Chapter 454 Why, of all people, a general?
The night was spent in silence and a somewhat somber mood.
Early the next morning, Shang Ruyi woke up on the bed in the side room. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Wo Xue muttering something as she walked in carrying a basin of water. Seeing that she was awake, she immediately said, "Young Madam, you're awake. The water has been brought."
"Um."
Shang Ruyi got up and went into the inner room first. She looked at Yuwen Ye on the bed. He was still unconscious, his face was ashen and his lips were pale. He was no better than before, but fortunately, he did not vomit during the night. She woke up several times to check his breathing and found that he was not suffocating.
At least, it can hold out for two more days.
Thinking this, Shang Ruyi looked at him quietly for a while, then turned and walked out.
She washed her face, and as soon as she looked up, Wo Xue handed her a towel. Shang Ruyi wiped the water off her face and looked at the face in front of her, which was originally pretty and charming, but now looked particularly dull. There were still some scratches and burns left from struggling in the fire yesterday.
Shang Ruyi asked, "Why aren't you applying any medicine?"
Wo Xue paused for a moment, then immediately realized that she was asking her, and lowered her head to say softly, "No need."
Looking at her cautious manner, Shang Ruyi said softly, "It's very important for a young girl to be pretty. Otherwise, how will she marry a good man in the future?"
"...?"
Wo Xue opened her eyes wide and looked up at her, as if she couldn't believe her ears.
Can I still get married?
Seeing her astonished expression, Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "You don't really think I'd let you stay by my side and serve us for the rest of your life, do you?"
"...Can I...?"
"You saved my life and the general's life yesterday. As for what happened before, it's all forgotten."
"..."
"If you want to get married in the future, that's perfectly fine."
Wo Xue's eyes immediately reddened, but she was too embarrassed to show it. She could only hurriedly take the used towel from her hand, lower her head, and after a long while, she whispered, "Thank you, young mistress."
Shang Ruyi said, "The past is over, but you still need to do your job properly. The second young master and I will not treat you unfairly."
"Yes! Thank you, young mistress!"
Wo Xue was so excited that her voice trembled slightly. She hurriedly picked up the basin and was about to go outside, but after thinking for a moment, she stopped and took another wooden bucket, pouring the remaining water from the basin into it.
Shang Ruyi asked, "What are you doing?"
Wo Xue said, "The city is short of water right now. I thought this water wasn't dirty, and keeping it might come in handy, so I won't pour it out."
"Is water shortage a problem?"
Upon hearing these four words, Shang Ruyi was immediately surprised: "What's going on?"
Wo Xue said, "Young Madam, you probably don't know yet, but the people in the city are all making a fuss today. I heard that the water trucks haven't been going to distribute water along the streets, so everyone can only rely on the few wells in the city to survive. But there are tens of thousands of soldiers, and they're giving priority to officials and soldiers, so the common people can't get a turn."
"..."
"Moreover, it hasn't rained in Fufeng for almost a month, and the water that the people had stored in their jars is almost gone."
"..."
"The government office originally had several vats of water, but they were all used to put out the fire yesterday, so we have to be more careful with the water here now."
Shang Ruyi frowned upon hearing this and said, "How could this be?"
While thinking about it, he looked up at the sky again.
Although it was still early, the sun had already risen in the east, radiating dazzling light like a fireball, and the surrounding temperature was gradually rising. Without a doubt, today would be another hot day.
If there were no water in this kind of weather—
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, then went inside to change her clothes, and then instructed, "Woxue, you stay here and guard the general. I'll be right back."
"yes."
As Shang Ruyi walked out of the courtyard, she saw Mu Xian and Cheng Qiao coming over to relieve Shan Tong'er. Upon seeing her, they all came forward to greet her. Mu Xian asked, "Where is the young mistress going?"
Shang Ruyi said, "I heard that there is a water shortage in the city, and I want to go and ask what happened."
Mu Xian said, "I'll go with you, Madam."
Shang Ruyi glanced at him, thought for a moment, and then nodded. Shan Tong'er handed the patrolmen over to Cheng Qiao and happily went down to eat, while Shang Ruyi led Mu Xian out of the second gate, soon arriving at the council hall ahead. As soon as they approached, they heard a familiar, angry voice coming from inside—
"If that's the case, then let's fight them!"
Just by listening to his tone and his meaning, I knew it was Ma Xu.
The two took a few more steps forward and, sure enough, saw Yin Changyue, Dai Junliang, Song Yu, and Ma Xu all seated. Sitting at the very top of the hall was Yuwen Qian.
In the center of the hall stood a panting soldier, his clothes covered in dust and blood. He had clearly just come to report something that had provoked Ma Xu's angry shout. Now, he stood up and said angrily, "You all talked about fortifying the city and holding fast, but now they're cutting off our water supply. Aren't you going to fight?"
