Chapter 100 Chapter 100 The hope of life turns out not to be all...
The scene fell into deathly silence.
"Sheng girl, come to me, there's no need to support her. If she wants to kneel, let her kneel!" There was a hint of anger in Old Lady Gu's voice.
Zhao Mingsheng obediently returned to his grandmother's side and let her rub the back of his hand with heartache.
Liang looked around and saw no one was on her side. She had no choice but to stand up before the old lady got completely angry, with a look of embarrassment on her face.
"I was just anxious for a moment. That's why..."
Old Lady Gu looked at her coldly, "Are you the only one in this room who's anxious? Aren't we anxious too?"
"An unmarried woman actually dared to injure the maidservant and run away. If this matter gets out, will the reputation of the other women in the family be ruined? If she can't be found, and something happens, it will be a disgrace to the whole family! I am more worried than you!"
The Second Lady also echoed, "That's right, finding talent is the most important thing right now. As a mother, you have to think carefully about where she can go."
After being scolded, Liang finally calmed down. After thinking hard, she shook her head with an embarrassed expression. This question really stumped her. If she knew where Zhao Mingzhu would go, she wouldn't have to come here to make trouble.
She pursed her lips helplessly, having no idea what to do.
The old lady suddenly asked the second lady out of nowhere, "Has there been any news from Prince Jin's Mansion recently? Has anyone sent any invitations to the mansion?"
Liang clenched the handkerchief in her hand. She remembered that Mingzhu had been imprisoned in the ancestral hall because of her connection with Prince Jin. Her heart began to tighten. Could Mingzhu really have gone to look for that prince?
Although she found the old lady's words a little strange, the second lady still answered seriously, "Our mansion doesn't interact much with Prince Jin's mansion, and there is no correspondence."
Old Madam Gu had just had some suspicions, but now she was at a loss.
Zhao Mingsheng was listening at the side, and suddenly remembered that before he was kicked out of the Marquis' Mansion in his dream, Zhao Mingzhu had a close relationship with the Prince of Jin, and the two could often be seen together at banquets.
Her intuition told her that Zhao Mingzhu's disappearance must be related to Prince Jin's Mansion, but she did not have any definite evidence at the moment, so she did not dare to make any rash conclusions.
Just when everyone was at a loss.
Zhao Mingjing, who had been listening for a long time, spoke hesitantly.
"Um...I seemed to see Mingzhu on the day of the birthday banquet at the Yong'an Earl's Mansion."
She heard Zhao Mingzhu change into a maid's clothes and sneak out, and heard them mention Prince Jin's Mansion. Zhao Mingjing couldn't help but think of the scene she saw under the rockery that day, but she was not sure whether the person who had an affair with Prince Jin was Zhao Mingzhu.
Old Madam Gu quickly sent someone to find the maid who was injured that day.
The maid had a thick bandage wrapped around her head and looked very sick. When she talked about what happened that day, she couldn't help but tremble all over.
"So you were wearing a lotus-colored top and a smoky gray skirt that day?" Zhao Mingjing asked.
The maid thought for a moment and nodded slowly.
Zhao Mingjing's hands and feet suddenly became weak. If Zhao Mingsheng hadn't quickly supported her, she would have probably fallen to the ground.
Old Madam Gu realized that Zhao Mingjing might know something, so she quietly dismissed the maids in the room.
"Tell me, Jing girl, what do you know?"
Now that there were no outsiders present, and this matter concerned the reputation of the entire family, Zhao Mingjing had no choice but to tell what she had seen at the birthday banquet at the Earl of Yong'an's Mansion that day.
"Impossible!" Liang shouted in disbelief.
"You must be lying!" She was so excited that she was almost incoherent and wanted to grab Zhao Mingjing's face. "How can you be so vicious? She is your sister, why would you hurt her like this!"
"Liang! Do you still have any respect for your elders when you attack a junior?"
