Chapter 226 May you have a son soon and grow old together.
Xiao Xuanyou just stared at him without saying a word.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and a tense atmosphere hung over the two of them.
Lu Yuan was not in a hurry; he simply stood calmly beside Jiang Zhi.
After a long while, Xiao Xuanyou finally laughed, "Lord Lu is busy with official duties, so it is naturally inappropriate for me to refuse."
So Xiao Xuanyou, Lu Yuan, and Jiang Zhi left the military camp and arrived in Yaocheng city.
Yaocheng is strategically located, serving as the first line of defense for the Great Qi Dynasty against foreign enemies.
Their destination was Broken Brick Alley, located in the western part of the city, which was the hardest hit by the disaster.
The plague outbreak started here, and Xie Qi immediately set up an isolation zone in the surrounding area, locking up all people with suspected fever and vomiting symptoms and treating them separately.
Although his methods were ruthless and cold-blooded, they effectively prevented the spread of the plague and ultimately brought it under control.
Otherwise, with the plague raging and the drought already in effect, Yaocheng would surely be littered with corpses.
The Northern Barbarians would seize the opportunity to breach the city walls, and then far more than just these people would die.
At the beginning of the alley lived a grandfather and grandson.
The elderly man was frail and had difficulty moving around. A thin, dark-skinned little boy was struggling to tiptoe and turn him over and wipe his body.
Seeing them enter, he stared at them with unusually large eyes and asked, "Who are you?!"
Although Xiao Xuanyou was dressed in casual clothes today, his brocade robes with subtle patterns could not conceal his noble air at all, making him seem out of place standing in this dilapidated house.
He asked, "Where are your parents?"
The little boy's eyes darkened, and he lowered his head. "They're all dead."
"Then how do you two, grandfather and grandson, survive?" Xiao Xuanyou asked again.
“We’ve spent all our money on my grandfather’s medical treatment. Every day I go to the soup kitchen to get soup for him, and I go outside to dig up tree roots and wild vegetables to eat.”
His eyes shrank slightly. "Sir, what can I do for you? Are you looking to hire someone? Don't let my young age fool you, I'm actually very strong and can do any kind of work."
He had tried to find work in the city, but people thought he was too young and thin. He also had to go home to take care of his grandfather from time to time, so he couldn't find any work and could only barely make ends meet.
A smile appeared on Xiao Xuanyou's face. "We don't lack people to do the work, but we can give you some silver."
He nodded in acknowledgment, and the guard behind him took a bag of loose silver and handed it to the boy.
“This…” The boy hesitated, not daring to take it.
Xiao Xuanyou raised an eyebrow. "If you don't want it, I'll give it to someone else."
As soon as he finished speaking, the little boy snatched the money bag like the wind and then knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Thank you so much, thank you so much! You are like that living bodhisattva who bestowed the medicine; you are a deity descended to earth, destined for a long and prosperous life..."
He rattled off all the auspicious sayings he knew.
Xiao Xuanyou had his guards help him up, and said with a smile, "The living bodhisattva you spoke of is right here."
The little boy's gaze followed him and landed on Jiang Zhi.
But behind the nobleman was a woman dressed in plain clothes, her face covered with a light veil. She had no special decorations, but she looked beautiful and graceful, like a fairy under the moon, making people feel no sense of disrespect.
His dark eyes, which were too prominent because of his thinness, blinked. He knelt down in front of Jiang Zhi again and kowtowed repeatedly. "Thank you, living Bodhisattva, for saving my grandfather's life. You two are like a perfect couple from heaven. You are destined to be a perfect match, live a long and happy life together, have many children, and grow old together..."
Seeing that his auspicious words were getting more and more outrageous, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but cough lightly.
Lu Yuan, who was standing next to him, also turned cold.
Only Xiao Xuanyou had a faint smile on his lips, as if he was pleased by his words, and he had the guards reward him with a bag of loose silver.
The little boy knew this pleased the important person, and auspicious words started pouring out of him like they were free.
Xiao Xuanyou suppressed a laugh and said to Jiang Zhi, "He is young and ignorant, so please don't take his nonsense to heart, Miss Ji."
"This humble woman dares not." Since Xiao Xuanyou had already said that, Jiang Zhi naturally couldn't say anything more.
After leaving the grandfather and grandson's house, they went to several other homes that were most severely affected by the disaster.
The circumstances varied, but they were all equally tragic.
Jiang Zhi had originally planned to do business, but seeing this scene, she lost all interest and took out all the loose silver she had on her and distributed it to them.
When she was first reborn, she was filled with hatred and felt that many people owed her something.
But compared to these real human tragedies before her, hers were just minor incidents and not worth mentioning at all.
They soon arrived at the last house.
Two elderly people in their eighties, a thin middle-aged woman, and a little girl who looked only eight or nine years old lying on the bed.
According to the thin woman, her family of six had lived a hard but fulfilling life here.
Unfortunately, her husband was beaten to death while fighting for food, and her eldest son died of the plague. Now, only the elderly, women, and children are left, and they can't even afford to eat.
When Xiao Xuanyou had his guards hand the money bag to the woman as before, something unexpected happened.
The middle-aged woman, who was about to take the bag, turned her hand and pulled out a knife from her sleeve. She then swiftly stabbed at the guard.
The two old men who were originally bent over suddenly had their eyes gleaming and suddenly lunged at Xiao Xuanyou and Lu Yuan!
"Master, be careful! There's an assassin!"
Caught off guard, the guard's arm was slashed. He dodged aside and then stepped forward to fight the woman.
They were not the people of Yaocheng who had suffered from the disaster at all, but assassins who had been lying in wait for them to come!
Lu Yuan and Xiao Xuanyou sensed something was wrong the moment the woman made her move. The two of them rushed forward like beasts, drew their weapons, and engaged the two disguised old men in a fierce battle.
The dilapidated house was suddenly filled with the sounds of clashing weapons.
Xiao Xuanyou glanced at Jiang Zhi, only to find that she had already obediently retreated outside the door, unaffected by the fighting inside.
So I felt relieved for a moment.
These assassins were so troublesome that it was impossible to defeat them in just a few moves.
Lu Yuan was also secretly alarmed.
These people have clearly undergone rigorous training; their attacks are deadly and their targets are clear and decisive. They must have been trained as assassins from a young age.
When did Yaocheng produce such a powerful figure?
As he was repelling the attacks from the person in front of him and frowning in thought, he suddenly noticed that the little girl lying on the bed had moved.
She was petite, but her movements were as swift as lightning.
Her dark eyes flashed with a ruthless light beyond her years, but in an instant she attacked Xiao Xuanyou.
"Master!" the guard shouted, but he was entangled and unable to break free to rescue him.
Xiao Xuanyou's eyes narrowed slightly. After blocking the old man's attack, he raised his leg to kick the girl.
But the girl's target was clearly not him at all.
After being struck by Xiao Xuanyou, she rolled on the ground and shot out like an arrow, her dagger in hand heading straight for Jiang Zhi outside the house!
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