"..."
No one in the hall responded for a moment, but everyone's expressions clearly showed some hesitation.
Song Yu said, "Young Master, look—"
Yuwen Qian's expression was also somewhat solemn. When he looked up, he saw Shang Ruyi outside the door. He smiled slightly and said, "Sister-in-law, you've come."
Everyone turned around.
Upon seeing her, Song Yu and Ma Xu exchanged a glance, a hint of panic flashing in their eyes, but neither said anything. Yin Changyue and the others, however, stood up to greet her, saying, "Madam, is there something else on the General's side?"
"fine."
Shang Ruyi led Mu Xian in, nodded to Yuwen Qian, and then said, "I just heard from my subordinates that there is not enough water now, and the people in the city are making a fuss because of the water shortage, so I came here specifically to ask what happened."
Ma Xu immediately sneered: "What is it? It's just the General's order. Well done."
Yin Changyue immediately said, "General Ma!"
Shang Ruyi remained calm and looked up at Yuwen Qian: "Brother, may I ask you something?"
Yuwen Qian said, "Let Lord Dai speak."
Shang Ruyi then turned to look at Dai Junliang, who had a solemn expression. She sighed and said, "Madam, it's like this. The general previously instructed that the city should use well water as much as possible, and if water needs to be drawn from the river outside the city, it must be drawn from upstream. We have been following the general's instructions and have been sending water carts upstream every day to draw water for the people in the city."
Shang Ruyi glanced at the soldier standing in the center of the council hall and vaguely understood what was going on.
She asked, "And then?"
Dai Junliang said, "Since yesterday, the people who fetched water have been ambushed by the Longxi Army, and so far, not a single cart of water has been brought back."
"..."
"Right now, the city's water storage is almost empty. Although there are a few private wells, they are not enough to supply so many people in the city. Therefore, the people in the city are very anxious and are clamoring for the government to provide water, or to open the city gates and let them fetch water from the river."
"..."
"However, once the city gates are opened, I'm afraid the Longxi army will seize the opportunity to attack."
"..."
"But if we don't let them get water, people can't stand this weather."
Yin Changyue said, "Otherwise, let's go downstream to fetch water. It's farther from Xue Xian's camp, so he definitely won't be able to get there to intercept our people."
Almost simultaneously, as soon as he finished speaking, Yuwen Qian and Shang Ruyi exclaimed, "No way!"
The two were taken aback and looked up at each other.
Everyone looked at them, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Fortunately, Song Yu immediately said, "Young Master, why not?"
Yuwen Qian coughed lightly before saying, "I have just arrived in Fufeng and am not yet familiar with the situation here, but since my second brother issued such a military order before he fell ill, he must have had his reasons."
Ma Xu said from the side, "Young master, that's true, but the people in the city are dying of thirst. What's the use of listening to military orders now?"
"..."
"If it really causes a civil unrest, then it won't be as easy as Xue Xian attacking."
"..."
"If all else fails, we should leave the city and fight. Even if it means we die fighting Xue Xian, it's better than staying in the city and dying of thirst."
Although he usually paid little attention to what he said, at this moment, Dai Junliang was also finding it hard to continue. After all, in such hot weather, not only were they suffering, but if the people in the city continued to cause trouble, it would really lead to a civil unrest. If Xue Xian attacked the city again, then Fufeng would be in real danger.
So, he hesitated and looked at Shang Ruyi.
At this moment, Shang Ruyi's brows also furrowed.
After a long silence, she still said, "No matter what, we absolutely must not go downstream to fetch water."
Everyone was somewhat surprised by her insistence. Yin Changyue asked, "Young Madam, why is that?"
Shang Ruyi said, "The old doctor who treated the general before said that the mound of corpses outside the city was made up of the bodies of 80,000 soldiers—"
At this point, Ma Xu, who had been so aggressive, suddenly became a little breathless.
Shang Ruyi ignored him and continued, "The weather is hot now, and the corpses have begun to decompose. The bodily fluids and blood have long since flowed into the river. This kind of water source is very easy to spread disease."
"Plague?"
Before anyone else could speak, Mu Xian, who had been silently following behind Shang Ruyi, suddenly seemed to realize something and looked at her with wide eyes: "Does the young mistress mean that the general's illness might also be—"
"..."
Shang Ruyi glanced at him, and after a long while, she nodded slightly.
Mu gasped.
But immediately, he frowned and said, "But I remember that after the general came here, he didn't even drink a sip of water. He went out of the city to fight as soon as he settled down. Even if he drank water, none of the others fell ill."
"..."
"Why, of all people, a general?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi looked at him, hesitant to speak, her expression growing increasingly heavy.
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