Fortunately, the second wife immediately stood in front of Zhao Mingjing like an eagle protecting her chicks, blocking the attack for her, and kicked Liang to the ground. She had wanted to do this for a long time, so she used all her strength on her foot.
Liang fell to the ground with a cry. The kick was so hard that she couldn't recover from the pain for a long time.
"I hurt her? She hurt me more than anything else!"
Zhao Mingjing stood up from behind her mother and fought back without showing any weakness.
"Zhao Mingzhu has such poor taste! She even wants a man who's a playboy? She's already having affairs with other men before we're even married. If this gets out, will I still be able to get married? Will my married sisters still be able to live like human beings in their husband's families?"
Zhao Mingjing has restrained herself a lot. Given her previous personality, it would be considered good if she didn't curse at her a hundred times in various ways.
"Okay."
Old Madam Gu shouted weakly. Having just recovered from a serious illness, she was already exhausted just dealing with these matters.
Seeing this, Zhao Mingsheng quickly fed her a Nine Yang Qi-boosting Pill. After the pill went down her throat, a warm current flowed from her abdomen to her internal organs. Old Lady Gu felt warm all over and regained her strength. Then she spoke:
"The most urgent thing now is not to make a fuss in the house, but to quickly go to Prince Jin's Mansion to find out the truth. If what Miss Jing said is true, then the matter has been settled. The most important thing is how to cover it up."
The Second Lady lowered her head and said, "Mother is right. The most urgent thing is how to cover up this scandal."
Liang concealed the hatred in her eyes, climbed up from the ground, and knelt in front of Old Madam Gu.
"Mother, Mingzhu is not that kind of person. There must be some misunderstanding. She must have been framed by someone!"
Old Lady Gu was too lazy to argue with her and frowned at her: "If you like kneeling, then go to the ancestral hall and kneel there properly. You are not allowed to come out without my order!"
Liang looked up in disbelief.
She had been married into the Zhao family for so many years, and this was the first time that Old Lady Gu punished her like this.
Old Madam Gu had been tolerant of Liang because she lost her husband at a young age. However, she did not expect that Liang would become even more aggressive and even attacked a junior in front of her. She had no manners as an elder, not to mention that she raised a daughter like that and still refused to admit her mistakes. Old Madam Gu could no longer tolerate her.
"You don't need to say more. I will go to Prince Jin's Mansion in person in the next two days..."
"No!" Zhao Mingsheng was tough for once. "Grandma, your health has just recovered a little. You can't have any more mishaps!"
Zhao Mingsheng's stubborn look made Old Lady Gu want to laugh. If the current situation wasn't wrong, she really wanted to hold this girl in her arms and love her dearly.
She smiled and said, "Aren't you still here?"
Zhao Mingsheng was a little confused: "I"
Old Madam Gu caressed Zhao Mingsheng's head lovingly.
"You will come with me when the time comes. Grandma believes that you will take good care of me."
Zhao Mingsheng thought about it and although it was still a bit risky, there was no other way if his grandmother insisted.
"Okay, I will definitely take good care of grandma!"
"If she really is in Prince Jin's Mansion..." Old Lady Gu closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was clear-headed. "We in the Zhao family don't have such a daughter!"
Old Madam Gu spoke decisively.
After hearing this, Liang collapsed to the ground, covering her face and crying.
She should know better than anyone else whether Zhao Mingzhu is in Prince Jin's Mansion.
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Yanzhou.
Yan Zhuo formulated an optimal route based on the distance between the towns and the severity of the disaster.
As we traveled, most of the towns we encountered were in a similar situation to Rongcheng. For example, Shihua Town, with a population of only 5,000, falsely reported that 50,000 people were affected. Furthermore, they believed that even if food for those 50,000 people were delivered, local officials wouldn't use it for disaster relief. Officials, both high and low, were like termites, gnawing away at the land beyond recognition.
