Han Lin pressed his lips together, "Just now, I have already sent people to pursue her, but she was with three experts so my people were unable to stop her..."
Jiang Yin said in a low, angry voice, "Useless!"
Then, he strode out.
...
The quarantine ward today was the same as usual, with thousands of plague patients sitting together.
Everyone's faces were filled with lifelessness and despair.
In the eerie silence, painful wails would occasionally sound, followed by weeping and sighing, as well as faint sobs.
Suddenly, a man was thrown in, drawing everyone's attention.
The crowd was unsettled for a while, then they all gathered around the man in fine clothes.
They saw a handsome man thrown into the wide yard of the quarantine ward, followed closely by a youngster in loose clothes and an eight-chi tall man in black.
Gu Ying grabbed the unconscious Li Yang and dragged him inside, ordering loudly, "Huai Ying, go get a chair for me."
Huai Ying responded and after a while, brought a chair and placed it in the center of the yard.
Gu Ying was not as strong as the man, so she had Huai Ying tie Li Yang to the chair.
The crowd began discussing.
"Who is he?"
"Why was he brought here tied up?"
"He looks like a noble young master, how did he end up tied in the quarantine ward? This place is full of seriously ill plague patients! No sane person would dare come here!"
"And who is that youngster? He looks rather good-looking though, does he have a grudge against this young noble?"
"What youngster, that's clearly a young lady! And I find her clothes very familiar, they look like what the Crown Prince wore recently."
"Could she be the Crown Prince's woman?"
"I heard that the Crown Princess was worried about the Crown Prince, so she came to Yueyang City. Could she be the Crown Prince's fairy-like wife that he told us about?"
"If it's her then it makes sense! Look at her brows and eyes, exquisitely beautiful like a painting, very befitting as the Crown Prince's wife!"
Everyone whispered amongst themselves, puzzled. With the severe plague outbreak currently, everyone was already feeling heavy-hearted. Sometimes the Crown Prince would take the initiative to come and console them, chatting with them and the like. It wasn't much but it made them feel the Crown Prince's goodwill.
Especially since the one the Crown Prince talked about the most was his gentle and kind, extraordinarily beautiful wife.
Though they had not seen her before, Gu Ying's reputation had already spread far.
Gu Ying stood still next to Li Yang, smiling at everyone, "Citizens of Yueyang, this man must be very unfamiliar to you all right? But don't worry, I can give everyone a good introduction."
Everyone looked bewilderedly towards the stage.
"He is the imperial envoy Prince Shu, the King of Shu, His Highness, who was sent to provide Yueyang disaster relief."
There was an uproar amongst the crowd. When they thought about how ever since this Prince Shu had arrived, in order to make his stay more comfortable, taxes had been raised in the entire Yueyang leading to extreme hardship amongst citizens, and in the end Yueyang suffered a plague outbreak, not only did he not do a single thing to help the citizens, he even hid in the government office, not daring to show his face. The crowd became furious and the entire quarantine ward became restless.
"So he's the one! Hasn't he been staying in the official's office this whole time? How did he suddenly end up here?"
"The one tied up over there really is Prince Shu?"
Seeing that they did not believe her, Gu Ying said lightly, "Huai Ying, bring some water."
Obediently, Huai Ying brought over a basin of cold water. Without hesitation, Gu Ying splashed all of the cold water onto Li Yang's face.
Li Yang was shocked awake. Opening his eyes and seeing the patients all around him with ulcerated skin, his scalp tingled.
He realized he had been tied up and thrown amongst the patients, and was instantly enraged. He glared at Gu Ying, "Where is this place?"
Gu Ying smiled mockingly, "Prince Shu, this is the quarantine ward. As the one sent by His Majesty to provide disaster relief in Yueyang, you can't tell me you don't know this is Yueyang's biggest quarantine ward for plague patients right?"
Her words made Li Yang's eyebrows twitch wildly, "Gu Ying! What are you trying to do to me?! Get these lowly commoners out of here! Release me at once! Now!"
He absolutely did not want to catch this damn plague!
Gu Ying laughed coldly, "You want to leave? No way. When in Bianjing, doesn't Prince Shu often talk about empathizing and suffering with the citizens? Now that it has truly come to this, why have you become a shrinking turtle?"
Today, she had him brought here to let him "empathize" with the citizens.
He wants to escape? He'll have to ask Yueyang's citizens first!
Li Yang was extremely anxious, and guiltily said, "When has this Prince ever said such things!"
