Ning Hongxi, however, remained fearless and sneered, "So, Prince Jing's treacherous scheme has been exposed, and he's going to kill people to silence them?"
Ning Xun also shouted from the crowd: "Prince Jing, what good will killing my father do you? It only proves that you have a guilty conscience!"
One villager spat out, "Good! The princes are fighting for power, but they're gambling with our homes, lives, and money! Everyone, let's not let Prince Jing get away with this! He's too heartless!"
Ning Hongxi burst into laughter, staring at Yun Zhuo and said, "You think you can use the people to regain your position as crown prince? You're dreaming! Even if I die on the spot tonight, I will stop you from ruining the lives of the people!"
Ning Hongxi spoke his last words with such venom that he wished he could bang his head against the ground and die right there in front of Yun Zhuo.
His emotions touched everyone present.
The villagers, in particular, were so convinced that Yun Zhuo was using them that they wanted nothing more than to rush forward and kill him!
One of the officers even said, "Please, Prince Jing, release Lord Ning! If Lord Ning dies, I am willing to write a petition in blood and plead with the emperor, risking my life to appeal to the emperor! Let the world know about Prince Jing's evil deeds tonight! At that time, Prince Jing will not only lose his chance to become crown prince, but he may not even be able to remain a prince!"
The villagers shouted in unison, "Release Lord Ning! Lord Ning is a true official who serves the country and its people! Prince Jing, please get out of our village!"
The rain was still falling, dense and heavy, each drop pattering against the road and splashing up countless mud splatters.
Ning Hongxi, nestled between Yun Zhuo's five fingers, looked at Yun Zhuo with the demeanor of a victor, defiantly.
A thunderbolt struck, and the lightning illuminated everyone's face.
Yun Zhuo released Ning Hongxi's neck, smiling as Ning Hongxi collapsed to the ground, coughing violently.
The clatter of hooves approached from afar, cutting through the rain.
Everyone assumed that Yun Zhuo had given up after his "treacherous plot was exposed." The villagers wanted to retreat to their homes, but Ning Hongxi wanted to lead them back to the soldiers and have Yun Zhuo brought before the emperor for trial.
Just then, Cui Shao rode over on horseback.
The horse ran very fast. When it reached the group, Cui Shao hurriedly reined it in. The horse reared up high and then landed heavily. He then dismounted.
Ning Hongxi thought that the emperor had received the news and arranged for Cui Shao to bring men to capture Yun Zhuo.
Unexpectedly, Cui Shao said, "The Emperor has decreed that Wang Xuanzheng of the Imperial Observatory divined last night that today would be sunny and rainless, but now it is pouring rain. All signs prove that Wang Xuanzheng is an incompetent person!"
"The Imperial Observatory will be handed over to Mo Yuan for renewed control!"
"Lord Mo Yuan calculated that the heavy rain would continue for three days and the dikes would be breached. He specially ordered me to lead over a thousand guards to help Prince Jing evacuate the villagers downstream overnight!"
"No one is allowed to stop us, or we will kill them without mercy!!" Cui Shao's murderous gaze swept over everyone.
For a moment, apart from the sound of rain, there was no other sound at the entrance of the village.
After a while, the villagers panicked. Three days of torrential rain had breached the dikes, and a major flood had broken out...
Either way, they are both terrifying.
After three days of torrential rain, the crops that are still growing now are definitely beyond saving.
The dam collapsed, and they were downstream; their houses were beyond saving.
When the floods struck, even if they escaped, they had no food and constantly faced the threat of plague...
How could any of these things not cause panic?
Ah, wait a minute!
So, Prince Jing really came to save them, not to deliberately create a flood to threaten them in order to seize the position of Crown Prince?
The more they hated Yun Zhuo just now, the more guilty they felt towards him now.
Yun Zhuo didn't think much of it. He simply told Zhuang Xin and Chu Xianyun to quickly arrange for people to lead the villagers to retreat.
Yun Zhuo spoke in a deep voice: "As I said before, someone deliberately damaged the dike. Although I have sent people to stop them, the damaged dike probably won't hold for long. Please evacuate quickly. Don't take anything you don't need. Saving your lives is the most important thing!"
Some villagers heeded his words and quickly led their families to evacuate to the back of the mountain, but some villagers took a chance and insisted on going home to take their valuables before starting to evacuate.
At this moment, Ning Hongxi and his son watched this scene with pale faces. Just now, he was the official who protected the people, but now he has become the villain who almost killed the whole village!
None of the villagers gave him a friendly look!
However, what puzzled him most was why the emperor would suddenly change his mind.
While helping with the evacuation, Cui Shao anxiously said, "Lord Ning, what are you still standing there for? The river is rising rapidly, and the dikes will soon be breached. Why don't you take your men and evacuate the villagers of the next village?"
Yun Zhuo said, "Prime Minister Ning is in charge of evacuating the villagers from here. I'm going to the next village!"
The river has always been calm in its lower reaches, and with the dikes built upstream to slow the flow, there has been no flooding for many years. As a result, there are many villages along the river, and the villagers rely on this river for their livelihood.
Besides this village, there are many other villages behind it. Yun Zhuo didn't trust Ning Hongxi, so he personally led his men to go there.
With the thousands of guards brought by Cui Shao, he quickly divided his men into more than a dozen groups, which were sent to various villages at the same time to try to evacuate all the villagers as quickly as possible.
But just as Yun Zhuo arrived at the next village and quickly spread the news, while the villagers were still somewhat skeptical, Zhuang Xin rushed over to report:
"Your Highness, the dike has been breached, and the floodwaters are rushing this way! Run!"
Yun Zhuo had very sharp hearing. Before Zhuang Xin could finish speaking, he had already heard the overwhelming sound!
That was the sound of the floodwaters breaching the dam and rushing in with the force of thunder. He saw that the faces of the people in front of him had turned completely white, and they were too frightened to react.
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