Everywhere they looked, they saw thousands of refugees, separated from their families, displaced, and starving. It was unknown how many had starved to death, their bodies left by the roadside, unburied, too hungry to bear the brunt of the pain. The surviving refugees had hollow eyes, devoid of any hope for life, like emaciated corpses. Even when they set up porridge tents and offered them porridge, the people there thought they were dreaming and refused to believe them.
Even the soldiers who had been on the battlefield and seen corpses everywhere couldn't help crying when they saw the horrific scene. These were living people! These were their people! How could they be tortured like this?!
And those damned officials, each one of them fat and bloated, were still greedy and didn't even provide the people with enough food to eat. All the food allocated by the court went into their pockets without exception, and those life-saving food was eventually exchanged for pieces of meaningless waste paper.
In their pursuit of pleasure, did they ever consider how many of the people under their rule were dying of hunger? How many had cut off their own legs for their children and bled to death? How many had eaten tree bark and earth to fill their stomachs, starving themselves to death?
No, they don’t know. If they knew, Yanzhou would not become what it is today!
Everyone who saw it couldn't help but feel angry.
This once fertile land was now riddled with scars. It wasn't hell, but it was worse than hell on earth.
With such heavy hearts, the soldiers walked all the way to Jinghe Town. At this point, they were not only physically exhausted, but also mentally exhausted. Many soldiers even burst into tears because they had witnessed too many tragedies.
Seeing that the gate of Jinghe Town was closed like the gates of several previous cities, the soldiers couldn't help but feel a little heavy.
Yan Zhuo sent people to shout a few times at the bottom of the city gate. After a while, a head popped out from the city wall.
"Who are you?" the soldier on the city wall asked weakly.
"We are a team sent by the court to provide disaster relief. Open the door!" the soldiers shouted to the soldiers on the city wall.
"Okay, okay! Right away!"
After hearing these words, the soldiers on the city wall seemed to be cheered up.
Soon, the city gate was pushed open a little.
"I'm really sorry, I really don't have the strength anymore. Could you please continue to open this door from the outside?" The soldier's weak voice came from inside.
The soldiers outside the city looked at each other in bewilderment. It was the first time they had seen such a thing.
Yan Zhuo also found it strange and frowned, saying, "Send a few people to open the door. Be careful and beware of any scam."
Cui Cen volunteered to take a few soldiers forward to push the door open.
As the city gate was pushed open little by little, the soldiers became more and more nervous, fearing that some conspiracy was waiting for them behind the gate.
However, when the city gate was opened, there was nothing behind the gate, no ambush, no trap, and no enemy.
There was only a thin soldier standing there, waving happily at them as if he was using all his strength.
"Follow me now!"
The soldier shouted at them excitedly in a hoarse voice, and then walked into the city.
The soldiers walked towards the city with heavy hearts. The closer they got to the city, the heavier their steps became. Their legs felt as if they were tied with lead. They were even prepared to see corpses everywhere and pairs of empty and helpless eyes.
Sure enough, after walking for a while, they came to a large square where a large tent was set up. In the shadow of the tent, there were densely packed corpses lying shoulder to shoulder, with very peaceful faces.
An atmosphere of sadness spread in the team, like the last straw that broke the camel's back. The sound of sobbing could be heard in the team. Everyone's eyes were reddened by this tragic scene. They clenched their weapons in their hands. Even the toughest soldiers could not help but turn their heads away and wipe away their tears secretly.
It seemed they were still late. If they had come earlier, would these people have survived? It was all because of those damned corrupt officials. They were ready to vent their anger on the corrupt officials in Jinghe County.
"Everyone, wake up! The disaster relief team is here, and we have food to eat!"
Everyone was feeling sad when the soldier guarding the gate suddenly shouted at the empty square, which scared them.
In response to him, the "corpses" in the square suddenly sat up, and pairs of sparkling eyes stared at them.
The sobbing stopped, and the person wiping the tears stopped. Someone, who was too timid, shrieked:
"Ahhhh! He's resurrected!"
Soldiers guarding the gate and refugees: ???
Soldiers providing disaster relief:? !!
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