Chapter 163 - 163: Four Spies
Yu Yunxi turned around and said seriously, “The King of Xinan’s Residence will not sacrifice anyone!”
However, the commoners were panicking. They did not listen to her and even began to argue among themselves.
“If it’s really a plague, we’ll be infected as well if we don’t burn those infected people to death!”
“That’s right. The King of Xinan’s Residence didn’t do anything wrong. They have to sacrifice a small number of people to save everyone!”
“It’s easy for you people to talk! It’s not like your family members are sick! It’s not like they’re going to burn your family members to death! Of course, you support them!”
“That’s right! My mother was taken away by the King of Xinan’s Residence! I can’t just watch as she’s burned to death!” a man shouted angrily.
The people grew more and more agitated as they argued.
Finally, Yu Yunxi took a deep breath and shouted, “Enough!”
The people of Xinan still respected Yu Yunxi. As such, they fell silent as soon as she had spoken. A few people even apologized to her.
“County Princess, it’s not our intention to stir up trouble. However, those people who were taken away are our family members! Please help us, County Princess!”
“Please help us, Country Princess!”
Soon after, many people fell to their knees.
Even the child by Yu Yunxi’s side, Sun Qiuzi, endured the discomfort and kneeled with great difficulty. His eyes were red as he pleaded in a choked voice, “Please help us.”
Yu Yunxi’s heart sank as she watched this scene. She helped the child up before she said to everyone seriously, “Previously, the residence didn’t publicize this matter to avoid causing unnecessary trouble that might affect the soldiers fighting at the front line. However, since things have come to this, there’s no need to hide it anymore… Nanyue has wild ambitions. Not long ago, they sent
infected people to Xinan to spread the plague…”
The people were already panicking. When they heard these words, they felt even more uneasy.
Yu Yunxi continued to say solemnly, “The King of Xinan’s Residence is thinking of a solution. We took your relatives away to prevent the illness from spreading. However, I promise that I’ll save them at all costs!”
Yu Yunxi’s firm voice seemed to have a calming effect on the panicking people.
‘That’s right. The King of Xinan’s Residence has been protecting us for so many years…’
‘If it wasn’t for the King of Xinan’s Residence, our families would have long been destroyed and become slaves of Nanyue!’
‘We were too anxious earlier and almost disappointed the County Princess…’
“County Princess, we believe in the King of Xinan’s Residence! If there’s anything we can help with, we definitely won’t refuse,” someone said sincerely.
Many people echoed this sentiment.
Yu Yunxi sighed in relief seeing this. Fortunately, everyone was very understanding. Otherwise, there would be another problem. The war was already very troublesome, to begin with. She did not want her godfather and godbrother to worry about the city as well.
At this time, Yu Yunxi suddenly saw a few people sneaking away behind the crowd. It seemed like they were the ones who shouted the loudest earlier, causing dissension among the people.
Yu Yunxi hurriedly gave Song Cang a look.
Song Cang knew what she meant and chased after those people.
Yu Yunxi turned around and asked the family of three, “Are you willing to follow me back to be treated?”
The family quickly nodded.
“We’re willing.”
The carriage from the King of Xinan’s Residence arrived very quickly.
Yu Yunxi did everything on her own. She helped the family into the carriage without any fear of being infected.
Seeing this, Sun Qiuzi stepped back and said, “County Princess, don’t come near us. We’re sick.”
Seeing Sun Qiuzi’s actions, Yu Yunxi was reminded of Yu Junjin. They were sensible children; so sensible to the point where they made one’s heart ache. Her expression softened as she said gently, “It’s fine. You’ll get better soon.” With that, she carried Sun Qiuzi into the carriage.
When the surrounding people saw this, they wanted to smack their heads.
If the Sun family was truly infected with the plague, Yu Yunxi could easily get infected since she was doing everything on her own. It was obvious that she cared about them, but they had questioned her earlier. All of them felt remorseful at this moment.
After Yu Yunxi told the guards to bring the Sun family away, she walked deeper into the alley.
Song Cang had already captured those people who tried to escape earlier. When he saw Yu Yunxi, he walked over and bowed.
“County Princess.”
“Don’t come over,” Yu Yunxi said sternly. She had been in close contact with the Sun family earlier. She was not sure if she had been infected. It would be risky for Song Cang to come near her.
Song Cang frowned, but he still followed her instructions and no longer approached her.
Yu Yunxi looked at the men coldly.
‘Were they the ones who fanned the fire earlier?’
One of the men looked up and said defiantly, “County Princess, why did you capture us? Didn’t you say you’d protect the people of Xinan earlier? Then what does your current action mean?
Another man chimed in, “That’s right, County Princess. We’re all good citizens, and we didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t just capture us because you’re the
County Princess.”
Yu Yunxi laughed coldly when she heard these words.
The men’s expressions changed immediately. However, they remained stubborn and feigned ignorance.
“C-County, County Princess, what do you mean? I don’t understand what you’re saying!”
“Oh, you don’t understand?” Yu Yunxi sneered.
Song Cang tacitly moved to stand behind the men. With a loud crack, he broke one of the men’s arm.
“Ahhh!”
The man screamed and convulsed in pain.
The three remaining men’s faces paled immediately, and they began to tremble.
“Speak. You’re clearly from Nanyue, but you’re pretending to be the people of Xinan! Earlier, you deliberately agitated everyone, right?” Yu Yunxi asked stonily.
The people of Xinan were mostly simple and honest; they were not scheming at all. However, their greatest flaw was that they were easily led astray by others. However, they could not be blamed for this. Xinan was very far from the capital; it was very remote since ancient times. Before the King of Xinan’s Residence was established, almost everyone here was illiterate.
After the establishment of the residence, and especially after Shen Si inherited the title, he had encouraged the commoners to attend school regardless of age. As such, they would be able to get rid of their ignorance. However, this was not a quick process. There was still a long way for them to go.
“County Princess, we really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The men continued to quibble.
Yu Yunxi raised her hand, gesturing for Song Cang to step back. Then, she walked over step by step before she leaned over and stared at them coldly, saying, “Earlier, you were fanning the flames so fiercely. You should’ve seen me standing very close to the Sun family. Who knows if I’ve been infected? Aren’t you afraid of catching the plague?”
The men, who were tied up, hurriedly moved back when they heard these words. They were clearly frightened that they would catch the plague from her.
However, despite their reaction, Yu Yunxi saw the hints of contempt in the depths of their eyes that appeared briefly before they were replaced with fearful expressions. It was as though they were only pretending to be afraid. Seeing this, a thought suddenly appeared in her mind.
“County Princess, we didn’t do anything wrong…”
The men remained stubborn.
However, Yu Yunxi had lost her patience. She said icily, “Kill them, and hang their corpses on the city gate. Consider this a return gift to Nanyue..”