Chapter 207 Who died? Your mother!
The people around them dragged their heavy steps forward numbly. When they heard that someone in the group had died and was being carried on the journey, possibly due to the plague, they were instantly jolted awake and mechanically looked up in the direction of the voice. "Whose family has died and not been buried?"
Yun Jiaoyue pointed to the front of the group and said loudly, "It's the Xiao family."
She added, "Plagues are most likely to break out on rainy days, and they're even carrying corpses on the road. Aren't they trying to kill us? We must make them throw the corpses away."
Those behind looked ahead and saw several white figures moving slowly through the misty rain.
There was another person sitting on a tall horse, seemingly leading the way. The people in front of them, dressed in prison clothes, were hurrying along with their heads down, like ghost messengers from the underworld, trying to lure them to the underworld.
"Ghosts! Ghosts! Ghost messengers are here to arrest people! Run! Run! Ahhh!!!" Several timid people were so frightened that they backed away, slipped, and fell on their butts in the mud, covered in dirt.
The others were also misled by him, thinking he was a ghost messenger. They grabbed people and ran away. The people behind didn't know what was going on and thought there were bandits or some large beast attacking the group.
They turned and ran, abandoning their vehicles. The bundles and food they carried fell to the ground, and the people behind them trampled and stomped on them, sending them into the mud.
Someone else fell down, and those behind trampled on them. The trampled person vomited blood and cried out, "Don't step on me, please don't step on me..."
"There are people on the ground..."
A girl was trampled on in the chest and abdomen by more than a dozen people, coughing up blood incessantly, "cough cough cough..."
"Help, help me..."
Seeing the line in chaos, Lao Liao shouted to the back, "Don't panic! Stop! Everyone stop!"
The crowd was filled with screams of terror.
Old Liao's voice was drowned out. He turned his horse around and rode to the back of the group, shouting, "Stop! Don't make a ruckus! Anyone who dares to run away again, I'll whip them to death!"
Zhao Jiu and several other officers at the back of the procession rode forward on horseback to block the path of the group at the front. "Stop running! Stop running! Nothing's wrong, why are you running?"
The riotous procession stopped at the sound of the guards' angry shouts.
The child's mother ran ahead before realizing her daughter hadn't followed, and she had to push through the crowd to go back and find her.
Seeing her daughter fall to the ground, she rushed over and knelt beside her, pushing away the people around her, pleading, "Don't step on my daughter, please don't step on her, I beg you, this is a human life!"
"Jing'er, Jing'er, my daughter, she's bleeding so much, what should I do, what should I do?"
"Imperial physician, doctor, please save my daughter."
The girl's father shouted through the crowd, "Are Physician Chen, Physician Zhang, Physician Li here? Quickly find a doctor to save her..."
Physician Chen happened to be at the back of the line. Carrying his medicine box, he scrambled through the crowd to get forward, took her pulse, lifted her eyelids to examine her, gently pressed on her chest and abdomen a few times, lifted the hem of her clothes to take a look, put it down, and then shook his head.
The child's mother was extremely tense and agitated, and didn't understand his shaking his head. She clung to Doctor Chen's arm, pleading, "Doctor Chen, I beg you to save her! She's so young, only twelve years old! Please save her! We'll give you whatever money you want, sob sob sob..."
"I'm sorry, my spleen and abdomen have been ruptured. Even a miracle couldn't save me. I'm truly powerless to help. Prepare for the worst."
Before this situation could be resolved, cries for help rang out from the other side, "Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician! Please save my son! He's vomiting blood..."
"No, Physician Chen, you can't leave. You have to save my daughter first..." The child clung to Physician Chen, refusing to let him go.
Physician Chen had just stood up when he was pulled down to the ground. "Ouch!"
"Your daughter is beyond saving, save my son first." The family rushed over to grab him; one person grabbed Doctor Chen, and the two families each grabbed one of his arms, like a tug-of-war, using him as a rope.
Doctor Chen cried out in fright, "Don't pull! Don't pull! My old arms and legs can't take this! Someone help me!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a "crack!" rang out, and his arm dislocated.
