Li Han and his group were led by the villager to the village where the plague broke out. Along the way, they found that the fields along the road were overgrown with weeds and had been abandoned for a long time. There was also little water source and some of the land was cracked.
"I don't see any water source nearby. How did you grow crops before?" Li Han asked.
The villager shook his head, sighed, and said, "Alas, you don't know. Our village used to have a bumper harvest every year, but for some reason, the river has gradually dried up in the past few years, and now even drinking water is a problem. We originally wanted to move away from the village, but many elderly people in the village were reluctant. They said they wanted to return to their roots and die in the village, so we put the plan on hold. Then the plague broke out, and we couldn't leave even if we wanted to."
Li Han looked around again and found that the surroundings of the village were very strange, but he couldn't tell what was strange. Suddenly, Li Han found that there was a group of people digging a pit in front of him, and they actually lifted a living person and threw it in. The crying of babies and the screams of children echoed in Li Han's ears.
A little boy was struggling and crying in the hands of two big men, but the other party seemed to have no reaction at all, with a very indifferent expression. Then they threw the child into the pit lightly. Because the pit was too deep, the little boy could not climb out. All that could be seen was a pair of small hands constantly grabbing the edge of the pit, which was the desire to survive.
The people outside the pit were expressionless as they shoveled dirt into the pit bit by bit. Li Han was furious when he saw this and quickly ran over. Without a word, he pushed the shovelers away and yelled at them, "What are you doing? How dare you bury a living person in broad daylight? Do you still have any respect for the law?"
Li Han looked sideways at the pit and found that there was not only a little boy in it, but also other children and even a woman holding a baby. Several people were buried face down in the soil, seemingly dead and emitting the stench of rotting meat. This scene made Li Han's heart skip a beat.
Lu Li and the others also came over and saw the situation in the pit. They had the same feeling as Li Han. Tuoba Jun even felt a little retching. Lu Yuan hugged her and patted her back to make her feel better.
When those people saw someone coming to cause trouble, they all picked up their shovels and pointed them at Li Han and the others. One of the old men stood up and said, "Where did you come from, you young brats? Get out of here right now! This is not the place for you!"
At this time, the villager who had led Li Han and his group came over to stop them. He stood in front of Li Han and his group and said to the old man very respectfully, "Village chief, these are good people who are here to help us. Please don't misunderstand!" He turned to Li Han and his group and explained, "This is our village chief, not a bad person."
"Come to help us?" The village chief was skeptical. "What can they do to help us? We'd better let them leave quickly, so that we don't let the plague spread again and lose their lives in vain!" The village chief shook his head helplessly and didn't quite trust Li Han and the others.
Li Han stepped forward, took out the token from her waist, and placed it in front of the villagers. "I am the eldest princess of the Li Kingdom. I have come here by order of the emperor. His Majesty heard that this place was plagued by a plague, so he sent me here to deal with it."
When the villagers saw the princess's token, they all knelt. "We pay our respects to Her Majesty!" the village chief said excitedly. "Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"
"Everyone, get up. There's no need to be so formal. Now is the time when the plague has broken out. Why are you cruelly burying your compatriots alive here?" Li Han asked after asking them to stand up.
The village chief sighed repeatedly, tears glistening in his eyes. "Your Highness, we don't want to do this either, but this is the only solution we have. You can see the state of our village. The plague is rampant. If we don't bury them alive, the plague will spread rapidly. By then, it won't just be our village that will be in danger."
Li Han looked at the women and children in the pit with reluctance in her eyes, but after hearing the village chief's explanation, she also understood his helplessness. At this time, it was the only solution he had.
"Don't worry, I'm here, everything will be fine. Now rescue those who are still alive, and as for those who died, bury them and give them a good burial!"
Li Han felt bitter, especially when she thought of the children who lost their parents. The sadness in her heart was revealed in her eyes. Lu Li also felt Li Han's sadness, and stepped forward to hug Li Han's shoulders to comfort her.
"But they have already..." the village chief said nervously.
Li Han immediately interrupted the village chief, "Village chief, I know what you want to say, but I know what I mean. Just do as I say!"
After all, Li Han was the eldest princess, and they could not disobey her, so they brought those who were infected with the plague but alive out of the pit and placed them outside the village, giving them hope of survival.
The arrival of people from the imperial court showed that the country had not given up on them, which also gave the villagers confidence. The village chief happily brought Li Han and others to the village and arranged a place for them to live.
The village and the outside of the village are different. Compared with the desolate outside of the village, the village is relatively safe. It seems that the village chief's handling measures are still very good. However, something like plague cannot be isolated simply by wanting to isolate it.
So Li Han told the villagers that there was a kind of medicinal herb nearby and asked them to pick more, crush it into masks and decoctions to distribute to the villagers so that they could take good protection. At the same time, he also stopped the villagers and disinfected the entire village together, trying to reduce the infection rate to a minimum.
Because of the plague, the people in the village were unable to grow food, and the food reserves of each household were almost exhausted, so Li Han wrote a letter and asked Lu Yuan to take it back to the capital, asking the emperor to send people and food to support them.
When the emperor saw Li Han's letter, he was very worried. After all, the plague was no less serious than other natural disasters and man-made calamities. If infected, it would be life-threatening. So the emperor did not think much about it and immediately ordered support for Li Han.
After the queen got the news, she was very worried about Li Han. Li Shu had just gotten into trouble, and if something happened to Li Han again, she really couldn't bear it, so she hurried to find the emperor to ask about Li Han.
But when the queen came to the emperor's study, she found Shen Lingli beside the emperor. She was very confused. This sinful girl should be waiting to be executed in the dungeon. Why did she appear here unharmed? The queen thought to herself and frowned.
The queen stepped forward, saluted the emperor, and then looked at Shen Lingli without hesitation, asking: "Shen Lingli, shouldn't you be in the dungeon? Why are you by His Majesty's side?"
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