Mu Qingchen, dressed in white clothes as white as snow, slowly got off the carriage, glanced over there, and frowned slightly.
"Shuisheng, take the steamed buns and ask them where they are from and where they are going."
Shuisheng's eyes were full of confusion. He didn't dare to say anything more and said respectfully, "Yes, sir, I'll go right away."
After saying this, he took the steamed bun and walked towards the donkey cart. These people were dressed so poorly, and the one who had a donkey cart must be someone who had more say than anyone else.
Xiao Mu looked at the person coming with caution.
"Are you okay?"
Shuisheng smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. My master just wants to know why you left the city. Just tell me this and I'll give you all these steamed buns."
After lifting the cloth on the basket, revealing the plump white buns inside, Xiao Mu couldn't help swallowing his saliva and looked at the old man in the donkey cart.
The village chief smiled and said gently.
"We were originally from Xicheng District, but later a group of officials came and said the imperial court had ordered us to move to Dongcheng District, with a deadline of three days."
"Dongcheng District? There's no water source over there. You have to walk a long way to get water. Not to mention after the earthquake, the creek is probably dried up."
"If I let you go, wouldn't that be killing you?"
Shuisheng's eyes were full of surprise. He never expected that the imperial court could do such a thing. Then he thought, this was the first time that they were asked to hand over half of their property.
The old man sighed and said with a wry smile, "Yes, if you don't move to Dongcheng District, you will be killed. If you move there, you will die too, just a slower death."
"Since we're going to die anyway, why don't we leave the city and look for a way to survive? Maybe there's still a glimmer of hope."
"We can't go south of the Yangtze River, so we can only go north. Maybe we can find a way to survive."
Shuisheng understood after hearing this and said with a smile: "Old man, you are wise. In fact, we are going to the Northern Wilderness. After all, the capital is now...ah, it's hard to put it into words."
"Many people have been forced to leave. It's actually a good thing that you took the initiative to leave. Things will definitely get better in the future."
After saying that, he left the steamed bun and turned away.
Mu Qingchen stood by the river, looking at the almost dried-up lake bottom, turned his head to look in the direction of the capital, his eyes full of relief, the time to leave was just right.
If it was any later, there would be no water at all and he would be trapped on the road. He sighed, his eyes full of helplessness.
Someone patted his shoulder and Meng Si grinned.
"What are you thinking about? Look at your eyebrows, they can kill a fly. Are you worried about water? It's not even July or August yet, the hottest season. The water problem is not difficult to solve."
Mu Qingchen hummed, "Those elders of your family didn't come out. I'm afraid they won't have the chance to come out again in the future. What a pity."
Meng Si shrugged, smiling nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter. I don't care whether they live or die. They have to choose their own path. If they can't think straight, they deserve to die."
Shuisheng walked over and stood aside, whispering something.
No one said anything for a long time.
Mu Qingchen pursed her lips and said quietly, "What does that person want to do? He does everything so decisively. Isn't he afraid of backlash?"
"...Hey, never mind all that, as long as we can escape."
He said that, but he didn't even wave the folding fan in his hand.
The team rested for a while and then set off again soon, this time at a faster speed, as if there was a flood or a beast behind them.
Day 3, Xicheng District
The Jinyiwei who had been here before rode around on horseback and found that the shantytowns were indeed empty, with no one left. He curled his lips slightly in satisfaction.
"Sir, those untouchables have left. It's a sign of decency. Otherwise, we would have to kill people and bury bodies today."
"Well, tear down everything here and transport the things here. This place will belong to the imperial court from now on."
Half a day later, a man came running in panic.
He shouted, "Master, something has happened. The water has stopped flowing. We went to check upstream and found that the water has started to dry up. What should we do if there is no water here?"
The man with the mole narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "You've found out, but those untouchables are seeking revenge. If that's the case, chase them down and kill them all!"
"...No, that's not it. It's just that the water flow upstream is slowly decreasing and is already showing signs of drying up. What should we do, sir?"
The sound of horse hooves could be heard, and soon another man arrived with a very grim expression: "Sir, there are incidents in the North City District and the South City District. It's also a problem of river drying up."
The man was silent for a long time, then rode his horse quickly into the courtyard and told Emperor Gan about the matter. What he was greeted with was endless silence.
Emperor Gan's eyes were fierce and there was a hint of panic.
"You... go down, I will think about it again."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Jinzhong placed a cup of tea on the table and whispered, "Your Majesty, have some tea. You haven't had any water for half a day. There is snow water on the mountain in this villa, so you don't have to worry about the water source."
Emperor Gan lowered his eyes and said in a barely audible voice, "Jinzhong, do you think this is a punishment from heaven?"
"...If Your Majesty is worried, you can ask the Imperial Master to tell your fortune."
"That's right, go ask the Imperial Master to come over."
Not long after, the young eunuch returned, plopped down on his knees, and tremblingly said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Master is no longer in the villa. He only left a letter saying that he was traveling."
"As for Taoist Master Zhang, it would be the same if he came."
"The Taoist priest and his companions also... also left with the Imperial Master and are now missing. The guards said that His Majesty has issued an order not to interfere with their comings and goings."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Gan was as if struck by lightning. His eyes were dull and bewildered, and he didn't understand why they were running when it was just an earthquake.
His anger was rising, and he casually threw the teacup down, breaking it into countless pieces, and roared: "Come here, find someone for me quickly, and post a notice to find someone."
"A huge reward is being offered. Bring him back immediately after he's found. This is crazy. They're all really crazy."
Jinzhong's heart was pounding. Those two people had calculated the earthquake before, and now they ran away in advance. Could there be something else?
"Your Majesty, why don't you walk a little further? There won't be anything unusual. Otherwise, why are those two walking so fast?"
"This... I can't leave the capital, otherwise what should I do if I get assassinated on the road? Now the Jiang family has gone to the Northern Wilderness, and the Huo family is guarding the Southern Border. Who can protect me?"
Emperor Gan stood up and walked around the room, feeling very panicked.
＊
The Jiang family team had been marching for half a month. When they received the news from the spies, they were all stunned and looked at each other.
"The capital is empty? The four great families have come to the Northern Wasteland, the common people have fled, and the Imperial Taoist Master has gone out to travel. Am I disillusioned?"
Jiang Baichuan swallowed his saliva. He didn't expect to see such words. It seemed like a joke. How could it be possible?
Jiang Ling raised an eyebrow, also a little surprised: "What does this mean? Those two have always been by His Majesty's side, why did they leave too? Did something happen?"
"...I don't know. We need spies to investigate carefully."
"What's more troublesome now is that all those people have come to the Northern Wasteland. How are we going to deal with them?"
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