There were only a few rooms in the back house of the county government. After Prince Yun moved in, the Lishui County Magistrate could only live in the shift room where the front office servant was on duty.
Here comes another giant Buddha. The Lishui County Magistrate doesn't know where to arrange it: "Eunuch Zhang, our county government really has no place to stay. How about I send you to the best inn in the county for a night?"
"No, no, no." Zhang Jinliang shook his hands like a hot wheel, "Our family wants to live in the county government office with the prince. We can just find a place to sleep. There is really no... woodshed, so..."
"This..." Magistrate Lishui sighed. Although he was the magistrate of Prince Yun's fiefdom, he didn't dare to really manage the woodshed for the chief minister next to the emperor!
The distressed Lishui County Magistrate had no choice but to have his bedding carried to the master's room for the night. He was still complaining silently in his heart that this father-in-law was probably suffering from a serious brain disease and could not stay in a good inn, so he insisted on squeezing in here.
.
Zhang Jinliang also had his own difficulties. He wanted to stay outside Prince Yun's house now, but he didn't want to rush on the road again and end up feeling lonely.
Si Haochen returned to the backyard and Mingruo had already entered the room. As soon as Chu put the imperial edict on the table, he left the room.
"You can't dress up as a man tomorrow." Si Haochen touched Mingruo's head, "That old eunuch Zhang Jinliang has very poisonous eyes. If you want to use the identity of 'Doctor Ming' in the future, it's best not to let him see it.
.”
"Oh?" Mingruo raised her eyebrows slightly, "Does he still have such ability?"
"Have you forgotten what I told you before?" Si Haochen pinched his wife's tender cheeks.
"No one in the palace is simple?" Mingruo asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah." Si Haochen nodded.
"Do we really want to take him to Xunzhou?" As long as that eunuch appears, something bad will happen, and Mingruo won't be happy to see him.
"Then it depends on whether he can keep up." Si Haochen raised a smirk on his lips.
Early the next morning, Prince Yun took the princess, Doctor Qin and the guards and prepared to set off.
The Lishui County Magistrate also couldn't understand why the princess was here in just one night. He didn't think about the strange idea that 'Doctor Ming' and the princess were the same person. He just felt that Doctor Qin had left, and Ming Ming was the same person.
The doctor will naturally go to the camp to take charge.
Zhang Jinliang felt relieved when he saw the veiled Princess Yunqin. The prince was taking the princess on his way, and he would not be lost if he was not going fast. Therefore, Zhang Jinliang was particularly attentive when he paid his respects to Ming Ruo.
Unfortunately, as soon as he left the gate of the government office, Eunuch Zhang was stunned - only his palace car was parked outside the county government office, followed by four imperial guards.
Didn’t Prince Yun and his concubine ride in a carriage? There were only five horses...
Prince Yun carried the princess onto the horse and sat down himself. Doctor Qin, Chu Yi, Fifteen, and Xun Yi also got on the horse.
Zhang Jinliang saw Prince Yun and the princess riding together, and figured that even if the carriage was difficult to follow closely, he would not be lost, so he climbed into his palace carriage.
Doctor Qin didn't know what he was thinking. If he knew, he would definitely scold him. As for the prince's horse, they can't catch up with it, can they?
In the county town, the carriage was indeed easy to follow. But as soon as he left the city gate, Zhang Jinliang was completely dumbfounded. Prince Yun and his entourage were running so fast. He wanted to follow behind and eat ashes, but he couldn't get anything fresh.
The little eunuch who drove the carriage chased for five or six miles, and then the speed gradually slowed down: "Eunuch Zhang, the road in the countryside is difficult. If we continue to chase, not only will the horses be unable to bear it, but the carriage will also fall apart."
"There's no need to chase..." Eunuch Zhang secretly cursed, not to mention that the carriage was about to fall apart, but his old bones couldn't hold it on anymore. He exhaled a deep breath, stretched out his hand and rubbed his buttocks, which were about to break into eight pieces.
On the way to Xunzhou Fucheng, Mingruo saw many victims dragging their families and moving towards Lishui County.
Victims with earth-colored faces and ragged clothes would suddenly fall to the ground while walking. Some could get up and continue walking, while others could never get up again...
Mingruo rubbed his forehead: "These victims must be settled as soon as possible. Not only are they more likely to die if they are scattered around like this, it is also not conducive to controlling the epidemic."
"Yeah." Si Haochen responded.
The further we went towards Xunzhou Prefecture, the more victims there were. Si Haochen and his party arrived at Fucheng in the evening, and a large number of victims gathered on the outskirts of the city.
You can see a few sporadic thatched huts in the distance. Most people are lying or sitting in the open air. They are lucky if they can find a small tree for shelter.
As he got closer, Mingruo discovered that those thatched shacks were porridge shacks. There was faint smoke rising from cooking stoves, and a great monk in mud-colored monk robes was busy beside the stove, and there were a few official servants maintaining order.
"Master, please give me some more. I have my parents-in-law and three children at home." A woman begged, holding a stone bowl.
"Next person..." The great monk who served the porridge was also numb now. He now experienced firsthand what it means to have "more monks and less porridge". He served more to this person, so that the people behind him couldn't eat at all...
Mingruo looked at the soup that the great monk scooped up, and said that it was 'porridge'. It was a bit reluctant, it was basically rice soup.
Three "blockades" were set up near the city gate. It's not dark yet, but the city gate of Fucheng has been closed.
When the soldiers guarding the checkpoint saw Si Haochen and his party, although they didn't look like disaster victims, they didn't look like officials or wealthy people either. They stopped them directly and asked, "Who is coming?"
On the first day of the lunar month, he took out Emperor Danxu's imperial edict and showed his identity.
The soldier looked at the group of people suspiciously while leading people to report up - is the prince from the imperial capital traveling in such a simple way? He looks worse than the housekeeper of the prefect's mansion!
After a while, Shouzheng came down from the city tower, saluted quickly after reading the imperial edict, and then yelled at the guards to quickly open the city gate and welcome Prince Yun into the city.
When the victims who were originally guarding the city gate saw the city gate open, they all rushed here. However, they were soon violently driven away by the soldiers who 'blocked' the city.
Si Haochen frowned and glanced behind him. The city gate guard said with a smile: "My lord, don't be afraid. I will mobilize a thousand soldiers to defend the city gate. These unscrupulous people can't rush through..."
Ming Ruo couldn't help but frown. She had seen so many victims of the disaster lying around in the city before, and thought that there was no camp because there were not enough manpower. But she didn't expect that there were actually a thousand soldiers gathered here just to guard the city gate!
Entering Xunzhou City, Mingruo understood why troops were mobilized to guard the city gate. Xunzhou City was peaceful, and although the pedestrians on the streets were not busy, they were similar to those in ordinary small towns. This was actually the hardest-hit area.
, but it looks more prosperous than Lishui County.
"The prefect's mansion is in the east of the city. I will escort the prince there." The man who ordered the governor brought a horse and stepped forward to lead the way.
