Wei Dongling suddenly sat up and grabbed Shangguan Yun's hand. She said anxiously, "The person behind the medicine - dispensing and disaster - relief effort just now is not the county magistrate of Xingshan! It's the crown prince!"
Shangguan Yun was startled by her sudden movement. He asked doubtfully, "Are you sure?"
Wei Dongling nodded. "I'm sure! The people who chased me and the Ninth Prince just now are the crown prince's secret guards!"
Shangguan Yun's eyes suddenly turned cold.
Wei Dongling let go of his hand, lifted the carriage curtain at once, and asked urgently, "Where's the Ninth Prince? If the crown prince's people know that the Ninth Prince is in Xingshan, they will try to kill him!"
Shangguan Yun lowered his eyes to comfort her. "With me here, they won't."
Only then did Wei Dongling nod. She looked at the north - city market outside, pointed to the inn beside, and bowed with cupped hands. "Young Master Yun, please send some food and fodder here. We had no choice but to intercept the crown prince's supplies today."
Shangguan Yun looked into her bright eyes intently and nodded in agreement.
Wei Dongling got off the carriage, bowed to Shangguan Yun inside, and said, "On behalf of thousands of refugees, I thank Young Master Yun for his generosity!" After saying that, she turned around and left without waiting for his response.
Shangguan Yun pushed aside the carriage curtain and stared blankly at the thin figure limping away. He pressed tightly against his chest the hand that she had just held.
In the market, Ruan Niang was busy administering acupuncture to the patients, and Cui Huan was helping beside her.
Looking up and seeing Wei Dongling limping back, Cui Huan rushed over at once with red - rimmed eyes and cried out, "Where have you been? We've been looking for you for a long time. We were so afraid that something might have happened to you. Uncle Li and the others are still looking for you over there!"
Thinking that she had fallen asleep in the carriage, Wei Dongling felt a bit embarrassed. "I'm fine. Don't worry. How much food and fodder did we bring out?"
Cui Huan nodded. "The riot you caused in the front was quite big. We carried away four whole carriages of grain and some medicinal herbs. It should last for a while!"
Wei Dongling nodded quickly. "That's good!"
She got up and took Cui Huan to the warehouse to check the looted supplies. After nodding in satisfaction, she went out again to help Ruan Niang treat the patients.
In the afternoon, Uncle Li came back. Seeing that Wei Dongling was safe, he felt relieved. Everyone was busy chopping firewood, boiling medicine, and steaming buns. They set up tables in high spirits to distribute buns and dispense medicine to relieve the disaster.
At night, Shangguan Yun indeed sent two carriages of food and fodder as promised. Everyone was overjoyed and rushed around to carry them.
Shangguan Yun stood at the door, looking at the happy girl in the inn. A bright smile appeared on his face unconsciously.
The Ninth Prince, Murong Yuchen, beside him followed his gaze and looked at Wei Dongling. He exclaimed in surprise, "So the little lame one is a girl! She's really brave!"
Shangguan Yun didn't answer. He stared at Wei Dongling for a long time before reluctantly leaving.
Late at night, Lord Shen came.
Wei Dongling and Cui Huan quickly got up to greet him and described in detail what they had seen and heard along the way.
When Lord Shen heard Wei Dongling say that the crown prince had done such a thing, he was so angry that his goatee trembled. After hearing that the situation in the villages outside the county was even more worrying, Lord Shen hurriedly wrote a confidential letter and sent it to the capital by a fast - riding messenger.
When it was just dawn, there came a noisy commotion outside the window. Wei Dongling pushed open the window and saw a large number of refugees gathered at the market entrance. From afar, it looked like a horde of zombies in the end - times.
Wei Dongling had to put on her clothes and limp downstairs in a hurry. At the corner, she met Ruan Niang and quickly asked, "What's going on outside?"
Ruan Niang said helplessly, "I heard that the food and fodder at the medicine - dispensing place in the county were stolen. A notice was posted last night saying that there would be no food supply today. A large number of refugees have nowhere to go. Hearing that we provide free food and medicine here, they've all flocked here."
Wei Dongling said speechlessly, "The little amount of grain in the warehouse won't last long."
Everyone quickly discussed the matter. Uncle Li gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Do our best. We'll save as many as we can!"
Lord Shen looked at the suffering crowd outside the door with great distress. Then he turned around and led his men to negotiate with the crown prince who had been ordered to relieve the disaster.
Since there were so many refugees, there wasn't enough firewood for cooking. Uncle Li had to lead everyone to look for flooded and collapsed house beams, broken wooden windows, etc., and chop them up to use as firewood.
The wet firewood gave off thick smoke, making everyone cough.
By the time the buns were steamed, the medicine was almost boiled. Just as they were about to carry them out, they saw the crowd rushing forward to grab them.
Uncle Li slammed the eight - immortals table in the inn onto the ground in front of the door and shouted, "Everyone, line up and get your share one by one! Those who push forward will get theirs last!"
Hearing this, the noisy crowd lined up into two queues voluntarily. Some people tried to push forward in the chaos but were grabbed by Old Brother Qin and Luo Xunlong who were patrolling and were taken to the end of the line.
Wei Dongling and Cui Huan were distributing buns, while the Lin millionaire and his son were ladling out medicine for the crowd. Ruan Niang, A Cheng, and the innkeeper's family were busy in the backyard, carrying out baskets of buns and pots of medicine.
Wei Dongling grabbed a bun with her left hand and handed it out. Looking at the long queue and the few buns left in the basket, she felt anxious.
Just then, a tall and ragged man in the queue, when receiving the bun from Wei Dongling, suddenly took out a gleaming dagger and stabbed it fiercely at her throat.
Wei Dongling suddenly noticed and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
"Ah—" Cui Huan noticed something was wrong. The bun in her hand rolled to the ground. She stepped forward and kicked the man hard.
The man dodged and quickly retreated when he missed the first strike.
Uncle Li and Luo Xunlong were furious and chased after him. But the man was surprisingly fast and quickly ran far away.
Since they were still injured and were afraid of falling into a distraction - and - attack trap, they didn't dare to pursue him rashly. When they came back, they replaced Wei Dongling and asked her to go upstairs to rest. They didn't dare to let her take care of the patients anymore.
So Wei Dongling had no choice but to sort out the medicinal materials in the backyard, tidy up the firewood, and chat with Old Su to pass the time.
In the afternoon, Cui Huan rushed over and cried out, "Miss, Young Master Yu has come! He's also brought a lot of food, fodder, and medicinal herbs!"
"Really?" Wei Dongling was both surprised and happy. She hurriedly threw down the medicinal materials in her hand and rushed out.
From afar, she saw three carriages parked at the inn door. Yu Zixi was leading Tian Qi to carry the grain. When he saw Wei Dongling coming, he smiled brightly.
Everyone also gathered around to help carry the supplies.
Seeing the tired look in Yu Zixi's eyes, Wei Dongling couldn't help feeling a bit heart - ache. He must have received the news and rushed here day and night without rest.
Wei Dongling stood at the door and told Cui Huan to make tea for her young master. Looking up, she saw a maid getting off the last carriage and reaching out to lift the curtain. A slender and jade - like hand stretched out from inside the carriage, grabbed the maid's hand, and gracefully got off the carriage.
The woman who got off the carriage was dressed expensively and had a proper makeup. Her willowy waist swayed gracefully. No one knew which noble lady she was.