Gu Ying's expression was unchanged, "Whether you've said it or not is unimportant now. What's important is that now, you must stay together with them, living and dying with them, just like the Crown Prince!"
Li Yang trembled with anger, "Gu Ying, you actually dare treat me like this? Aren't you afraid that when I tell Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, they will execute your clan and kill your whole family?!"
The corners of Gu Ying's lips turned up slightly. She walked to his side and bent down, leaning next to his ear and whispering, "What if...you can't even leave Yueyang City? Then how will you kill my whole family?"
Li Yang's face paled, a wave of fear arising in his heart, "You! Are you collaborating with Zhao Changdu to harm me?!"
"It has nothing to do with the Crown Prince, this was my own decision."
"If you release me now, I can still spare your life!"
"What if I refuse?" A hint of slyness flashed in Gu Ying's eyes.
Li Yang stared wide-eyed, Gu Ying's radiant smiling face reflected in his pupils. For some reason, his heart shook, and all words were crushed between his teeth.
He had to admit, Gu Ying was even more mesmerizing now.
Gu Ying stood up again, facing the patients as she raised her clear, gentle voice, "Since he was sent by His Majesty, tell me everyone, should he be allowed to leave or not?" She looked at the citizens before her sympathetically, laughing, "Today, Li Yang is here with all of you, sharing your life and death, your suffering and tribulations. You are all Dong Li's citizens, his subjects. If there is anything you wish to say to him, please go ahead and speak."
"He is the esteemed Prince Shu of Dong Li after all. Let's see which of you peasants dares to show disrespect to Prince Shu!"
A low, cold voice rang out angrily from outside the quarantine ward doors.
Following the frightened gazes of the crowd, Gu Ying saw Jiang Yin, followed by a large group of aggressive government soldiers rushing into the quarantine ward.
The patients were all frightened by the solemn aura exuded by the soldiers. They retreated backward swiftly.
The soldiers dispersed with a rumble, and the dense crowd also split into two, making way for the green figure walking down the middle.
Killing intent slowly emerged in the air as the two sides confronted each other with the government soldiers having the upper hand.
Huai Ying moved to block Gu Ying just in time. The atmosphere in the yard instantly became tense, confrontational, like the horns locking.
Jiang Yin strode in, his gaze landing squarely on Gu Ying the moment he entered the yard.
Han Lin pressed his lips together, "Just now, I have already sent people to pursue her, but she was with three experts so my people were unable to stop her..."
Jiang Yin said in a low, angry voice, "Useless!"
Then, he strode out.
...
The quarantine ward today was the same as usual, with thousands of plague patients sitting together.
Everyone's faces were filled with lifelessness and despair.
In the eerie silence, painful wails would occasionally sound, followed by weeping and sighing, as well as faint sobs.
Suddenly, a man was thrown in, drawing everyone's attention.
The crowd was unsettled for a while, then they all gathered around the man in fine clothes.
They saw a handsome man thrown into the wide yard of the quarantine ward, followed closely by a youngster in loose clothes and an eight-chi tall man in black.
Gu Ying grabbed the unconscious Li Yang and dragged him inside, ordering loudly, "Huai Ying, go get a chair for me."
Huai Ying responded and after a while, brought a chair and placed it in the center of the yard.
Gu Ying was not as strong as the man, so she had Huai Ying tie Li Yang to the chair.
The crowd began discussing.
"Who is he?"
"Why was he brought here tied up?"
"He looks like a noble young master, how did he end up tied in the quarantine ward? This place is full of seriously ill plague patients! No sane person would dare come here!"
"And who is that youngster? He looks rather good-looking though, does he have a grudge against this young noble?"
"What youngster, that's clearly a young lady! And I find her clothes very familiar, they look like what the Crown Prince wore recently."
"Could she be the Crown Prince's woman?"
"I heard that the Crown Princess was worried about the Crown Prince, so she came to Yueyang City. Could she be the Crown Prince's fairy-like wife that he told us about?"
"If it's her then it makes sense! Look at her brows and eyes, exquisitely beautiful like a painting, very befitting as the Crown Prince's wife!"
Everyone whispered amongst themselves, puzzled. With the severe plague outbreak currently, everyone was already feeling heavy-hearted. Sometimes the Crown Prince would take the initiative to come and console them, chatting with them and the like. It wasn't much but it made them feel the Crown Prince's goodwill.
Especially since the one the Crown Prince talked about the most was his gentle and kind, extraordinarily beautiful wife.
Though they had not seen her before, Gu Ying's reputation had already spread far.
