Chapter 63: Deep in the Blue and White Lane, the People Are United
Lou Ke reported that the people from Kyoto and King Zeng were still ten miles away from Luzhou City. Song Pingsheng and Xiao Qinggu set out to the city gate to greet them, but Shang Yuwan went to look for the child named Liu Mengyao on the pretext of quickly solving the case and giving an explanation.
"I'll go with you." Xiao Qingxu said immediately.
Shang Yuwan shifted his gaze to the right, and seemed to roll his eyes faintly. "The host should go to the city gate with the princess and the city lord to welcome the guests. If you are not feeling well, it is better to rest early."
"......" Xiao Qingxu always felt that he had shot himself in the foot.
"Liu Mengyao is at Li's place. Go straight into Qinghua Alley and you'll find her there."
Shang Yuwan nodded, said hello to the three of them, and stood up to leave. Xiao Qingxu did not bother to argue with her any further, but just asked Lou Ke to follow her secretly.
These guests have not yet found out exactly where Liu Mengyao was born in Youkou, where his family lives in Youkou, or whether his parents are both deceased, but this child is extremely evil and treats everyone with a cruelty that is not in line with his age.
The men sent to capture him were all skilled martial artists, all of them burly men, yet they were all wounded by a child like Liu Mengyao. It was clear at a glance what kind of upbringing he had received. What he had experienced was incomparable to the children who had been smuggled into the country in the past.
Song Pingsheng felt pity for the child because he was an orphan, but he was not a person who was clueless. After finding something suspicious about the child, he immediately ordered people to arrest him. However, considering that Xiaoman and Mingshu were still in the cell of the City Lord's Mansion, he was afraid that these two people would persuade the child to do something else, so he locked him up with the coroner and sent several burly men to guard him.
The most important reason why he was imprisoned here was because Liu Ziqi's body was still in the hands of the coroner.
Song Pingsheng noticed a subtle change in Liu Mengyao's demeanor when he heard the name "Liu Ziqi." It wasn't hatred, but more like... regret. This kid was quite scheming, like a wolf cub, baring his teeth at everyone he met. Song Pingsheng couldn't immediately see through him, but with Liu Ziqi around, Liu Mengyao's aggressive behavior had subsided. Leaving him with the coroner was the best option.
Qinghua Lane used to be mostly about the dead, as the locals were wary of matters of life and death, so few outsiders came here. Recently, floods have been frequent in Luzhou City, and this area, located west of the city, has become more popular with the living.
Shang Yuwan knew that someone was following her closely, but she pretended not to know. She saw many refugees along the way.
There were those with broken heads, screaming in pain, those with injured legs, whose bones were being fixed with wooden planks by doctors, those with missing arms, their long sleeves hanging empty, and...
The old man leaned on his cane and whispered, "Sir, why are you here?"
The woman held the child in her arms, sobbing and insisting on bowing: "Sir, I didn't even have time to thank you that day. Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would never see my child again!"
Shang Yuwan was finally pulled up when someone called her again.
The young boy only reached her waist. He patted his arms, which were gradually taking shape but still a little thin. With a gleam in his eyes, he vowed: "My lord, my injury is very light. I can go help repair the dam soon!"
Shang Yuwan's green robe was slightly blown by the wind, causing ripples in her heart.
There are many, many more people...
"Sir, are you feeling well? Don't overwork yourself. We are not lazy people. We are all very concerned about water conservancy and will never slack off!"
"Sir, is Her Royal Highness the Princess okay? She fell ill a few days ago, and everyone has been very worried..."
"Sir, sir, when will the city lord come to play with me? I can now write the word 'Song' that he taught me last time..."
Shang Yuwan knew that if ordinary people heard her name, it might bring disaster to them accidentally. Therefore, the refugees recognized Shang Yuwan's face and knew that she was a subordinate of the fifth princess Xiao Qinggu, but no one knew her real name.
Shang Yuwan greeted everyone one by one, without any airs of a high-ranking official. He was smiling and very approachable.
