning, aren't you coming with me?" Zhou said, "This must be something someone did on purpose, to deal with you and the prince."
Jiang Wan Ning grabbed Zhou Shi's hand and protected her, saying, "It's precisely because someone did this on purpose that my daughter cannot leave."
"My daughter must stay and find out the truth, otherwise this matter could be a big or small one."
"Mo Ran, take my mother back."
"Yes." Pei Yanchuan wasn't around, so they only listened to Jiang Wanning.
Mo Ran escorted Zhou Shi away.
"Ningning, be careful."
Jiang Wan Ning nodded, "Mom, don't worry."
After Zhou left, Haitang protected Jiang Wanning, "Miss, what should we do now?"
Jiang Wan Ning's eyes swept across the crowd, and she pointed at a few people, "Take them down!"
"yes!"
Mo Qing and Haitang stepped forward and grabbed the ringleaders of the disturbance.
Jiang Wan Ning drew the sword from Mo Qing's body, and with a swift stroke, killed one of them.
"Anyone who instigates trouble again will be killed!"
The refugees were so frightened by what they saw that they dared not move and obediently put down what they were holding.
“Your Highness, these people have already been incited to cause trouble and are dissatisfied with you and the Prince. Would you really kill someone in public?” Haitang asked.
Jiang Wan Ning knew what Hai Tang was worried about.
If she doesn't kill someone at this point, these refugees won't listen to her or stop.
Jiang Wan Ning took two steps into the crowd, bent down to pick up a bowl that had been broken in two, and looked at the white porridge inside.
"Go and capture those who are complaining of stomach pain."
Pei Yanchuan left soldiers for Jiang Wanning.
The refugees were too afraid to make a move, and the soldiers had controlled the situation well, pressing down the few who were suffering from stomach aches.
"What...what are you going to do?"
Jiang Wan Ning didn't say anything and walked straight towards the group.
"If you kill us, you will surely lose the hearts of the people."
Jiang Wan Ning reached out her hand towards the person who was speaking, which startled the other person so much that they quickly closed their eyes.
Jiang Wan Ning smiled slightly, took the other person's arm and began to take their pulse.
"Did any of you eat anything before you came?"
The group looked at each other, bewildered. "We're starving! We're just waiting for you to give us porridge every day. What else can we possibly eat?"
"You didn't see anyone?"
“Or,” Jiang Wan Ning pointed to the group that led the disturbance, “have you seen them before, or spoken to them?”
Those people lowered their heads and thought for a while.
"No."
"I haven't seen it either."
"Don't try to frame us; it's you who want to kill us."
"Yeah yeah."
"......"
The refugees became agitated again, and the soldiers drew their swords to quell their voices.
"Jiang Wanning found an empty bowl, scooped out a bowl of porridge herself, and drank it in front of everyone."
"Your Highness." Haitang was a little nervous. What if someone really put medicine in the pot?
Jiang Wan Ning picked up the steamed buns from the bamboo basket and started eating them.
After finishing the meal, he slowly said, "I drank the porridge and ate the steamed bun. I am not poisoned."
Jiang Wan Ning had anticipated from the beginning that someone would persecute this disaster relief effort.
The granaries and soup kitchens were guarded by Pei Yanchuan's personal guards.
It would be extremely difficult for someone to tamper with the porridge.
Aside from the Langya King's token and Pei Yanchuan and Jiang Wanning themselves, even Haitang and the others wouldn't recognize them.
Therefore, the only option was to poison a portion of the refugees and then have someone lead the way in causing panic among them.
“You poisoned him, so you naturally have the antidote,” someone shouted.
"Yeah yeah."
"It's you who want to harm us."
"I was wondering why none of the powerful and influential people in the capital had said a word, but the Prince and Princess of Langya were so kind."
"So it turns out the imperial court wanted us dead."
The refugees swarmed forward, and the soldiers were not allowed to kill them without orders.
All we can do is desperately try to maintain this order.
Unfortunately, those who were hiding among the refugees and deliberately inciting public anger saw this and incited the people even more fiercely.
One of them drew a sword hidden in his sleeve and, taking advantage of the chaos, stabbed Jiang Wan Ning in the back.
"Your Highness, be careful!" Mo Ran shouted, but the distance was too far and there were refugees blocking the way, so she couldn't get forward.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wan Ning turned around, the dagger only an inch away from her chest.
My body was suddenly pulled to the side.
"ah--"
The assassin was kicked away by Pei Yanchuan.
Mo Ran quickly subdued the person.
Are you injured?
Pei Yanchuan looked him up and down, left and right, but still wasn't reassured and asked.
Jiang Wan Ning shook her head. "I'm fine."
“Your Highness, this man has poison hidden in the tip of his teeth,” Mo Ran said. “He has already shown signs of illness.”
Pei Yanchuan said coldly, "Arrest all those who instigated the trouble. Those who don't tell the truth will be killed without exception."
"If anyone tells the truth, I will spare his life."
Jiang Wan Ning shouted at the group of refugees, "This person took the opportunity to assassinate me. Was it also something I arranged?"
“Some of you have been here for five or six days. Do you know how much silver we have spent during this time?”
"If we truly wanted to kill you, we would have done so on the very first day. Why would we send assassins to kill ourselves? What would our purpose be?"
"Besides, the soup kitchen was set up by me and the prince. Even if we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't be stupid enough to do it on our own turf."
"I can overlook the fact that you were used, but I promise I will give you an explanation."
"But if anyone becomes afraid or causes trouble because of this, my Langya Prince's free clinic and shelter will no longer accept them."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Going out now means certain death, but staying here, even if I get killed, at least I can die with a full stomach.
Moreover, what the princess said was not wrong.
"I believe in the Princess."
“I also believe in the princess. She has been treating us day and night. There is no reason for her to spend money to save us and then harm us at the same time.”
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