Gu Ying stood still next to Li Yang, smiling at everyone, "Citizens of Yueyang, this man must be very unfamiliar to you all right? But don't worry, I can give everyone a good introduction."
Everyone looked bewilderedly towards the stage.
"He is the imperial envoy Prince Shu, the King of Shu, His Highness, who was sent to provide Yueyang disaster relief."
There was an uproar amongst the crowd. When they thought about how ever since this Prince Shu had arrived, in order to make his stay more comfortable, taxes had been raised in the entire Yueyang leading to extreme hardship amongst citizens, and in the end Yueyang suffered a plague outbreak, not only did he not do a single thing to help the citizens, he even hid in the government office, not daring to show his face. The crowd became furious and the entire quarantine ward became restless.
"So he's the one! Hasn't he been staying in the official's office this whole time? How did he suddenly end up here?"
"The one tied up over there really is Prince Shu?"
Seeing that they did not believe her, Gu Ying said lightly, "Huai Ying, bring some water."
Obediently, Huai Ying brought over a basin of cold water. Without hesitation, Gu Ying splashed all of the cold water onto Li Yang's face.
Li Yang was shocked awake. Opening his eyes and seeing the patients all around him with ulcerated skin, his scalp tingled.
He realized he had been tied up and thrown amongst the patients, and was instantly enraged. He glared at Gu Ying, "Where is this place?"
Gu Ying smiled mockingly, "Prince Shu, this is the quarantine ward. As the one sent by His Majesty to provide disaster relief in Yueyang, you can't tell me you don't know this is Yueyang's biggest quarantine ward for plague patients right?"
Her words made Li Yang's eyebrows twitch wildly, "Gu Ying! What are you trying to do to me?! Get these lowly commoners out of here! Release me at once! Now!"
He absolutely did not want to catch this damn plague!
Gu Ying laughed coldly, "You want to leave? No way. When in Bianjing, doesn't Prince Shu often talk about empathizing and suffering with the citizens? Now that it has truly come to this, why have you become a shrinking turtle?"
Today, she had him brought here to let him "empathize" with the citizens.
He wants to escape? He'll have to ask Yueyang's citizens first!
Li Yang was extremely anxious, and guiltily said, "When has this Prince ever said such things!"
Gu Ying's expression was unchanged, "Whether you've said it or not is unimportant now. What's important is that now, you must stay together with them, living and dying with them, just like the Crown Prince!"
Li Yang trembled with anger, "Gu Ying, you actually dare treat me like this? Aren't you afraid that when I tell Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, they will execute your clan and kill your whole family?!"
The corners of Gu Ying's lips turned up slightly. She walked to his side and bent down, leaning next to his ear and whispering, "What if...you can't even leave Yueyang City? Then how will you kill my whole family?"
Li Yang's face paled, a wave of fear arising in his heart, "You! Are you collaborating with Zhao Changdu to harm me?!"
"It has nothing to do with the Crown Prince, this was my own decision."
"If you release me now, I can still spare your life!"
"What if I refuse?" A hint of slyness flashed in Gu Ying's eyes.
Li Yang stared wide-eyed, Gu Ying's radiant smiling face reflected in his pupils. For some reason, his heart shook, and all words were crushed between his teeth.
He had to admit, Gu Ying was even more mesmerizing now.
Gu Ying stood up again, facing the patients as she raised her clear, gentle voice, "Since he was sent by His Majesty, tell me everyone, should he be allowed to leave or not?" She looked at the citizens before her sympathetically, laughing, "Today, Li Yang is here with all of you, sharing your life and death, your suffering and tribulations. You are all Dong Li's citizens, his subjects. If there is anything you wish to say to him, please go ahead and speak."
"He is the esteemed Prince Shu of Dong Li after all. Let's see which of you peasants dares to show disrespect to Prince Shu!"
A low, cold voice rang out angrily from outside the quarantine ward doors.
Following the frightened gazes of the crowd, Gu Ying saw Jiang Yin, followed by a large group of aggressive government soldiers rushing into the quarantine ward.
The patients were all frightened by the solemn aura exuded by the soldiers. They retreated backward swiftly.
The soldiers dispersed with a rumble, and the dense crowd also split into two, making way for the green figure walking down the middle.
Killing intent slowly emerged in the air as the two sides confronted each other with the government soldiers having the upper hand.
Huai Ying moved to block Gu Ying just in time. The atmosphere in the yard instantly became tense, confrontational, like the horns locking.
Jiang Yin strode in, his gaze landing squarely on Gu Ying the moment he entered the yard.