"Her Royal Highness the Princess and the Lord Mayor had to go to the city gate to greet our distinguished guests early this morning and cannot come to visit us in person. If you can bring your distinguished guests here soon to see that everyone is well, Her Royal Highness the Princess and the Lord Mayor will certainly be pleased, and your distinguished guests will also be relieved."
One man blushed and asked, "Yes, did Her Royal Highness the Princess ask you to come visit us?"
Shang Yuwan smiled and nodded, "Her Royal Highness the Princess and the City Lord have always been concerned about you."
The man had injured his arm and his forearm was wrapped in gauze. His face was red and he stood there hesitating for a while, but finally ran away shyly.
This reaction caused the people around to burst into laughter and joke, but there was no intention of mocking her. Although Xiao Qinggu was the Princess of Dayu, she was able to lend a helping hand to Luzhou City in times of crisis and even worked hard for it. The people knew that she was a good princess, and a good princess who loved her people like her own children.
The royal family of Dayu had such a princess, a blessing that the people had accumulated over countless generations. It was normal for a man to secretly like her. If anyone disliked Xiao Qinggu, they would be gossiped about and called a fool with no vision.
Shang Yuwan was relieved to see this.
Yesterday was the largest and fastest flood Luzhou City had ever experienced. Because Liu Ziqi was killed, there was no one guarding the Shui Ze Monument, and no one rang the bell when the rainstorm hit. As a result, most of the people in the city were unaware of the coming disaster and fled in a hurry and chaos. It was Xiao Qinggu and Song Pingsheng who stepped forward to calm people's hearts and set an example by doing their best to save everyone.
Inspired by the two of them, the people no longer rushed to pull their loved ones and just escape. Instead, they pulled anyone they saw and saved whoever they could. Therefore, although the disaster caused heavy casualties, the number of "deaths" was nearly half the number of "injuries". Given the current situation, it can be said to be cause for celebration.
After this incident, half of the dikes and canals that Luzhou City had built with great difficulty were washed away, but the people were obviously more united than before, which was also a happy thing for Xiao Qinggu and Song Pingsheng.
The guest who was secretly following Shang Yuwan smacked his lips.
Lady Shang really doesn't care much about false reputation. It was obviously she who was concerned about the people's situation when she came to check on them early in the morning, so why did she put all the credit on the princess and the city lord?
Shang Yuwan knew that he still had things to do, so he didn't waste time. After saying hello and asking where the coroner was, he walked into the deepest part of Qinghua Lane, knocked on the slightly dilapidated door of the charity cemetery, and stood outside the threshold to bow to an old man in the yard who had just raised his arm to close the coffin lid.
"Coroner Li."
The coroner's surname is Li, and everyone around him calls him Old Man Li. He is half an inch shorter than Shang Yuwan, with white hair and a hunched back. His son and daughter-in-law died ten years ago, and for many years he has been dependent on his only granddaughter.
The courtyard was littered with wet paper money, sending up splashes of muddy water wherever they stepped on it. Coroner Li had his back to Shang Yuwan, his arms raised as he tried to close the coffin lid. A ten-year-old girl, standing nearby, supported him with her small arms, giving him a little extra push. Shang Yuwan had barely finished speaking when the grandfather and grandson had finally closed the coffin lid.
Hearing the voice, Coroner Li turned around, revealing a wrinkled old face, and hurried forward to greet him, "Sir? Please come in quickly. What brings you here so early?"
Coroner Li always wore a patched coarse cloth shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. There was an obvious bite mark on his right arm.
Although he was a coroner who performed autopsies on officials and wealthy families, he did not have any valuables on him. The only fine items in his house were his coroner's tools, his granddaughter's skirt of slightly better quality, and the pearl flowers on her head.
Shang Yuwan reached out to stop him from bending down, "No need to be so polite, I'm here on an important matter. Is Liu Mengyao here with you?"
The granddaughter next to Coroner Li looked up at Shang Yuwan with her eyes full of water, not at all afraid of her high position.
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