The others then stepped forward to help and rescue Physician Chen.
The boy was stepped on in the back. He can still be saved, but he needs to take good care of his injuries. At best, he will suffer from chronic illnesses, and at worst, he could die.
Seeing another person suddenly die out of nowhere, Old Liao was so enraged he wanted to kill someone. He jumped off his horse and rushed into the crowd, whipping the people who had initially spread rumors about the ghost messengers, "Crack! Crack! Crack!!"
Old Liao was truly enraged. He lashed them with his whip, tearing their skin and flesh. Rain poured down on their wounds, causing them to tremble in pain, hissing and grimacing, "Hiss hiss..."
"It hurts so much! It hurts so much! Please have mercy, Master Liao! We won't do it again, waaaaah..."
Old Liao cursed, "What were you yelling about? There was a person in front of us, just wearing white clothes. What kind of ghost messenger is that? Anyone who dares to spread rumors, I'll beat them to death!"
Upon seeing this, Yun Jiaoyue trembled with fright, and the umbrella in her hand slipped and fell to the ground: "I didn't say they were ghost messengers. Someone in their family died, and they were wearing white clothes and mourning clothes."
"Master Liao, someone said that the Princess of Zhenbei hasn't been seen getting out of bed for two days and has been lying on a cart. She must be dead. You can go and see for yourself if you don't believe me."
"Fine! If it weren't for me, I'd whip you to death too." Old Liao pointed his whip at her, then mounted his horse and rode off.
Zhao Xuan (the Third Prince), who was at the back of the group, saw that Yun Jiaoyue was causing trouble again and had made him angry. He ordered his maid to bring her back.
"I told you to avoid trouble, and it would be best not to mess with the Xiao family. Why do you always ignore my words? Huh?"
The last sound was a shout. Yun Jiaoyue trembled with fright. She felt wronged and her nose stung. When she saw the gloating faces of the two concubines, her eyes reddened with grievance.
She suppressed her grievances and softened her voice, saying, "Your Highness, I am doing this for your own good. If the plague spreads in the ranks, we will all die. We are just lowly lives, so it is okay if we die, but Your Highness cannot die."
Zhao Xuan reprimanded in a low voice, "That's none of your business to stick your neck out!"
No one dared to be the first to provoke the Xiao family, but she insisted on being the one to stick her neck out.
She doesn't even understand simple principles like using someone else to do her dirty work or biding her time. She's being used as a pawn. She's such a fool. I don't know how she grew up in the Marquis's mansion. She has no scheming in her heart. She's far inferior to Yun Zhaoxue now. She's not even as good as Liu Yiyi and Su Wan'er, who come from minor official and merchant families.
He had finally managed to build a good relationship with the Xiao family, but he almost ruined his plans again.
Yun Jiaoyue said, "Your Highness, is it wrong for you to do anything? If I do nothing, you will complain that I am useless and inferior to the Emperor."
"Whether you are acting for my sake or for your own selfish desires, you know the answer in your heart. You'd better not do anything."
During his month of exile, the Third Prince's heart grew colder and harder, and he lost all interest in love.
He painstakingly plotted and secretly schemed to transfer officials who supported him in the court to Jiangnan, and also gradually moved all his properties in the north there, hoping to take that position as soon as possible.
The group ahead of them was too far away to hear Yun Jiaoyue's report and continued walking.
Old Liao rode up and chased after them.
"Stop in front."
The people who were rushing ahead were stopped and were a little annoyed. "Uncle Liao, what are you doing now? Let's hurry up and get to Changlin County so we don't get soaked in the rain."
When your body is extremely tense and exhausted, you don't want to move once you stop. You just want to lie down and not move. It's better to be soaked to death or beaten to death than to be exhausted to death.
Ignoring their complaints, Lao Liao turned his gaze to the Xiao family and asked, "Young Master Xiao, someone reported that someone in your family died and wasn't buried, but was taken away with them on the journey to the afterlife. Is this true?"
If that's really the case, he must be severely punished. He repeatedly emphasized that the body must not be taken on the road and should be buried on the spot or thrown into the ravine.
Who died?
"Your mother."
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